Herbert Wilcox Movies
One of England's top producer-directors from the '20s until World War II, Herbert Wilcox was born in Ireland and worked as a journalist before serving as a flyer with the British during World War I. He entered the movie business as a distributor in 1919, and three years later began producing movies. Wilcox was one of the few producers in England during the '20s with a Hollywood-style flair for showmanship, and occasionally imported American stars such as Dorothy Gish for his films. He made his greatest single contribution to films in 1926 by founding Elstree Studios, which remained a major production facility right into the '80s. As a producer, he had no peer during the '20s, and was rivalled in the '30s only by Sir Alexander Korda. Korda quickly succeeded in international production on a scale that Wilcox found hard to top, but in England, Wilcox remained a major figure, especially in connection with the movies he directed and produced for actress Anna Neagle, his future wife. Sixty Glorious Years (1939) was a groundbreaking film, as a dramatization of the life of a British monarch. He went to Hollywood in the wake of the latter movie, but was not able to repeat its success, and returned to England, where he was never able to repeat his pre-war success, although he did co-produce one superb film, The Beggar's Opera (1954), starring Laurence Olivier and directed by Peter Brook. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1945
I Live in Grosvenor Square is better known by its American release title, A Yank in London. Anna Neagle, whose husband Herbert Wilcox produced and directed the film, stars as Lady Patricia Fairfax, who enters into a brief wartime romance with American air force sergeant John Patterson (Dean Jagger). The plot proper is based on a true WW II incident, wherein an Air Corps crew deliberately sacrificed their lives to save an English village of no strategic importance. The multinational supporting cast includes Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Jane Darwell, and real-life American PFC Elliot Arluck. At the time of its release, I Live in Grosvenor Square was praised for the authenticity of its settings and characterizations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Dean Jagger, (more)
- 1944
The Yellow Canary was one of several wartime collaborations between British producer-director Herbert Wilcox and Hollywood's RKO Radio Pictures. The film stars Wilcox's wife Anna Neagle as pretty aristocrat Sally Maitland. Having alienated many of her friends with her prewar Nazi sympathies, Sally continues hobnobbing with the Third Reich once war has been declared. Actually, her pro-German activities are a sham; she's actually working hand and glove with the British government to smash an Axis spy ring in Canada. Along for the ride is British intelligence officer Jim Garrick (Richard Greene), who ultimately falls in love with Sally. There's a "mystery" angle to the plotline of The Yellow Canary, but it is largely ignored when the story takes a melodramatic turn in the last few reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Richard Greene, (more)
- 1943
The 80-star cast of Forever and a Day would certainly not have been feasible had not most of the actors and production people turned over their salaries to British war relief -- a point driven home during the lengthy opening credits by an unseen narrator. The true star of the film is a stately old manor house in London, built in 1804 by a British admiral (C. Aubrey Smith) and blitzed in 1940 by one Adolf Hitler. Through the portals of this house pass a vast array of Britons, from high-born to low. The earliest scenes involve gay blade Lt. William Trimble (Ray Milland), wronged country-girl Susan (Anna Neagle), and wicked landowner Ambrose Pomfret (Claude Rains). We move on to a comic interlude involving dotty Mr. Simpson (Reginald Owen), eternally drunken butler Bellamy (Charles Laughton), and cockney plumbers Mr. Dabb (Cedric Hardwicke) and Wilkins (Buster Keaton). Maidservant Jenny (Ida Lupino) takes over the plot during the Boer War era, while the World War I sequence finds the house converted into a way-station for soldiers (including Robert Cummings) and anxious families (including Roland Young and Gladys Cooper). Finally we arrive in 1940, with American Gates Pomfret (Kent Smith) and lady-of-the-house Lesley Trimble (Ruth Warrick) surveying the bombed-out manor, and exulting over the fact that the portrait of the home's founder, Adm. Eustace Trimble (Smith), has remained intact -- symbolic proof of England's durability in its darkest hours. The huge cast includes Dame May Whitty, Edward Everett Horton, Wendy Barrie, Merle Oberon, Nigel Bruce, Richard Haydn, Donald Crisp, and a host of others -- some appearing in sizeable roles, others (like Arthur Treacher and Patric Knowles) willingly accepting one-scene bits, simply to participate in the undertaking. Seven directors and 21 writers were also swept up in the project. Forever and a Day was supposed to have been withdrawn from circulation after the war and its prints destroyed so that no one could profit from what was supposed to have been an act of industry charity. Happily for future generations, prints have survived and are now safely preserved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, (more)
