Satirising the early days of BBC Television,
Simon and Laura focuses on an argumentative theatrical couple called Simon and Laura Foster; they've been together for some 20 years and are given a new lease of life when playing a faux-harmonious version of 'themselves' in a daily soap opera filmed in their own home. Presented by H M Tennent Ltd, the play began a provincial tour at the Opera House Manchester on 30 August 1954, subsequently opening at the
Strand Theatre in London's West End on 25 November. Directed by Murray Macdonald, it starred
Roland Culver,
Coral Browne,
Ian Carmichael,
Dora Bryan,
Ernest Thesiger and
Esma Cannon, with settings designed by Alan Tagg. According to Frances Stephens, editor of
Theatre World, "
Simon and Laura has as its amusing central theme the guying of television family serials and the author is well served by the very talented cast." "We have often been taken, with sufficiently comic results, behind the scenes in the playhouse and film studio", noted
The Stage, "but it has remained for Mr Melville to exploit television, the latest form of entertainment. He does it very well, though most of the characters are absurd rather than human as we know humanity in the auditorium. The dialogue abounds in lines that arouse an involuntary chuckle or laugh; the situations, if occasionally laboured, are ingenious and hilarious." The play's centerpiece – when the filming of the soap's 200th edition goes disastrously wrong – was referred to as a "glorious free-for-all rumpus before the cameras." Other estimates were less enthusiastic. "The comedy", claimed
The Times, "is not, taken as a whole, a particularly good one, but there are a great many quips which will come home to the business and bosoms of [television] viewers."
Kenneth Tynan, in
The Observer, concluded that "As a mechanical tilt at television, the play is acceptable, though the plot is a rattle of dry bones." Despite these critiques, the play was a success; it moved to the
Apollo Theatre on 14 February 1955 and was seen by HM Queen Elizabeth on 24 March. In all it ran for six months, closing on 28 May. The play went out on tour again in the UK from July. At the same time, husband-and-wife team
John McCallum and
Googie Withers toured it with great success in Australia, playing it in repertory with the
Terence Rattigan drama
The Deep Blue Sea.
Cast •
Peter Finch as Simon Foster •
Kay Kendall as Laura Foster •
Muriel Pavlow as Janet Honeyman •
Hubert Gregg as Bertie Burton •
Maurice Denham as Wilson •
Ian Carmichael as David Prentice •
Richard Wattis as Controller of Television Drama •
Thora Hird as Jessie •
Terence Longdon as Barney • Clive Parritt as Timothy •
Alan Wheatley as Adrian Lee •
Beverley Brooks as Mabel •
Tom Gill as TV producer •
Nicholas Parsons as TV producer •
David Morrell as TV producer •
Joan Hickson as barmaid •
Charles Hawtrey as railway porter •
Cyril Chamberlain as Bert •
Philip Gilbert as Joe •
Julia Arnall as make-up girl (Miss Mills) •
Gilbert Harding as himself •
Isobel Barnett as herself •
Peter Haigh as himself •
George Cansdale as himself
Production It was Finch's first leading role in a British film. Melville's original was adapted by Peter Blackmore, author of the successful play and film
Miranda. With Finch and Kendall in the leads, the titular couple became significantly younger (though dialogue referring to them as theatrical veterans remained). Their agent, a German-accented character called Wolfstein in the play, became a very English one called Bertie Burton; their Canadian scriptwriter, Janet Honeyman, became plain English too. Where the play made reference to such celebrities of the day as film magnate Sir
Alexander Korda, actors
Peter Cushing and
Michael Wilding and comedian
Wee Georgie Wood, the film was able to incorporate appearances by TV personalities
Gilbert Harding,
Isobel Barnett,
Peter Haigh and
George Cansdale. The film version went into production at Pinewood in the first week of June 1955, immediately after the play's closure at the Apollo. It opened at the Gaumont Haymarket on 24 November (on a bill with
On Such a Night), with general release following on 26 December. Muriel Box saw Ian Carmichael play his role on stage "and I thought he would be wonderful in the film, so I insisted on having him even though Rank didn’t want him. They wanted a more established 'star' name. I knew the cast I wanted – Kay Kendall, Peter Finch and Thora Hird. Normally the casting is left to the director but Rank had no hesitation in saying if they disagreed with you. But, with Ian Carmichael, I really dug in my heels because I knew he would be excellent in the part." Early in filming Peter Finch and Kay Kendall watched rushes and asked Rank's head of production
Earl St John that Muriel Box be replaced. After discussions it was decided that Box should stay on the film if she allowed them to take a more improvisational approach, although she did not have a strong rapport with her stars.
Reception "
Simon and Laura takes to the screen as a duck to water", announced
The Times. "Its satire and sophistication make a welcome change", claimed
Virginia Graham in
The Spectator, "and I can heartily recommend it." "This Pinewood comedy is full of good jokes at Lime Grove's expense", added
The Star, while the
Daily Worker called it "A most efficient exercise in what is now the time-honoured film sport of television baiting." In the
News of the World Peter Burnup observed that "
Simon and Laura may not turn out to be another
Genevieve or
Doctor in the House but all the same it has plenty of elegance and high spirits", adding, "I have no doubt the BBC will survive the good-humoured leg-pull."
Filmink called Finch's performance "a career low". ==Television versions==