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152-597: Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart ; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas . He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old Brompton Road , Kensington , west London, the only son of Major James Stewart, OBE and his wife Frederica Eliza (née Lablache). Granger

304-676: A quota quickie directed by Michael Powell and in Jury's Evidence (1936), directed by Ralph Ince . Lockwood had a small role in The Amateur Gentleman (1936), another with Fairbanks. Her profile rose when she appeared opposite Maurice Chevalier in The Beloved Vagabond (1936) She followed it with Irish for Luck (1936) and The Street Singer (1937). She had a small role in Who's Your Lady Friend? (1937), again for Carol Reed and

456-672: A "spiv" who has run off with the wife of the John Mills character. This movie was popular too, and it was one of Granger's favourites. He was too busy to accept a role offered in The Way to the Stars . Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), with Calvert and Roc, was more Gainsborough melodrama, and another hit. Also popular was Caesar and Cleopatra , supporting Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh ; this movie lost money because of its high production cost but

608-429: A 1983 British Film Institute interview "I hated the films [...] in retrospect, they're even worse now than they seemed at the time. I find it very difficult to say anything nice about them." Despite this, the films were popular with the public to an extent that they catapulted Granger, Calvert and their co-stars Margaret Lockwood , James Mason , Patricia Roc , and Jean Kent into stardom , and in subsequent years

760-503: A Gainsborough melodrama after The Man in Grey (1943). The film tells the story of a love triangle that begins in childhood and concludes with a double love triangle in adulthood, involving violence and larceny . Following a young aspiring writer's intervention in an attempted robbery of a valuable necklace from its guardian, he agrees to transport the item to its owners in Spain, so that he can earn

912-625: A German soap-opera, Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (The Guldenburg Heritage) (1987). He moved to Pacific Palisades, California. Gainsborough melodramas During the mid-1940s, with many of the men fighting in the Second World War , and many of the children evacuated to rural areas , women attained more financial responsibility and independence by having to work, and Gainsborough Pictures took advantage of this by providing films with powerful images of female independence and rebellion that resonated deeply with audiences. Maurice Ostrer , who

1064-594: A Ring (1933), Over the Garden Wall (1934) and A Southern Maid (1934). It was at this time that he met the actor Michael Wilding , and they remained friends until Wilding's death in 1979. Years of theatre work followed, initially at Hull Repertory Theatre and then, after a pay dispute, at Birmingham Repertory Theatre . Here he met Elspeth March , a leading actress with the company, who became his first wife. His productions at Birmingham included The Courageous Sex and Victoria, Queen and Empress ; he also acted at

1216-541: A Western, with Taylor playing the villain, and a box office disappointment. So too was Bhowani Junction (1956), adapted from a John Masters novel about colonial India on the verge of obtaining independence. Ava Gardner played an Anglo-Indian (mixed race) woman caught between the two worlds of the British and the Indians, and Granger the British officer with whom (in a change from the novel) she ultimately fell in love. Gardner

1368-406: A change in the successful formula of the melodramas, in that, on the release of Caravan (1946) and The Magic Bow (1946), there was more focus on men and masculinity, rather than on women, who were relegated to supporting roles. However, 1947 would see a return to the previous formula of putting the women front and centre, which had been central to the previous films' success. The critics had

1520-573: A comeback in The Human Jungle with Herbert Lom (1965). She starred in another series The Flying Swan (1965). Her subsequent long-running West End hits include an all-star production of Oscar Wilde 's An Ideal Husband (1965–66, in which she played the villainous Mrs Cheveley), W. Somerset Maugham 's Lady Frederick (1970), Relative Values (Noël Coward revival, 1973) and the thrillers Signpost to Murder (1962) and Double Edge (1975). In 1969 she starred as barrister Julia Stanford in

1672-406: A comedy with Edwige Feuillère . In 1949, Granger was reported as earning around £30,000 a year. That year Granger made Adam and Evelyne , starring with Jean Simmons . The story, about a much older man and a teenager whom he gradually realises is no longer a child but a young woman with mature emotions and sexuality, had obvious parallels to Granger's and Simmons' own lives. Granger had first met

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1824-639: A comic thriller in the vein of Lady Vanishes , written expressly for her by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker . It was not popular. Rank was to put her in an adaptation of Ann Veronica by H. G. Wells but the film was postponed. She turned down the female lead in The Browning Version , and a proposed sequel to The Wicked Lady , The Wicked Lady's Daughter , was never made. Eventually her contract with Rank ended and she played Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion at

1976-589: A crime movie with Karin Dor ; and The Trygon Factor (1966), a British co-production based on a novel by Edgar Wallace . Granger's last studio picture was The Last Safari (1967), shot in Africa and directed by Henry Hathaway. Granger was billed under Kaz Garas . He later called this "my last real film...the worst film ever made in Africa!" In 1970, he described his recent movies as "movies not even I will talk about". He later estimated that he made more than $ 1.5 million in

2128-464: A film about Mary Magdalene but Lockwood was unhappy with the script. She refused to appear in Roses for Her Pillow (which became Once Upon a Dream ) and was put on suspension. "I was sick of getting mediocre parts and poor scripts", she later wrote. "Since 1945 I had been sick of it... there had been little or no improvement to me in the films I was being offered." She later said "I was having fun being

2280-408: A former RAF pilot who is going blind from a wartime injury (Granger), and the pilot's childhood friend (Roc), who is secretly in love with him. The film was a huge success at the British box-office. The third film in the sequence, and the second of the costume dramas , was Fanny by Gaslight (1944). Adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Sadleir , the film details the obstacles

2432-463: A hidden magazine titled Beauté modern , which featured a topless woman on the cover. In the subsequent scenes, Marshall is seen flicking through the pages, revealing a number of full-frontal nude women in a number of different poses. Other challenges The Brothers (1947) encountered with the PCA before its US release were with its depiction of illicit whiskey manufacturing, and the finale, which culminated in

2584-680: A ladies' school in Kensington, London. She began studying for the stage at an early age at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts , and made her debut in 1928, at the age of 12, at the Holborn Empire where she played a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream . In December of the following year, she appeared at the Scala Theatre in the pantomime The Babes in the Wood . In 1932 she appeared at

2736-463: A little girl talking to two prostitutes on the street was deleted, and the scenes of Fanny and Somerford living together outside of marriage were removed, as they perceived these issues violated the Hays purity Code, whilst also normalising fallen women and immoral behaviour. The film's US release was delayed by three years, with Gainsborough changing the title to the PCA's recommended title Man of Evil ,

2888-550: A major role in overseeing a number of the earlier films. Later, Sydney Box became head of production at Gainsborough. The films were made either at Gainsborough's Islington Studios or the larger Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush . Following the end of the war, the films began to make losses at the box office as they fell out of fashion. To try to re-kindle interest, Jassy , the only Gainsborough melodrama made in Technicolor

