A Gentleman from Mississippi

A Gentleman from Mississippi is a 1908 comedic play by Harrison Rhodes and Thomas A. Wise.[1] It was popular when released, debuting on Broadway on September 28, 1908, and playing for 407 performances at the Bijou Theatre, and on the roof garden of the New Amsterdam Theatre during the summer of 1909. Douglas Fairbanks played the leading role of Bud Haines.[2]

A Gentleman from Mississippi
Lola May, Thomas A. Wise, and Douglas Fairbanks in scene from play
Written byHarrison Rhodes and Thomas A. Wise
Date premiered28 September 1908 (Broadway)
Place premieredBijou Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectPolitical corruption
GenreComedy
SettingWashington, D.C.

Receiving positive reviews from the critics,[3][4][5][6] it was produced by William A. Brady and Joseph R. Grismer, and was one of the "major hits of its day."[7][8] U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt saw the play shortly before its Broadway debut at a Washington warm-up performance at the National Theatre, and proclaimed it a "perfectly corking play. Bully! A ripper!"[9][10][11] Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft, also later saw and approved of the play, and was featured in some of the play's advertising.[12]

It was adapted into a novel based on the play's success,[13] and the play traveled widely after closing on Broadway, where actor Burr McIntosh returned from the stage after a long break to take over for Wise.[14]

The play was also made into a silent film in 1914, where Wise reprised his role, and a young Evelyn Brent was also in the cast.[15] A plan to make another film based on the play in 1936 was never completed.[16]

Harrison and Rhodes also collaborated on a second play, An Old New Yorker (1911).

Plot

The play's setting is Washington, D.C., where corrupt Senators are attempting to profit off a planned naval base in Mississippi. The junior Senator of Mississippi, William Langdon (played by Wise), decides to fight the scheme, assisted by his private secretary Bud Haines (played by Fairbanks).[6]

Original Broadway cast
  • William A. Langdon ... Thomas A. Wise
  • Horatio Peabody ... W.J. Brady
  • James Stevens ... Hal De Forrest
  • Charles Norton ... Ernest Baxter
  • Randolph Langdon ... Stanhope Wheatcroft
  • "Bud" Haines ... Douglas Fairbanks
  • Dick Cullen ... Harry Stubbs
  • Colonel Beverly Stoneman ... Frederick Bock
  • Clerk at International Hotel ... E.H. Bender
  • Colonel J.D. Telfer ... Charles Chappelle
  • Signore Caracioli ... M.W. Rale
  • A Bridegroom ... Donald Mackintire
  • A Porter ... Henry Gibson
  • A Bellboy ... Charles Johnson
  • Carolina Langdon ... Harriet Worthington
  • Hope Georgia Langdon ... Lola May
  • Amelia Butterworth ... Agnes De Lane
  • Mme. Des Aretins .. Karen Nielsen
  • A Bride ... Sallie Livingston[17]
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References
  1. (1 August 1908). A New Political Play, The New York Times
  2. Lachman, Marvin. The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End, p. 71 (2014)
  3. Patterson, Ada (December 1908). "Tom" Wise on the Business of Being Funny, The Theatre, Vol. 8, No. 94, pp. 336-38.
  4. Darnton, Charles (30 September 1908). New Plays: "A Gentleman from Mississippi" is Well Worth Meeting, The Evening World
  5. (November 1908). BIJOU. "A Gentleman from Mississippi", The Theatre, Vol. 8, No. 93, p. 286 (with photographs)
  6. (30 September 1908). New Comedy at Bijou; A Night of Laughter. The New York Times
  7. Bordman, Gerald & Thomas S. Hischak. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, p. 256 (2004)
  8. (23 April 1909). A Find Old Gentleman, The Long Islander ("has proven one of the most successful plays producued in New York city this season. It has been running ... for the past nine months and is playing to capacity houses at every performance.")
  9. (27 November 1909). The Theatre, The Independent
  10. Bogar, Thomas A. American Presidents Attend the Theatre, p. 195 (2006)
  11. (27 September 1908). Roosevelt at Political Play Says He Can Hardly Keep Off the Stage, Chicago Examiner
  12. Flyer ("How President Taft Laughed at the Comedy") (c. 1909)
  13. (12 June 1909). Books for Summer Reading, The New York Times
  14. (22 November 1913). Burr McIntosh before the camera, The Moving Picture World
  15. (10 February 1915). A Gentleman from Mississippi, Fairmont West Virginian (background to writing of play, and Wise's interest in film role)
  16. (7 April 1936). Screen Notes, The New York Times
  17. (30 September 1908). "A Gentleman from Mississippi" Pleases Large Audience, New York Tribune, p. 7.
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