Miklós László (May 20, 1903 – April 19, 1973; born Nicholaus Leitner ) was a Hungarian-born American playwright and screenwriter.
113-621: He is best known for his play Illatszertár , also known as Parfumerie , which was later used as the storyline for three movies: The Shop Around the Corner , In the Good Old Summertime , and You've Got Mail , which was released posthumously. The play was also adapted for the Broadway stage as the musical She Loves Me . Leitner ( László ) was born in Budapest , Hungary, on May 20th,1903 to
226-564: A Musical . In 1998, the play was used once again as the inspiration for a screenplay, by Nora Ephron , which became the motion picture You've Got Mail , with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan . In 2001, the László/Raphaelson MGM script was adapted for the stage in France and was produced as a straight play La Boutique au Coin de la Rue ("The Shop at the Corner of the Street"). This production was
339-553: A brief foray into air travel via the "Cunard Eagle" and "BOAC Cunard" airlines, but withdrew from the airline market in 1966. Cunard withdrew from its year-round service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising and summer transatlantic voyages for holiday makers. The Queens were replaced by Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ), which was designed for the dual role. In 1998, Cunard was acquired by the Carnival Corporation , and accounted for 8.7% of that company's revenue in 2012. In 2004, QE2
452-678: A faithful adaptation of the MGM movie script The Shop Around the Corner and ran for the 2002 season in Paris at the Théâtre Montparnasse winning top honors. The production garnered five Molière Awards , the French equivalent of the American Tony Award — for Best New Play, Best Adaptation of a Foreign Work, Best Director, Best Set Design, and Best Lighting. In June 2004 Parfumerie was produced for
565-601: A family of German Jewish descent. Emperor Franz Josef ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire , and the Great War was still a few years away. The name " László " was chosen for the Leitner family. No particular reason is known other than that it was a well-known Hungarian name and that it was similar to the original family name "Leitner". Henrik and Ilona Fischer Leitner therefore gave to their infant son on his birth certificate
678-470: A job as manager of Matuschek and Company. Grateful to Pepi for saving his life, Mr. Matuschek promotes him to clerk. The next day, Novak calls in sick after her mystery man failed to show. That night, Kralik visits her at her apartment. During his visit, she receives a letter from her correspondent and reads it in front of Kralik (who wrote the letter). Two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Matuschek and Company achieves record sales. Kralik and Miss Novak, alone in
791-427: A kindly family man; Ferencz Vadas, a two-faced womanizer; saleswoman Ilona Novotny; clerk Flora Kaczek; and Pepi Katona, an ambitious, precocious delivery boy. One morning, Kralik reveals to Pirovitch that he's been corresponding anonymously with an intelligent and cultured woman whose ad he came across in the newspaper. Kralik is Mr. Matuschek's oldest and most trusted employee, but lately there has been tension between
904-419: A labourer in a petroleum factory while his siblings grew up and gradually took responsibility for their own lives and livelihoods. It came then as a great satisfaction that his first three-act play, A "legboldogabb" ember , The Happiest Man , a play about an embittered factory worker and the dream world to which he escapes for solace, won him the prestigious Hungarian Royal Academy Award for Literature in 1934,
1017-558: A major generator of US currency for Great Britain. Cunard's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun", was specifically aimed at the tourist trade. Beginning in 1954, Cunard took delivery of four new 22,000-GRT intermediate liners for the Canadian route and the Liverpool–New York route. The last White Star motor ship, Britannic of 1930, remained in service until 1960. The introduction of jet airliners in 1958 heralded major change for
1130-649: A necessity. Miklós László died in New York City in 1973 at the age of 69. His wife Florence died in 1987. The most famous of all his plays during this time and which was later produced as a motion picture was Illatszertár , known in English as Parfumerie . It had premiered at the Pest Theatre in Budapest in 1937, and shortly after László came to New York. The play was adapted as a movie script by Samson Raphaelson and became
1243-523: A new rival when the White Star Line commissioned the Oceanic and her five sisters. The new White Star record-breakers were especially economical because of their use of compound engines. White Star also set new standards for comfort by placing the dining saloon midships and doubling the size of cabins. Inman rebuilt its express fleet to the new standard, but Cunard lagged behind both of its rivals. Throughout
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#17331144502981356-563: A new £30 million joint venture with Cunard. BOAC contributed 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. Cunard Eagle's long-haul scheduled operation – including the two new 707s – was absorbed into BOAC-Cunard before delivery of the second 707, in June 1962. BOAC-Cunard leased any spare aircraft capacity to BOAC to augment the BOAC mainline fleet at peak times. As part of this deal, BOAC-Cunard also bought flying hours from BOAC for using
1469-448: A second ship, if Cunard merged with White Star. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited . The merger was accomplished with Cunard owning about two-thirds of the capital. Due to the surplus tonnage of the new combined Cunard White Star fleet many of the older liners were sent to the scrapyard; these included the ex-Cunard liner Mauretania and the ex-White Star liners Olympic and Homeric . In 1936
1582-526: A significant share of the 1 million people that crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960. This was the first time more passengers chose to make their transatlantic crossing by air than sea. In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be awarded a licence by the newly constituted Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, but
