Craig's Wife

Craig's Wife is a 1925 play written by American playwright George Kelly, uncle of actress and later Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,[1] and has been adapted for three feature films.

For the films based on the play, see Craig's Wife (1928 film) and Craig's Wife (1936 film).
Craig's Wife
First edition 1926
Written byGeorge Kelly
CharactersBilly Birkmire
Harry
Mazie
Mrs. Craig
Mrs. Frazier
Eugene Fredericks
Ethel Landreth
Joseph Catelle
Miss Austen
Walter Craig
Mrs. Harold
Date premieredOctober 12, 1925 (1925-10-12)
Place premieredMorosco Theatre
New York City, New York, US
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingThe Reception Room at the Home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Craig

Production
Chrystal Herne in the original Broadway production of Craig's Wife (1925)

Craig's Wife premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on October 12, 1925, and closed on August 21, 1926, after 360 performances. Directed by playwright Kelly, the cast featured Chrystal Herne as Harriet Craig, Anne Sutherland (Miss Austen), Charles Trowbridge (Walter Craig), and Josephine Hull (Mrs. Frazie). [2]

It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1925–1926.

The play received the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer committee wrote, "Craig's Wife has been selected by the jury on account of the dignity of its theme, the soundness of its construction, the excellence of its dialogue, and its effectiveness in the theater."[3]

Adaptations

There have been at least three movies based on the play. The 1928 silent version was directed by William C. deMille, Cecil's brother, and starred Irene Rich in the title role. In 1936, Columbia Pictures made a film adaptation with Rosalind Russell as Harriet Craig.[4] The 1950 film Harriet Craig, featuring Joan Crawford, was also based on the play.

A radio adaptation was produced by Cecil B. deMille on the Lux Radio Theatre in Hollywood in 1936. It featured Rosalind Russell and Herbert Marshall.

A radio adaptation was produced by Orson Welles's The Campbell Playhouse on CBS Radio, airing on March 10, 1940, and featuring Welles as Walter Craig, and Ann Harding as Harriet Craig.

References
  1. Awards for Craig's Wife (play) at Internet Broadway Database
  2. Craig's Wife Broadway playbillvault.com, accessed December 21, 2015
  3. Fischer, Heinz-D. (ed.). Chronicle of the Pulitzer Prizes for Drama: Discussions, Decisions and Documents, Walter de Gruyter, 2008, ISBN 3598441207, p. 6
  4. "'Craig's Wife' Overview, 1936" New York Times, accessed December 22, 2015


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