The Better 'Ole
Encyclopedia
The Better 'Ole, also called The Romance of Old Bill, is an Edwardian musical comedy
with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather
and Arthur Elliott
, music by Herman Darewski
, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon character Old Bill
, an infantryman, drawn by Bairnsfather. In the musical, Old Bill intercepts a spy's plan to destroy a bridge, trapping a French regiment
after they cross it. Bill saves them by blowing up the bridge before they pass; his actions are misunderstood, however, and he is arrested for disobeying orders and holding an enemy document. After Victoire explains the situation, Bill is released and given a medal.
The original London production in 1917 was a hit, running for over 800 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier
as Old Bill. The piece also had success on tour and on Broadway
the following year and spawned two film adaptations
and a sequel
.
On 4 August 1917, The Better 'Ole opened in London at the Oxford Music Hall
, where it ran for 811 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier
as Old Bill. It was produced by Charles B. Cochran
. After the success of the London production was apparent, a provincial touring company was formed, led by Martin Adeson as Old Bill.
Broadway
It later also ran successfully on Broadway
, where Charles Coburn
starred as Old Bill opposite his wife, who played Victoire; the couple are also credited as the producers of the Broadway production. The production first played downtown at the Greenwich Village Theatre, then moved to Broadway at the Cort Theatre
and later the Booth Theatre
. Choreographed by Lily Leonora, the show played from 19 October 1918 to 4 October 1919, lasting 353 performances.
Subsequent productions
By 1919, five productions of the "smashing success" were running in North America (including the New York premiere). These productions starred De Wolf Hopper, Maclyn Arbuckle, Edmund Gurney
and James K. Hackett
as Old Bill in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston
and Canada, respectively.
commented that there was not much plot, and what there was did not matter much. The Play Pictorial
gave the following plot summary:
said of Bourchier's depiction of Old Bill, "If others have been more sardonic and incisive, he is more good-natured and appealing." The paper thought the piece "unduly spun out, perhaps, because there is a limit to the humorous side of war."
Of the New York production, The New York Times
wrote that it "sweeps an audience off its feet by the sheer force of sincerity. Sooner or later everyone will see it and those will be fortunate to do so while it retains the bloom of its first inspiration".
. The first, a 1919 British version, starred Charles Rock. The second version was a 1926 Warner Bros.
production. This film – the second feature to use the Vitaphone
sound process – starred Sydney Chaplin
as Old Bill.
The success of the piece led to a West End
sequel, Old Bill, M.P., which opened at the Lyceum Theatre on 12 July 1922. Old Bill was played by Edmund Gwenn
, and Bairnsfather appeared as himself. Unlike The Better 'Ole, the later piece was not a musical. It ran until 11 November 1922.
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather
Bruce Bairnsfather
Captain Bruce Bairnsfather was a prominent British humorist and cartoonist. His best-known cartoon character is Old Bill...
and Arthur Elliott
Arthur Elliott
Arthur Elliott , was a South African photographer who recorded the passing scene at the Cape...
, music by Herman Darewski
Herman Darewski
Herman Darewski was a British composer and conductor of light music. His most successful work was perhaps The Better 'Ole, which ran for over 800 performances in its original London production in 1917...
, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon character Old Bill
Old Bill (cartoon character)
Old Bill is a fictional character created in 1914-15 by cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather. Old Bill was depicted as an elderly, pipe-smoking British "tommy" with a walrus moustache. The character achieved a great deal of popularity during World War I where it was considered a major morale booster for...
, an infantryman, drawn by Bairnsfather. In the musical, Old Bill intercepts a spy's plan to destroy a bridge, trapping a French regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
after they cross it. Bill saves them by blowing up the bridge before they pass; his actions are misunderstood, however, and he is arrested for disobeying orders and holding an enemy document. After Victoire explains the situation, Bill is released and given a medal.
The original London production in 1917 was a hit, running for over 800 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
as Old Bill. The piece also had success on tour and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
the following year and spawned two film adaptations
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
.
Productions
London and original tourOn 4 August 1917, The Better 'Ole opened in London at the Oxford Music Hall
Oxford Music Hall
Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. The hall was converted into a legitimate theatre in 1917, but the...
, where it ran for 811 performances, starring Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
as Old Bill. It was produced by Charles B. Cochran
Charles B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran , generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 1930s, becoming associated with Noel Coward and his works.-Biography:Cochran was born in Sussex and educated...
. After the success of the London production was apparent, a provincial touring company was formed, led by Martin Adeson as Old Bill.
Broadway
It later also ran successfully on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, where Charles Coburn
Charles Coburn
Charles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
starred as Old Bill opposite his wife, who played Victoire; the couple are also credited as the producers of the Broadway production. The production first played downtown at the Greenwich Village Theatre, then moved to Broadway at the Cort Theatre
Cort Theatre
The Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in the Theatre District of midtown Manhattan in New York City...
and later the Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
. Choreographed by Lily Leonora, the show played from 19 October 1918 to 4 October 1919, lasting 353 performances.
