Cavalcade went on to win three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Its ‘damn’ precedent was codified by the Hays office six years later, ahead of the release of Gone With The Wind. (6/6)

"And as far as the use creating a precedent which might be followed by other producers is concerned, the best answer would be that anyone who could make a picture as good as Cavalcade might be justified in following the precedent." (5/6)

Kent stated that the phrases used in Cavalcade, "could not offend any person; and, after all, that was the real purpose of the Code..." (cont.) (4/6)

‘Damn’, in particular, caused a bit of a kerfuffle. Concerned filmmakers would start to throw the word around in less innocuous contexts, Hays met with the head of the Fox Film Corporation, Sydney Kent, to request the scene be reshot, cut, or have the offending word slurred out. (3/6)

Cavalcade is one of few 1930s productions to include the words ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ – as written in Coward’s original 1931 play. The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) – guardians of the Hays Code of film censorship since 1930 – were worried it might set a precedent. (2/6)

Her collaboration with Coward began with The Vortex and continued through Private Lives, Design for Living, and numerous other iconic works, both in London and on Broadway.

In the 1940s, she also brought her distinctive vision to four film adaptations of Coward’s plays.

His last words to Graham Payn and Cole Lesley were "Good night, my darlings! I'll see you tomorrow," as they left him on the terrace at Firefly.

More than half a century on, his work lives on for new generations of performers and audiences.

The play would transfer to the #WestEnd the following year.

100 years on, the Olivier Awards celebrates the best of British theatre.

#Broadway #noelcoward #sirnoelcoward

So resolute we were in heart and mind
So steeled against illusion, deaf and blind
To all presentiment, to all enchantment
(I knew you without enchantment)

#noelcoward #sirnoelcoward

Finding no heights nor depths among our days
Shedding no tears
Every so often when we felt inclined
Lying like lovers in each other's arms
Feeling no qualms
In our light intimacy

One of the sketches, Oranges And Lemons, was revived in The Night of 100 Stars at the London Palladium in 1960, featuring Laurence Olivier.

The staging was handled by Frank Collins, with the Léonide Massine providing the dynamic choreography.

A century later, the Olivier Awards continue to celebrate choreographic excellence with the Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer, celebrating the finest in theatrical dance.

The revue was a dazzling showcase of choreographic excellence in theatre. First produced by Charles Cochran, the production featured a book and lyrics by Coward, with music composed by Coward and Philip Braham.