The Wicked Lady (1945)

17th-century beauty Barbara Worth starts her career of crime by stealing her best friend's bridegroom. Her next exploit is to recover gambling losses by donning mask and cloak and taking to... See full summary »

Director:

Leslie Arliss

Writers:

Magdalen King-Hall (novel), Leslie Arliss (screenplay),

Stars:

Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, Patricia Roc

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margaret Lockwood	...	Barbara Worth
James Mason	...	Capt. Jerry Jackson
Patricia Roc	...	Caroline
Griffith Jones	...	Sir Ralph Skelton
Michael Rennie	...	Kit Locksby
Felix Aylmer	...	Hogarth
Enid Stamp-Taylor	...	Lady Henrietta Kingsclere (as Enid Stamp Taylor)
Francis Lister	...	Lord Kingsclere
Beatrice Varley	...	Aunt Moll
Amy Dalby	...	Aunt Doll
Martita Hunt	...	Cousin Agatha
David Horne	...	Martin Worth
Emrys Jones	...	Ned Cotterill
Helen Goss	...	Mistress Betsy
Muriel Aked	...	Mrs. Munce

Storyline

17th-century beauty Barbara Worth starts her career of crime by stealing her best friend's bridegroom. Her next exploit is to recover gambling losses by donning mask and cloak and taking to the roads as a highwayman! The thrill of these ventures proves addictive...especially when she meets a male highwayman who becomes her lover. Together, the two desperados lead a gay secret life, pursued by the local magistrate Sir Ralph Skelton...Barbara's husband! To what further crimes will the wicked Lady Skelton descend?

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | highwayman | mask | harpsichord | secret passage | 

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Taglines:

The most daring pair danger ever designed!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le masque aux yeux verts

Filming Locations:

Blickling Hall, Blickling, Norfolk, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Valerie White was originally cast in the role of highwayman Capt. Jerry Jackson's doxy. The actress developed appendicitis and Jean Kent took over the part. The first scene in which the character appears, Lockwood breaks into the room and Mason's in bed with her, we only actually see her back, and it is White's back we see.

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Goofs

The wedding scene shows two musicians playing clarinets. The clarinet wasn't invented until 1690. The movie takes place in the 1680s.

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Quotes

Lord Kingsclere: He's very lucky with the weather. Must be depressing to be hanged on a damp day.

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Connections

Referenced in 'Doctor Who': The Troughton Years (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Courante"
(uncredited)
Music by Henry Purcell
Arranged by Hubert Bath

User Reviews

Wickedly Lavish, But Picturegoers Loved It!

Not popular with the critics,and I agree the critical chorus had a certain amount of truth behind it. True, the plot is full-blown melodrama and the characters are pasteboard figures. But what does it matter? Is not extravagant plotting with all its coincidences, unlikely twists and larger than life surprises the stuff that escapist entertainment is made of? Are not players of the calibre of Mason, Lockwood, Rennie, Jones, Aylmer, Roc and Stamp Taylor sufficiently personable and charismatic to breathe life into one-dimensionally written figures? Certainly, I think so (even if Mason himself did not, although undoubtedly one of the causes of his dissatisfaction was the role's brevity).

Leslie Arliss has written and directed with verve, pace and style, his script helped by a great deal of witty additional dialogue and catty repartee, his direction aided by Jack Cox's typically moody, gray-toned photography, John Bryan's magnificent sets, Elizabeth Haffenden's eye-catching Restoration costumes. (Perhaps some of the film's enormous success at the box office can be traced to its low-cut, period gowns. It would be hard to deny that Misses Lockwood and Roc fill their costumes most attractively).

The Wicked Lady has an undeniable sweep and a vigorous dash that carries the audience right along. It may be too excitingly plotted for some, but it always looks so terribly authentic, it is hard not to be drawn into the machinations of villainess Lockwood or sympathize with the careless, carefree vigor of James Mason's full-blooded Captain Jackson. A welcome cast of deservedly popular support artists help round out the movie's terrific production values. Aside from some obvious process screen effects, no expense has been spared. In fact, this Wicked Lady is lavish to a fault.