French Without Tears

1936 play by Terence Rattigan

For other uses, see French Without Tears (disambiguation).

French Without Tears

Kay Hammond & Roland Culver in the original Criterion Theatre production, 1936

Written by| Terence Rattigan
Date premiered| 1936
Original language| English
Genre| Comedy

French Without Tears is a comic play written by a 25-year-old Terence Rattigan in 1936.

## Setting

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It takes place in a cram school for adults needing to acquire French for business reasons. Scattered throughout are Franglais phrases and schoolboy misunderstandings of the French language.

The play was inspired by a 1933 visit to a village called Marxzell in the Black Forest, where young English gentlemen went to cram German.

## Reception

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The play was a success on its London debut, establishing Rattigan as a dramatist. A critic thought it "gay, witty, thoroughly contemporary ... with a touch of lovable truth behind all its satire."[1]

It ran for over 1,000 performances in London, and over 100 in New York.[2] It also established Rex Harrison as a major star.

## Original production

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The play, directed by Harold French, opened on 6 November 1936 at the Criterion Theatre, London, with the following cast:[3]

* Alan Howard - Rex Harrison
* Brian Curtis - Guy Middleton
* Commander Bill Rogers - Roland Culver
* Diana Lake - Kay Hammond
* Jacqueline Maingot - Jessica Tandy
* Kenneth Lake - Trevor Howard
* Kit Neilan - Robert Flemyng
* Lord Heybrook - William Dear
* Marianne/t/o Jacqueline Maingot - Yvonne Andre
* Monsieur Maingot - Percy Walsh

## Adaptations

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A film version, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ray Milland, was released in 1940.[4] In 1960 Rattigan himself refashioned the work as the musical Joie de Vivre but it was not a success.[5]

A television production was featured in the Saturday Playhouse TV series on 7 June 1958, with Denholm Elliott, Elvi Hale, Colin Broadley, Nicholas Parsons, and Andrew Irvine[6] and another in the BBC's Play of the Month series on 16 May 1976, starring Nigel Havers, Anthony Andrews and David Robb.[7]

A radio version directed by Gerry Jones was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 25 December 1986, repeated on 14 May 1989 and 20 July 1992.[8]

## References

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1. ^ "French Without Tears by Terence Rattigan, Kay Hammond & Roland Culver". vam.ac.uk.
2. ^ "Terence Rattigan". terencerattigan.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
3. ^ "Production of French Without Tears - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
4. ^ "French without Tears". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
5. ^ Wright, Adrian (2012). West End Broadway : the Golden Age of American musical in London. Woodbridge, England: Boydell & Brewer. p. 163\. ISBN 9781843837916.
6. ^ Saturday Playhouse; Episode 12: French Without Tears (7 June 1958), IMDb.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
7. ^ Play of the Month; French Without Tears (16 May 1976), bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
8. ^ "The Afternoon Play: French Without Tears". BBC.

## External links

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* ​French Without Tears​ at the Internet Broadway Database

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Works by Terence Rattigan

Plays|

* First Episode (1933)
* A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
* French Without Tears (1936)
* After the Dance (1939)
* Follow My Leader (1940)
* Grey Farm (1940)
* Flare Path (1942)
* While the Sun Shines (1943)
* Love In Idleness (1944)
* The Winslow Boy (1946)
* The Browning Version (1948)
* Harlequinade (1948)
* Adventure Story (1949)
* Who Is Sylvia? (1950)
* The Deep Blue Sea (1952)
* The Sleeping Prince (1953)
* Separate Tables (1954)
* Variation on a Theme (1958)
* Ross (1960)
* Man and Boy (1963)
* A Bequest to the Nation (1970)
* In Praise of Love (1973)
* Before Dawn (1973)
* All on Her Own (1974)
* Cause Célèbre (1975/77)

Films and TV|

* The Belles of St. Clements (1936)
* Gypsy (1937)
* French Without Tears (1940)
* Quiet Wedding (1941)
* The Day Will Dawn (1942)
* Uncensored (1942)
* English Without Tears (1944)
* The Way to the Stars (1945)
* While the Sun Shines (1947)
* Brighton Rock (1947)
* Bond Street (1948)
* The Winslow Boy (1948)
* The Browning Version (1951)
* The Sound Barrier (1952)
* The Final Test (1953)
* The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
* The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
* The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
* Separate Tables (1958)
* Adventure Story (1961)
* Heart to Heart (1962)
* The V.I.P.s (1963)
* The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)
* Nelson (1966)
* Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
* Bequest to the Nation (1973)
* The Browning Version (1994)
* The Winslow Boy (1999)
* The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

Related works|

* Joie de Vivre (1960)
* The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963)

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