Anna Neagle

Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (née Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer.

She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 20 years and was voted the most popular star in Britain in 1949. She was known for providing glamour and sophistication to war-torn London audiences with her lightweight musicals, comedies, and historical dramas. Almost all of her films were produced and directed by Herbert Wilcox, whom she married in 1943.

In her historical dramas, Neagle was renowned for her portrayals of British historical figures, including Nell Gwyn (Nell Gwyn, 1934), Queen Victoria (Victoria the Great, 1937 and Sixty Glorious Years, 1938), Edith Cavell (Nurse Edith Cavell, 1939), and Florence Nightingale (The Lady with a Lamp, 1951).

Biography

Early life

Florence Marjorie Robertson was born in Forest Gate, Essex, the daughter of Merchant Navy captain Herbert William Robertson and Florence, née Neagle. Her elder brother was the bass-baritone and actor Stuart Robertson (1901–1958). She made her stage debut as a dancer in 1917, and later appeared in the chorus of C.B. Cochran's revues and also André Charlot's revue Bubbly. While with Cochran, she understudied Jessie Matthews.

In 1931, she starred in the West End musical Stand Up and Sing with actor Jack Buchanan, who encouraged her to take a featured role. For this play, she began using the professional name Anna Neagle (the surname being her mother's maiden name). The play was a success with a total run of 604 performances.

Cinematic beginnings

Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight, Vienna (1932), again with Jack Buchanan. With this film, Neagle became an overnight favourite. Although the film cost a mere £23,000 to produce, it was a hit at the box office, with profits from its Australian release alone being £150,000.

After her starring role in The Flag Lieutenant (also 1932), directed by and co-starring Henry Edwards, she worked exclusively under Wilcox's direction for all but one of her subsequent films, Graham Greene, then a film critic, said of Nell Gwyn: "I have seen few things more attractive than Miss Neagle in breeches". performing "Goodnight Vienna".

They continued with Yellow Canary (1943), co-starring Richard Greene and Margaret Rutherford. In this spy story, Neagle plays a German-sympathiser (or at least that is what she seems to be at first), who is forced to go to Canada for her own safety. In reality, of course, she is working as an undercover agent out to expose a plot to blow up Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia. Yellow Canary received positive comments for its atmospheric recreation of wartime conditions.

On the wane

Neagle and Flynn reteamed for a second film, King's Rhapsody (1955), based on an Ivor Novello musical and also starring Patrice Wymore (Flynn's wife at the time). Although Neagle performed several musical numbers for the film, most of them were cut from the final release, leaving her with essentially a supporting role. Shot in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope with location work near Barcelona, Spain, King's Rhapsody was a major flop everywhere. Neagle's (and Flynn's) box-office appeal, it seemed, was fading.

Neagle's last box-office hit was My Teenage Daughter (1956), which featured her as a mother trying to prevent her daughter (Sylvia Syms) from lapsing into juvenile delinquency.

Neagle was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions, in February 1958 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre, and in March 1983, when Andrews surprised her at London's Royal National Hotel.

Final years

Herbert Wilcox was bankrupt by 1964, but his wife soon revived his fortunes. She returned to the stage the following year and made a comeback in the West End musical Charlie Girl. In it, she played the role of a former "Cochran Young Lady" who marries a peer of the realm. Charlie Girl was not a critical success, but it ran for six years and 2,047 performances. It earned Neagle an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for her enduring popularity.

Although affected by Parkinson's disease in her last years, Neagle continued to be active. She appeared in Cameron Mackintosh's revival of My Fair Lady and in 1985 she appeared as the Fairy Godmother in a pantomime of Cinderella at the London Palladium.

Neagle's grand-nephew is actor Nicholas Hoult, through Hoult's father's side.

Neagle died aged 81 from breast cancer on 3 June 1986. A memorial service at Westminster Abbey followed on 20 October 1986. She was interred alongside her husband in the City of London Cemetery. Their grave was recommemorated by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal on 6 March 2014.

A memorial plaque on her former home at Aldford House, Park Lane was unveiled on 30 May 1996, by Princess Anne and Lana Morris. and, for her contributions to the theatre, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1969 Birthday Honours.