1695-499: A smart, funny script by Samson Raphaelson, The Shop Around the Corner is a romantic comedy in the finest sense of the term." Dave Kehr argued Lubitsch makes "brilliant deployment of point of view , allowing the audience to enter the perceptions of each character at exactly the right moment to develop maximum sympathy and suspense." It ranked 202nd in the British Film Institute 's 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll of
1808-564: A subsidy to build two superliners needed to retain Britain's competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. Her sister ship, Lusitania , was torpedoed in 1915 during the First World War . In 1919, Cunard relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, better to cater for travellers from London. In the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when
1921-502: A supplementary service to Montreal. The annual subsidy was later raised £81,000 to add a fourth ship and departures from Liverpool were to be monthly during the winter and fortnightly for the rest of the year. Parliament investigated Great Western's complaints, and upheld the Admiralty's decision. Napier and Cunard recruited other investors including businessmen James Donaldson, Sir George Burns , and David MacIver. In May 1840, just before
2034-523: A westbound voyage the same year, and the French Normandie crossed the Atlantic in just under four days at 30.58 knots (56.63 km/h) in 1937. In 1930 Cunard ordered an 80,000-ton liner that was to be the first of two record-breakers fast enough to fit into a two-ship weekly Southampton–New York service. Work on "Hull Number 534" was halted in 1931 because of the economic conditions. In 1934, both
2147-495: Is a treasury of hopes and anxieties based in the desperate faces of Stewart and Sullavan. It is a comedy so good it frightens us for them. The café conversation may be the best meeting in American film. The shot of Sullavan's gloved hand, and then her ruined face, searching an empty mail box for a letter is one of the most fragile moments in film. For an instant, the ravishing Sullavan looks old and ill, touched by loss. The Shop Around
2260-434: Is having an affair as she stays out late and requests money from him. As Christmas approaches, Kralik is preparing to meet his mystery correspondent for a dinner date. The meeting is stalled when Mr. Matuschek demands that everyone stay after work to decorate the shop. Later Kralik is called into Mr. Matuschek's office and is fired. No one in the shop understands Mr. Matuschek's actions are related to his suspicions that Kralik
2373-497: Is having an affair with his wife. Later, Mr. Matuschek meets with a private investigator who informs him that his wife is having an affair with one of his employees—Ferencz Vadas. Pepi returns to the shop just in time to prevent Mr. Matuschek from committing suicide. Meanwhile, Kralik arrives at the Cafe Nizza, where he discovers that his mystery woman is Novak. Despite his disappointment, Kralik goes in and talks with her, pretending he
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#17331144502982486-810: Is nothing, follow your own road, deliver her safe, bring her back safe – safety is all that is required." In particular, Charles MacIver's constant inspections were responsible for the firm's safety discipline. In 1850 the American Collins Line and the British Inman Line started new Atlantic steamship services. The American Government supplied Collins with a large annual subsidy to operate four wooden paddlers that were superior to Cunard's best, as they demonstrated with three Blue Riband -winning voyages between 1850 and 1854. Meanwhile, Inman showed that iron-hulled, screw propelled steamers of modest speed could be profitable without subsidy. Inman also became
2599-665: Is ranked #28 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions , and is listed in Time ' s All-Time 100 Movies. In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Alfred Kralik is the top salesman at a leathergoods shop in Budapest owned by the high-strung Mr. Hugo Matuschek. Kralik's coworkers at Matuschek and Company include his friend, Pirovitch,
2712-447: Is there to meet Pirovitch. In his mind, Kralik tries to reconcile the cultured woman of his letters with his annoying coworker—secretly hoping that things might work out with her. Concerned that Kralik's presence will spoil her first meeting with her "far superior" mystery correspondent, she calls Kralik a "little insignificant clerk" and asks him to leave. Later that night, Kralik goes to the hospital to visit Mr. Matuschek, who offers him
2825-671: The Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida . Almost simultaneously, a script adapted by Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins was produced by the Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto . In the early 1940s he also wrote a screenplay Katherine which was picked up by MGM and became the motion picture The Big City (1948) starring Margaret O'Brien , Robert Preston , Danny Thomas and George Murphy . The screenplay examined
2938-814: The Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line . To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd , to raise capital. In 1902, White Star joined the American-owned International Mercantile Marine Co. In response, the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and
3051-728: The Celtic -class liners on the secondary Liverpool–New York route. In 1911 Cunard entered the St Lawrence trade by purchasing the Thompson line, and absorbed the Royal line five years later. Not to be outdone, both White Star and Hamburg–America each ordered a trio of superliners. The White Star Olympic -class liners at 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h) and the Hapag Imperator -class liners at 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h) were larger and more luxurious than
3164-573: The Crimean War Cunard supplied 11 ships for war service. Every British North Atlantic route was suspended until 1856 except Cunard's Liverpool–Halifax–Boston service. While Collins' fortunes improved because of the lack of competition during the war, it collapsed in 1858 after its subsidy for carrying mail across the Atlantic was reduced by the US Congress. Cunard emerged as the leading carrier of saloon passengers and in 1862 commissioned Scotia ,
