Noël Coward

Writing

Noël Coward

Born — Died

1899-12-15 — 1973-03-26

Place of birth

Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK

Known for

Writing

Credits

66 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise". Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private …

Known for

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

The Ed Sullivan Show poster
6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

Film credits

1960s · 7 titles

The Italian Job poster
6.9

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

The Italian Job

1969

Paris When It Sizzles poster
6.3

Hollywood producer Alexander Meyerheimer has hired drunken writer Richard Benson to write his latest movie. Benson has been in Paris supposedly working on the script for months, but instead has spent the time living it up. Benson now has just two days to the deadline and thus hires a temporary secretary, Gabrielle Simpson, to help him finish on time.

Paris When It Sizzles

1964

Our Man in Havana poster
6.7

Jim Wormold is an expatriate Englishman living in pre-revolutionary Havana with his teenage daughter Milly. He owns a vacuum cleaner shop but isn’t very successful so he accepts an offer from Hawthorne of the British Secret Service to recruit a network of agents in Cuba.

Our Man in Havana

1960

Bunny Lake Is Missing poster
7.2

A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.

Bunny Lake Is Missing

1965

Boom! poster
5.9

Secluding herself in an island mansion in the Mediterranean with her servants and nurses, the wealthy Flora "Sissy" Goforth prepares for her impending death -- and she isn't the only one who's waiting. Known for his attraction to the dying rich, poet Chris Flanders ingratiates himself with the wilting Sissy. Although her friend explains Flanders' "Angel of Death" nature to her, Sissy embraces the vulture-like Flanders.

Boom!

1968

Surprise Package poster
6.5

Comic crime caper, set on a Greek island, starring Yul Brynner and Mitzi Gaynor.

Surprise Package

1960

Androcles and the Lion poster
9.0

The story of Androcles, the simple-hearted Christian tailor whose friendship with a lion saves himself and his friends from martyrdom in the Roman Colosseum.

Androcles and the Lion

1967

1950s · 3 titles

1940s · 3 titles

Series credits

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

The Ed Sullivan Show poster
6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

No artwork available
7.3

Presents a filmed, intercontinental conversation that links moderator Edward R. Murrow in New York with three internationally known figures located in different parts of the world. What set this apart from other televised interview/discussion programs was the fact that its participants could not see each other but could hear one another via telephone lines and radio.

Small World

1958

A Choice of Coward poster
7.0

Noël Coward hosts these four episodes, each an adaptation of one of his plays.

A Choice of Coward

1964

Behind the camera

Brief Encounter poster
7.7

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.

Brief Encounter

1945

Brief Encounter poster
7.7

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.

Brief Encounter

1945

Blithe Spirit poster
6.9

While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Blithe Spirit

1945

Blithe Spirit poster
6.9

While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Blithe Spirit

1945

Cavalcade poster
5.5

A cavalcade of English life from New Year's Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.

Cavalcade

1933

Cavalcade poster
5.5

A cavalcade of English life from New Year's Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.

Cavalcade

1933

In Which We Serve poster
6.7

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

In Which We Serve

1942

In Which We Serve poster
6.7

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

In Which We Serve

1942

In Which We Serve poster
6.7

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

In Which We Serve

1942

This Happy Breed poster
7.1

A chronicle of the lives of the Gibbons family, from shortly after the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second.

This Happy Breed

1944

National Theatre Live: Hay Fever poster
NR

Emmy and Tony winner Christine Baranski makes her West End debut alongside Academy Award-nominated stage and screen legend Richard E. Grant in Noël Coward’s irresistible comedy.

National Theatre Live: Hay Fever

2027

Easy Virtue poster
5.3

Unjustly accused of adultery in a scandalous divorce, Larita Filton flees to the French Riviera. She soon falls in love with a young Englishman, John Whittaker, and begins anew under an assumed name. But when John brings her home to his disapproving family, Larita’s past begins to resurface.

Easy Virtue

1928

Fallen Angels poster
NR

Two upper-class wives, their husbands away for the day, share a few toasts to their pre-marital dalliances—with the same man, who just may be en route from France to visit. Old rivalries and past scandals bubble to the surface in this intoxicating romp from one of theatre’s comedy masters.

Fallen Angels

2026

National Theatre Live: Present Laughter poster
8.5

As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic and soul-searching.

National Theatre Live: Present Laughter

2019

Me and the Girls poster
3.0

Ken Taylor's adaptation of the Noel Coward short story, "Me and the Girls", one of a series called "Noel Coward's The Master's Collection". George Banks, a homosexual dancer, looks back over his life as he lies dying in a Swiss sanatorium.

Me and the Girls

1985

Blithe Spirit poster
8.0

While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Blithe Spirit

1956

A Song At Twilight poster
7.0

Enormously successful writer Sir Hugo Latymer has a tryst with the past not altogether to his liking. This bittersweet comedy is the story of a cosmopolitan author caught in his declining years between two women, one being his wife of convenience for twenty years, the other, one of his former lovers.

A Song At Twilight

1982

The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe poster
NR

A day in the life of Mrs Radcliffe , who believes that the advice she so freely gives is done only out of kindness.

The Kindness of Mrs Radcliffe

1981

The Astonished Heart poster
4.8

Several years after graduation, best friends Barbara (Celia Johnson) and Leonora (Margaret Leighton) reconnect as if not a day has gone by. But Leonora could do without Barbara's husband, Christian (Noel Coward), whom she finds arrogant and off-putting ... at first. One evening alone together, romance is set ablaze, leaving Christian with a lot of explaining to do to Barbara.

