Ben Landeck

British playwright

Ben Landeck (1864–1928) was a prolific British playwright, who wrote melodramas often in collaboration with Arthur Shirley. Several of his plays were made into early films.

## Early life

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Landeck was born in London on 24 October 1846.[1]

## Career

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Landeck wrote plays alone and in collaboration with other playwrights, in particular Arthur Shirley; their collaboration lasted from 1892 until 1923.[2] One of his earliest successes was My Jack.[3] Plays written with Shirley include A King of Crime,[4] Saved from the Sea, Tommy Atkins, Jack Tar, A Lion's Heart, Women and Wine, The Women of France, and The Savage and the Woman.[5] A number of the plays were made into movies between 1908 and 1928.[6] In 1898 Going the Pace by Landeck and Shirley was first performed in Wolverhampton and later London. The staging featured horses, foxhounds and a hansom cab.[7]

In 1923 the Lyceum Theatre in London produced the melodrama What Money can Buy by Landeck and Shirley.[8] Although it was described as a "drama of modern life" the plot owed its dramatic roots to nineteenth-century melodrama which was enhanced by being performed against a background of music.[9]

In a collaboration with Oswald Brand he wrote The Adventures of Dr Nikola which was performed in London in 1902.[10]

## Personal life

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In 1909 he married the actress Valerie Crespin, who died in April 1934.[1][11] Landeck died in London on 6 January 1928.[1][2]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Ben Landeck". IMDb. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
2. ^ a b "Mr Ben Landeck". The Stage. 12 January 1928. p. 20.
3. ^ "On the Wing". Table Talk. No. 231\. Victoria, Australia. 22 November 1889. p. 14\. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
4. ^ "Theatre Royal". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 14, 985. Victoria, Australia. 9 July 1894. p. 6\. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2021 - via National Library of Australia.
5. ^ "Obituary. Mr Arthur Shirley". The Stage. 27 August 1925. p. 17.
6. ^ "Ben Landeck". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
7. ^ Wearing, J. P. (21 November 2013). The London Stage 1890-1899: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. pp. 422–433\. ISBN 978-0-8108-9282-8. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
8. ^ Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 249\. ISBN 978-0-8108-9302-3. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
9. ^ Nicoll, Allardyce (2009). English Drama, 1900-1930: The Beginnings of the Modern Period (Digital ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 211–212\. ISBN 978-0-521-12947-3. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
10. ^ Lachman, Marvin (2014). The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End. Jefferson: McFarland. p. 39\. ISBN 978-0-7864-9534-4. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
11. ^ "Miss Valerie Crespin". The Stage. 26 April 1934. p. 11.

## External links

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* Plays by Landeck and by Landeck and George Bellamy on Great War Theatre
* University of Kent. Theatre Collections