Michael Morton (dramatist)
Encyclopedia
Michael Morton was an English dramatist in the early Twentieth Century.
His comedy called Detective Sparks opened at the Garrick Theatre
in August 1909 to good reviews. He also directed the production which ran into October for a total of 64 performances.
In 1914, Morton's play, The Yellow Passport ran 183 performances on Broadway and starred Florence Reed
and John Barrymore
. It was adapted to the screen and, due to its popularity, several filmed versions were made in the silent era alone. The first, The Yellow Passport (1916), was directed by Edwin August
and starred Clara Kimball Young
. The second version, The Yellow Ticket (1918), starred Fannie Ward
, Warner Oland
and Milton Sills
. A German version called The Devil's Pawn was produced in 1918 and starred Pola Negri
. In 1928 a Russian film titled Zemlya v plenu or the The Yellow Pass was produced starring Anna Sten
. The fifth filmed version was a talking picture and was directed by Raoul Walsh
in 1931. It was also titled The Yellow Ticket
; its players were Elissa Landi
, Lionel Barrymore
and Laurence Olivier
. James Wong Howe
was the cameraman.
He adapted Thackery
's lead character from The Newcomes
into a play called Colonel Newcome which opened in April, 1917 at the New Amsterdam Theatre
and starred Herbert Tree and St. Clair Bayfield
. His 1921 play Woman to Woman
was adapted three times for film.
He adapted Agatha Christie
's novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
into a play called Alibi
which opened in London in 1928. This was her first work adapted to the stage and it ran 250 performances.
His comedy called Detective Sparks opened at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
in August 1909 to good reviews. He also directed the production which ran into October for a total of 64 performances.
In 1914, Morton's play, The Yellow Passport ran 183 performances on Broadway and starred Florence Reed
Florence Reed
Florence Reed was a stage, screen and television actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including The Shanghai Gesture, The Lullaby, The Yellow Ticket and The Wanderer. Her best remembered movie role was as Miss Havisham in the 1934 production of "Great Expectations"...
and John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
. It was adapted to the screen and, due to its popularity, several filmed versions were made in the silent era alone. The first, The Yellow Passport (1916), was directed by Edwin August
Edwin August
Edwin August was an American actor, director and screenwriter of the silent era. He appeared in 152 films between 1909 and 1947. He also directed 52 films between 1912 and 1919....
and starred Clara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young
Clara Kimball Young was an American film actress, who was highly regarded and publicly popular in the early silent film era.-Early life:...
. The second version, The Yellow Ticket (1918), starred Fannie Ward
Fannie Ward
Fannie Ward was an American actress of stage and screen, known for comedic roles as well as The Cheat, a sexually–charged 1915 silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille....
, Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
and Milton Sills
Milton Sills
Milton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
. A German version called The Devil's Pawn was produced in 1918 and starred Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
. In 1928 a Russian film titled Zemlya v plenu or the The Yellow Pass was produced starring Anna Sten
Anna Sten
Anna Sten was a Ukrainian-born Russian silent film actress and later a Hollywood film star. She began her career in stage plays and films in Russia before travelling to Germany, where she starred in several films...
. The fifth filmed version was a talking picture and was directed by Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
in 1931. It was also titled The Yellow Ticket
The Yellow Ticket
The Yellow Ticket is a 1931 drama film based on a play by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film starred Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and featured Boris Karloff...
; its players were Elissa Landi
Elissa Landi
Elissa Landi was an Italian born actress who was popular in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. Rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, she was noted for her aristocratic bearing....
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
. James Wong Howe
James Wong Howe
James Wong Howe, A.S.C. was a Chinese American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films...
was the cameraman.
He adapted Thackery
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's lead character from The Newcomes
The Newcomes
The Newcomes is an novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1855.-Publication:The Newcomes was published serially over about two years, as Thackeray himself says in one of the novel's final chapters...
into a play called Colonel Newcome which opened in April, 1917 at the New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
and starred Herbert Tree and St. Clair Bayfield
St. Clair Bayfield
St. Clair Bayfield, American stage actor, was born John St. Clair Roberts on August 2, 1875 in Cheltenham, England, and died May 19, 1967.-Career:Bayfield spent his youth in New Zealand on sheep and cattle ranches. He also served as a sailor and soldier...
. His 1921 play Woman to Woman
Woman to Woman (play)
Woman to Woman is a 1921 play by the British writer Michael Morton. During the First World War a British officer and a French dancer meet in a doomed romance.-Film adaptations:...
was adapted three times for film.
He adapted Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
into a play called Alibi
Alibi (play)
Alibi is a 1928 play by Michael Morton based on The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel by British crime writer Agatha Christie.It opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End on May 15, 1928, starring Charles Laughton as Hercule Poirot. It was deemed a success and ran for 250...
which opened in London in 1928. This was her first work adapted to the stage and it ran 250 performances.