3277-578: The Ernst Lubitsch motion picture The Shop Around the Corner (1940), starring James Stewart , Frank Morgan , and Margaret Sullavan . A few years later it was re-filmed as In the Good Old Summertime (1949), a semi-musical showcase for Judy Garland , starring Garland, Van Johnson , and S. Z. Sakall . In 1963, the play was produced as a full Broadway musical called She Loves Me , with book by Joe Masteroff . She Loves Me had music by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock ( Fiorello! , Fiddler on
3390-689: The Guion Line when that firm defaulted on payments to the shipyard. That year, Cunard also commissioned the record-breakers Umbria and Etruria capable of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h). Starting in 1887, Cunard's newly won leadership on the North Atlantic was threatened when Inman and then White Star responded with twin screw record-breakers. In 1893 Cunard countered with two even faster Blue Riband winners, Campania and Lucania , capable of 21.8 knots (40.4 km/h). No sooner had Cunard re-established its supremacy than new rivals emerged. Beginning in
3503-538: The Lower East Side of New York City, bringing his charm and reputation to an immigrant audience clamouring for all things Hungarian and, as everyone else, for relief from the Great Depression that was gripping the nation. He was, for a time, the "toast of the town", locally at least. He then called himself Miklós László, a purely Hungarian name giving him full acceptance and cachet within the community. But fame in
Miklós László - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-405: The ocean liner industry. In 1960 a government-appointed committee recommended the construction of project Q3, a conventional 75,000 GRT liner to replace Queen Mary . Under the plan, the government would lend Cunard the majority of the liner's cost. However, some Cunard stockholders questioned the plan at the June 1961 board meeting because transatlantic flights were gaining in popularity. By 1963
3729-635: The 1870s Cunard passage times were longer than either White Star or Inman. In 1867 responsibility for mail contracts was transferred back to the Post Office and opened for bid. Cunard, Inman and the German Norddeutscher Lloyd were each awarded one of the three weekly New York mail services. The fortnightly route to Halifax formerly held by Cunard went to Inman. Cunard continued to receive an £80,000 subsidy (equivalent to £8,947,514 in 2023), while NDL and Inman were paid sea postage. Two years later
3842-436: The 1940 film, especially during the first date. Screen credit of You've Got Mail is given to Miklós László for Parfumerie (the play on which the 1940 film is based), but in a nod to the earlier film, one of the protagonists of You've Got Mail owns a bookstore named "The Shop Around the Corner". The 1996 Indian Tamil-language romance film Kadhal Kottai directed by Agathiyan is an unofficial remake of The Shop Around
3955-571: The Allied powers as war reparations. In 1916 Cunard Line completed its European headquarters in Liverpool , moving in on 12 June of that year. The grand neo-Classical Cunard Building was the third of Liverpool's Three Graces . The headquarters were used by Cunard until the 1960s. In 1917, Cunard's facilities were co-opted by the War Office to build aircraft for the expanding Royal Flying Corps , later
4068-655: The Atlantic, Britannia reached Halifax in 12 days and 10 hours, averaging 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h), before proceeding to Boston. Such relatively brisk crossings quickly became the norm for the Cunard Line: during 1840–41, mean Liverpool–Halifax times for the quartet were 13 days 6 hours to Halifax and 11 days 4 hours homeward. Two larger ships were quickly ordered, one to replace the Columbia , which sank at Seal Island, Nova Scotia , in 1843 without loss of life. By 1845, steamship lines led by Cunard carried more saloon passengers than
4181-523: The COVID-19 pandemic. The ship has since been named Queen Anne . The British Government started operating monthly mail brigs from Falmouth, Cornwall , to New York in 1756. These ships carried few non-governmental passengers and no cargo. In 1818, the Black Ball Line opened a regularly scheduled New York–Liverpool service with clipper ships , beginning an era when American sailing packets dominated
4294-419: The Corner was dramatized in two half-hour broadcasts of The Screen Guild Theater , first on September 29, 1940, with Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, second on February 26, 1945, with Van Johnson and Phyllis Thaxter . It was also dramatized as a one-hour program on Lux Radio Theater ' s June 23, 1941 broadcast with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche . The film spawned a musical remake, In
4407-455: The Corner . Streaming audio Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( / ˈ k j uː n ɑː r d / ) is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton , England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc . Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda . In 1839, Samuel Cunard was awarded
4520-550: The Cunard Line and the White Star Line were experiencing financial difficulties. David Kirkwood , MP for Clydebank where the unfinished Hull Number 534 had been sitting idle for two and a half years, made a passionate plea in the House of Commons for funding to finish the ship and restart the dormant British economy. The government offered Cunard a loan of £3 million to complete Hull Number 534 and an additional £5 million to build
4633-512: The Cunard brand and the company began Project Queen Mary to build a new ocean liner/cruise ship for the transatlantic route. Following the Carnival acquisition, Cunard Line introduced White Star Service to Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia , as a reference to the high standards of customer service expected of the company. The term is still today onboard its newer vessels. The company has also created
Miklós László - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-524: The Cunarders, but not as fast. Cunard also ordered a new ship, Aquitania , capable of 24.0 knots (44.4 km/h), to complete the Liverpool mail fleet. Events prevented the expected competition between the three sets of superliners. White Star's Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, both White Star's Britannic and Cunard's Lusitania were war losses, and the three Hapag super-liners were handed over to
