1962 play by Sumner Arthur Long
Never Too Late is a 1962 Broadway play by Sumner Arthur Long.
"Never Too Late" starred Paul Ford and Maureen O'Sullivan as Harry and Edith Lambert, a middle-aged couple about to become parents once again. Starring as the couple's adult daughter Kate and her husband Charlie Clinton were Fran Sharon and Orson Bean, as well as Leona Maricle and House Jameson as Grace and James Kimbrough.
Production.
"Never Too Late" originally opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on November 27, 1962. The play, directed by George Abbott and produced by Elliot Martin and Daniel Hollywood, ran for a total of 1,007 performances until its end on April 24, 1965.
In his book on Broadway "The Season", William Goldman gave the play's success as an example of a freak success that can happen due to good reviews. "Paul Ford has been Paul Ford for a million years, always the same, always wonderful. But on the night that "Never Too Late" opened, the critics decided not to give the usual Paul Ford notice: “Mr. Ford struggles nobly with his material, but it is a losing battle.” That night it’s hats in the air and a 1,000-performance run and fortunes for everybody. There is simply no conceivable way of knowing when this contagion will strike the boys on the aisle. But one of the reasons that so many inconceivable plays get to Broadway is that when they're dying out of town they dream of the "Never Too Late"s and come on in."
Film.
A film version based on the play was released in November 1965 with Ford and O’Sullivan reprising their Broadway roles.
References.
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