Charley's Aunt - Adaptations

Adaptations

Silent film versions of the play were released in 1915 and 1925, the latter featuring Sydney Chaplin (brother of Charlie Chaplin) and Ethel Shannon.

A "talkie" film version starring Charles Ruggles was released in 1930 and is one of the earliest sound comedies. Arthur Askey took the leading role in a 1940 British film Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt that developed themes from the original play. Perhaps the best known film version was released in 1941, directed by Archie Mayo and starring Jack Benny in the principal role. This version slightly alters the plotline from the original version (for instance, Babbs is framed for accidentally setting off a fire alarm at Oxford University and faces expulsion).

Jevan Brandon-Thomas wrote a pantomime version, Babbs in the Wood, for the amusement of the 1930 London cast and their friends. The Observer commented, "It is quite clear that Mr Brandon-Thomas could earn a handsome living at any time in low – very low – comedy."

A Broadway musical version, Where's Charley? written by Frank Loesser and starring Ray Bolger, ran between 1948 and 1950 at the St. James Theatre. This was made into a 1952 film (with Bolger repeating his stage role) and began a successful run in London in 1958 at the Palace Theatre. On 28 March 1957, CBS television in the U.S. aired a live production on Playhouse 90, starring Art Carney and Orson Bean. It was directed by Arthur Penn.

A Soviet version was made for television in 1975, entitled Hello, I'm Your Aunt!. It was also a musical, but had nothing to do with the Broadway version. The film's title is a Russian figure of speech, exclaimed when somebody receives shocking news they can hardly believe (similar to the English phrase, "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!"). The film was a hit, and many lines of dialogue subsequently became catch phrases. A 1959 Danish film version starred Dirch Passer in the principal role and featuried Ove Sprogøe, Ghita Nørby and Susse Wold. In the film, Passer sings the song "Det er svært at være en kvinde nu til dags" (English: "It is hard to be a woman nowadays"). Passer had first played the role in Charley's Tante in 1958 at the ABC Theatre where it was a hit and played for 1½ years. In France, an updated version of the play was directed by Pierre Chevalier: La Marraine de Charley, starring Fernand Raynaud, with young Jean-Pierre Cassel among the supporting cast.

The play's story also proved to be popular in Germany and Austria, with at least four different film versions being released in 1934, 1956 (starring Heinz Ruehmann), 1963 (starring Peter Alexander) and a television version in 1976. In Spain, there is a 1981 film version starring Paco Martínez Soria, titled La Tía de Carlos. Two film adaptations have appeared in Egypt: a silent version in 1920 titled al-Khala al-Amrikiyya, and a sound film in 1960 titled Sukkar Hanim, starring Samia Gamal.