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Anna Neagle(1904-1986)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
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Anna Neagle
Dame Anna Neagle, the endearingly popular British star during WWII, was born Florence Marjorie Robertson and began dancing as a professional in chorus lines at age 14. She starred with actor Jack Buchanan in the musical "Stand Up and Sing" in the West End and earned her big break when producer/director Herbert Wilcox, who had caught the show purposely to consider Buchanan for an upcoming film, was also taken (and smitten) by Anna, casting her as well in the process. Thus began one of the most exclusive and successful partnerships in the British cinema.

Under Wilcox's guidance (they married in 1943), Anna became one of the biggest and brightest celebrities of her time. Always considered an actress of limited abilities, the lovely Anna nevertheless would prove to be a sensational box-office commodity for nearly two decades. She added glamour and sophistication for war-torn London audiences and her lightweight musicals, comedies and even costumed historical dramas provided a nicely balanced escape route. The tasteful, ladylike heroines she portrayed included nurses Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale, flyer Amy Johnson and undercover spy Odette; Nell Gwyn and Queen Victoria also fell within her grasp. She appeared in a number of frothy post-war retreads co-starring Michael Wilding that the critics turned their noses on but the audiences ate up - including They Met at Midnight (1946), Katy's Love Affair (1947), Spring in Park Lane (1948) and The Lady with a Lamp (1951). She tried to extend her fame to Hollywood and briefly appeared there in three musicals in the early 40s, but failed to make a dent. Anna's appeal faded somewhat in the late 50s and, after producing a few film efforts, retired altogether from the screen.

She returned to her theatre roots, which culminated in the long-running "Charlie Girl", a 1965 production that ran with Anna for nearly six years. She was bestowed with the honor of Dame of the British Empire in 1969 for her contributions to the theatre. Anna continued to perform after her husband's death in 1977, later developing Parkinson's disease in her final years. She died in 1986 of complications.
BornOctober 20, 1904
DiedJune 3, 1986(81)
BornOctober 20, 1904
DiedJune 3, 1986(81)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos88

Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle and Marianne Walla in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle and Alfred Schieske in Odette (1950)
Trevor Howard and Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Marius Goring and Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)
Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, and Anna Neagle in Odette (1950)

Known for

Odette (1950)
Odette
6.9
  • Odette Sansom
  • Lise
  • 1950
Katy's Love Affair (1947)
Katy's Love Affair
6.5
  • Kate O'Halloran
  • 1947
Anna Neagle and Anton Walbrook in Victoria the Great (1937)
Victoria the Great
6.3
  • Queen Victoria
  • 1937
Anna Neagle in No, No, Nanette (1940)
No, No, Nanette
5.2
  • Nanette
  • 1940

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Tales of the Unexpected (1979)
    Tales of the Unexpected
  • ITV Play of the Week (1955)
    ITV Play of the Week
  • Theatre Night
  • Frankie Vaughan in The Lady Is a Square (1959)
    The Lady Is a Square
  • The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958)
    The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
  • No Time for Tears (1957)
    No Time for Tears
  • Teenage Bad Girl (1956)
    Teenage Bad Girl
  • Errol Flynn and Anna Neagle in King's Rhapsody (1955)
    King's Rhapsody
  • Errol Flynn, David Farrar, Kathleen Harrison, and Anna Neagle in Let's Make Up (1954)
    Let's Make Up
    • ...
  • The Glorious Days
  • Derby Day (1952)
    Derby Day
  • The Lady with a Lamp (1951)
    The Lady with a Lamp
  • Odette (1950)
    Odette
  • Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
    Maytime in Mayfair
  • Anna Neagle and Nicholas Phipps in Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948)
    Elizabeth of Ladymead
    • ...

Producer

  • The Heart of a Man (1959)
    The Heart of a Man
  • Frankie Vaughan in The Lady Is a Square (1959)
    The Lady Is a Square
  • Jocelyn Lane, Jeremy Spenser, and Frankie Vaughan in Wonderful Things (1958)
    Wonderful Things
  • Dangerous Youth (1957)
    Dangerous Youth
  • The Lady with a Lamp (1951)
    The Lady with a Lamp
    • (uncredited)
  • Odette (1950)
    Odette
    • (uncredited)
  • Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
    Maytime in Mayfair
  • Spring in Park Lane (1948)
    Spring in Park Lane
    • (uncredited)
  • Katy's Love Affair (1947)
    Katy's Love Affair

Soundtrack

  • Anna Neagle and Nicholas Phipps in Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948)
    Elizabeth of Ladymead
  • Ray Bolger, Edward Everett Horton, John Carroll, and Anna Neagle in Sunny (1941)
    Sunny
  • Anna Neagle in No, No, Nanette (1940)
    No, No, Nanette
  • Ray Milland and Anna Neagle in Irene (1940)
    Irene
    • (uncredited)
  • Fernand Gravey and Anna Neagle in Bitter Sweet (1933)
    Bitter Sweet

Personal details

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    • October 20, 1904
    • Forest Gate, Essex, England, UK
    • June 3, 1986
    • West Byfleet, Surrey, England, UK(complications from renal disease and cancer)
    • Herbert WilcoxAugust 9, 1943 - May 15, 1977 (his death)
  • Other works
    She acted in William Shakespeare's play, "As You Like It," at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park, London, England with Jack Hawkins CBE, John Drinkwater, Leslie French, Nigel Playfair, Robert Eddison, and Margaretta Scott in the cast. Sir Robert Atkins was director.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 6 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 17 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    She was recorded in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for her 2,062 consecutive performances in the stage play "Charlie Girl" which ran from 1965 to 1971.
  • Quotes
    [Asked in a 1985 interview if her films had a feminist point of view] "Instinctively, yes, not consciously. I feel very strongly for women's emancipation. Now it's accepted, of course, but at the time some of the characters I played lived, it wasn't accepted.
    • Bitter Sweet
      (1933)
      £400

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