MAD ABOUT THE BOY – THE NÖEL COWARD STORY: The Playwright Invoked to Speak for Himself

Sir Nöel cast in Mad About the Boy – The Nöel Coward Story

At some point Barnaby Thompson felt it necessary to formally list the playwright/songwriter as the first and sole cast member (so far) in his documentary Mad About the Boy – The Nöel Coward Story.

Why the Formality?

Is Coward’s formal cast listing to make a point?

Possibly. A promotional gimmick is a tempting notion, and if true, certainly an intriguing one. Considering that filming Mad About the Boy now falls a few weeks short of a year, there’s been plenty of time to think it over. But, okay — a fitting enough tribute to the stylized wit who authored Blithe Spirit and a gaggle of other tongue in cheek masterpieces, a sort of satire on formality itself.

It’s as if to suggest that no one could tell the story of Nöel Coward better than Sir Nöel himself.

Rags to Riches

And quite a story it is, one that begs to be told. Born into middle class circumstances with little formal education, success seemed to find the self-taught young Nöel by way of a succession of patrons and mentors. Victorian painter John Philip Streatfeild took the 14-year-old boy as his protégé (some say his lover, but this has never been confirmed). On his deathbed a year later Streatfeild asked his socialite friend Astley Cooper to take him under her wing.

World Wars – Before, After & In Between

Under the patronage of high society, Nöel’s artistry reached new heights and pretty much stayed there. From the brief Edwardian Era of prosperity and social reforms, then spanning both World Wars, Coward enjoyed pretty much unbridled success, even more so during the Great Depression.

He honed his abilities and carried the triple crown of playwright, actor, and director throughout and in between the Wars. Foremost of his works included The Vortex, scandalous for the day, playing the drug addicted male lead himself. Unfit for military service because of health reasons, Coward used this time to great benefit. He toured the United States and found equal success on Broadway. He wrote his better known plays Cavalcade and Blithe Spirit, and the former’s film adaptation winning Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director.

Open Secrets, Secret Enemy

Coward’s personal life, especially his intimacies, has always been an open secret, a constant source of speculation and contributed part and parcel to his image of urbane sophistication. His most enduring partner was fellow actor Graham Payn, but Coward had found himself subject to the rumor mill more than once. His alleged affair with Prince George, Duke of Kent is likely the most tantalizing, and still a topic of debate among scholars. Friendships were another matter entirely, though. By all accounts Coward garnered as much steadfast loyalty as given to those he counted among his friends and confidantes throughout his long career.

World War II brought Coward another distinction, ominous, but not his alone. Nearly three thousand of his fellow subjects shared the honor. But until after the war, none of them were aware of their inclusion in the ‘Black Book,’ a secret list of prominent British nationals to be arrested and killed, should the Nazis carry out their plan to invade England. Coward did serve in the Secret Service during World War II as head of the British propaganda office in Paris, but later assigned to morale boosting, entertaining troops at the front.

About the Title

Let’s start with a bit of trivia.

In the iconic film Sunset Boulevard, reclusive silent screen star of yesteryear Norma Desmond gives a fancy cigarette lighter inscribed with ‘Mad About the Boy’ on a fancy cigarette lighter to her hireling cum boyfriend, doomed screenwriter Joe Gillis — more a tether than a gift, however, Joe expected to be at Norma’s beck and call to light her cigarettes.

As for the title, songwriter Coward specialized in light pop tunes rife with clever comic twists. “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” is best known among these. But his most popular piece by far is the ballad, “Mad About the Boy,” covered by both women and men alike throughout the decades. For this documentary, modern pop icon Adam Lambert recorded his rendition, which may offer a clue about where director Barnaby Thompson will take his opus, apart from exploring Coward’s canon, especially if the filmmakers bring new light to bear on the pall over British decorum relative to intimacy in general, and same-sex relationships in particular.

Passing the Torch

Nöel Coward satirized the ambivalent intimacies and tacit hypocrisies of English society — especially the upper crust — as Oscar Wilde had before him, and Joe Orton, who followed. Living in the limelight between flamboyance shadowed by innuendoes of high-styled decadence, it is fair to say that Nöel Coward reflects the quintessential artist for his time, as much for his lifestyle as his art, one well worth exploring on the screen.

Altitude Film Entertainment is set to distribute the film, though no release date has yet been given.

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