Write Me a Murder

Write Me A Murder is a mystery play in three acts by Frederick Knott, which premiered on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on October 26, 1961, presented by the Compass Productions, Inc.,[3] directed by George Schaefer, [4] stage design by Warren Clymer, costume design by Noel Taylor.[5] It totally ran for 196 performances, closing on April 14, 1962 at the Belasco Theatre.[6]

Write Me a Murder
Written byFrederick Knott[1]
Date premiered26 October 1961[2]
Place premieredBroadway at the Belasco Theatre, New York City.
Original languageEnglish

Plot

The play tells the story of the brothers Clive and David Rodingham, who inherit the family fortune upon the death of their father. They then meet business man Charles and his wife Julie, a would-be thriller writer. Charles is anxious to work with the brothers on property deals, and so encourages David, who is also a writer, to co-author a murder story with Julie. It isn’t long before the two concoct the perfect crime, which is soon twisted into a reality…

Awards

Knott was awarded an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Mystery Play. He had won an earlier Edgar in this same category for Dial M for Murder.

Original production

Write Me A Murder opened at the Belasco Theater on October 24, 1961, and ran for 196 performances.

Original Cast

Australian TV Adaptation
"Write Me a Murder"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 47
Directed byHenri Safran
Teleplay byKenneth Hayles
Based onplay by Frederick Knott
Original air date8 December 1965 (Sydney, Melbourne)[7][8]
Running time60 mins

A 60-minute adaptation for Australian television aired in 1965 as part of ABC's Wednesday Theatre. It was directed by Henri Safran.[9] Murder mysteries were a popular subject matter on Australian television at the time.[10]

Cast
  • Rhod Walker as Clive Rodingham
  • Alan Edwards as David Rodingham
  • John Gray as Charles Sturrock
  • Judith Fisher as Julie Sturrock
  • Gwen Plumb as Elizabeth Wooley
  • Bob Haddow as Constable Hackett

Production

The show was made in Sydney. Francesca Crespi did the design. Henri Safran, who directed, said the drama came from not wondering "whodunnit" but from "will the murderer get caught".[11]

Reception

The Bulletin said "Safran tried to force life into the mummified corpse of another of those traditional British murder mysteries, set in a decaying mansion and suffering from mouldy plot."[12]

References
  1. Robert Cross (17 April 2004). Steven Berkoff and the Theatre of Self-Performance. Manchester University Press. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-0-7190-6254-4.
  2. Frederick Knott (October 1962). Write Me a Murder. Dramatists Play Service Inc. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-0-8222-1279-9.
  3. World Premières: technical data. 1900. pp. 1–.
  4. Director the Institute for the Arts and Humanities Stanley Weintraub; Stanley Weintraub (1998). Shaw and Other Matters: A Festschrift for Stanley Weintraub on the Occasion of His Forty-second Anniversary at the Pennsylvania State University. Susquehanna University Press. ISBN 978-1-57591-008-6.
  5. Daniel Blum's Theatre World. Crown Publishers. 1961.
  6. "Write Me a Murder – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database.
  7. "TV Guide". The Age. 2 December 1965. p. 19.
  8. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 December 1965. p. 13.
  9. "What to stay home for..." The Canberra Times. 6 December 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 23 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  11. "Will Murderer Be Caught?". The Age. 2 December 1965. p. 15.
  12. Miller, Dale (18 December 1965). "TELEVISION British Institution". The Bulletin. p. 54.


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