Marcel Achard - Successful Postwar Plays

Successful Postwar Plays

After World War II, despite the criticism, Achard's literary output continued unabated. Among his most successful later plays were 1952's Les compagnons de la Marjolaine and 1955's Le mal d'amour . The greatest popularity, however, was achieved by a 1957 comedy about a testy, ill-tempered character nicknamed Patate and a 1962 comic mystery L'Idiote, best known in America as the basis for the play and film A Shot in the Dark.

Four of Achard's plays also had Broadway runs. Domino, adapted by actress-writer Grace George, opened at the Playhouse Theatre on 16 August 1932 and closed after seven performances. The title role went to Rod La Rocque, a top star of the silent cinema, whose career was on the wane following the advent of the talkies, and the lead actress was Jessie Royce Landis. Seventeen years later, a much better run was enjoyed by Auprès de ma blonde, which was reworked by famed scenarist S. N. Behrman into I Know My Love. It opened at the Shubert Theatre on 2 November 1949 and ran for 247 performances, closing on 3 June 1950. It was directed by and starred Alfred Lunt and his leading lady was, as always, his wife, Lynn Fontanne. Nine years after that premiere, however, Patate, which played to sold-out theaters in Paris, could not translate its elusive charm to American audiences and repeated the seven-performance fiasco of the previous single-name character, Domino. The fellow whose nickname made up the title was played by Tom Ewell, and the female lead, Susan Oliver, won the Theatre World Award for her performance, while the Irwin Shaw adaptation opened at Henry Miller's Theatre on 28 October 1958 and closed on November 1. Ultimately, it would be A Shot in the Dark, three years later, which would boast the longest run. Adapted by Harry Kurnitz and directed by Harold Clurman, it racked up an impressive 389 performances, opening at the Booth Theatre on 18 October 1961 and closing on 22 September 1962. The stars were Julie Harris, Walter Matthau and William Shatner.

Achard's numerous screenplays, frequently centering on relatively recent historical events and personalities, include 1936's Mayerling, 1938's Orage and 1942's Félicie Nanteuil. He presided over the Cannes Film Festival in 1958 and 1959 and had a similar role at the Venice Film Festival in 1960. It was also in 1959 that he was finally, at the age of 60, elected to the Académie française.

Marcel Achard died of diabetes in his Paris home two months after his 75th birthday. He was survived by his wife, Lily.