3040-452: A play by Dodie Smith , which Lockwood felt was a backward step and Give Us the Moon (1944), with Vic Oliver directed by Val Guest . Much more popular than either of these was another melodrama with Arliss and Granger, Love Story (1944), where she played a terminally ill pianist. Lockwood was reunited with James Mason in A Place of One's Own (1945), playing a housekeeper possessed by

3192-679: A poorly received 1972 TV film version of The Hound of the Baskervilles . In the 1970s, Granger retired from acting and went to live in southern Spain, where he invested in real estate and resided in Estepona, Málaga. While living there, he became a friend and business partner of former barrister and television producer James Todesco ( Eldorado TV series). Together they were involved in real estate investment and development. He appeared in The Wild Geese (1978) as an unscrupulous banker who hires

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3344-424: A rebel." During her suspension she went on a publicity tour for Rank. She also appeared in an acclaimed TV production of Pygmalion (1948). then went off suspension when she made Look Before You Love (1948), a comedy for Corfield and Huth. Lockwood had a change of pace with the comedy Cardboard Cavalier (1949), with Lockwood playing Nell Gwyn . The film was a critical and box-office disappointment. "I

3496-557: A record-breaking national tour of Noël Coward 's Private Lives (1949) and then played the title role in productions of J. M. Barrie 's Peter Pan in 1949 and 1950. She also performed in a pantomime of Cinderella for the Royal Film performance with Jean Simmons ; Lockwood called this "the jolliest show in which I have ever taken part." She returned to film-making after an 18-month absence to star in Highly Dangerous (1950),

3648-523: A remake of Scaramouche and an adaptation of Soldiers Three . His first movie under the new arrangement was an action comedy, Soldiers Three (1951). Granger followed it with location work for Constable Pedley in Canada. This was put on hold so Granger could make a light comedy, The Light Touch , in a role meant for Cary Grant . It was a box office disappointment. However filming resumed on Constable Pedley which became The Wild North (1953) and that

3800-460: A rival clan, and is at the centre of a tug of war battle between the two brothers. The next film, Jassy (1947), marked the official end of the Gainsborough melodrama period, and was the only one of the sequence of films to be made in Technicolor . Adapted from the novel of the same name by Norah Lofts , the film tells the story of a young gypsy woman pursued by superstitious villagers as

3952-489: A scathing analysis upon their initial reception of the films, and they were not alone, as some of the films' stars also expressed their dissatisfaction with the releases. Stewart Granger described Love Story (1944) as "a load of crap - and a smash hit!", while calling Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) and Caravan (1946) "terrible films" and saying that he "didn't like" Fanny by Gaslight (1944) because of its "drippy characters". Meanwhile, Phyllis Calvert said in

4104-462: A small role in the war movie Secret Mission (1942) and a bigger one in a comedy, Thursday's Child (1943). He was in a stage production of Rebecca when he was asked to audition for the film that turned him into a star. Granger had been recommended by Donat, who most recently worked with Granger on stage in To Dream Again . Granger's first starring film role was as the acid-tongued Rokeby in

4256-526: A study of sacred and profane love. Paganini's relationship with Bianca is rather a tricky business to get past the Hays Office, but we hope, with tact, to manage it." Caravan was also required to deviate from its script to satisfy the US censor; however, the final product retained some scenes that may suggest either a relaxation by the PCA, or negligence on behalf of the reviewer in comparison to previous complaints by

4408-416: A success...a bad film." In September 1943 Variety estimated her salary at being US$ 24,000 per picture (equivalent to $ 338,000 in 2023). Lockwood was well established as a middle-tier name. What made her a front rank star was The Man in Grey (1943), the first of what would be known as the Gainsborough melodramas . Lockwood wanted to play the part of Clarissa, but producer Edward Black cast her as

4560-971: A successful cattle rancher. He bought land in New Mexico and Arizona and introduced Charolais cattle to America. In order to finance his ranch he kept acting. He played a professional adventurer in Harry Black (1958), partly shot in India. He went to Britain to be in the thriller The Whole Truth (1958) for Romulus, for whom he was to make The Nightcomers but it never was filmed. He returned to Los Angeles to support John Wayne in North to Alaska (1960). By now his marriage to Simmons had ended, and Granger decided to move to Europe. In June 1960, Granger announced he would appear in The Leopard ; two movies for MGM in Britain, one of which

4712-625: A swashbuckler. Granger was in the war movie The Secret Invasion (1964) for Roger Corman , shot in Yugoslavia. In West Germany, Granger acted in the role of Old Surehand in three Western movies adapted from novels by German author Karl May , with French actor Pierre Brice (playing the fictional Indian chief Winnetou ), in Among Vultures (1964), with Elke Sommer ; The Oil Prince (1965) ( Rampage at Apache Wells ) (1965), shot in Yugoslavia; and Old Surehand ( Flaming Frontier ) (1965). He

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4864-511: A three-picture deal with MGM, which would include I Thank a Fool , Swordsman of Siena and a third movie for Jacques Bar . He also announced he had reactivated his production company, Tracy Productions, which was scheduled to make Dark Memory by Jonathan Latimer . Granger did not appear in I Thank a Fool , and Dark Memory was not made. Instead Granger stayed in Italy to make Commando (1962), an action movie and Swordsman of Siena (1963),

5016-401: A unit of mercenary soldiers ( Richard Burton , Roger Moore , Richard Harris and others) to stage a military coup in an African nation. His character then makes a deal with the existing government, and betrays the mercenaries. In 1980, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was told he had three months to live. Granger later said, "I was 67 and had smoked 60 cigarettes a day for 40 years, but

5168-827: A vehicle for him to star with Jean Simmons) was very poorly received when it opened in London at the Lyric Theatre on 25 April 1949. During the run, two men attempted to cut some locks from Granger's hair. The disappointment added to his dissatisfaction with the Rank Organisation, and his thoughts turned to Hollywood. According to Alan Wood, historian, "Granger, annoyed because his name was not billed sufficiently prominently in posters for Saraband for Dead Lovers , had asked to be released from his contract, and Rank agreed to let him go; box-office results for his latest British films had been disappointing." In 1949 Granger made his move; MGM

5320-534: A villain opposite Robert Taylor. Granger lost the role in A Star Is Born , which went to James Mason . He had the title role in Beau Brummell (1954), opposite Elizabeth Taylor, and it was a box-office disappointment. More successful was the adventure story Green Fire (1954), co starring Grace Kelly . Granger went to Britain to make Footsteps in the Fog (1955), a movie with Simmons, for Columbia. Back at MGM, he

5472-424: A witch, due to her being gifted with second sight , and how she is saved from persecution and employed as a housekeeper by the son of a country gentleman and his family. However, the family has lost their stately country home due to the father's drinking and gambling, and the young woman plans to use her talent to raise her social standing and return the property to the son, whom she loves. Gainsborough described

5624-452: A young man worth watching. The customers... like his dark looks and his dash; he puts them in mind, they say of Cary Grant ." It was the second most popular movie at the British box office in 1944. Another hit was Love Story (1944), where he plays a blind pilot who falls in love with terminally ill Margaret Lockwood, with Patricia Roc co-starring. Granger filmed this at the same time as Waterloo Road (1945), playing his first villain,

