The Card originated as a novel by Arnold Bennett.
In 1952, a film adaptation by Eric Ambler, directed by British director Ronald Neame, was released. Starring Alec Guinness, Petula Clark, Valerie Hobson, and Glynis Johns, it centered on a poor boy who, through hard work and more than a little cunning, becomes a wealthy businessman. For Guinness, playing the romantic lead was a departure from his previously comic roles, and the film was one of the first adult screen roles for Clark who, as the hero's intended bride, gave Guinness his first screen kiss. (The film was released as The Promoter in the United States).
In 1975, the songwriting (and married) team of Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent composed the score for a musical stage version in London's West End. Its book was by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, and the production starred Jim Dale and Millicent Martin in the lead roles. (Coincidentally, Hatch and Trent wrote a considerable number of Clark's pop hits in the 1960s and '70s.) Although not a huge success, an original cast album was released, and one of the show's tunes, Nothing Succeeds Like Success, was recorded by Clark as one of her album tracks.
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