- 1941
Wings and the Woman was a reverent (read: dull) British biopic about pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson. Anna Neagle portrays Amy, whose fame in the 1930s is such that songs are written about her and a worldwide fan club is organized. See RKO Book. Ms. Johnson's fame exacts a toll on her marriage to pilot Jim Mollison (Robert Newton), a daredevil in his own right who chafes at being overshadowed by his wife (the film is careful not cast Mollison in an envious light). The film ends with Amy's death while transporting a fighter plane from a defense factory to an RAF field, a tragedy which gives producer/director Herbert Wilcox ample opportunities to wave the Union Jack. Released in Great Britain as They Flew Alone, Wings and the Women was heavily edited by its American distributor RKO, with some dialogue sequences ending in mid-sentence! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Sunny was one of three RKO Radio Broadway-musical adaptations tailored to the talents of British favorite Anna Neagle by her soon-to-be-husband Herbert Wilcox (the other two were No No Nanette and Irene). The story has been updated a bit and transposed to New Orleans' Mardi Gras, but remains at base a "Cinderella" yarn, replete with a poor girl/rich boy romance. Circus entertainer Sunny Sullivan (Neagle) falls in love with Larry Warren (John Carroll), wealthy scion of an auto-manufacturing family. Accepting his invitation to meet his family at a fancy weekend party, Sunny elects to hide the fact that she's in (horrors!) show business. Just as she's won over the entire family, who should arrive but her circus cohorts, immediately blowing her cover. The shamefaced Sunny returns to the big top, but Larry will not be dissuaded from his intention to make her his bride. The film is at its best when the talented Anna Neagle trades steps with loose-limbed dancer Ray Bolger. A more faithful (but less enjoyable) version of this Otto Harbach-Oscar Hammerstein II-Jerome Kern musical was made in 1930, with the original "Sunny" Marilyn Miller repeating her Broadway role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Ray Bolger, (more)
- 1940
In this remake of the 1926 silent hit (which was in turn based on a hit musical from 1919), Anna Neagle stars as Irene O'Dare, an Irish girl of humble beginnings who comes to New York in search of work. She finds a place as a shopgirl at a fashionable and expensive boutique managed by Mr. Smith (Roland Young). Irene does well at her new job and soon finds that two wealthy men are vying for her affections. Don Marshall (Ray Milland), the owner of the store, is much attracted to Irene, but so is socialite Bob Vincent (Alan Marshal), which does not come as a pleasant surprise to Eleanor Worth (Marsha Hunt), Bob's sweetheart. Irene features several (but not all) of the songs from the original stage production, including "Castle of Dreams", "Worthy of You", "You've Got Me out on a Limb", and "There's Something in the Air". The "Alice Blue Gown" number was shot in Technicolor, while the remainder of the film is in black and white. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, (more)
- 1940
No, No, Nanette was the second film version of the popular Otto Harbach-Vincent Youmans Broadway musical. Though slightly updated, the basic plot remains the same, with heroine Nanette (Anna Neagle) entering into a financial arrangement whereby she must answer "No" to every question during a 24-hour period. It's all for the sake of her rogueish uncle (Roland Young), who's heavily in debt thanks to a gaggle of gold-digging chorines. Nanette's task is complicated by her romantic entanglements involving an artist (Richard Carlson) and a flashy theatrical producer (Victor Mature). The songs include "I Want to Be Happy", "Tea for Two" and the title number. Unlike the previous Neagle-RKO Radio-Herbert Wilcox collaboration Irene, No, No, Nanette fizzled at the box office. For many years, the film was withdrawn from circulation because of Warner Bros.' 1950 remake, the Doris Day vehicle Tea for Two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Richard Carlson, (more)
- 1939
Many of the "preparedness" films of the years just prior to World War II sidestepped censorship by depicting past outrages of the Germans. Such a film was British producer Herbert Wilcox's Hollywood production Nurse Edith Cavell, in which Wilcox's future wife Anna Neagle portrayed the titular martyred Englishwoman. Ms. Neagle plays the legendary Ms. Cavell as a candidate for Canonization. Her selfless efforts to rescue refugee soldiers from World War I Belgium results in her being arrested on charges of espionage. Despite international pleas for clemency, the dastardly Deutschlanders sentence Edith to death. She faces the firing squad with a courageous serenity that makes Joan of Arc look like a hysterical schoolgirl. An earlier, silent version of Nurse Edith Cavell had caused turmoil in England due to its unadorned depiction of war's horrors. In 1939, however, audiences inundated by reports of Hitler's latest outrages were more receptive. Ironically, the film opened in the US a scant few days before war broke out in Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Edna May Oliver, (more)
