John Boynton Priestley's play "A Dangerous Turn": summary, main characters, plot, film adaptation

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

John Boynton Priestley wrote his debut play in 1932. "Dangerous Turn" loudly ascended the stage and gained popularity. The genre of the work can be described as a detective in a closed room.

About the author

Priestley was born in Bradford in 1894. His father was a provincial teacher. The writer was in the army during the First World War, after which he entered Cambridge.

Wrote novels, the most famous of which is "Good Comrades". Wrote over 40 plays and became one of the most popular English playwrights.

Died 1984 in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Storyline

At a reception at the co-owner of the publishing house Robert Kaplan, interesting details of his brother's suicide, which occurred a year ago, are revealed.

The owner of the house begins an investigation, during which, one by one, the secrets of those present are revealed. The plot of "Dangerous Turn" is built on the revelations of the maincharacters. Such secrets from the life of heroes surface as theft, betrayal, attempted rape.

The details of Brother Robert's suicide are eventually revealed, but the lives of those present will never be the same again.

The main characters of "Dangerous Turn"

• Robert, co-owner of an English publishing house. The play takes place in his house.
• Fred Kaplan, his wife.
• Gordon Whitehouse, Robert's companion, Freda's brother.
• Betty Whitehouse, his wife.
• Oluen Peel, publisher.
• Charles Trevor Stanton is the new director of publishing.
• Maud Mockridge is a writer.

There are 7 main characters in the play, and Robert's late brother Martin Kaplan is constantly mentioned.

Summary of Priestley's "Dangerous Turn". Action one

Guests came to dinner for the spouses Robert and Freda Kaplan - relatives, friends, employees of the English publishing house, which includes the owner himself.

After the gala dinner, the men talk at the table, and the women return to the living room. Before that, they listened to the Sleeping Dog radio play there, but while having lunch, they missed 5 scenes. As a result, the ladies cannot understand the meaning of the title and the ending. They don't know why the play ends with a fatal shot.

Oluen Peel believes that a sleeping dog is a symbol of truth. The character who woke the dog was revealed the whole truth. Unable to bear it, he put a bullet in his forehead. Miss Mockridge mentions the incident with her brotherRobert, Martin Kaplan, who committed suicide a year ago.

Men enter the living room. They wonder what the play was about. The conversation turns to whether it's worth telling the truth at all or is it wiser to hide it.

Opinions are mixed. Robert Kaplan believes that the truth must be revealed sooner or later. Stanton is sure that such a position is tantamount to a dangerous turn at high speed. The mistress of the house offers cigarettes and drinks to everyone to change the topic of conversation.

Freda opens a beautiful box of cigarettes. Olwen mentions seeing her at Martin Kaplan's. But Freda is sure that this is impossible, because Martin had her a week before the suicide, that is, after Olwen and Martin met for the last time.

Oluen does not argue with the owner. Interested in the topic, Robert insists on continuing the conversation.

It turns out that Freda gave Martin the box on the day of his suicide. And after that brother Roberta visited Olwen on some very important matter. Moreover, both women had not told anyone about this before, even the investigation.

Robert is confused. He wants to find out all the details of this story and is not going to end the conversation. Betty, citing a headache, asks her husband to go home. Maud Mockridge and Stanton have also left, leaving only Olwen, Robert and Freda.

It turns out that Olwen went to see Martin on that fateful day to find out which of the two brothers stole her £500 check.

It is believed that it was Martin, that's why he broughtaccounts with life. But Olwen is suspicious of Robert. The latter is outraged, because he always considered the girl his close friend.

Freda interrupts the conversation. She tells Robert that he is blind unless she notices that Olwen is secretly in love with him. The girl agrees that it is. Therefore, she was silent during the last conversation with Martin. After all, he assured that Robert was guilty, as Stanton told him.

Robert is shocked, because Stanton told him the same thing, but about Martin.

Fred and Robert decide that it is Stanton who is the thief, because apart from him and the brothers, no one knew about the money.

Robert calls Stanton and asks him to come back to sort this out.

Act two

Stanton returns with Gordon and under pressure admits that he committed the theft. He badly needed the money, Stanton says he hoped to get it back soon.

But suddenly Martin shot himself, and everyone decided that the reason was the stolen money and the fear of exposure. Stanton took the opportunity to keep quiet about the theft.

Freda and Gordon are glad that Martin has nothing to do with it. They denounce Stanton, but Stanton also has something to say.

He is willing to reveal everything he knows about Martin to help unravel his suicide. Stanton reveals that Freda had an affair with Martin.

