The First and the Last is a 1919 play by the British writer John Galsworthy. It was based on a short story published in 1917. It was staged successfully in the early 1920s by Basil Dean featuring the actors Owen Nares and Meggie Albanesi.[1] In 1937, it was adapted by Dean for the film 21 Days, which was not released until 1940, starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.[2]
Burt Lancaster and Harold Hecht also procured the filming rights in 1948, hoping to produce the movie through their film production company Norma Productions.[3] The film was to star Marlon Brando and Meg Mundy before it fell through.[4]
In 1933 a radio adaptation in Czech První a poslední directed by Josef Bezdíček) was broadcast on Czech radio.[5]