5776-411: A young woman, who is born illegitimate and raised by her birth mother and step father, encounters to marry the man she loves, who is defined as "well born". Upon its release, the film was a big hit, and claimed the accolade of being the second most popular film in Britain during 1944, after This Happy Breed (1944). However, it performed very badly at the box office in the US. Due to the success of

5928-496: The 1981 New Year Honours . A Margaret Lockwood performance was apparently the inspiration for Sean Pertwee 's death scene in the 2002 film Dog Soldiers . When asked about this, he referred to the foul grimace her character Julia Stanford readily expressed in the TV play Justice Is a Woman . She was the subject on an episode of This Is Your Life in December 1963. She was a guest on

6080-754: The Arts Theatre in January 1936; Trixie Drew in Henry Bernard's play Miss Smith at the Duke of York's Theatre in July 1936; and back at the Queen's in July 1937 as Ann Harlow in Ann's Lapse . Lockwood entered films in 1934, and in 1935 she appeared in the film version of Lorna Doone . For this, British Lion put her under contract for £500 a year for the first year, going up to £750 a year for

6232-625: The Edinburgh Festival of 1951. In 1952, Lockwood signed a two picture a year contract with Herbert Wilcox at $ 112,000 a year, making her the best paid actress in British films. Lockwood said Wilcox and his wife Anna Neagle promised from signing the contract "I was never allowed to forget that I was a really bright and dazzling star on their horizon. They were going to look after me as no one else had done before. They did. And I loved it." The association began well with Trent's Last Case (1952) with Michael Wilding and Orson Welles , which

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6384-587: The Gainsborough Pictures period melodrama The Man in Grey (1943), a movie that helped to make him and his three co-stars – James Mason , Phyllis Calvert and Margaret Lockwood – box-office names in Britain. Granger followed it with The Lamp Still Burns (1943), playing the love interest of nurse Rosamund John . More popular was Fanny by Gaslight (1944), another for Gainsborough Pictures, which reunited him with Calvert and Mason, and added Jean Kent . The New York Times reported that Granger "is

6536-586: The Hays Code after Will H. Hays , the then president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), was not law, but rather an agreement between MPPDA members' studios and theatres to censor in order to clean up the image of motion pictures viewed by the American public, and to avoid Federal and/or State legislators becoming involved in the film industry. Films that did not adhere to

6688-466: The Launder and Gilliat "unofficial trilogy", Millions Like Us (1943) Two Thousand Women (1944) and Waterloo Road (1945). The Huggetts (1947-1949) film series were also notable in this regard. However, it was the melodramas that were the biggest financial successes for Gainsborough. The dynamics of the paying viewing public changed in 1946, with men returning from war, and this brought about

6840-870: The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in Cavalcade . In 1933, Lockwood enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she was seen by a talent scout and signed to a contract. In June 1934 she played Myrtle in House on Fire at the Queen's Theatre , and on 22 August 1934 appeared as Margaret Hamilton in Gertrude Jenning 's play Family Affairs when it premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre ; Helene Ferber in Repayment at

6992-408: The women's dress bodices (appropriate for the era portrayed), which they perceived to be very low-cut, and showing too much cleavage for their Motion Picture Production Code . This was the first time the word cleavage had been applied in reference to an area of a woman's anatomy ; previously, the PCA had utilized the term décolletage when assessing films. The American media were also outraged by

7144-589: The 1947 awards, The Wicked Lady (1945) came second behind Piccadilly Incident (1946) for the "Best Film Award", with Lockwood and Mason claiming the renamed "Best Actress Award" and "Best Actor Award" for their roles in the former film. Lockwood would attain the "Best Actress Award" for a third time in a row in 1948, for her role in Jassy (1947), while her co-stars in the film, Patricia Roc and Dennis Price , were voted third and fourth in their respective Best Actress Award and Best Actor Award categories . Despite

7296-452: The 1960s but lost all of it. Granger returned to the U.S. and made a TV movie, Any Second Now (1969). In 1970, he appeared as Colonial Mackenzie on the TV western series The Men from Shiloh in the episode titled "Colonial Mackenzie Versus the West". The Men from Shiloh was previously known as The Virginian . The new version changed the costumes and added moustaches and beards to some of

7448-558: The BBFC annual report outlined grounds in seven broad categories that justified censorship, including issues related to religion, politics, military, social themes, and questions of sex, crime and cruelty. There are suggestions that these clarifications to the BBFC model had an effect on the authors of the Motion Picture Production Code, whereby they had practically adapted the BBFC model to suit their cultural tastes; however,

7600-406: The British film studios. Despite these protestations, another British film and Gainsborough melodrama, They Were Sisters (1945), was treated much more leniently in comparison to other Gainsborough melodramas by the PCA on similar issues that they had previously deemed as being extremely offensive. The PCA recommended a toning down of infractions to their code in scenes related to adultery by

7752-911: The Malvern Festival in The Millionairess and The Apple Cart and was in the movie Under Secret Orders (1937). Granger began to get work on stage in London. He appeared in The Sun Never Sets (1938) at the Drury Lane Theatre and in Serena Blandish (1938) opposite Vivien Leigh . At the Buxton Festival, he played Tybalt in a production of Romeo and Juliet opposite Robert Donat and Constance Cummings . He also acted opposite them in The Good Natured Man . In London he

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7904-620: The New London Theatre. Granger returned to acting in 1981 with the publication of his autobiography Sparks Fly Upward , claiming he was bored. Granger spent the last decade of his life appearing on stage and television including playing Prince Philip in The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982), a guest role in the TV series The Fall Guy starring Lee Majors , and as a suspect in Murder She Wrote in 1985. He starred in

8056-521: The New York Censor Review Board permitted a scene with Claudette Colbert bathing under a jungle waterfall nude, following director Cecil DeMille 's prevaricated intervention, highlighting that it was only shot in extreme long shot, and a flesh-coloured body suit was worn. Box argued the scene with Roc was not perversion or pornographic , but rather it was art, and that the scene was filmed in extreme long shot, which provided context to

8208-432: The PCA objected to Lord Byron as a character. However, more recent analysis by film historians has concluded that the PCA were sympathetic towards British productions, and tried to help them succeed in the American market. Love Story (1944) ran into trouble with the PCA on the use of language the censors deemed provocative. Although this was mild in comparison to what other Gainsborough melodramas would encounter,

8360-406: The PCA would become much stricter on language, such as what they deemed to be lines containing a double meaning , and were insinuating sex. The PCA refused to grant Fanny by Gaslight (1944) a certificate for its US release until the title of the film was changed, the illegitimacy of Fanny was altered, scenes set in a brothel were changed to a dancehall or a gambling house, the scene of Fanny as

8512-523: The PCA would go on to influence the BBFC model, to such an extent that both codes would go on to look very similar to each other, and regarded similar acts as constituting violations to their codes. The significant difference between the two models was that the BBFC were more inclined to be lenient on American films with issues that were culturally relevant to Americans, because they assumed the British public would understand this cultural difference, such as with issues related to gangsters and bootlegging . On