The Astonished Heart

1950

Hay Fever poster
6.0

Set in a British country house in the 1920s, Hay Fever follows the outlandish bevaiour of the Bliss family when they each invite a guest to spend the weekend. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, Hay Fever is one of Coward's most popular plays.

Hay Fever

1984

Private Lives poster
NR

A play by Noël Coward recorded for radio starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier.

Private Lives

1940

A Choice of Coward: Design for Living poster
NR

Independent Gilda is resigned fo a life of married tedium when Otto and Leo, having gotten past their jealousy, come to America and whisk Gilda away to live an exciting polyamorous life in Paris.

A Choice of Coward: Design for Living

1964

Blithe Spirit poster
NR

While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Blithe Spirit

2020

Come Into The Garden Maud poster
NR

A rich cornhusker and his social climbing wife find themselves in the company of royalty. While the wife is entertaining a high and mighty prince downstairs, the husband is entertaining a threadbare princess upstairs. It doesn't take long for the husband to realize he has more in common with royalty than his wife does.

Come Into The Garden Maud

1982

What Mad Pursuit poster
10.0

If you were a famous English novelist doing a whistle stop tour of the United States to promote your books, wouldn't you welcome with open arms the chance of a quiet weekend away from it all in a remote corner of Long Island? Of course you would. Well, let what happened to Evan Lorrimer be an awful warning....

What Mad Pursuit

1985

Present Laughter poster
8.0

An aging and self-obsessed actor finds himself in a situation bordering on farce when he is besieged by the demands of his estranged wife, women who want to seduce him, and a crazed playwright.

Present Laughter

1967

Star Quality poster
6.7

Lorraine Barrie, a fading but brilliant actress with a penchant for manipulating every theatrical endeavour to her best advantage, meets her match when she must trust her success to an equally willful stage director.

Star Quality

1985

Meet Me Tonight poster
7.1

Meet Me Tonight was the American title for the British-filmed Tonight at 8:30, adapted from the Noel Coward stage production of the same name.

Meet Me Tonight

1952

Design for Living poster
4.0

Design for Living presents a trio of neurotic but intensely artistic characters: Gilda, Otto and Leo. Set in Paris, Otto and Leo both fall in love with Gilda. She cannot make up her mind which man she loves, so the three decide to live together in a platonic friendship. Among Coward's trademark sparkling wit, the play explores deeper themes including infidelity, the pressures of fame on an unstable mind, and morality (or immorality) of a menage a trois.

Design for Living

1979

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Al calar del sipario

1965

No artwork available
NR

Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.

This Happy Breed

1969

The Marquise poster
9.0

The only period comedy written by Noel Coward. France, 1736. Two distinguished families are celebrating the engagement of their children. The young couple are putting on a brave face, but neither is happy. Adrienne, daughter of the Compte, is secretly in love with her father's penniless secretary, while Miguel, the Duke's son, has lost his heart to a dancer in Paris. An unexpected visitor arrives on the scene.

The Marquise

1980

Final Act poster
5.5

FINAL ACT is based on Noel Coward's play "Waiting in the Wings". Even the smallest events turn into mind-blowing dramas at The Set, a retirement home for former actresses in England. Jealousy and madness flare into a firework display of toxicity when ex-primadonna Lotta Henderson (Birgitte Federspiel) moves in. A slap in the face of The Set's leading star in her own eyes, May Davenport (Mime Fønss), who has had a lifelong rivalry with Lotta both on stage and off. The daily dramas reach dizzying heights when a scandalous journalist (Anne Marie Helger) gains access like a wolf in sheep's clothing. A stunt that has a not-so-clever connection to the ladies' burning desire to be granted a veranda. The matter is raised to the highest level of the home's tough board of directors, and The Set's secretary Perry (Holger Juul Hansen) comes under justified suspicion of skulduggery. But this is where May Davenport's diva talent comes in as a sure trump card...

Final Act

1987

The Vortex poster
7.0

In The Vortex, Coward explores the darker side of the cocktail party set. Emotional blackmail, drug abuse and shattered relationships are minutely observed in this disturbing, early piece from a playwright whose sharp eye was usually more turned towards the light.

The Vortex

1969

Present Laughter poster
NR

Often regarded as semi-autobiographical, Present Laughter follows a few days in the life of successful and self-obsessed actor Garry Essendine as he prepares to travel for a touring commitment. Amid a series of events bordering on farce, Garry must deal with interruptions including the numerous women who want to seduce him, placating his long-suffering secretary Monica Reed, avoiding his estranged wife Liz Essendine, being confronted by a crazed young playwright, and overcoming his fear of his own approacing fortieth birthday and impending mid-life crisis.

Present Laughter

1981

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Intimitäten

1980

Interlude poster
6.0

​Two strangers, a man and a woman, meet during a brief interlude in their journeys, discovering a connection that exists only within the hours of a train delay.

Interlude

1968

Private Lives poster
6.8

Divorced couple Amanda and Elyot have both recently remarried. On their honeymoons, however, they discover that they have accidentally booked adjoining suites at the same hotel. Containing some of Coward's best dialogue, the play revolves around the agonising realisation that despite their ferocious incompatibility, they are still drawn to each other.

Private Lives

1976

Blithe Spirit poster
10.0

While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Blithe Spirit

2023