- 1938
In this complicated comedy chronicles a caper involving jewel thieves and an unlucky parking lot jockey whom they mistake for the American gunman they have been awaiting. Naturally they don't discover the truth until the day of the heist when the real mobster appears. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1938
The colorful world of a French traveling circus provides the framework of this lively drama that chronicles the lives and loves of The Three Maxims, a popular trapeze act that is the circus' main attraction. The trouble starts because one of the men of the trio falls in love with the woman who unfortunately loves the other man. The romantic rivalry creates considerable discord among the three whose lives depend on their trust and good will toward one another. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Gordon Harker stars as a goonish London cabbie who finds himself up to his brimmed cap in espionage. Harker innocently thwarts an assassination attempt on a Middle-Eastern potentate. The perpetrator is a demonic British oil executive who'll stop at nothing to corner the "black gold" market. The villain sets Harker up as the fall guy for his next attempt on the potentate's life, Yeh, we know: Where are the blondes? Well, cast your eye upon leading ladies Enid Stamp-Taylor and Janet Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Janet Johnson, (more)
- 1938
Anna Neagle repeats her role from the successful Victoria the Great (1937) as the domineering Queen Victoria in this slice-of-life melodrama on royalty and the upper classes. The 60 years of the title refers to Victoria's reign on the throne of England. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, a Boy Scout leader privately fancies himself a genius at producing stage productions. When he tries to create a show featuring nothing but scouts he soon realizes the difference between aspiration and reality--putting on a show is really hard. Fortunately he is assisted by a wealthy woman who helps get his show on the road. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Reader, Gina Malo, (more)
- 1938
Following a string of mysterious robberies, Scotland Yard assigns its best detective, Inspector Elk, to bring the crooks to justice. The only clue the villains leave at the crime scene is a rendering of a frog. Still that is enough for intrepid Elk to solve the case, but not after considerable danger, excitement and comedy. This is the sequel to 1937's The Frog. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Harker, Una O'Connor, (more)
- 1938
A Royal Divorce is the misleading title bestowed upon this dramatization of certain events in the lives of Napoleon and Josephine. Making her first screen appearance in two years, Hollywood's Ruth Chatterton tops the cast as Josephine, whose widowhood is relieved upon her marriage to up-and-coming military officer Napoleon (France's Pierre Blanchar). Though she's several years older than her husband, Josephine tries to be the wife he wants-but she cannot give him what he really wants, namely an heir. Miles Malleson's screenplay puts forth the theory that Josephine agreed to her divorce from the Emperor so that he might father a legitimate child by his mistress, Marie Louise. In terms of costumes and settings, A Royal Divorce is authentic to a fault; in terms of adherence to the facts, it's a bit shaky, though undeniably dramatic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Chatterton, Pierre Blanchar, (more)
- 1937
In this British war drama, an Italian soldier marries an Austrian girl and together they return to Italy. When war erupts between the countries, the bride's brother sneaks into Italy as a spy. He bases his operations out of their home. When the husband learns of his brother-in-law's treachery, he kills him. His new wife becomes even more bitter after she is placed in a camp for enemy aliens. As the war progresses, the two are unable to contact each other. Following the war she is released and ends up dancing in a sleazy Egyptian cafe. It is here that her husband finds her at last. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tullio Carminatti, Lilli Palmer, (more)
- 1937
In this drama, "The Rat" is the moniker for a notorious jewel thief whose life suddenly changes when a friend facing life imprisonment asks him to take care of his daughter. She does a good job of helping in the thief's home, but then a woman falls for him and throws her own boy friend out. The jilted lover decides to get revenge, goes to the Rat's home, and attempts to kidnap the young girl, who fights back so hard she kills him. The kindly thief then takes the rap for the murder, but at the last moment in court, the other woman appears and provides him with a real alibi causing the girl to go to prison. Fortunately, in lieu of the circumstances, she is given a light sentence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Chatterton, Anton Walbrook, (more)
