Molnár, Ferenc, 1878-1952

Ferenc Molnár was born Ferenc Neumann in 1878 to an upper middle class Hungarian-Jewish family in Budapest. During his schooling he changed his German indoctrinated family name to the Hungarian Molnár. He studied law in Geneva for a brief time and then returned to Budapest in 1896 to devote himself to journalism, writing feuilletons-a mixture of cultural op-ed pieces, literary essay and reportage- for various European newspapers. As a result of these he gained renown in Budapest and began traveling in the local artistic circles. In 1902, after trying his hand successfully at novels and short stories, he wrote his first play The Lawyer . His first popular success came with The Devil, which, in 1909, saw three simultaneous productions in New York, one in English, one in German, and one in Yiddish. Though he wrote largely romantic comedies, satires, and farces (of drawing room society, aristocracy and domestic squabbles), he was also sensitive to the plight of the underclasses which showed through in his articles and fiction. Strains of his works are often compared to Maugham, Wilde, Pirandello, and Shaw. The plays are occasionally tinged with sentimentality and tempered by a basic humanity, but their real force is their humor. His plays were well-received in Budapest, Berlin and Vienna before the second World War, as well as in New York where they enjoyed revivals and debuts. Molnár had great crossover success from Broadway to Hollywood as many of his plays were made into or inspired movies, namely The Good Fairy, Liliom, Olympia, No Greater Glory, One, Two, Three, and The Swann . Both Puccini and Gershwin were interested in setting Liliom to music but Molnár declined. Eventually it was transformed with much success into Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel . Other plays were adapted for new productions, such as Arthur Miller’s 1947 radio play of The Guardsman, and Tom Stoppard’s 1985 staging of Rough Crossing . To avoid the rising tide of National Socialism in Germany, Molnár immigrated in 1939 to New York City and resided at the Plaza Hotel where he lived and continued to write until his death in 1952. Though the Communists banned his work in his homeland his work has since experienced a resurgence there.

From the guide to the Ferenc Molnár papers, 1927-1952, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)

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