Ferenc Molnár

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Molnar, Ferenc (1878–1952), playwright. The versatile Hungarian dramatist, as skilled at romantic fantasy as at high comedy, came to American playgoers' attention when his early play, The Devil (1908), opened at two Broadway theatres on the same night. (The production with George Arliss was by far the more successful.) Unlike many foreign dramatists, Molnar was exceptionally fortunate in the excellent translations and mountings given his plays in America. Leo Ditrichstein starred in Belasco's version of The Phantom Lover (1914), Eva Le Gallienne and Joseph Schildkraut headed the Theatre Guild's Liliom (1921), Le Gallienne also took the central role in The Swan (1923), the Guild staged The Guardsman (1924) with the Lunts as stars, while Holbrook Blinn headed a fine cast in The Play's the Thing (1926). Many other of his plays were also well received, and several of his best have had major revivals, notably The Play's the Thing, which saw reputable New York productions in 1948, 1973, 1978, and 1995. Molnar's works have also lent themselves to musical versions, The Phantom Lover becoming The Love Letter (1921) and Liliom being made into Carousel (1945).

Molnár, Ferenc (fĕ'rĕnts môl'när), 1878-1952, Hungarian dramatist and novelist. He studied law in Budapest and Geneva and was for some time a journalist in Budapest. He was a prolific author of plays, novels, stories, sketches, dialogues, and war reports. His best-known works are the plays Liliom (1909, tr. 1921), which was made into the musical comedy Carousel; The Guardsman (1910, tr. 1924); and The Swan (1920, tr. 1922). His plays exhibit masterful technique, sophisticated dialogue, and a satirical edge that is tempered by genuine sentiment. Although technically of high caliber, his plays rely upon superficial theatrical special effects. Molnár emigrated to the United States during the Nazi regime; he wrote film scripts and was famed as a wit.

Bibliography

See his autobiography (1950).

(mōl'när', môl'-) , Ferenc 1878-1952.

Hungarian writer known particularly for his comedies, including The Devil (1907) and Liliom (1909).