A famous writer vanishes into silence—his son digs up the glamorous, messy truth.
In the 1920s, Michael Arlen was one of the most popular and acclaimed writers in the world, but he mysteriously stopped writing altogether. His son tries to work out why this was.
Acting
Ned Sherrin absolutely nails Noël Coward's acid-tongued charm.
Direction
Cooke captures 1920s literary London with lived-in authenticity.
Writing
Arlen's own son wrestling with his father's silence—meta and moving.
Director
Alan Cooke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Martin Shaw playing Michael J. Arlen is actually playing his own father—the real Michael J. Arlen wrote the source memoir.
Michael Arlen's 1920s novel 'The Green Hat' scandalized readers with its frank treatment of syphilis and liberated women—ironically, his own silencing became the greater mystery.
US
