Present Laughter (Play of the Week)

"Present Laughter" is a 1967 British television version of the play of the same name by Noël Coward. It aired as a Play of the Week. Peter O'Toole starred. It was a co-production between Associated Television and O'Toole's own company, Keep Films. It aired in the United States in 1968. It was O'Toole's first appearance on television after becoming a movie star and marked his debut on American television in a television drama.

Production
Coward – who originated the lead role on stage – advised O'Toole "Don't try and copy me. Be yourself." Honor Blackman was offered the role of the seductress but asked to play the wife. She had a high-profile at the time due to her success in Goldfinger.

The play was one of four two-hour specials Lew Grade of ATV sold to American television in October 1966 for £2.5 million along with episodes of The Prisoner and The Saint. It was shot in colour.

Reception
The Leicester Mercury said "there was not a dull moment".

The show was broadcast in the United States as part of a series of specials on ABC. The Los Angeles Times called it "great fun and it played beautifully on TV. O'Toole was a delight."