Craig's Wife

Craig's Wife is a 1925 play written by American playwright George Kelly, uncle of actress and later Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly. It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Production

Craig's Wife premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on October 12, 1925 and closed on August 21, 1926 after 360 performances. Directed by playwright Kelly, the cast featured Chrystal Herne as Harriet Craig, Anne Sutherland (Miss Austen), Charles Trowbridge (Walter Craig), and Josephine Hull (Mrs. Frazie).

It was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1925-1926.

The play received the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer committee wrote: "'Craig's Wife' has been selected by the jury on account of the dignity of its theme, the soundness of its construction, the excellence of its dialogue, and its effectiveness in the theater."

Adaptations

There have been at least three movies based on the play. The 1928 silent version was directed by William C. deMille, Cecil's brother, and starred Irene Rich in the title role. In 1936, Columbia Pictures made a film adaptation with Rosalind Russell as Harriet Craig. The 1950 film Harriet Craig, featuring Joan Crawford, was also based on the play.

Craig's Wife (film)

Craig's Wife is a 1936 drama film starring Rosalind Russell as a domineering wife. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play of the same name by George Kelly (the uncle of Grace Kelly), and directed by Dorothy Arzner. Former MGM star William Haines was the film's production designer. Previously filmed in 1928, Craig's Wife was remade in 1950 as Harriet Craig, rewritten (and updated) as a vehicle for Joan Crawford and co-starring Wendell Corey.

Plot

The plot centers on twenty-four hours in the life of Harriet Craig (Rosalind Russell), and the home life she has created for herself and her husband. Harriet values material things more than her husband and goes to great lengths to protect her life as she has created it, regardless of what the outcomes are to those around her. The story's message is stated by the Craig's housekeeper, Mrs. Harold (Jane Darwell), who says, "Those who live to themselves, are left to themselves," as one by one, all her disgusted family and servants abandon her, leaving her entirely on her own.