Abie's Irish Rose
Encyclopedia
Abie's Irish Rose is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols
familiar from stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premise involves an Irish
Catholic
girl and a young Jewish man who marry despite the objections of their families.
play
was a commercial hit, running for 2,327 performances between May 23, 1922 and October 1, 1927, at the time the longest run in Broadway theater history, surpassing the record set by Chu Chin Chow
. The show's touring company had a similarly long run and held the record for longest running touring company for nearly 40 years until the record was broken by Hello, Dolly!
in the 1960s. The touring company's male lead was played by a young George Brent
, the future Hollywood actor's first major role.
The play has been filmed twice—in 1928 with Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Nancy Carroll
, directed by Victor Fleming
, and in 1946 with Richard Norris
and Joanne Dru
, directed by A. Edward Sutherland.
radio series, Abie's Irish Rose, which replaced Knickerbocker Playhouse and ran from January 24, 1942 through September 2, 1944. Joe Rines directed the cast that starred Richard Bond, Sydney Smith, Richard Coogan
and Clayton "Bud" Collyer
as Abie Levy. Betty Winkler, Mercedes McCambridge
, Julie Stevens and Marion Shockley portrayed Rosemary Levy. Solomon Levy was played by Alfred White, Charlie Cantor and Alan Reed
.
Others in the radio cast: Walter Kinsella
(as Patrick Murphy), Menasha Skulnik
(Isaac Cohen), Anna Appel (Mrs. Cohen), Ann Thomas (Casey), Bill Adams (Father Whelan), Amanda Randolph (maid) and Dolores Gillenas (the Levys' twins). The announcer was Howard Petrie, and Joe Stopak provided the music. The opening theme music was "My Wild Irish Rose
" by Chauncey Olcott.
The basic premise was extensively copied, and Anne Nichols sued one imitator, Universal Pictures, which produced The Cohens and Kellys
, a motion picture play about an Irish boy who marries a Jewish girl from feuding families. However, in Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation
, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
found for the defendant, holding that copyright protection cannot be extended to the characteristics of stock character
s in a story, whether it be a book, play or film.
, in his opinion in the lawsuit:
There have been some variations of the plot in different versions of the play/film. Nichols' original Broadway play had the couple meeting in France during World War I
, with the young man having been a soldier and the girl a nurse who had tended to him. In this version, the priest and the rabbi from the wedding are also veterans of the same war, and recognize one another from their time in the service.
, then the theatre critic for Life
magazine, nursed a particular hatred for it. Part of Benchley's job was to write capsule reviews each week. Abie's Irish Rose he described variously as "Something Awful", "Just about as low as good clean fun can get", "Showing that the Jews and the Irish crack equally old jokes", "The comic spirit of 1876", "People laugh at this every night, which explains why democracy can never be a success" and finally "Will the Marines never come?" Lorenz Hart
gave voice to the problem some in the theater community had with the show's success, when he wrote these lines for "Manhattan"
: "Our future babies we'll take to Abie's Irish Rose -- I hope they'll live to see it close."
Abie's Irish Rose eventually informed the comedy of husband-and-wife team Jerry Stiller
and Anne Meara
, who often spiked their routines with references to their differing backgrounds (Stiller is Jewish; Meara is of an Irish Catholic background but converted to Judaism later during their marriage).
The play also provided the basic plot inspiration for the 1972-73 television series Bridget Loves Bernie
(CBS), which starred Meredith Baxter and David Birney
(who later became husband and wife in real life) in a kind-of reversal of Abie's Irish Rose in that Birney played struggling young Jewish cab driver/aspiring playwright Bernie Steinberg, whose parents ran a modest family delicatessen, and Baxter played Irish Catholic daughter of wealthy parents Bridget Fitzgerald, who falls in love with and elopes with Steinberg to the disappointment of both sets of parents. (The casting also inverted real life, since Birney himself is of Irish descent.) Unlike the play and radio show that inspired it, Bridget Loves Bernie would be cancelled after a short enough life because CBS reputedly tired of protest letters the show's intermarriage theme received---despite the show placing in the top five ratings for its season.
Anne Nichols
Anne Nichols was an American playwright.Born in Dales Mill, Georgia, Nichols penned a number of Broadway plays, several of which were made into motion pictures...
familiar from stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premise involves an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
girl and a young Jewish man who marry despite the objections of their families.