4859-532: The Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression. In 1934, the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish Queen Mary and to build a second ship, Queen Elizabeth , on the condition that Cunard merged with the then-ailing White Star Line to form Cunard-White Star Line . Cunard owned two-thirds of
4972-409: The Good Old Summertime (1949), which stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson. The 1963 Broadway musical She Loves Me was also inspired by the play and the film. The film You've Got Mail (1998), with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan , revolves around two people who dislike each other while developing an anonymous romance by email correspondence. The film uses plot elements and dialogue lines similar to
5085-616: The Hungarian equivalent of the American Pulitzer Prize – quite an achievement for a man barely into his 30s. László could have stayed in Hungary, but World War II was approaching, and many Hungarians of Jewish extraction, recognizing the approaching dangers, emigrated. So in 1938, Nicholaus László embarked for the USA. He quickly established himself in the local Hungarian community on
5198-609: The Mersey into Liverpool to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Cunard. The ships performed manoeuvres, including 180-degree turns, as the Red Arrows performed a fly-past. Just over a year later Queen Elizabeth returned to Liverpool under Captain Olsen to take part in the celebrations of the centenary of the Cunard Building on 2 June 2016. In September 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship
5311-778: The North Atlantic saloon-passenger trade that lasted until the introduction of steamships . A Committee of Parliament decided in 1836 that to become more competitive, the mail packets operated by the Post Office should be replaced by private shipping companies. The Admiralty assumed responsibility for managing the contracts. The famed Arctic explorer Admiral Sir William Edward Parry was appointed as Comptroller of Steam Machinery and Packet Service in April 1837. Nova Scotians led by their young Assembly Speaker, Joseph Howe , lobbied for steam service to Halifax . On his arrival in London in May 1838, Howe discussed
5424-660: The Queens was in drydock. The ex-Cunard liner Berengaria was sold for scrap in 1938 after a series of fires. During the Second World War the Queens carried over two million servicemen and were credited by Churchill as helping to shorten the war by a year. All four of the large Cunard-White Star express liners, the two Queens, Aquitania and Mauretania survived, but many of the secondary ships were lost. Both Lancastria and Laconia were sunk with heavy loss of life. In 1947 Cunard purchased White Star's interest, and by 1949
5537-496: The RAF. Due to First World War losses, Cunard began a post-war rebuilding programme including eleven intermediate liners. It acquired the former Hapag Imperator (renamed Berengaria ) to replace the lost Lusitania as the running mate for Mauretania and Aquitania , and Southampton replaced Liverpool as the British destination for the three-ship express service. By 1926 Cunard's fleet
5650-530: The Roof , The Apple Tree ) and was nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical , with Jack Cassidy winning for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical . She Loves Me is also often referred to as the "Ice Cream Musical" because of a signature song and performance by Barbara Cook . She Loves Me was revived in 1993 by the Roundabout Theatre Company and ran for 354 performances. It
5763-529: The United States, to Carnival UK , the primary operating company of Carnival plc. As the UK-listed holding company of the group, Carnival plc had executive control of all Carnival Group activities in the UK, with the headquarters of all UK-based brands, including Cunard, in offices at Carnival House. In 2004, the 36-year-old QE2 was replaced on the North Atlantic by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2 . Caronia
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#17331144502985876-438: The United States. (The Juilliard library lists a handwritten manuscript of "St. Lazar's Pharmacy" in its catalogue of collections.) Perhaps the reason we have not seen very many of the plays Miklós László wrote in his early career and during his life is because they were never effectively translated from Hungarian to English and as such have never really had an opportunity to be viewed by American audiences as they were viewed in
5989-445: The White Star Academy, an in-house programme for preparing new crew members for the service standards expected on Cunard ships. By 2001, Carnival was the largest cruise company, followed by Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess Cruises , which had recently separated from its parent, P&O. When Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess agreed to merge, Carnival countered with a hostile takeover bid for P&O Princess. Carnival rejected
6102-446: The basis of weight, at a rate substantially higher than paid by the United States Post Office . Cunard's weekly New York mail sailings were reduced to one and White Star was awarded the third mail sailing. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday a liner from one of the three firms departed Liverpool with the mail for New York. To raise additional capital, in 1879 the privately held British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
6215-441: The cargo business and focus solely on cruise ships. Cunard's cargo fleet was sold off between 1989 and 1991, with a single container ship, the second Atlantic Conveyor , remaining under Cunard ownership until 1996. In 1993, Cunard entered into a 10-year agreement to handle marketing, sales and reservations for the Crown Cruise Line , and its three vessels joined the Cunard fleet under the Cunard Crown banner. In 1994 Cunard purchased
6328-404: The company US$ 13 million. After Cunard reported a US$ 25 million loss in 1995, Trafalgar assigned a new CEO to the line, who concluded that the company had management issues. In 1996 the Norwegian conglomerate Kværner acquired Trafalgar House, and attempted to sell Cunard. When there were no takers, Kværner made substantial investments to turn around the company's tarnished reputation. In 1998,
