Louder, Please is a play by Norman Krasna, the first of Krasna's plays to be produced on Broadway. It was heavily influenced by The Front Page and also Five Star Final. He wrote it while working as a press agent at Warner Bros. and many of the characters were rumored to be based on real people.MUSICAL TO OPEN TODAY AT WARNERS: Los Angeles Times 28 Sep 1933: 11 Krasna admitted the lead was based on publicity man Hubert Voight and other characters were based on Warners cameraman Buddy Longworth, Bernie Williams and Jack Warner.Characters From Real Life Basis for "Louder Please" Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1933: A7.
The original production was directed by George Abbott and starred Lee Tracy.BROUN PLANS TO GIVE NEW INTIMATE REVUE New York Times 25 Sep 1931: 34.THE THEATRE: Hollywood Satire Wall Street Journal 19 Nov 1931: 4.
The New York Times said "the entertainment spurts out of the direction rather than the play.THE PLAY: Slandering the Movies Again. Pasquinade of Opera. By J. BROOKS ATKINSON. New York Times 13 Nov 1931: 26.
It was successful enough for Krasna to be hired as a writer for Columbia Pictures.Patrick McGilligan, "Norman Krasna", Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age, California Press p 217 That studio bought the film rights by March 1932.Political Satires Newest Plan of Hollywood Film Producers Los Angeles Times 16 Mar 1932: A9. The film was never made. In March 1962 Edward Buzzell bought the film rights. Again it was not made.Rights Secured Los Angeles Times (1 Mar 1963: C13.
Plot Publicity men fake the disappearance of a film star who is "lost at sea".
References
External links
(archive) Review of 1932 Pasadena Playhouse production at Variety