8664-399: The PCA's double standards when it came to British films, such as The Wicked Lady , Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945), and Bedelia (1946, starring Lockwood), in comparison to American films, such as Double Indemnity (1944), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), Scarlet Street (1945), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and specifically Forever Amber (1947) (which

8816-402: The PCA, which led them to define the film as "making adultery look like too much fun". While the ending of the film complied with the BBFC's code stipulating that criminals should get their comeuppance, it did not go far enough for the PCA, who added that the villain showed no remorse for her crimes and "died as she lived, happy and unrepented". However, the biggest criticism the PCA had was for

8968-424: The PCA. Examples of this are Francis inviting a group of prostitutes to dinner to humiliate his wife Oriana, and the interaction between his assistant Wycroft and Richard, which includes the way Wycroft feels Richard's bicep during the voyage from England to Spain. The latter example is more pronounced, as it suggested homosexual motives by Wycroft, played by Robert Helpmann (himself a gay actor), and homosexuality

9120-442: The Seven Moons (1945) and They Were Sisters (1945), were voted third and fourth, respectively. Margaret Lockwood took the honour of "most popular and outstanding British actress during the war years", ahead of Phyllis Calvert in second place, and Patricia Roc , who was third. James Mason was voted as the "most popular and outstanding British actor during the war years", with Stewart Granger in third place. In

9272-474: The Seven Moons was adjudged to have violated the Hays code was two people being on a bed with no feet on the ground, as the PCA perceived this indicated sexual intercourse. Of one such incident, Calvert says "we weren't allowed to be two on a bed without somebody's feet being on the floor. And so when Granger and I had the bedroom scene in Madonna of the Seven Moons , we did in fact do it on a bed with all our feet off

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9424-585: The TV play Justice is a Woman . This inspired the Yorkshire Television series Justice , which ran for three seasons (39 episodes) from 1971 to 1974, and featured her real-life partner John Stone as fictional boyfriend Dr Ian Moody. Lockwood's role as the feisty Harriet Peterson won her Best Actress Awards from the TV Times (1971) and The Sun (1973). In 1975, film director Bryan Forbes persuaded her out of an apparent retirement from feature films to play

9576-633: The US and they expressed an interest in borrowing Lockwood for some films. She travelled to Los Angeles and was put to work supporting Shirley Temple in Susannah of the Mounties (1939). She was borrowed by Paramount for Rulers of the Sea (1939), with Will Fyffe and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Paramount indicated a desire to use Lockwood in more films but she decided to go home. Lockwood returned to Britain in June 1939. She

9728-411: The US censor, even after he had left Gainsborough. The director of The Brothers (1947), David MacDonald , knew before the film's release that it would be in trouble with the censor due to the film containing, as he put it "Rape, murder and nature, that's about all", but added that "We hope to get by in the French way." One such scene was when Patricia Roc's character is skinny dipping . A precedent

9880-466: The US viewers see her cry and fall onto her bed. Calvert was critical of the interference by the PCA on alterations to lighting: whereas scenes between Maddalena and Nino were darkened, in contrast to scenes with Maddalena and her husband Giuseppe, as the censors deemed, despite Maddalena having a mental illness that impacted on her cognitive awareness, that she was still committing adultery, and adulterous women were taboo . Another act that Madonna of

10032-475: The West End stage and appeared on television; her television debut was in 1948 when she played Eliza Doolittle . She was in a BBC adaptation of Christie's Spider's Web (1955), Janet Green 's Murder Mistaken (1956), Dodie Smith 's Call It a Day (1956) and Arnold Bennett 's The Great Adventure (1958). She had the lead in a TV series The Royalty (1957–1958) and appeared regularly on TV anthology series. She played an aging West End star attempting

10184-495: The admiration that he feels he deserves. However, on his journey to greatness, he engages in an affair with a French noble lady, whose parents wish for her to marry a respectable high ranking French military officer, rather than a common musician. The film was again successful at the British box office. It was the only new release British film to be entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival . The final three Gainsborough melodrama films, released in 1947, reverted to placing women as

10336-415: The advent of war, and the paying viewing public consisting mainly of women, the studio rapidly became closely associated with melodrama, to the extent that these films have become synonymous with the studios, in a manner resembling the Ealing comedies (1947-1957) and the Hammer Horrors (1955–1974). Gainsborough also produced other films during the war that featured strong women as the protagonist , such as

10488-485: The box office performance of the film as "excellent", and it was the seventh most popular movie at the British box office upon its release in 1947; by 1953, it had accumulated a net revenue of £200,000. A number of the melodramas encountered problems with the US censor code, which required significant portions of the films to be cut, modified or reshot, and in some cases, this resulted in delays in their US release dates. The Motion Picture Production Code , referred to as

10640-434: The character of Vera, the suicide by Charlotte, and the inferred incestuous fantasies Geoffrey harboured towards his eldest daughter Margaret. The most serious infringement for the PCA was that the marital single beds of Lucy and William were too close to each other, a violation that Lockwood claimed her film The White Unicorn (1947) also incurred. The impact of the scrutiny by the PCA on British films had an effect upon

10792-438: The characters, making the actors look more dashing and realistic for the time. He followed actors Lee J. Cobb , Charles Bickford and John McIntire as the new owner of the Shiloh ranch on prime-time TV for its ninth year (1971). Granger said he accepted the role for money and because it "seemed like it could be a lot of fun", but was disappointed by the lack of character development for his role. He played Sherlock Holmes in

10944-601: The code were denied a certificate from the Production Code Administration (PCA), and therefore could not be released in American theatres. In contrast to the PCA's written code, the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) model, which was established in 1912 for similar reasons to why the MPPDA had set up the PCA, was not a written code, and producers considered it to be abstruse, with violations transmitted after

11096-418: The deletion of eighteen minutes of the film, including the scene of Fanny talking to the two prostitutes, fewer scenes of Fanny and Somerford living together outside of marriage, and the lowering of the tone of the scenes concerning the brothel. Changes had also to be made to Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) before it could receive its US release. These included the toning down of the rape scene, in which

11248-473: The design of the dresses, declaring "Americans do not want half naked women like Patricia Roc in this movie". To remedy the situation, extensive re-shooting was required before the film could be released in the United States; however, the damage was done, and exhibitors later publicised that the film had "suffered too much from the censors to be entirely satisfactory". The stars of the film were furious at

11400-454: The direction of Gainsborough Pictures, with Maurice Ostrer capitulating to the US censor's norms in his final three Gainsborough melodramas, Caravan (1946), The Magic Bow (1946) and The Root of All Evil (1947), which resulted in an easier transition to the US market, and fewer modifications required to be made to the films. While making The Magic Bow , producer R. J. Minney said that "We are doing it as delicately as possible, as