6441-402: The company had dropped the White Star name and was renamed "Cunard Line". Also in 1947 the company commissioned five freighters and two cargo liners . Caronia , was completed in 1949 as a permanent cruise liner and Aquitania was retired the next year. Cunard was in an especially good position to take advantage of the increase in North Atlantic travel during the 1950s and the Queens were
6554-467: The country of his birth. Translations exist for many of his works in French and even German, but few in English. The original Hungarian works continue to be performed to this day throughout Hungary on an ongoing basis. The Shop Around the Corner The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 American romantic comedy - drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan , James Stewart and Frank Morgan . The screenplay
6667-458: The cruise line conglomerate Carnival Corporation acquired 62% of Cunard for US$ 425 million. Coincidently, it was the same percentage that Cunard owned in Cunard-White Star Line and the company historian later stated the acquisition was in-part due to the success of James Cameron ’s blockbuster 1997 film, Titanic . The next year Carnival acquired the remaining 38% and stock for US$ 205 million. Ultimately, Carnival sued Kværner claiming that
6780-447: The diversity and underlying unity of human cultures in the microcosm of a New York City adoption. Only one other of Miklós László's plays was ever widely produced in the Americas. Entitled St. Lazar's Pharmacy it is the story of a man learning the lessons of the true value of “home” as compared to the many lures of a false and deceiving world of empty promises. The play starred famed actress Miriam Hopkins and toured all over Canada and
6893-422: The enterprise with his fellow Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), a shipowner who was also visiting London on business. Cunard and Howe were associates and Howe also owed Cunard £300 (equivalent to £34,119 in 2023). Cunard returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government. The Rebellions of 1837–1838 were ongoing and London realised that the proposed Halifax service
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#17331144502987006-447: The equally conservative Charles MacIver assumed Cunard's role. The firm retained its reluctance about change and was overtaken by competitors that more quickly adopted new technology. In 1866 Inman started to build screw propelled express liners that matched Cunard's premier unit, Scotia . Cunard responded with its first high speed screw propellered steamer, Russia which was followed by two larger editions. In 1871 both companies faced
7119-404: The ex-White Star Majestic was sold when Hull Number 534, now named Queen Mary , replaced her in the express mail service. Queen Mary reached 30.99 knots (57.39 km/h) on her 1938 Blue Riband voyage. Cunard-White Star started construction on Queen Elizabeth , and a smaller ship, the second Mauretania , joined the fleet and could also be used on the Atlantic run when one of
7232-437: The family to total destitution. And then unexpectedly his father died and Nicholas was left as the sole provider for his mother and eight siblings. Writing was not sufficient to feed a family and pay the bills, so Niki turned to a host of jobs, none too small to earn the pay that was necessary to keep the family afloat. As he told it, he worked as a candy-maker, collar salesman, necktie agent, script typist, clerk and even worked as
7345-451: The first British independent airline to operate pure jet airliners , as a result of a £6 million order for two new Boeing 707–420 passenger aircraft. The order had been placed (including an option on a third aircraft) in expectation of being granted traffic rights for transatlantic scheduled services. The airline took delivery of its first Bristol Britannia aircraft on 5 April 1960 (on lease from Cubana ). Cunard hoped to capture
7458-417: The first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier , the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held
7571-456: The first ship was ready, they formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company with initial capital of £270,000, later increased to £300,000 (£34,214,789 in 2023). Cunard supplied £55,000. Burns supervised ship construction, MacIver was responsible for day-to-day operations, and Cunard was the "first among equals" in the management structure. When MacIver died in 1845, his younger brother Charles assumed his responsibilities for
7684-419: The first steamship line to carry steerage passengers. Both of the newcomers suffered major disasters in 1854. The next year, Cunard put pressure on Collins by commissioning its first iron-hulled paddler, Persia . That pressure may well have been a factor in a second major disaster suffered by the Collins Line, the loss of its steamer Pacific . Pacific sailed out of Liverpool just a few days before Persia
7797-446: The first time as an English-language play by the theater department of the University of Illinois , after James Berton Harris, the director of the department's Summerfest, found a translation of the original script in papers donated by Samson Raphaelson to the university's Rare Book and Special Collections Library. A new adaptation of the play by E. P. Dowdall, a nephew of Miklós László, premiered in December 2009 as The Perfume Shop at
7910-445: The four ocean-going steamers of the Britannia Class , departed Liverpool. By coincidence, the steamer's departure had patriotic significance on both sides of the Atlantic: she was named Britannia , and sailed on 4 July. Even on her maiden voyage, however, her performance indicated that the new era she heralded would be much more beneficial for Britain than the US. At a time when the typical packet ship might take several weeks to cross
8023-450: The greatest films ever made, having garnered eight critics' votes. The work was also 58th in BBC 's 2015 poll of the best American films. Film historian David Thomson wrote: Among the greatest of all films. This is a love story about a couple too much in love with love to fall tidily into one another's arms. Though it all works out finally, a mystery is left, plus the fear of how easily good people can miss their chances. ...[The movie]
