Benn Levy
Benn Wolfe Levy | |
|---|---|
| File:Benn W. Levy-Constance Cummings still 1.jpg Benn Levy and Constance Cummings in 1935 | |
| Member of Parliament for Eton and Slough | |
| In office 26 July 1945 – 3 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Fenner Brockway |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 March 1900 |
| Died | 7 December 1973 (aged 73) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Benn Wolfe Levy[1] (7 March 1900 – 7 December 1973) was a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the House of Commons (1945–1950), and a successful playwright. He was educated at Repton School and University College, Oxford and served in uniform in both World Wars.
Playwright and parliamentarian
Before entering politics, Levy was a successful playwright and screenwriter. He was the dialogue writer for Blackmail (1929); directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it was the first British sound film.[2] Later, he wrote the adapted screenplay for James Whale's macabre horror film The Old Dark House (1932) in collaboration with R. C. Sherriff, based on the novel Benighted (1927) by J. B. Priestley. Levy directed one film, Lord Camber's Ladies (1932), which was the only film produced by Hitchcock which he did not himself direct.[3] Levy was first elected at the 1945 general election, for the Eton and Slough constituency, and stood down at the 1950 general election. Politically, Levy was on the left of the Labour Party and later became an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.[2] As a sympathiser with the Zionist movement, he also opposed Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin over Bevin's policies towards Palestine and Israel. Levy's papers are held at the University of Sussex library.[4]
Credits
Plays
- This Woman Business (1925)
- Mud and Treacle (1928)
- A Man with Red Hair (1928)
- Mrs Moonlight (1928)
- Art and Mrs Bottle (1929)
- Topaz (1930)
- Ever Green (1930)
- Springtime for Henry (1931)
- Hollywood Holiday with John van Druten (1931)
- The Devil Passes (1932)
- Young Madame Conti with Hubert Griffiths (1936)
- Madame Bovary (1937)
- If I Were You (1938)
- The Jealous God (1939)
- Clutterbuck (1946)
- Return to Tyassi (1950)
- Rape of the Belt (1957)
Selected filmography
Director
- Lord Camber's Ladies (1932) produced by Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter
- The Hate Ship (1929)
- The Informer (1929)
- Waterloo Bridge (1931), directed by James Whale
- Devil and the Deep (1932)
- The Old Dark House (1932), directed by James Whale
- Topaze (1933) directed by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast
- Unfinished Symphony (1934) directed by Anthony Asquith
- The Dictator (1935) directed by Victor Saville
References
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Benn W. Levy, 73, Playwright, Dies". The New York Times. 8 December 1973.
- ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Lord Camber's Ladies (1933)". screenonline.org.uk.
- ↑ "The Keep News and Blog". The Keep. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ↑ "doollee.com – the playwrights database of modern plays". doollee.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
- ↑ Benn Levy at the Internet Broadway Database
External links
- Benn Levy at IMDb
- Mrs. Moonlight on Lux Radio Theater: 26 June 1939
- Mrs. Moonlight on Theater of Romance: 30 August 1943
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Benn Levy
- Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Benn Wolfe Levy, MP MBE (1900–1973)
- Government and politics of Slough
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- People from Slough
- 1900 births
- 1973 deaths
- UK MPs 1945–1950
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
- Royal Navy personnel of World War II
- People educated at Repton School
- Alumni of University College, Oxford
- British dramatists and playwrights
- Jewish British politicians