11552-435: The doctor said if I had an operation there might be a chance of two to four more years of life. So I said, 'Who the hell needs that? But you better give me three months to put my house in order'." Granger underwent the operation, having a lung and a rib removed, only to be informed he did not have cancer after all but tuberculosis . He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1980 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at

11704-510: The duration of the picture lasts. It is not too much to expect that, in Margaret Lockwood, the British picture industry has a possibility of developing a star of hitherto un-anticipated possibilities. She followed this with A Girl Must Live , a musical comedy about chorus girls for Black and Reed. It was one of a series of films made by Gaumont aimed at the US market. Gaumont British had distribution agreements with 20th Century Fox in

11856-409: The film coming in fourth in the "Best Film Award" category behind The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947), Great Expectations (1946), and Odd Man Out (1947), Jassy was officially the final Gainsborough melodrama film, and the only one to be made in Technicolor . The first film in the sequence, The Man in Grey (1943), was based on a novel of the same name by Eleanor Smith . It tells

12008-591: The film cut, including amongst others, scenes showing Calvert's and Roc's naked backs. Box cited the rulings by Lord Cromer , the then Lord Chamberlain and censor for all theatrical performances in London, in regard to the Windmill Girls show in the Windmill Theatre , and the New York Censor Review Board in relation to the pre-code film Four Frightened People (1934), when arguing for

12160-507: The film progressed I found myself working with Carol Reed and Michael Redgrave again and gradually I was fascinated to see what I could put into the part." She did another with Reed, Night Train to Munich (1940), an attempt to repeat the success of The Lady Vanishes with the same screenwriters (Launder and Gilliat) and characters of Charters and Caldicott . Rex Harrison was the male star. This movie started filming in November 1939. She

12312-420: The film was not successful, and it received a " Worst Actress " Razzie nomination for Dunaway. Gainsborough released two melodramas in 1946 that took a change in the direction from the previous melodramas, in that both were more focused on men and masculinity. The first film, Caravan , was adapted from the novel of the same name by Eleanor Smith . It was the second novel by Smith to be transformed into

12464-473: The film was submitted for certification. However, the BBFC strove to provide some clarity for producers in the forthcoming years; first in 1916, during the National Council of Public Morals: Cinema Commission of Inquiry, when the then president of the BBFC, T.P. O'Connor , listed forty-three infractions from the BBFC 1913-1915 annual reports, where a cut in a film may be required; and secondly in 1926, when

12616-424: The films I have enjoyed most in all my career." Hitchcock was greatly impressed by Lockwood, telling the press: She has an undoubted gift in expressing her beauty in terms of emotion, which is exceptionally well suited to the camera. Allied to this is the fact that she photographs more than normally easily, and has an extraordinary insight in getting the feel of her lines, to live within them, so to speak, as long as

12768-642: The films have become the subject of more favourable study. Following the positive reception by the public of The Man in Grey (1943), a number of similar pictures were made, often based on melodramatic period novels. The films dominated the British box office, out-grossing top Hollywood productions and breaking a number of records. In 2004, the British Film Institute compiled a list of the 100 biggest UK cinematic hits of all time, based on audience figures, as opposed to gross takings. Two Gainsborough melodramas appeared on this list: The Wicked Lady (1945)

12920-462: The films, but they are particularly associated with James Mason , Margaret Lockwood , Phyllis Calvert , Stewart Granger , Patricia Roc , Jean Kent , Anne Crawford , Dennis Price and Dulcie Gray . Leslie Arliss directed several of the most successful films. Other directors included Arthur Crabtree , Anthony Asquith and Bernard Knowles . Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood , CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990),

13072-419: The financial burden of foreign studios) and poach talent, to therefore dominate the film industry. Amongst the British big-budget films to encounter frivolous or questionable problems with the PCA were Black Narcissus (1947) and Oliver Twist (1948), both due to religious and moral grounds; Henry V , for the use of the word bastard , and Bad Lord Byron (1949), not for the film itself, but because

13224-410: The ground - but they showed it very dark with just two cigarettes, so the audience wouldn't know where we were." However, the BBFC had the same violation in their code of conduct in films, which the American comedian Fred Allen would also recall in a letter to Groucho Marx . In the scene between Maddalena's daughter Angela and Nino's brother Sandro, Allen wrote "I hope you noted the item that involved

13376-434: The inclusion of the skinny dipping scene in his film. In regards to the Windmill Girls , Lord Cromer found that nude statutes or paintings in museums were not considered as obscene, but art, and therefore a live nude woman standing stationary, as a Tableau vivant , could not be considered as obscene, but instead also as art, unless there was movement by the nude woman, in which case it would be rude and obscene. Meanwhile,

13528-543: The isolation of the film's setting, while also minimising Roc, who was shot with her back to the camera. The BBFC were satisfied with Box's explanation, and certified the film with the skinny dipping scene intact, whilst the PCA were not convinced, and demanded it be removed. Box would go on to use the same Tableau vivant argument for the film Broken Journey (1948), in which air stewardess Mary Johnstone (played by Phyllis Calvert ) hands passenger Jimmy Marshall (played by David Tomlinson ) an airline folder that contained

13680-529: The lead in Bank Holiday , directed by Carol Reed and produced by Black. This movie was a hit and launched Lockwood as a star. She called it "my first really big picture... with a beautifully written script and a wonderful part for me." Gaumont increased her contract from three years to six. Even more popular was her next movie, The Lady Vanishes , directed by Alfred Hitchcock , produced by Black and co-starring Michael Redgrave . Lockwood called it "one of

13832-443: The money he requires to marry his childhood sweetheart. However, while in Spain, he is robbed, injured, and left for dead by his love rival's agent, and is saved from death by a young gypsy girl. Caravan was a notable box office attraction at British cinemas in 1946, becoming the sixth most successful film after The Wicked Lady , The Bells of St Marys , Piccadilly Incident , The Captive Heart and Road to Utopia . It

13984-464: The more wealthy she becomes, the more her behaviour resembles that of her antagonist. Despite the film having a big budget, it could not entice an audience at the box office, and subsequently made big financial losses. The penultimate Gainsborough melodrama, The Brothers (1947) did not fare any better, and made massive losses for Gainsborough at the box office, although the film has been reviewed more favourably in more recent years. Adapted from

14136-432: The most popular actors in British cinema at the time, James Mason and Margaret Lockwood. The next film, They Were Sisters (1945), fared much better, and was one of the biggest hits of the year. The story was adapted from the popular novel by Dorothy Whipple , and explored the diversity of marital relationships of three sisters and the effect on their children. The first sister is in a loving, but childless marriage;

14288-471: The novel of the same name by L. A. G. Strong , the film tells the story of a young orphaned woman, who, after leaving the convent where she was raised from childhood, arrives on the Isle of Skye to become a servant to a clan chief and his two sons. Whilst there, she discovers life to be austere, and she is treated no better than livestock . She soon becomes embroiled in an old clan feud between her employer and

14440-399: The other hand, the PCA were not so lenient on British or other foreign productions that featured themes of cultural importance, and were more likely to seek changes to the film before it could be viewed by the American public. European film executives, including those from Britain, had long complained that Hollywood deliberately utilized the code to stifle foreign competition (which increased