8136-610: The idea of selling Cunard to resolve antitrust issues with the acquisition. European and US regulators approved the merger without requiring Cunard's sale. After the merger was completed, Carnival moved Cunard's headquarters to the offices of Princess Cruises in Santa Clarita, California , so that administrative, financial and technology services could be combined. Carnival House opened in Southampton in 2009, and executive control of Cunard Line transferred from Carnival Corporation in
8249-494: The insular Hungarian language-speaking community of Yorkville, Manhattan , New York is not the same as making it as a playwright to a larger English-speaking American audience. Miklós, also known as "Miki", would need to further pursue his opportunities. In the fall of 1939 he married Florence Herman, an aspiring young actress and the daughter of a successful local entrepreneur, a Cunard Line travel agent, landlord and financial exchange merchant. On December 28th, 1944, he completed
8362-400: The introduction of jet airliners in 1958, most of the conventional Atlantic liners were gone. Mauretania was retired in 1965, Queen Mary and Caronia in 1967, and Queen Elizabeth in 1968. Two of the new intermediate liners were sold by 1970 and the other two were converted to cruise ships . All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags until 4 November 1968, when
8475-479: The last White Star ship, Nomadic was withdrawn from service. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired. In 1971, when the line was purchased by the conglomerate Trafalgar House , Cunard operated cargo and passenger ships, hotels and resorts. Its cargo fleet consisted of 42 ships in service, with 20 on order. The flagship of
8588-521: The last paddle steamer to win the Blue Riband. Inman carried more passengers because of its success in the immigrant trade. To compete, in May 1863 Cunard started a secondary Liverpool–New York service with iron-hulled screw steamers that catered for steerage passengers. Beginning with China , the line also replaced the last three wooden paddlers on the New York mail service with iron screw steamers that only carried saloon passengers. When Cunard died in 1865,
8701-559: The late 1860s several German firms commissioned liners that were almost as fast as the British mail steamers from Liverpool. In 1897 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of Norddeutscher Lloyd raised the Blue Riband to 22.3 knots (41.3 km/h), and was followed by a succession of German record-breakers. Rather than match the new German speedsters, White Star – a rival which Cunard line would merge with – commissioned four very profitable Big Four ocean liners of more moderate speed for its secondary Liverpool–New York service. In 1902 White Star joined
8814-449: The latter's aircraft in the event of capacity shortfalls. This maximised combined fleet use. The joint fleet use agreement did not cover Cunard Eagle's European scheduled, trooping and charter operations. However, the joint venture was not successful for Cunard and lasted only until 1966, when BOAC bought out Cunard's share. Cunard also sold a majority holding in the remainder of Cunard Eagle back to its founder in 1963. Within ten years of
8927-653: The licence was revoked in November 1961 after main competitor, state-owned BOAC , appealed to Aviation Minister Peter Thorneycroft . On 5 May 1962, the airline's first 707 inaugurated scheduled jet services from London Heathrow to Bermuda and Nassau. The new jet service – marketed as the Cunarder Jet in the UK and as the Londoner in the western hemisphere – replaced the earlier Britannia operation on this route. Cunard Eagle succeeded in extending this service to Miami despite
9040-507: The loss of its original transatlantic scheduled licence and BOAC's claim that there was insufficient traffic to warrant a direct service from the UK. A load factor of 56% was achieved at the outset. Inauguration of the first British through-plane service between London and Miami also helped Cunard Eagle increase utilisation of its 707s. BOAC countered Eagle's move to establish itself as a full-fledged scheduled transatlantic competitor on its Heathrow–JFK flagship route by forming BOAC-Cunard as
9153-452: The name Leitner László Nicholaus, last name first as is the custom in Hungary . Nicholaus grew up in Budapest . His family was in the entertainment business, and he naturally gravitated toward a career in entertainment as well. He was a clever and witty lad, always amusing friends and family with his quips and characterizations . He rubbed elbows with the Hungarian literati of the day including
9266-488: The new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947; the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950. Upon the end of the Second World War, Cunard regained its position as the largest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, it operated 12 ships to the United States and Canada. After 1958, transatlantic passenger ships became increasingly unprofitable because of the introduction of jet airliners . Cunard undertook
9379-399: The next 35 years. (For more detail of the first investors in the Cunard Line and also the early life of Charles MacIver, see Liverpool Nautical Research Society's Second Merseyside Maritime History , pp. 33–37 1991.) In May 1840 the coastal paddle steamer Unicorn made the company's first voyage to Halifax to begin the supplementary service to Montreal. Two months later the first of
9492-524: The other pioneer transatlantic steamship company, did not submit a tender, the St George Steam Packet Company , owner of Sirius , bid £45,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax service and £65,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax–New York service. The Admiralty rejected both tenders because neither bid offered to begin services early enough. Cunard, who was back in Halifax, unfortunately did not know of
9605-495: The passenger fleet was the two-year-old Queen Elizabeth 2 . The fleet also included the remaining two intermediate liners from the 1950s, plus two purpose-built cruise ships on order. Trafalgar acquired two additional cruise ships and disposed of the intermediate liners and most of the cargo fleet. During the Falklands War , QE2 and Cunard Countess were chartered as troopships while Cunard's container ship Atlantic Conveyor