She doesn't deny it. Freda says she couldn't end her relationship with Martin even after marrying Robert. But the first brother did not feel for herlove, so she stayed with the second one.

Olwen admits that she is disgusted by Martin, his intrigues, so she feels hatred for the deceased. Gordon loved Martin, for this reason he is acutely aware of such a statement. A quarrel ensues between them.

Act three

Suddenly, Olwen confesses that she killed Martin. But the girl claims that she did it by accident.

Next, she plunges into memories of that evening. Olwen came to Martin when he was alone. It seemed to her that he was too cheerful and was under the influence of drugs. At first he began to say unpleasant things about her. Called her a stiff old maid and told her to give in to her desire for him.

When he asked the girl to take off her dress, Olwen, outraged by this behavior, tried to leave. But he blocked her exit and took out a revolver.

A struggle began, the man tried to rip off Olwen's dress, but she grabbed his arm and turned the gun around. Martin accidentally pulled the trigger himself and fell dead.

Everyone in the living room is shocked by what they heard, but they decide to keep the story a secret so as not to frame Olwen. Stanton had long suspected her involvement, as he found a piece of fabric from the girl's dress at the crime scene. But at the same time, he always respected Olwen and considered her moral and decent.

The girl continues the story of the events of that evening. She urgently needed to share this terrible news with someone. She went to Stanton, but he was with Gordon's wife, Betty. Olwen did notcome in.

By this time, Betty has also appeared in the living room, and Robert wonders if it is true that she is Stanton's mistress. She admits that it is, and she hates her marriage to Gordon.

She began dating Stanton because of a disgusting relationship with her husband. In addition, her lover gave her good expensive gifts. For this, he needed money.

Robert also makes a confession - he loves Betty. But she is sure that he just sees a beautiful image in her, which she really is not.

Robert and Gordon tell Stanton they want nothing more to do with him. They demand his dismissal from the publishing house and the return of the stolen money.

Robert drinks whiskey and says that his world collapsed because of Stanton, the last illusions evaporated, everything is now empty and meaningless.

Final

Robert leaves the room terribly depressed.

Freda remembers that her husband has a gun. Olwen goes to Robert to prevent disaster.

Further in the darkness, a shot is heard, a woman's scream and cry.

"No! It can't happen. It will never happen!" Olwen exclaims.

The end of Priestley's "Dangerous Turn" takes us back to the beginning.

The light slowly turns on again. There are four women on stage. They talk about the Sleeping Dog play and its ending. Soon the men leave the dining room, and the same conversation begins again as at the beginning of the play.

Again they try to figure out the meaning of the name "Sleeping Dog", arguing about truth and lies, and Freda takescigarette box. Olwen recognizes her, but then the conversation naturally takes a different direction.

Gordon scrolls the airwaves looking for music to dance to, Olwen and Robert dance a foxtrot called "Things Could Have Been Different".

Everyone has a lot of fun, joy and smiles on their faces, the music is playing louder.

The curtain falls.

Main idea of the play

When analyzing "Peril Turn", the Priestleys first of all pay attention to the concept of truth and lies set out in the play.

One of the characters claims that telling the truth is tantamount to a dangerous turn at high speed. And subsequent events, where the whole truth is revealed, really lead to tragic consequences.

But the idea of the play is not that the truth should be hidden. The heroine named Olwen expresses important thoughts for understanding the play. The truth would not be dangerous if people were initially ready to be sincere, revealing their flaws and shortcomings.

Taken out of context, the truth may sound terrible, but it does not take into account the circumstances of a person's life and what is in his soul. Such a half-truth, no matter how disgusting it may sound, will never help to understand a person.

The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that a person often cannot understand himself, does not know how to be sincere with himself.

Another idea that John Boynton Priestley put into this and his other plays is the general interdependence of people. Their good and evil deeds give rise to a chain of events, and how they end, guessimpossible.

Soviet adaptation

The 1972 film "Dangerous Turn" based on Priestley's play was directed by Vladimir Basov. He himself played one of the main roles in this tape. The film also starred Yuri Yakovlev, Valentina Titova, Rufina Nifontova.

The picture consists of three episodes and lasts 199 minutes.

The fate of the work

Priestley's "Dangerous Turn" was performed on the stages of many theaters around the world. But the author himself did not really like his first creation. He believed that the dramatic technique shown in the work was too polished and flawless.

Although the characters are vivid and believable, the author and some directors found the characters too flat.

The play "Dangerous Turn" by Priestley is still popular with the public. It is often staged in amateur and professional theaters. There were also several adaptations in different countries. In Russia, the 1972 film "Dangerous Turn" is still highly appreciated by critics and viewers.