14592-420: The previous three films over the two years, Gainsborough released four melodramas in 1945. The first, Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), was adapted from the novel by Margery Lawrence . The film tells the story of a woman who developed dual personalities as a result of having been raped as a young girl, and unbeknownst to her and her loved ones, leads a double life: the first as a respectable wife and mother,

14744-415: The protagonist. The first, The Root of All Evil , was adapted from the J. S. Fletcher novel of the same name, and tells the story of a woman who vows to never again face the public ignominy from a man's duplicity and ruthlessness, following being jilted by her fiancé at the behest of his wealthy grocer father, and his father's inaction to prevent the eviction of her and her family from their farm. However,

14896-549: The radio show Desert Island Discs on 25 April 1951. Lockwood married Rupert Leon whom she had met in her teens and secretly married in 1937 when she turned 21; they divorced in 1950. She lived her final years in seclusion in Kingston upon Thames , dying on 15 July 1990 at age 73 at the Cromwell Hospital from cirrhosis of the liver , though she was not a drinker. Her body was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium . She

15048-568: The reshooting of a scene in the film "Madonna of the seven Moons", the scene was an attempted rape of the chaste Angela and the actor kept forgetting that the British Board of Censors will not pass any seduction scene unless the seducer has one foot on the floor, apparently sex in England is something like snooker ." Scenes of rape and adultery in The Wicked Lady (1945) were also highlighted by

15200-423: The response of the PCA, with Margaret Lockwood saying "We had to do nine days of retakes to satisfy the censor on that film and it all seemed very foolish". James Mason added "I don't like it now", referring to the film after the changes. Meanwhile, Patricia Roc highlighted inconsistencies with the PCA's treatment of the film to that of an American feature of the same year (1945), saying that "The Breen Office, which

15352-677: The role of the Stepmother in her last feature film The Slipper and the Rose . This film also included the final appearance of Edith Evans and one of the later appearances of Kenneth More . Her last professional appearance was as Queen Alexandra in Royce Ryton 's stage play Motherdear (Ambassadors Theatre, 1980). Margaret Lockwood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in

15504-461: The second as the mistress to a jewel thief in the house of the Seven Moons. The film was very popular at the British box office, being one of the most seen films of that year. When it was released in Australia in 1946, it was the only British film among the ten most popular films. The next film in the sequence, A Place of One's Own (1945), was adapted from a novel by Osbert Sitwell , and tells

15656-413: The second sister, who has a child, is egocentric and indulges in multiple flirtations (sometimes in front of her husband) and an extramarital affair to relieve her of her boredom ; while the third sister, who also has children, is in an emotionally abusive marriage to a brutal, sadistic , and controlling man. The final melodrama released by Gainsborough in 1945 was The Wicked Lady . The film

15808-673: The second year. For British Lion she was in The Case of Gabriel Perry (1935), then was in Honours Easy (1935) with Greta Nissen and Man of the Moment (1935) with Douglas Fairbanks Jnr . These were standard ingénue roles. She was the female love interest in Midshipman Easy (1935), directed by Carol Reed , who would become crucial to Lockwood's career. She had the lead in Someday (1935),

15960-419: The sections with the perpetrator removing his belt and the close up of young Maddalena's face filled with fear as she is running from the pursuing man were cut, and shortened to the preceding scene, in which the man is seen following her out of the audience's view. The subsequent scene with Maddalena returning to her room was also shortened. Rather than see her cry, fall onto her bed and clasp her stomach in pain,

16112-540: The spirit of a dead girl, but the film was not a success. I'll Be Your Sweetheart (1945) was a musical with Guest and Vic Oliver. Lockwood had the biggest success of her career to-date with the title role in The Wicked Lady (1945) for director Arliss. The film was the most popular movie at the British box office in 1946. In 1946, Lockwood gained the Daily Mail National Film Awards First Prize for most popular British film actress. She

16264-542: The stage in Spider's Web (1954) by Agatha Christie , expressly written for her. She then appeared in Cast a Dark Shadow (1955) with Dirk Bogarde for director Lewis Gilbert . Gilbert later said "It was reasonably successful, but, by then, Margaret had been in several really bad films and her name on a picture was rather counter-productive." As her popularity waned in the post war years, she returned to occasional performances on

16416-455: The story of a newly retired elderly couple who purchase a house that has been vacant for many years. The house is haunted by its previous occupier, who may have died under suspicious circumstances, and now takes possession of the couple's newly employed companion , Annette, who resembles the spirit physically. Despite the film performing well at the British box office, it was viewed as a financial disappointment, considering that it starred two of

16568-408: The story of a young woman and a cold aristocrat who enter into a marriage of convenience . When the young woman falls in love with a strolling actor, her hopes of eloping to happiness are constantly wrecked by the aristocrat who cares more for the reputation of the family name, and by an old school friend who has designs on marrying her husband. The film proved to be a major success on its release. It

16720-485: The then head of the PCA, to Britain for a meeting with the British Film Producers Association to advise them on how they could modify their films to be US code compliant before the films were released in the United States. The British press pressured Breen on the PCA's treatment of British films during his interviews with them, which they concluded was evidence of anti-British sentiment. They argued

16872-464: The tragic deaths of two characters. Despite this, however, Box managed to satisfy the censor by adding some shots in which detectives arrived on the island to break up the whiskey operation, and by filming an ending in which "the good characters" survived, instead of being murdered. Many of the films make use of chiaroscuro lighting and mildly expressionist imagery, influenced by the earlier style of German cinema . The producer Edward Black played

17024-519: The twentieth century and 15th in the all-time ranking. The first Daily Mail National Film Awards in 1946, which are seen as the predecessor to the British Film Academy Awards (later BAFTA ) and inspiration for the current National Film Awards UK , saw The Man in Grey (1943) voted second in the category for "Best Film" made between 1939 and 1945, behind The Way to the Stars (1945). Two other Gainsborough melodramas, Madonna of

17176-446: The villainous Hesther. She was featured alongside Phyllis Calvert , James Mason and Stewart Granger for director Leslie Arliss . The film was a massive hit, one of the biggest in 1943 Britain, and made all four lead actors into top stars – at the end of the year, exhibitors voted Lockwood the seventh most popular British star at the box office. She appeared in two comedies for Black: Dear Octopus (1943) with Michael Wilding from

17328-534: The young Jean Simmons when they both worked on Gabriel Pascal 's Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). Three years later, Simmons had transformed from a promising newcomer into a star. They married the following year in a bizarre wedding ceremony organised by Howard Hughes : One of his private aircraft flew the couple to Tucson, Arizona, where they were married, mainly among strangers, with Michael Wilding as Granger's best man. Granger's stage production of Leo Tolstoy 's The Power of Darkness (a venture he had intended as

