Benn Levy
Encyclopedia
Benn Wolfe Levy was a Labour Party
Member of Parliament
in the House of Commons
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. He was educated at Repton School
and University College, Oxford
and served in uniform in both World Wars.
, for the Eton and Slough
constituency, and stood down at the 1950 general election
. Politically, Levy was to the left of the Labour Party (including being an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
); as a sympathiser with the Zionist movement, he also opposed Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin
over Bevin's policies towards Palestine and Israel.
; they had one daughter and one son. As an MP, Levy made an unsuccessful effort to abolish theatrical censorship in Britain, and towards the end of his life, he was the principal author of a report opposing the arguments for censorship made by Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford.
Levy's papers are held at the University of Sussex library.
Plays written by Levy:
Screenplay writer
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. He was educated at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
and served in uniform in both World Wars.
Parliamentarian
Levy was first elected at the 1945 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, for the Eton and Slough
Eton and Slough (UK Parliament constituency)
Eton and Slough was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency, and stood down at the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
. Politically, Levy was to the left of the Labour Party (including being an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
); as a sympathiser with the Zionist movement, he also opposed Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1945, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government.-Early...
over Bevin's policies towards Palestine and Israel.
Playwright
Outside politics, Levy was a successful playwright who also wrote (and on occasion directed) for the movies. He was married for more than 40 years to the American-born screen and stage actress Constance CummingsConstance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
; they had one daughter and one son. As an MP, Levy made an unsuccessful effort to abolish theatrical censorship in Britain, and towards the end of his life, he was the principal author of a report opposing the arguments for censorship made by Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford.
Levy's papers are held at the University of Sussex library.
Plays written by Levy:
- This Woman Business - 1925
- Mud and Treacle - 1928
- A Man with Red Hair - 1928
- Mrs Moonlight - 1928
- Art and Mrs Bottle - 1929
- Topaz - 1930
- Ever GreenEver GreenEver Green is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and a book by Benn Levy, based on an idea by Rodgers and Hart. This was the last of three musicals written by Rodgers and Hart in London....
- 1930 - Springtime for HenrySpringtime for HenrySpringtime for Henery is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Otto Kruger, Nancy Carroll and Nigel Bruce. It was based on a play of the same name by Benn W. Levy which enjoyed an eight month run on Broadway.-Plot:...
- 1931 - Hollywood Holiday - with John van Druten, 1931
- The Devil Passes - 1932
- Young Madame Conti - with Hubert Griffiths, 1936
- Madame Bovary (adaptation) - 1937
- If I Were YouIf I Were YouIf I Were You could refer to any of the following:*If I Were You , a 1931 novel by P.G. Wodehouse*If I Were You , a 2006 play by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn...
- 1938 - The Jealous GodThe Jealous GodThe Jealous God is a novel by John Braine which was first published in 1964. Set in the early 1960s among the Irish Catholic community in a small Yorkshire town, the book is about a 30 year-old mummy's boy and his attempts at liberating himself from his domineering mother...
- 1939 - Clutterbuck - 1946
- Rape of the Belt - 1957
Filmography
Director- Lord Camber's LadiesLord Camber's LadiesLord Camber's Ladies is a British drama film directed by Benn W. Levy, produced by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Gerald du Maurier, Gertrude Lawrence, Benita Hume, and Nigel Bruce.-Plot:...
(1932) produced by Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
Screenplay writer
- Devil and the DeepDevil and the DeepDevil and the Deep is a Paramount Pictures film starring Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, and Cary Grant.-Plot:Charles Storm is a naval commander whose jealousy makes life miserable for his wife Diana . His suspicions fall over his own subordinate, Lieutenant Jaeckel...
(1932) - The Old Dark HouseThe Old Dark HouseThe Old Dark House is an American comedy horror film directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff, produced just one year after their success with Frankenstein, also released by Universal Studios.-Background:...
(1932) directed by James WhaleJames WhaleJames Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...