9718-658: The plan had been changed to a dual-purpose 55,000 GRT ship designed to cruise in the off-season. The new vessel design was known as Q4. Ultimately, this ship came into service in 1969 as the 70,300 GRT Queen Elizabeth 2 . Cunard attempted to address the challenge presented by jet airliners by diversifying its business into air travel. In March 1960, Cunard bought a 60% shareholding in British Eagle , an independent (non-government owned) airline, for £30 million, and changed its name to Cunard Eagle Airways . The support from this new shareholder enabled Cunard Eagle to become
9831-548: The playwright Ferenc Molnár , whose most famous work Liliom is known to English-speaking audiences as the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel . It only made sense then that Niki was encouraged to put pen to paper and as a young adult began to produce his own little one-scene plays for the various small theatres and cabarets around the city. These “little plays” became his fame and provided spare income to support his “young man with possibilities” lifestyle. It even afforded him
9944-470: The rights to the name of the Royal Viking Line and its Royal Viking Sun . The rest of Royal Viking Line's fleet stayed with the line's owner, Norwegian Cruise Line . By the mid-1990s Cunard was ailing. The company was embarrassed in late 1994 when Queen Elizabeth 2 experienced numerous defects during the first voyage of the season because of unfinished renovation work. Claims from passengers cost
10057-558: The sailing packets. Three years later, the British Government increased the annual subsidy to £156,000 so that Cunard could double its frequency. Four additional wooden paddlers were ordered and alternate sailings were direct to New York instead of the Halifax–Boston route. The sailing packet lines were now reduced to the immigrant trade. From the beginning Cunard's ships used the line's distinctive red funnel with two or three narrow black bands and black top. It appears that Robert Napier
10170-481: The service was rebid and Cunard was awarded a seven-year contract for two weekly New York mail services at £70,000 per annum. Inman was awarded a seven-year contract for the third weekly New York service at £35,000 per year. The Panic of 1873 started a five-year shipping depression that strained the finances of all of the Atlantic competitors. In 1876 the mail contracts expired and the Post Office ended both Cunard's and Inman's subsidies. The new contracts were paid on
10283-491: The ships were in worse condition than represented and Kværner agreed to refund US$ 50 million to Carnival. Each of Carnival's cruise lines is designed to appeal to a different market, and Carnival was interested in rebuilding Cunard as a luxury brand trading on its British traditions. Under the slogan "Advancing Civilization Since 1840", Cunard's advertising campaign sought to emphasise the elegance and mystique of ocean travel. Only Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia continued under
10396-491: The shop, talk about their planned dates for the evening and Miss Novak reveals that she had a crush on Kralik when they first met. After pretending to have met Novak's mystery man, Kralik puts a red carnation in his lapel and reveals to her that he is her mystery correspondent and they kiss. The Shop Around the Corner has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 93 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.8/10. The critical consensus states: "Deftly directed by Ernst Lubitsch from
10509-507: The tender until after the deadline. He returned to London and started negotiations with Admiral Parry, who was Cunard's good friend from when Parry was a young officer stationed in Halifax 20 years earlier. Cunard offered Parry a fortnightly service beginning in May 1840. While Cunard did not then own a steamship, he had been an investor in an earlier steamship venture, Royal William , and owned coal mines in Nova Scotia. Cunard's major backer
10622-402: The time to work on some larger more comprehensive works which he would eventually complete as full multi-act plays. Money was no issue for the young László. His father continued to do very well with his own business endeavours and at one-point, anecdotal information described the father as one of the wealthiest men in Hungary. But tragically, poor management, high living and wild spending brought
10735-427: The transition and became a fully naturalized American citizen and officially adopted the single name now most frequently referenced, Miklós László. During his lifetime he had numerous writing contracts with MGM . A few projects became major motion pictures, while most did not. The writing experiments and the accompanying advances though kept Miki and wife Florence able to make ends meet, barely. Again, other jobs became
10848-423: The two. They get into an argument over Mr. Matuschek's idea to sell a cigarette box that plays " Ochi Chërnye " when opened. After their exchange, Klara Novak enters the gift shop looking for a job. Kralik tells her there are no openings, but when she is able to sell one of the cigarette boxes (as a candy box), Mr. Matuschek hires her. However, she and Kralik do not get along. Mr. Matuschek begins to suspect his wife
10961-568: The vessel registry of all three of its ships in service to Hamilton, Bermuda , the first time in the 171-year history of the company that it had no ships registered in the United Kingdom. The captains of ships registered in Bermuda can marry couples at sea, whereas those of UK-registered ships cannot, and weddings at sea are a lucrative market. On 25 May 2015, the three Cunard ships – Queen Mary 2 , Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria – sailed up
11074-584: The well-capitalized American combine, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM), which owned the American Line , including the old Inman Line, and other lines. IMM also had trade agreements with Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Negotiators approached Cunard's management in late 1901 and early 1902, but did not succeed in drawing the Cunard Line into IMM, then being formed with support of financier J. P. Morgan. British prestige