17480-715: Was I Thank a Fool alongside Susan Hayward ; Pontius Pilate for Hugo Fregonese ; and The Tumbled House for John Farrow . The role in The Leopard ultimately went to Burt Lancaster, the one in I Thank a Fool to Peter Finch, and the Fregonese and Farrow movies were never made. Granger did go to Britain to appear in the thriller The Secret Partner (1961) for MGM. He went to Italy and played Lot in Robert Aldrich 's Sodom and Gomorrah (1962), filmed in Rome. When Sodom and Gomorrah started filming, Granger announced he had signed

17632-477: Was a British actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Man in Grey (1943), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film Cast a Dark Shadow . She also starred in the television series Justice (1971–74). Lockwood

17784-498: Was a big hit. In 1952, Granger starred in Scaramouche in the role of Andre Moreau, the bastard son of a French nobleman, a part Ramón Novarro had played in the 1923 version of Rafael Sabatini 's novel. Granger's co-star Eleanor Parker said Granger was the only actor she did not get along with during her entire career. "Everyone disliked this man...Stewart Granger was a dreadful person, rude...just awful. Just being in his presence

17936-517: Was adapted from the novel Life And Death of the Wicked Lady Skelton by Magdalen King-Hall and tells the story of a selfish, manipulative and vindictive woman who engages in a double life, as noble lady and highwaywoman , for excitement and gratification. Released in December 1945, The Wicked Lady was not only the most popular film at the British box office in 1946, but also the most successful film Gainsborough Pictures produced overall. It

18088-451: Was adapted from the short story "Love and Forget" by J. W. Drawbell , although director and co-screenwriter Leslie Arliss would later say he was also inspired by two other short magazine stories, "The Ship Sailed at Night" and "A Night in Algiers". The film explores a contemporary rivalrous love triangle between a concert pianist (Lockwood) who, due to a heart condition, has months to live,

18240-483: Was advised to change his name in order to avoid being confused with the American actor James Stewart . Granger was his Scottish grandmother's maiden name. Offscreen friends and colleagues continued to call him Jimmy for the rest of his life, but to the general public he became Stewart Granger. Granger made his film debut as an extra in 1933, starting with The Song You Gave Me (1933). He can also be glimpsed in Give Her

18392-527: Was at £4,000 a year. According to writer Alan Wood, "Many people were astonished at the contract Ted Black gave her; but when they asked him about it, he said, "She has something with which every girl in the suburbs can identify herself". Black backed his judgment and built Margaret Lockwood into a star." For Black and director Robert Stevenson she supported Will Fyffe in Owd Bob (1938), with John Loder . Lockwood then had her best chance to-date, being given

18544-440: Was bad. I thought at one point the crew was going to kill him." However, the resulting movie was a notable critical and commercial success. After this came the remake of The Prisoner of Zenda (1952), for which his theatrical voice, stature (6'2") and dignified profile made him a natural. It too was popular. In 1952 he and Jean Simmons sued Howard Hughes for $ 250,000 damages arising from an alleged breach of contract. The case

18696-675: Was born on 15 September 1916 in Karachi , British India (today Pakistan), to Henry Francis Lockwood, an English administrator of a railway company, and his third wife, Scottish-born Margaret Eveline Waugh. She moved to England in 1920 with her mother, brother Lyn and half-brother Frank. Her half-sister Fay joined them the following year, but her father remained in Karachi, visiting them infrequently. She also had another half-brother, John, from her father's first marriage, brought up by his mother in Britain. Lockwood attended Sydenham High School for girls and

18848-533: Was cast as the outsider, the handsome gambler Philip Christoph von Königsmarck who is perceived as 'not quite the ticket' by the established order, the Hanoverian court where the action is mostly set. Granger stated that this was one of his few movies of which he was proud. However it was a disappointment at the box office, as was Blanche Fury . Granger wanted a change of pace and so appeared in Woman Hater (1948),

19000-447: Was deemed to be deviant in nature. It was also illegal in both Britain and the United States during the year of the film's release. Sydney Box 's first film during his period in charge at Gainsborough, Jassy (1947), passed through the PCA with relative ease, despite some public outcry that the film glorified witchcraft. However, this would prove to be the exception rather than the norm for Box, who encountered numerous battles with

19152-499: Was deeply conscientious and had a load of theatrical talent. He should have made himself a producer and/or director." Granger went over to Rank , for whom he made a series of historical dramas: Captain Boycott (1947), set in Ireland, directed by Frank Launder ; Blanche Fury (1948), with Valerie Hobson ; and Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948), an Ealing Studios production. Granger

19304-418: Was due to be released) equally contained similar themes of adultery, premeditated murder, suicide, and rape to their British counterparts. However, whilst the American films seemed to get warnings, the British films were instructed to re-title films, alternate storylines, and perform cuts and/or reshoots of scenes to a degree whereby the film lost its appeal to the general public, and which impacted financially on

19456-653: Was educated at Epsom College and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in South Kensington . He was the great-great-grandson of the Italian-French-Irish opera singer Luigi Lablache and the grandson of the actor Luigi Lablache. Granger lived in Bournemouth at 57 Grove Road with his mother. His mother owned the property now called East Cliff Cottage Hotel until 1979. When he became an actor, he

19608-429: Was established by the BBFC's assessment of the Gainsborough film Two Thousand Women (1944), whereby viewers see Phyllis Calvert's naked back and Roc's naked back and side of breast, which they passed without cuts. However, the PCA were not so lenient with the latter title, and held up the film's release in the United States for seven years, until the film was retitled to House of 1,000 Women with sixteen minutes of

19760-477: Was head of production at Gainsborough, pushed forward escapism , in contrast to Ealing's focus on the war, as he contended that the public did not need to see "patriotic war settings" for enjoyment, since many could find it "too near home", and that audiences wanted "good themes and good laughs". Previously, Gainsborough had made films in a variety of genres during its twenty-five year existence, and had been particularly known for its comedy films; however, with

19912-503: Was in Melody and Romance (1937). Gaumont British were making a film version of the novel Doctor Syn , starring George Arliss and Anna Lee with director Roy William Neill and producer Edward Black . Lee dropped out and was replaced by Lockwood. Lockwood so impressed the studio with her performance – particularly Black, who became a champion of hers – she signed a three-year contract with Gainsborough Pictures in June 1937. This

20064-593: Was in Moonfleet (1955), cast as adventurer Jeremy Fox in the Dorset of 1757, a man who rules a gang of cut-throat smugglers with an iron fist until he is softened by a 10-year-old boy who worships him and who believes only the best of him. The film was directed by Fritz Lang and produced by John Houseman , a former associate of Orson Welles . It was a flop. Granger and Robert Taylor were reunited in The Last Hunt (1956),

20216-694: Was in Autumn with Flora Robson and The House in the Square (1940). Granger had small roles in the movies So This Is London (1939) and Convoy (1940). At the outbreak of the Second World War, Granger enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders , then transferred to the Black Watch with the rank of second lieutenant. However he suffered from stomach ulcers and was invalided out of the army in 1942. Granger had