Filmography

The following list contains all of Neagle's acting credits in feature-length films with the exception of Queen Victoria (1942), which is actually a compilation of two earlier films, Victoria the Great and Sixty Glorious Years. All of her films were directed by Herbert Wilcox and produced in the United Kingdom unless otherwise noted.

In addition, Neagle also appeared briefly as herself in a documentary short entitled The Volunteer (1943), and served as narrator for the films The Prams Break Through (1945) and Princess's Wedding Day (1947). Neagle also produced, but did not appear in, three films starring Frankie Vaughan: These Dangerous Years (1957), Wonderful Things (1957), and The Heart of a Man (1959).

Year Title RoleNotes 1929 Those Who Love bit part directed by H. Manning Haynesuncredited Flower Seller directed by Maurice Elvey, filmed in Raycol color process, lost filmuncredited Charlotte directed by Arthur Barnes and J.B. Williams Should A Doctor Tell? directed by H. Manning Haynes Goodnight, Vienna Viki Neagle's first collaboration with director Herbert Wilcox directed by Henry Edwards Bitter Sweet Nell Gwynn Neagle's first major hit 1935 Peg of Old Drury Three Maxims Pat Franco-British production Limelight London Melody Jacqueline Victoria the Great Queen Victoria finale filmed in Technicolor 1938 Sixty Glorious Years Queen Victoria filmed in Technicolor 1939 Nurse Edith Cavell Neagle's first American film Irene features one sequence in Technicolor, produced in the U.S. No, No, Nanette Nanette U.S. production 1941 Sunny U.S. production 1942 They Flew Alone Forever and a Day U.S. production Yellow Canary 1944 The Volunteer herself, leaving Denham Studio 1945 I Live in Grosvenor Square 1946 Piccadilly Incident 1947 Spring in Park Lane Elizabeth of Ladymead Elizabeth filmed in Technicolor 1949 Maytime in Mayfair filmed in Technicolor 1950 Odette 1951 1952 Derby Day 1954 Lilacs in the Spring filmed in Eastmancolor with a black-and-white prologue 1955 King's Rhapsody filmed in CinemaScope and Eastmancolor 1956 My Teenage Daughter 1957 No Time for Tears directed by Cyril Frankel, filmed in Eastmancolor 1958 1959

Recordings

"What More Can I Ask?", with orchestra conducted by Ray Noble His Master's Voice B 4365 (matrix: 0B 4586-3) Recorded London, 4 January 1933 "The Dream Is Over", with orchestra conducted by Ray Noble His Master's Voice B 4365 (matrix: 4587-4) Recorded London, 4 January 1933 "Tonight", duet with Trefor Jones with Geraldo and his Orchestra Columbia (England) DB 1316 (matrix: CA 14314-1) Recorded London, 30 January 1934 "Kiss Me Goodnight" Decca (England) F 5649 (matrix: TB 1869) Recorded London, 9 August 1935 "A Little Dash of Dublin" Decca (England) F 5649 (matrix: TB 1870) Recorded London, 9 August 1935 "The Glorious Days" (medley) Philips Records (England) P.B.153 Recorded 1953

Box office popularity

Annual polls of British exhibitors for the Motion Picture Herald consistently listed Neagle as a leading box office star in her home country. 1936 – 14th-most popular British star 1937 – 8th-most popular British star 1938 – 8th-most popular British star 1939 – 5th-most popular British star 1940 – 10th-most popular British star 1941 – 7th-most popular British star 1942 – most popular female British star 1944 – 9th-most popular British star 1945 – 8th most popular British star 1946 – 5th-most popular British star 1947 – 3rd-most popular star (2nd most popular British star) 1948 – most popular British star (2nd overall) 1949 – most popular star – the first time since the polls started that the most popular star in Britain was British 1950 – 3rd-most popular star – third year in a row as most popular British star 1951 – 6th-most popular star (2nd most popular British star) 1952 – 8th-most popular British star – 6th year in a row as most popular female British star

Publications

There's Always Tomorrow – Autobiography – 1974.

Footnotes