Theater and films
Although initially receiving poor reviews, the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
was a commercial hit, running for 2,327 performances between May 23, 1922 and October 1, 1927, at the time the longest run in Broadway theater history, surpassing the record set by Chu Chin Chow
Chu Chin Chow
Chu Chin Chow is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based on the story of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves...
. The show's touring company had a similarly long run and held the record for longest running touring company for nearly 40 years until the record was broken by Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
in the 1960s. The touring company's male lead was played by a young George Brent
George Brent
George Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
, the future Hollywood actor's first major role.
The play has been filmed twice—in 1928 with Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Nancy Carroll
Nancy Carroll
Nancy Carroll was an American actress.-Career:She was christened Ann Veronica Lahiff in New York City. Of Irish parentage, she and her sister once performed a dancing act in a local contest of amateur talent. This led her to a stage career and then to the screen. She began her acting career in...
, directed by Victor Fleming
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
, and in 1946 with Richard Norris
Richard Norris
Richard Norris is a London based record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known as a member of The Grid.Richard Norris began making music as a teenage member of St. Albans punk band Innocent Vicars, recording two singles in 1980...
and Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River and All the King's Men.-Career:...
, directed by A. Edward Sutherland.
Radio
It inspired the weekly NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio series, Abie's Irish Rose, which replaced Knickerbocker Playhouse and ran from January 24, 1942 through September 2, 1944. Joe Rines directed the cast that starred Richard Bond, Sydney Smith, Richard Coogan
Richard Coogan
Richard Coogan is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video from 1949-1950.Born in Short Hills, New Jersey, Coogan worked in radio for some time, including appearing as Abie Levy in Abie's Irish Rose...
and Clayton "Bud" Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
as Abie Levy. Betty Winkler, Mercedes McCambridge
Mercedes McCambridge
Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
, Julie Stevens and Marion Shockley portrayed Rosemary Levy. Solomon Levy was played by Alfred White, Charlie Cantor and Alan Reed
Alan Reed
Alan Reed was an American actor and voice actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series...
.
Others in the radio cast: Walter Kinsella
Walter Kinsella (actor)
Walter Kinsella was an American theater, television and radio actor. His first Broadway stage appearance was in 1924, in What Price Glory? Kinsella's most noted television role was Happy McMann in NBC's detective drama Martin Kane, Private Eye...
(as Patrick Murphy), Menasha Skulnik
Menasha Skulnik
Menasha Skulnik was a Jewish American actor, primarily known for his roles in Yiddish theater in New York City. Skulnik was also popular on radio, playing Uncle David on The Goldbergs for 19 years...
(Isaac Cohen), Anna Appel (Mrs. Cohen), Ann Thomas (Casey), Bill Adams (Father Whelan), Amanda Randolph (maid) and Dolores Gillenas (the Levys' twins). The announcer was Howard Petrie, and Joe Stopak provided the music. The opening theme music was "My Wild Irish Rose
My Wild Irish Rose
My Wild Irish Rose is a 1947 film directed by David Butler. It stars Dennis Morgan and Arlene Dahl. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1948....
" by Chauncey Olcott.
The basic premise was extensively copied, and Anne Nichols sued one imitator, Universal Pictures, which produced The Cohens and Kellys
The Cohens and Kellys
The Cohens and Kellys is a 1926 comedy film directed by Harry A. Pollard and starring Charles Murray, George Sidney, Kate Price and Jason Robards Sr. The film is the first of the Cohens and Kellys film serials. The film is perhaps best known today as the subject of Nichols v...
, a motion picture play about an Irish boy who marries a Jewish girl from feuding families. However, in Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation
Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation
Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation, 45 F.2d 119 , was a cause célèbre by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on copyright infringement by non-literal copying of a dramatic work...
, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
found for the defendant, holding that copyright protection cannot be extended to the characteristics of stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
s in a story, whether it be a book, play or film.
Plot
The plot was ably summarized by Judge Learned HandLearned Hand
Billings Learned Hand was a United States judge and judicial philosopher. He served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
, in his opinion in the lawsuit:
- Abie's Irish Rose presents a Jewish family living in prosperous circumstances in New York. The father, a widower, is in business as a merchant, in which his son and only child helps him. The boy has philandered with young women, who to his father's great disgust have always been Gentiles, for he is obsessed with a passion that his daughter-in-law shall be an orthodox Jewess. When the play opens the son, who has been courting a young Irish Catholic girl, has already married her secretly before a Protestant minister, and is concerned to soften the blow for his father, by securing a favorable impression of his bride, while concealing her faith and race. To accomplish this he introduces her to his father at his home as a Jewess, and lets it appear that he is interested in her, though he conceals the marriage. The girl somewhat reluctantly falls in with the plan; the father takes the bait, becomes infatuated with the girl, concludes that they must marry, and assumes that of course they will, if he so decides. He calls in a rabbi, and prepares for the wedding according to the Jewish rite.