- 1937
A trio of American actors head the cast of the British naval drama Torpedoed. Noah Beery appears as the unnamed President of an equally unnamed South American banana republic. When a group of insurgents stage of revolt, His Majesty's Navy is dispatched to put down the uprising. Richard Cromwell carries the romantic subplot as Bill Armstrong, the sweetheart of Pamela (Hazel Terry), daughter of American businessman Mr. Brent (H. B. Warner). Robert Douglas, years before being typecast as a villain, costars as stalwart captain Markham, while Esme Percy, a specialist in indeterminate "foreign" types, plays the rebel leader. Originally filmed as Our Fighting Navy, the title was changed to keep apace of world events-specifically, the torpedoing of the Athenia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Warner, Robert Douglas, (more)
- 1937
No relation to the same-named Charlie Chaplin production, Limelight is a joint vehicle for British movie favorite Anna Neagle and radio celebrity Arthur Tracy, aka "The Street Singer." Neagle plays chorus girl Marjorie Kaye, who discovers tenor Bob Grant (Tracy) as he sings in the streets for pennies. When the star of the show in which Marjorie is appearing develops laryngitis, she talks the producer into giving Bob a chance. Sure enough, he becomes an overnight sensation -- and surer enougher, success goes right to his head. After a brief dalliance with a society deb (Ellis Jeffreys), however, Bob realizes that he's still in love with Marjorie. In addition to the two stars, Limelight is enlivened by the dancing prowess of the legendary Tilly Losch; also showing up for an uncredited cameo is stage and screen luminary Jack Buchanan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Arthur Tracy, (more)
- 1937
Laurence Housman's 1935 stage play Victoria Regina, which has served as a showcase for actresses as varied as Helen Hayes and Julie Harris, was adapted for the screen in 1937 as Victoria the Great. Herbert Wilcox was the producer, so no one was surprised and everyone was satisfied when Wilcox cast his actress wife, the beloved Anna Neagle, as Queen Victoria. The film repeats the play's episodic approach, tracing Victoria from her 1837 coronation to her Jubilee celebration sixty years later. Ms. Neagle is faultless, if perhaps a bit too self satisfied in this actor-proof role; her best scenes are with Prince Albert, played with finesse by Anton Walbrook. The Jubilee finale was originally filmed in resplendent Technicolor (derided in 1937 as vulgar) though some scattered prints are still processed in black and white. Victoria the Great was also released as Sixty Glorious Years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook, (more)
- 1937
In this romance, a street performer gets into an argument with an ambassador's chauffeur and ends up falling in love with the diplomat. Unfortunately, when government secrets are revealed, the finger of blame is pointed directly at her. But she is innocent. The real culprit is her ex-fiance whom the diplomat trusted with his secrets. The jilted lover told the secrets to get revenge upon her. With his political life in shambles the ambassador resigns. Fortunately, the devoted street singer stays right by his side. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
One of several Anna Neagle-Tulio Carminatti vehicles of the 1930's, London Melody was one of five films directed in 1937 by Neagle's future husband Herbert Wilcox. This time around, Carminatti is cast as Marius Andreani, a cultured Italian diplomat. While in London on business, Marius makes the chance acquaintance of boisterous cockney street entertainer Jacqueline (Neagle). It's love at first sight, but hero and heroine must undergo a dizzying series of roadblocks and misunderstandings before the climactic clinch. Meanwhile, Jacqueline rises to the top of show-business success, never dreaming (until the end, at least) that it's all the secret handiwork of faithful Marius. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Tullio Carminatti, (more)
- 1937
Backstage is more flavorful fluff from the star/director combo of Anna Neagle and Herbert Wilcox Neagle. Neagle plays a likeable chorine who hears tenor Arthur Tracy singing on streets. No surprises here: before he left for England, Tracy had gained fame in the US as radio's "Street Singer". But back to the plot: Neagle tries to find work for Tracy, but he doesn't get his Big Break until a major star comes down with laryngitis. Nope, still no surprises here. Once he becomes a star himself, Tracy grows swell-headed. What does down-to-earth Neagle do about this? Well, let's leave at least one surprise wrapped up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Arthur Tracy, (more)
