Background

The spark for Hayes' novel was a real home invasion that happened to the Hill family in Philadelphia during 1952. However, Hayes' storyline was invented and not based on the Hill family's experience. After reading Hayes' novel, producer Howard Erskine was convinced it would make a good play. He flew to Florida where Hayes was living on Anna Maria Island, and persuaded him to write a stage adaption.^[5][6] Hayes later wrote a screenplay which was sold to Paramount under condition that the film version could not be released before December 23, 1955.^[7]

Staging and set

Robert Montgomery was impressed with Hayes' dramatic treatment of the story, and in June 1954 agreed to direct the production.^[8] Montgomery and his daughter, actress Elisabeth Montgomery, also invested money in the play.^[9] One of Montgomery's first concerns was how to provide breaks in the tense pacing of the story. Hayes wanted to use humor, while Montgomery thought pauses in the action might work. He told interviewer Barbara L. Wilson "What both of us failed to realize was that the set would solve our dilemma".^[10] Howard Bay's unique scenic and lighting design allowed for this approach by presenting a two-level set showing the interior of the Hillard house and the local sheriff's station interior simultaneously. A traveling curtain above the latter hid a further set representing the attic of the Hillard's next door neighbor. Lighting was used to focus the audience attention on the current action, while actors on the other sets remained still in semi-darkness.

Actors and venue

Karl Malden was the first actor signed for the play, after he obtained a release from Warner Brothers to appear in it.^[11] Rehearsals started on December 13, 1954, with the principals Nancy Coleman, Karl Malden, Paul Newman, James Gregory, and George Mathews present.^[12] The Ethel Barrymore Theatre was booked and Patricia Peardon, Malcolm Broderick, and Fred Eisley hired by December 24,^[13] while George Grizzard, Kendall Clark, Judson Pratt, and Rusty Lane were signed the next day.^[14] Casting was complete on December 28, 1955, after Mary Orr and Wyrley Birch were hired.^[15]

Cast

Tryouts

The play had its first tryout at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, Connecticut on January 6, 1955.^[22] Reviewer Fred Russell credited the sets by Howard Bay with garnering applause from the opening night audience even before the actors appeared. He especially praised Montgomery's staging and Malden's acting, but gave the rest of the cast their due.^[22] Another reviewer singled out the acting of Patricia Peardon and young Malcolm Brodrick, and judged George Grizzard as "particularly adept".^[23] They reported "The opening night audience displayed unprecedented enthusiasm by refusing to depart even when lights came on after many curtain calls.... Here is a 'try out' that is at its inception a polished gem of extraordinary size and depth".^[23] A local columnist predicted "This one will be the dramatic sensation of the Broadway season".^[24]

The production then went to Philadelphia's Locust Street Theatre on January 12, 1955,^[25] for a highly praised three-week run.^[26] Henry T. Murdock from The Philadelphia Inquirer said: "It is tremendously effective theater, marked by complete cooperation among its elements--- writer, director, actors and set designer. In fact, the play had to be on the stalwart side to draw attention from Howard Bay's remarkable 'breakfront' set".^[25]

Reception

The play opened on February 10, 1955, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway.^[1] Perhaps the most enthusiastic reviewer was John Chapman of the Daily News, who said "I cannot remember any melodrama which has been as steadily and intensely exciting as is The Desperate Hours-- or one which has been better acted or better staged."^[2] The demanding critic Walter F. Kerr praised the "slambang" action and tense pacing: "The Desperate Hours is straight popcorn, but it makes a lovely racket."^[27] Brooks Atkinson said "Mr. Hayes has written a graphic crime play that makes sense" and "...it does show more interest in the characters than most thrillers do".^[1] He praised all the actors and especially Paul Newman who he said "plays the boss thug with a wildness that one is inclined to respect".^[1] Charles K. Freeman, noting that both Howard Erskine and Joseph Hayes were neophyte producers, felt that the hiring of Robert Montgomery as director was a "masterstroke", and the largest factor responsible for the show's success.^[28]

A month after the premiere, Paul Newman was promoted to co-star billing, alongside Karl Malden and Nancy Coleman.^[29]

Closing

During late July 1955, Karl Malden notified producers Erskine and Hayes that he would have to quit within four weeks due to personal problems and a Warner Brothers commitment.^[30] According to the producers, they were unable to find a replacement of equal standing, the off-season summer heat meant the box-office take was at a low point, so they decided to close the show.^[30] However, columnist Charles McHary reported that the box office slump was why Malden was leaving the show.^[31] He and the other leading and supporting actors had already accepted pay cuts for several weeks to offset the declining revenue. The actors blamed the producers on two counts: first, that the Howard Bay set pre-empted seating space in the theater that might have brought $3000 a week during the show's opening months; and second, that the inexperienced producers let the early awards go to their heads and failed to allocate enough money for advertising the play.^[31]

After 212 performances, The Desperate Hours closed on Broadway on August 13, 1955.^[32] The producers sold the play, along with the original sets, to Jack Present and Harry Zevin for production on the West Coast starting in late August 1955.^[32] Five original Broadway cast members, Nancy Coleman, George Grizzard, Judson Pratt, Malcolm Brodrick, and Rusty Lane, along with replacement Gene Blakely, went with the road company.^[32]

Awards