Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Banquo's Chair: A Play in One Act

Croft-Cooke, Rupert. Banquo's Chair: A Play in One Act. London: H.F.W. Deane & Sons, 1930.
You may recall the episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that dealt—not altogether obliquely—with Banquo's ghost (for which, q.v.).

With the help of an excellent librarian, I was able to track down the source material. It turned out to be a one-act play with the same title. The story is roughly the same, including the same cleverly twisting ending—but the ending works itself out slightly differently in the play.

I'm attaching images (click on them to enlarge them) of the last four pages of the play so that you can see the difference for yourself. And if you happen to direct any amateur dramatic societies, you might consider putting on this play—I think it is quite likely to please an audience!



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5 comments:

  1. Big KJune 16, 2015 at 11:10 PM

    AWESOME!!
    I just heard this on our local radio station that plays OTR last night.
    This was the episode aired 1 week after the 1st performance of Sorry, Wrong Number, & the title was given as "The Extra Guest"
    then aired as the original "Banquo's Chair"
    I wonder why?

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  2. kjJuly 2, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    Thanks for your comment, Big K. That's fascinating! The show was Suspense, and interested readers can find and listen to it here (it's listed as number 34):

    https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles

    Perhaps they announced in the previous week that next week's show would be "The Extra Guest" because it sounds a bit more straightforward. I'm just guessing, but perhaps it was a marketing decision.

    Thanks for pointing us to the show!

    kj

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  3. UnknownJanuary 24, 2021 at 1:18 PM

    The full play?

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2021 at 12:46 PM

    I know is too much to ask but could you please put images of the other pages? I have tried to find the complete play and didn't find in the internet. ��

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  5. kjJanuary 25, 2021 at 1:19 PM

    I'm afraid I don't have the whole play anymore. I had a library copy. Here's a link to WorldCat:

    http://unwsp.worldcat.org/oclc/1062959954

    Perhaps you can get a librarian to help you track it down.

    Or you could buy one for about $25—here's a possibility:

    https://www.abebooks.com//servlet/SearchResults?tn=Banquo%27s%20Chair:%20A%20Play%20in%20One%20Act

    Thanks!

    kj

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