20368-575: Was looking for someone to play H. Rider Haggard 's hero Allan Quatermain in a movie version of King Solomon's Mines . Errol Flynn was offered the role but turned it down; Granger's signing was announced in August 1949. On the basis of the huge success of this movie, released in 1950 and co-starring Deborah Kerr and Richard Carlson , he was offered a seven-year contract by MGM. He signed it in May 1950, and MGM announced three vehicles for him: Robinson Crusoe ,

20520-583: Was meant to be reunited with Reed and Redgrave in The Girl in the News (1940) but Redgrave withdrew, and he was replaced by Barry K. Barnes : Black produced and Sidney Gilliat wrote the script. Quiet Wedding (1941) was a comedy directed by Anthony Asquith . She was meant to appear in Hatter's Castle , but she withdrew because of pregnancy. Her return to acting was Alibi (1942), a thriller which she called "anything but

20672-476: Was meant to make film versions of Rob Roy and The Blue Lagoon but both projects were cancelled with the advent of war. Instead, she played the role of Jenny Sunley, the self-centred, frivolous wife of Michael Redgrave 's character in The Stars Look Down for Carol Reed . Lockwood later admitted "I was far from being reconciled to my role of the unpleasant girl and everyone treated me warily. But as

20824-399: Was not in favour, and subsequently vetoed any plans to make a follow-up film. Leslie Arliss did go on to write a sequel for the film, titled The Wicked Lady's Daughter , in 1950, but it was never made into a film. Ironically, Arliss's last film credit was as screenwriter for the remake of The Wicked Lady (1983), which was directed by Michael Winner and starred Faye Dunaway . However

20976-483: Was not the expected success at the box office. More popular was Jassy (1947), the seventh biggest hit at the British box office in 1947. It was the last of "official" Gainsborough melodramas – the studio had come under the control of J. Arthur Rank who disliked the genre. She was a warden in The White Unicorn (1947), a melodrama from the team of Harold Huth and John Corfield . Rank wanted to star her in

21128-515: Was offered the role of Bianca in The Magic Bow but disliked the part and turned it down. Instead she was a murderess in Bedelia (1946), which did not perform as well, although it was popular in Britain. In July 1946, Lockwood signed a six-year contract with Rank to make two movies a year. The first of these was Hungry Hill (1947), an expensive adaptation of the novel by Daphne du Maurier which

21280-489: Was placed 9th, with an estimated attendance of 18.4 million people, while Fanny by Gaslight (1944) was placed 40th, with an estimated attendance of 11.7 million people. In regards solely to British productions, the same list identified that the most popular films were The Wicked Lady (1945), which was ranked second of all time, just behind Spring in Park Lane (1948), and Fanny by Gaslight , ranked as 13th in

21432-681: Was popular. She appeared on TV in Ann Veronica and another TV adaptation of the Shaw play Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1953). Her next two films for Wilcox were commercial disappointments: Laughing Anne (1953) and Trouble in the Glen (1954). She made no more films with Wilcox who called her "a director's joy who can shade a performance or a character with computer accuracy", but he admitted their collaboration "did not come off." Lockwood returned to

21584-573: Was released in 1947; however, it was not successful and this marked the official end of the Gainsborough melodrama period. Sydney Box , who had taken over at Gainsborough Pictures in 1946, hoped to move away from melodramas to social realism , but subsequent films that followed Jassy , such as Good-Time Girl , When the Bough Breaks , and Boys in Brown bore a resemblance to the old Gainsborough melodrama formula. A large number of actors appeared in

21736-449: Was responsible for code enforcement was ever vigilant, but inconsistent if you consider the scantily dressed Betty Grable and June Haver in the American film The Dolly Sisters , which slipped through their own censorship". The British film industry were also confused at the inconsistencies of the PCA's decisions, which they believed were an attempt to exclude British films from the US market. J. Arthur Rank invited Joseph Breen ,

21888-615: Was settled out of court. Columbia borrowed him to play the love interest of Rita Hayworth in Salome (1953), another big hit. Back at MGM he co-starred with his wife in Young Bess (1953), playing Thomas Seymour . The movie was popular, though it did not recover its cost, and it remained a favourite of Granger's. He had a commercial success in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), playing

22040-541: Was shortlisted for the "Best British Film" award for 1946 at the Daily Mail National Film Awards , held in 1947, finishing second behind Piccadilly Incident (1946); it also claimed "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" awards for James Mason and Margaret Lockwood , respectively. Head of Production at Gainsborough Maurice Ostrer wanted to capitalize on the success of the film by making a sequel ; however, J. Arthur Rank , whose company owned Gainsborough,

22192-474: Was shortlisted for the "Best British Film" for 1946 at the 1947 Daily Mail National Film Awards. The second melodrama released by Gainsborough in 1946, The Magic Bow , was adapted from the biographic novel, The Magic Bow: A Romance of Paganini by Manuel Komroff . The film tells the story of the Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini before he becomes famous, and deals with his determination to attain

22344-477: Was teamed with Brice and Lex Barker , also a hero of Karl May movies, in the crime movie Killer's Carnival (1966). Granger starred in several Eurospy movies such as Red Dragon (1965), a West German-Italian movie shot in Hong Kong; and Requiem for a Secret Agent (1966). He did The Crooked Road (1965), with Robert Ryan under the direction of Don Chaffey in Yugoslavia; Target for Killing (1966),

22496-463: Was teamed with Granger in The Little Hut (1957), a sex farce that proved a surprise smash at the box office. He followed it with Gun Glory (1957). It was his last movie under his MGM contract, which ended September 10, 1957. Granger had turned down the role of Messala in the 1959 film Ben-Hur , reportedly because he did not want to take second billing to Charlton Heston . Granger had become

22648-458: Was terribly distressed when I read the press notices of the film", wrote Lockwood. That same year, Lockwood was announced to play Becky Sharp in a film adaptation of Vanity Fair but it was not made. Lockwood was in the melodrama Madness of the Heart (1949), but the film was not a particular success. When a proposed film about Elisabeth of Austria was cancelled, she returned to the stage in

22800-407: Was the seventh most popular movie at the British box office in 1943. Phyllis Calvert later recalled it "had two West End premieres. It had one premiere, got terrible notices, went through the provinces and made so much money that it had to come back to London". On the film's release in Australia in 1945, it was the only British film listed in the top ten most popular films. Love Story (1944)

22952-431: Was the sixth most popular movie at the British box office in 1946. Also well liked was The Magic Bow (1946), with Calvert and Kent, where Granger played Niccolò Paganini . That year he was voted the third most popular British star, and the sixth most popular overall. James Mason wrote about Granger in his memoir, saying "although he seemed to get as much fun from a spot of producer-baiting as anyone I ever worked with, he

23104-487: Was widely seen, and was the first of Granger's movies to be a hit in the U.S. At the end of 1945 British exhibitors voted Granger the second most popular British film star, and the ninth most popular overall. The Times reported that "this six-foot black-visaged ex-soldier from the Black Watch is England's Number One pin up boy. Only Bing Crosby can match him for popularity." Caravan (1946), starring Granger and Kent,

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