The Playwrights Database
JOHN CECIL HOLM
(1904 - 1981)Nationality: USA
email: n/a Website: n/a
Literary Agent: n/a
John Cecil Holm's plays including biography, theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production and published dates
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below is a list of John Cecil Holm's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Best Foot Forward Brighten the Corner Dancing In the Street Gramercy Ghost Southwest Corner Three Men On A HorseBest Foot Forward
a High School boy, Bud, asks a famous Hollywood actress, Gale Joy, to be his date for the Prom. Her agent thinks that this would be great publicity so she accepts. But Bud's girlfriend is jealous and at the dance she rips Gale's sash - this leads to a frenzy amongst the other High Schoolers who start ripping her dress to bits for souvenirs. Gale and her agent depart for Hollywood and it looks like Bud will be expelled for being the cause of it all
Notes:
book by John Cecil Holm, Music And lyrics by Ralph Blane And Hugh Martin;
1st Produced:
Ethel Barrymore Theatre 1941
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
Revival cast recording: DRG (15003) 1963
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Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageBrighten the Corner
Synopsis:
an absent-minded bachelor spends his life inventing things and going to school, but he never finds time to learn everything he wants to know. He is interested also in his young nephew and the nephew's wife, and he drops in on the couple on his way South. Having money, he wants to make the young people comfortable, but is especially concerned in giving them an incentive to raise a family, and he is anxious to provide bonuses for children who will come later on. When he arrives he mistakenly identifies a charming bride, a neighbor of the young people, as his nephew's wife. For sufficient reasons, the truth is concealed. In order not to disappoint Uncle, all the young people involved must play out the comedy until almost the very end. What with this bride and that dashing in and out, and Uncle meantime happily involved in his schemes for helping his own young people, we are involved in a series of misadventures. But Uncle finally gets everything straightened out, and generously gives presents not only to his nephew and his wife but to everyone else.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Lyceum Theatre, New York 1945
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
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Booksellers:
Genre:
Farce
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 5 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageDancing In the Street
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Music by Vernon Duke; lyrics by Howard Dietz; book by Howard Dietz, John Cecil Holm; Matt Taylor
1st Produced:
- 1943
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageGramercy Ghost
Synopsis:
Most people have inherited property, but we never heard of anyone's inheriting a ghost. Nancy Willard did. This attractive girl, who works for a publisher, is engaged to Parker Burnett. When amelia Bullock, Nancy's landlady and owner of a delightful old house, dies at the age of 103, Nancy learns that she has been left something named Na-thaniel Coombes. Nathaniel is a young and handsome Revolutionary soldier who had been ambushed and killed in 1776 and is now doomed to an earth-bound existence as a ghost in the neighborhood of Nancy's apartment. He cannot get into heaven because he has failed to deliver a message to George Washington. It was all the fault of a pretty bar-maid who caused him to forget his duty. Nancy, inci-dentally, is the only living being who can see Nathaniel. When Charley Stewart, an attractive young newspaperman, comes to Nancy's apartment seeking data on the late Miss Bullock, Nancy finds her life even more complicated, since there are now three young men (if we include Nathaniel) interested in her. It is Charley, of course, who learns how to exorcise the ghost and win Nancy away from Parker. But it is Nathaniel who ultimately enables Nancy to choose the right husband, and on his accomplishing this he gains admittance to heaven at long last.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Morosco Theatre, New York 26 Apr 1951
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageSouthwest Corner
Synopsis:
Marcia elder, a retired village school teacher, lives alone in her family home in Vermont. She is very happy in her lovely country house, but she begins to think about the possibility of finding a companion who will care for her as she grows older. In reply to an advertisement she has put in a newspaper, Bea Cannon turns up. Bea is a widow, energetic, talkative and the kind of person who takes over wherever she finds herself. Marcia agrees to take Bea as her companion, signing a will in which she leaves her house and all its antique furnishings to Bea in return for Bea's care as long as Marcia lives. No sooner is Bea settled into Marcia's home than her true nature appears. She's not actively unkind or selfish-but being insensitive she can be almost more cruel. Bea can understand only her own kind of life-one which centered around confession magazines, television and gossiping with the neighbors. Since none of these things are available in Marcia's home, Bea starts a campaign to get Marcia to sell her farm and move to the city. Marcia, who is too gentle to withstand Bea's forceful determination, grows more and more unhappy and finally gives in to the point where she agrees to auction off the house and its furnishings. We know that Marcia's life, away from the place and things she loves, will be very short but it seems there is nothing to be done. Until, at the last moment, during the auction itself, something happens which saves Marcia's home and provides her with delightful companions-a young couple who are planning to marry, and who will live in Marcia's home with her.
Notes:
Based on the novel by Mildred Walker).
1st Produced:
Holiday Theatre, New York 03 Feb 1955
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageThree Men On A Horse
Synopsis:
erwin Trowbridge sometimes chafes at suburban life, and at his rather uninspiring job of writing greeting card slogans for a boss who pays small wages. One day erwin, fed up with his wife and brother-in-law, instead of going to the office, makes his way to a saloon, determined to declare his independence of home and business. there he falls in with two men and a girl whose "profession" is betting on the horses. Now erwin's hobby is "doping" out the races and he becomes fabulously rich-on paper. He picks the right horses, but never once places a bet. He tells his new friends what horses to bet on, and to their astonishment, they win. erwin will prove a gold mine if properly managed, and the three professionals decide to hold onto him for dear life. Though erwin has misgivings, he is persuaded to remain with his new-found friends at a hotel and regularly dope out the races. But he becomes increasingly concerned about his job (which does really suit him) and his wife (who does really love him). Matters with erwi
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Playhouse Theatre, New York 30 Jan 1935
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 11 Female: 4 Other: with George abbott
Further Reference:
-
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