Seven Keys to Baldpate (novel) explained

Seven Keys to Baldpate is a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers. A bestseller, it was adapted by George M. Cohan into a play, which in turn was adapted several times for film, radio and TV.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The plot of the novel differs from the play in many respects.^[4]

The setting was based on the real Baldpate Mountain.^[5] An American hotel inspired by that name, The Baldpate Inn, opened in 1918.

Adaptations

The play adapted by George M. Cohan in 1913 was subsequently filmed and broadcast on radio and TV several times:

• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1916 film), from Australia
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917 film) starring Cohan himself
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1925 film) with Douglas MacLean
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929 film) with Richard Dix
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935 film) with Gene Raymond
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947 film) with Phillip Terry
• House of the Long Shadows (1983)

Radio adaptations:

• 1938 for Lux Radio Theatre with Jack Benny
• 1946 for Theatre Guild on the Air with Walter Pidgeon^[6]

Theatre adaptation

• Victoria Theatre, Singapore, 1946. Kenneth Williams stage début.

Television

Adaptations were made in 1946 and 1961.

External links

• Seven Keys to Baldpate at Project Gutenberg

• Complete novel at Internet Archive

Notes and References

1. Web site: Keeper of the Keys to Old Broadway: Geroge M. Cohan's Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913) – 2nd Story Theatre. Laura Sorsensen . atelierlks.com. 23 January 2014.
2. Web site: Seven Keys to Baldpate – Broadway Show – Play . The Broadway. League. www.ibdb.com.
3. Web site: Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935) – William Hamilton, Edward Killy – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related . AllMovie.
4. Kim Newman, "Baldplate: The Long Road to the House Of The Long Shadows", Video Watchdog Edition 181 Jan–Feb 2016
5. News: 'Seven Keys to Baldplate'. . Adelaide, SA . 23 March 1918 . 17 January 2016 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
6. Book: Pitts, Michael R.. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929–1956. 2015. McFarland. 978-1476616834. Google Books.