Murder on the Second Floor is a play by Frank Vosper. The 1929 Broadway play was produced by Albert H. Woods and directed by William Mollison.
Murder on the Second Floor is a three-act play written by British actor and playwright Frank Vosper. The play is a psychological thriller set in a Bloomsbury boarding house. The narrative centers on Joseph Reynolds, a struggling novelist who resides on the second floor. As Reynolds becomes obsessed with crafting a murder mystery plot, the line between his fiction and reality begins to blur, leading to a series of actual murders within the boarding house. The play delves into themes of obsession, the creative process, and the thin veil separating imagination from reality.
Murder on the Second Floor was first staged in London's West End in 1929 at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. The production was written and performed by Frank Vosper, who played the role of Hugh Bromilow. The original cast included Frederick Leister as Joseph Reynolds, Muriel Aked as Miss Snell, and Sara Allgood as Mrs. Armitage. The staging and design were done by J. Burnskill and F.L. Lyndhurst.
The play transferred to Broadway the same year, opening at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre on September 11, 1929. The Broadway production was presented by producer Albert H. Woods and directed by William Mollison. A notable element of this production was the casting of a young Laurence Olivier in the role of Hugh Bromilow. Other featured cast members included Charles Brown as Joseph Reynolds, Florence Edney as Mrs. Armitage, and Phyllis Konstam as Sylvia Armitage.
In the mid-1930s, the play continued to be produced in regional productions. It was performed by the Ecclesfield Priory Players in Sheffield at the Gatty Memorial Hall in 1935. That production was directed by Miss C.M. Pawson and included Robert Cauwood and Wallace Sorsby in key roles. In 1936 a revival was staged at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This production was directed by Herbert M. Prentice and featured future film stars Stewart Granger (then billed as James Stewart) and James Hayter.
The play was adapted into the films Murder on the Second Floor (1932) and Shadows on the Stairs (1941) and for television as Murder on the Second Floor (1939). Vosper adapted the play into a novel of the same name, published in 1930.