Subsequent productions
By 1919, five productions of the "smashing success" were running in North America (including the New York premiere). These productions starred De Wolf Hopper, Maclyn Arbuckle, Edmund Gurney
Edmund Gurney
Edmund Gurney was an English psychologist and psychic researcher.-Early life:He was born at Hersham, near Walton-on-Thames. He was educated at Blackheath and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took a high place in the classical tripos and obtained a fellowship. His work for the tripos was...
and James K. Hackett
James Keteltas Hackett
James Keteltas Hackett was an American actor and manager.-Life:He was the son of James Henry Hackett, a comedian and celebrated Falstaff. His elderly father died age 71 when Hackett was just two years old thus never living to see Hackett grow to an adult...
as Old Bill in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Canada, respectively.
Plot
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
commented that there was not much plot, and what there was did not matter much. The Play Pictorial
The Play Pictorial
The Play Pictorial was an English theatrical magazine which was published in London between 1902 and 1939. It concentrated on providing a pictorial record of West End theatrical productions, each issue being devoted to a single show, with descriptions of the plot, the costumes and the sets, and...
gave the following plot summary:
[T]here is but one dramatic episode in the piece. … It is the acquisition of the Spy's letter containing the information as to the mining of the bridge over which the French are going to attack, when with the aid of Victoire Bill realises its purport, he determines to frustrate the enemy's intention by blowing up the bridge in advance. His mission fulfilled, he finds himself under arrest for disobedience to orders; he is further compromised by the possession of an incriminating enemy document; death by a firing party at dawn appears to be his imminent fate. But a kindlier fate has interposed in the person of Victoire. She has gone to the French Headquarters with the story of his gallantry, and an officer of the French Staff arrives, bearing with him the glorious Cross of Honour.
Musical numbers
The following numbers were used in the New York production:- "Tommy" – Suzette from France and Tommies
- "That Trip Across the Rhine" – Captain of the Women's Workers' Camp and Women War Workers
- "Carrying On" – Bert, Alf and Old Bill
- "We Wish We Was in Blighty" – Bert, Alf and Old Bill
- "When You Look in the Heart of a Rose" – Company
- "Venus de MiloVenus de MiloAphrodite of Milos , better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly...
" – Old Bill - Je Sais Que Vous Etes Gentil ("I Know You Are Nice") – Berthe and Bert
- "Regiment of Our Own" – Bert and French Girls
- "Regiment of Our Own" (reprise) – Bert and Mollie from Ireland
Roles and original casts
The list below shows first the London, then the New York casts:- Old Bill – Arthur BourchierArthur BourchierArthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
; Charles D. CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,... - Victoire – Edmée Dormeuil (later, Peggy Foster); Mrs. Charles D. Coburn
- Bert – Tom Wootwell; Charles McNaughton
- Alf – Sinclair Cottee; Colin Campbell
- Spy – M. Crommelynck; Lark Taylor
- Angele – Chris Birss; Gwen Louis
- Suzette – Glory Edgar; Mona Desmond
- W.A.A.C. – Hilda Denton; Lillian Spenser
- Berthe – Carrie Rose; Helen Tilden
Critical reception
In The Play Pictorial, B. W. Findon wrote, "Old Bill stands out with the vividness of a Shakespearean creation, as forcible as Falstaff, as quaint as Dogberry. It is for this reason that he has caught the imagination of the public, that he attracts myriads to the Oxford and fills them with the glory of their race. … A great entertainment, in brief; a revue of the war most admirable. It will be a prodigious success in America and the far lands. We have had nothing like it, I repeat, and assuredly there is here that which will make the whole civilised world akin." The Times commented, "The Bairnsfather jokes are as amusing on the stage as they are when printed." The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
said of Bourchier's depiction of Old Bill, "If others have been more sardonic and incisive, he is more good-natured and appealing." The paper thought the piece "unduly spun out, perhaps, because there is a limit to the humorous side of war."
Of the New York production, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that it "sweeps an audience off its feet by the sheer force of sincerity. Sooner or later everyone will see it and those will be fortunate to do so while it retains the bloom of its first inspiration".
Adaptations and sequel
Two film adaptations of the musical were made during the silent film eraSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. The first, a 1919 British version, starred Charles Rock. The second version was a 1926 Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
production. This film – the second feature to use the Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
sound process – starred Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin was an English actor. He was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager, and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
as Old Bill.
The success of the piece led to a West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
sequel, Old Bill, M.P., which opened at the Lyceum Theatre on 12 July 1922. Old Bill was played by Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
, and Bairnsfather appeared as himself. Unlike The Better 'Ole, the later piece was not a musical. It ran until 11 November 1922.
External links
- The Better 'Ole at the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....