Curtain Up

Curtain Up
For the 1944 British children's book by Noel Streatfeild, see Curtain Up (novel). For the 1994 British stage comedy by Peter Quilter, see Curtain Up!.

Curtain Up is a 1952 British film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. It is based on the play Sunday for Seven Days by Philip King.

Plot

In an English provincial town, a second-rate repertory company assemble at the theatre on Monday morning to rehearse the following week's play, a melodrama titled Tarnished Gold.

Harry, their irascible Director, is highly critical of the play, which has been foisted on him by the owners of the Company and is unenthusiastic about its prospects. The cast, a mixture of wanabee-film stars and has-beens, are equally unenthusiastic and little progress is made. Just as matters seemingly cannot get worse, the authoress of the play, Catherine Beckwith, appears and insists on 'sitting at the feet' of the Director.

She and Harry are quickly at each other throats and after Harry tears up most of Act 1, he storms angrily off stage and falls into the pit, injuring himself. Despite the forebodings of the cast, Miss Beckwith insists on taking over the rehearsal according to her own ideas.

A week later, to everyone's surprise, the curtain comes down on a triumphant first night.

Sub-plots involve on and off-stage romances between the cast, a film offer for one of the actresses, to her husband's chagrin, and the newest member of the cast realising that the stage is not her forte.

Cast

External links


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  • curtain — [kʉrt′ n] n. [ME & OFr cortine < LL(Ec) cortina, lit. a cauldron, enclosing circle of a theater, curtain (< IE base * (s)ker , to CURVE); used in Vulg. instead of L cors, cohors (see COURT) to translate Gr aulaia, curtain (esp. in a… …   English World dictionary

  • Curtain — Cur tain (k[^u]r t[i^]n; 48), n. [OE.cortin, curtin,fr. OF. cortine, curtine, F. courtine, LL. cortina, curtian (in senses 1 and 2), also, small court, small inclosure surrounded by walls, from cortis court. See {Court}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • curtain — (n.) c.1300, from O.Fr. cortine curtain, tapestry, drape, blanket, from L.L. cortina curtain, but in classical Latin round vessel, cauldron, from L. cortem (older cohortem) enclosure, courtyard (see COHORT (Cf. cohort)). The confusion apparently… …   Etymology dictionary

  • curtain — ► NOUN 1) a piece of material suspended at the top to form a screen, hung at a window in pairs or between the stage and auditorium of a theatre. 2) (the curtain) the rise or fall of a stage curtain between acts or scenes. 3) (curtains) informal a …   English terms dictionary

  • curtain up — noun (theatre) The beginning of a performance • • • Main Entry: ↑curtain …   Useful english dictionary

  • Curtain — Cur tain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Curtained} (k[^u]r t[i^]nd; 48); p. pr. & vb. n. {Curtaining}.] To inclose as with curtains; to furnish with curtains. [1913 Webster] So when the sun in bed Curtained with cloudy red. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curtain Up! — (2009) is an announced British stage comedy by Peter Quilter, a reworking of his own all female first play Respecting Your Piers[1] (1998). It is to be re published by Samuel French Ltd. The show is popular[citation needed] with amateur groups in …   Wikipedia

  • curtain — index blind (obscure), camouflage, cessation (termination), cloak, conceal, cover (conceal) …   Law dictionary

  • curtain — [n] window covering blind, decoration, drape, drapery, film, hanging, jalousie, oleo, portiere, rag, roller, screen, shade, shield, shroud, shutter, valance, veil, Venetian blind; concept 444 …   New thesaurus

  • Curtain — For other uses, see Curtain (disambiguation). For religious use, see Veil. Curtains at a Bed Breakfast. A curtain (sometimes known as a drape, mainly in the United States) is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or… …   Wikipedia

  • curtain — curtainless, adj. /kerr tn/, n. 1. a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc. 2. a movable or folding screen used for similar purposes. 3. Chiefly New Eng. a window shade. 4. Theat. a …   Universalium

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