The Wicked Lady (1945)

A noblewoman begins to lead a dangerous double life in order to alleviate her boredom.

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
James Mason	...	Jackson
Patricia Roc	...	Caroline
Griffith Jones	...	Sir Ralph
Michael Rennie	...	Kit Locksby
Felix Aylmer	...	Hogarth
Enid Stamp-Taylor	...	Lady 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 | obsessive love | husband wife relationship | 

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Taglines:

Mason meets his match in "The Wicked Lady". (Title lobby card).

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le masque aux yeux verts

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures, Gainsborough Pictures (1928)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (BAF Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Came ninth in the UK's Ultimate Film, in which films were placed in order of how many seats they sold at cinemas

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Goofs

When Barbara and Captain Jack hold up a bullion coach, they do so by blocking a bridge with a tipped-over carriage. When they make their getaway, one of the coachmen gives chase on horseback from the bridge, but the tipped-over coach has now vanished.

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Quotes

Barbara Worth: Why did you shoot that horse? I'd rather kill a man any day.

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Alternate Versions

The first USA release version differed from the original UK version by substituting footage with higher necklines on some women's costumes.

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Connections

Referenced in Shepperton Babylon (2005)

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Soundtracks

Down Among the Dead Men
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Hans May

User Reviews

What a hoot!

Wicked Lady is quite the racy little melodrama! For its time, I can imagine it was totally scandalous, but quite tame by today's standards. Margaret Lockwood is delicious as the "bad" Barbara Worth, and James Mason is totally sardonic and witty as her bad boy companion. The times when the two of them are together on screen are by far the most wicked fun (except, of course, when Barbara is contriving some plot to bend everyone around her to her silly will). Honestly, you can see the wheels turning in her head. Her performance and character was the prototype for that queen of all heroines, Scarlet O'Hara. At this time the film was made, English ladies were all atwitter about this genre of Rank Organisations films (of which The Wicked Lady might be the best). I suppose during the war, this type of escapism fantasy must have been just the ticket.