11187-541: Was Robert Napier whose Robert Napier and Sons was the Royal Navy's supplier of steam engines. He also had the strong backing of Nova Scotian political leaders at the time when London needed to rebuild support in British North America after the rebellion. Over Great Western's protests, in May 1839 Parry accepted Cunard's tender of £55,000 for a three-ship Liverpool–Halifax service with an extension to Boston and
11300-426: Was also important for the military. That November, Parry released a tender for North Atlantic monthly mail service to Halifax beginning in April 1839 using steamships with 300 horsepower. The Great Western Steamship Company , which had opened its pioneer Bristol–New York service earlier that year, bid £45,000 for a monthly Bristol–Halifax–New York service using three ships of 450 horsepower. While British American ,
11413-495: Was at stake. The British Government provided Cunard with an annual subsidy of £150,000 plus a low interest loan of £2.5 million (equivalent to £340 million in 2023), to pay for the construction of the two superliners, the Blue Riband winners Lusitania and Mauretania , capable of 26.0 knots (48.2 km/h). In 1903 the firm started a Fiume –New York service with calls at Italian ports and Gibraltar. The next year Cunard commissioned two ships to compete directly with
11526-455: Was critical of Trafalgar's management of Cunard and their failure to correct Queen Elizabeth 2' s mechanical problems. In 1984, the Commission ruled in favour of the merger, but Trafalgar decided against proceeding. In 1988, Cunard acquired Ellerman Lines and its small fleet of cargo vessels, organising the business as Cunard-Ellerman, however, only a few years later, Cunard decided to abandon
11639-552: Was due to depart on her maiden voyage, and was never seen again; it was widely assumed at the time that the captain had pushed his ship to the limit to stay ahead of the new Cunarder, and had likely collided with an iceberg during what was a particularly severe winter in the North Atlantic. A few months later Persia inflicted a further blow to the Collins Line, regaining the Blue Riband with a Liverpool–New York voyage of 9 days 16 hours, averaging 13.11 knots (24.28 km/h). During
11752-493: Was larger than before the war, and White Star was in decline, having been sold by IMM. Despite the dramatic reduction in North Atlantic passengers caused by the shipping depression beginning in 1929, the Germans, Italians and the French commissioned new "ships of state" prestige liners. The German Bremen took the Blue Riband at 27.8 knots (51.5 km/h) in 1933, the Italian Rex recorded 28.9 knots (53.5 km/h) on
11865-410: Was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical as well as in all four acting categories, with Boyd Gaines winning for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical . It was revived again in 2016 for a limited run at Studio 54 from February to July and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, with David Rockwell winning for Best Scenic Design of
11978-528: Was one of the significant factors in the firm's early success. Both of the first transatlantic lines failed after major accidents: the British and American line collapsed after the President foundered in a gale, and the Great Western Steamship Company failed after Great Britain stranded because of a navigation error. Cunard's orders to his masters were, "Your ship is loaded, take her; speed
12091-521: Was ordered for the fleet. It would be a modified hull platform of Holland America's Pinnacle class Koningsdam . The ship was original supposed to be delivered in 2022, but would eventually be pushed back 2 years. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cunard cut short three world-cruises, with the passengers being flown home. The White Star Line flag is raised on all current Cunard ships and
12204-473: Was reorganised as a public stock corporation, the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd . Under Cunard's new chairman, John Burns (1839–1900), son of one of the firm's original founders, Cunard commissioned four steel-hulled express liners beginning with Servia of 1881, the first passenger liner with electric lighting throughout. In 1884, Cunard purchased the almost new Blue Riband winner Oregon from
12317-410: Was replaced on the transatlantic runs by Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ). The line also operates Queen Victoria ( QV ) and Queen Elizabeth ( QE ). As of 2022, Cunard is the only shipping company to still operate a scheduled passenger service between Europe and North America. In 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship would join its fleet. This was initially scheduled for 2022 but delayed until 2024 due to
12430-452: Was responsible for this feature. His shipyard in Glasgow used this combination previously in 1830 on Thomas Assheton Smith 's private steam yacht "Menai". The renovation of her model by Glasgow Museum of Transport revealed that she had vermilion funnels with black bands and black top. The line also adopted a naming convention that utilised words ending in "IA". Cunard's reputation for safety
12543-585: Was sold and Queen Elizabeth 2 continued to cruise until she was retired in 2008. In 2007 Cunard added Queen Victoria , a cruise ship of the Vista class originally designed for Holland America Line . To reinforce Cunard traditions, Queen Victoria has a small museum on board. Cunard commissioned a second Vista class cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth , in 2010. In 2010, Cunard appointed its first female commander, Captain Inger Klein Olsen. In 2011, Cunard changed
12656-592: Was sunk by an Exocet missile. Cunard acquired the Norwegian America Line in 1983, with two classic ocean liner /cruise ships. Also in 1983, the Trafalgar attempted a hostile takeover of P&O , another large passenger and cargo shipping line, which was founded three years before Cunard. P&O objected and forced the issue to the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission . In their filing, P&O
12769-400: Was written by Samson Raphaelson based on the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László . Eschewing regional politics in the years leading up to World War II , the film is about two employees at a leathergoods shop in Budapest who can barely stand each other, not realizing they are falling in love as anonymous correspondents through their letters. The Shop Around the Corner
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