- Meanwhile the girl's father, also a widower, who lives in California, and is as intense in his own religious antagonism as the Jew, has been called to New York, supposing that his daughter is to marry an Irishman and a Catholic. Accompanied by a priest, he arrives at the house at the moment when the marriage is being celebrated, but too late to prevent it, and the two fathers, each infuriated by the proposed union of his child to a heretic, fall into unseemly and grotesque antics. The priest and the rabbi become friendly, exchange trite sentiments about religion, and agree that the match is good. Apparently out of abundant caution, the priest celebrates the marriage for a third time, while the girl's father is inveigled away. The second act closes with each father, still outraged, seeking to find some way by which the union, thus trebly insured, may be dissolved.
- The last act takes place about a year later, the young couple having meanwhile been abjured by each father, and left to their own resources. They have had twins, a boy and a girl, but their fathers know no more than that a child has been born. At Christmas each, led by his craving to see his grandchild, goes separately to the young folks' home, where they encounter each other, each laden with gifts, one for a boy, the other for a girl. After some slapstick comedy, depending upon the insistence of each that he is right about the sex of the grandchild, they become reconciled when they learn the truth, and that each child is to bear the given name of a grandparent. The curtain falls as the fathers are exchanging amenities, and the Jew giving evidence of an abatement in the strictness of his orthodoxy.
There have been some variations of the plot in different versions of the play/film. Nichols' original Broadway play had the couple meeting in France during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with the young man having been a soldier and the girl a nurse who had tended to him. In this version, the priest and the rabbi from the wedding are also veterans of the same war, and recognize one another from their time in the service.
Critical response
Although the play was a tremendous popular success, it was universally loathed by the critics. Robert BenchleyRobert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
, then the theatre critic for Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine, nursed a particular hatred for it. Part of Benchley's job was to write capsule reviews each week. Abie's Irish Rose he described variously as "Something Awful", "Just about as low as good clean fun can get", "Showing that the Jews and the Irish crack equally old jokes", "The comic spirit of 1876", "People laugh at this every night, which explains why democracy can never be a success" and finally "Will the Marines never come?" Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
gave voice to the problem some in the theater community had with the show's success, when he wrote these lines for "Manhattan"
Manhattan (song)
"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme, among many others....
: "Our future babies we'll take to Abie's Irish Rose -- I hope they'll live to see it close."
Abie's Irish Rose eventually informed the comedy of husband-and-wife team Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
and Anne Meara
Anne Meara
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
, who often spiked their routines with references to their differing backgrounds (Stiller is Jewish; Meara is of an Irish Catholic background but converted to Judaism later during their marriage).
The play also provided the basic plot inspiration for the 1972-73 television series Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American television comedy program created by Bernard Slade, the creator of the 1970–74 ABC sitcom, The Partridge Family, based loosely on the premise of the 1920s’ Broadway play and 1940s’ radio show Abie's Irish Rose...
(CBS), which starred Meredith Baxter and David Birney
David Birney
David Edwin Birney is an American actor/director whose career has performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film and television. He has three children, a daughter Kate, and twins, Peter and Mollie....
(who later became husband and wife in real life) in a kind-of reversal of Abie's Irish Rose in that Birney played struggling young Jewish cab driver/aspiring playwright Bernie Steinberg, whose parents ran a modest family delicatessen, and Baxter played Irish Catholic daughter of wealthy parents Bridget Fitzgerald, who falls in love with and elopes with Steinberg to the disappointment of both sets of parents. (The casting also inverted real life, since Birney himself is of Irish descent.) Unlike the play and radio show that inspired it, Bridget Loves Bernie would be cancelled after a short enough life because CBS reputedly tired of protest letters the show's intermarriage theme received---despite the show placing in the top five ratings for its season.
External links
- The Glowing Dial: Abie's Irish Rose (January 13, 1943)
- 1923 Playbill for the play's performance at the Republic Theater in New York
- 82 Years Ago: Abie’s Irish Rose
- IMDB page on Abie's Irish Rose (1928)
- IMDB page on Abie's Irish Rose (1946)