Madeleine Carroll

[David Brent]

One major British actress, now often forgotten, was the lovely Madeleine Carroll.



Born in West Bromwich in 1906, she went on to become the highest paid Hollywood actress of her time.

In 1938 it was estimated that she had earned a staggering $250,000 from motion pictures.

She was the first of Alfred Hitchcock's famed blond leading ladies and is best remembered for her role in "The 39 Steps".



After her sister, Marguerite, was killed in a London bombing raid, she halted her acting career and worked in field hospitals as a Red Cross nurse.

She was given the Legion d'Honneur for bravery in France.



This wonderful woman died in 1987.



Dave.

[penfold]

Terrific actress, but a couple of things; she wasn't the first Hitchcock Blonde, not by about ten years....there were quite a few in the silent era, not least Anny Ondra in Blackmail. In fact, she wasn't blonde at all; in her earliest films, she was brunette....and if such a thing were possible, even more gorgeous. I'll try and get a capture from 'The First Born' (1927) for you. EDIT: not the most flattering, but it was a short clip....

[Joenoir]

Well I have certainly not forgotten her! Who can forgot the classic scene in The 39 Steps, where she takes off her nylons whilst still handcuffed to Robert Donat?!

[batman]

[stevie boy]

She is still very well thought of in the Black Country of the West Midlands. Was it last year or the year before they had some sort of tribute to her. She was sexy in the 39 steps.

[suzepulcheria]

AND in the Prisoner of Zenda (impossibly beautiful I, as a mere female, would say) AND in the Secret Agent. But I think I would say I could tell she wasn't a natural blonde- and no I am not being catty- I'm all for the peroxide bottle. I'm just sorry I'm too dark to resort to it myself!

[TimR]

Madeleine Carroll was one of the most beautiful actresses in film: "The Prisoner of Zenda", "The 39 Steps", "My Favorite Blonde", "The General Died at Dawn".



Then she worked with wounded troops on troop trains, and followed that up with several decades of work on behalf of French/American relations, as well as numerous humanitarian causes, winning the French Legion of Honour.



A life well lived.

[penfold]

...In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. Now heaven knows,.....anything goes...





Mind you, in The First Born, (See grab above) you get a glimpse of something far more, er, shocking than stocking as she throws her flannel at Miles Mander....

[TimR]

AND in the Prisoner of Zenda (impossibly beautiful I, as a mere female, would say) AND in the Secret Agent. But I think I would say I could tell she wasn't a natural blonde- and no I am not being catty- I'm all for the peroxide bottle. I'm just sorry I'm too dark to resort to it myself!

Are you sure? It looks real to me. It would never have occurred to me...



(Don't destroy my illusions....!)

[penfold]

Are you sure? It looks real to me. It would never have occurred to me...



(Don't destroy my illusions....!)

In all the pre-1930 shots I've seen of her, MC was a brunette...sorry!!

[TimR]

In all the pre-1930 shots I've seen of her, MC was a brunette...sorry!!

I just read the first part of the thread, with accompanying illustrations...



Well, I would never have known.



You learn something new every day. She still looks very good, of course.

[Rob Compton]

...In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. Now heaven knows,.....anything goes...

Mind you, in The First Born, (See grab above) you get a glimpse of something far more, er, shocking than stocking as she throws her flannel at Miles Mander....

Mark - not sure what you mean by "grab above" - if you mean the image in Bat's post, all I can see, frustratingly, is a red cross in a white box!



Do you happen to have a copy of "The First Born"? It's a film I would love to see....



rgds

Rob

[penfold]

Mark - not sure what you mean by "grab above" - if you mean the image in Bat's post, all I can see, frustratingly, is a red cross in a white box!

Do you happen to have a copy of "The First Born"? It's a film I would love to see....

rgds

Rob

Madeleine in the bath, 2nd Post in the thread. No, I don't have all the film, just a 30 second clip from the wonderful polemic documentary Silent Britain. But I have seen it twice, and it is an absolutely tremendous film....it's a very new (last 2 years?) rediscovery, simply because someone I know was curious about this Alma Reville-written film that no-one had apparently written about. Even on a Steenbeck without music she recognised it as being special, so she made sure that it could be presented to the public by getting a print struck. It created quite a stir in Pordenone, a notoriously tricky place for British silent films to play....they were blown away from the writing, acting and technique.

The First Born (1928)

[Rob Compton]

Madeleine in the bath, 2nd Post in the thread. No, I don't have all the film, just a 30 second clip from the wonderful polemic documentary Silent Britain. But I have seen it twice, and it is an absolutely tremendous film....it's a very new (last 2 years?) rediscovery, simply because someone I know was curious about this Alma Reville-written film that no-one had apparently written about. Even on a Steenbeck without music she recognised it as being special, so she made sure that it could be presented to the public by getting a print struck. It created quite a stir in Pordenone, a notoriously tricky place for British silent films to play....they were blown away from the writing, acting and technique.

The First Born (1928)

Ah, of course - thanks very much for the reply - must have another look at Silent Britain.



Cheers

Rob

[cornershop15]

This thread needs a lift (or a 'bump', if you prefer).



Following on from a spontaneously-titled post called 'The Patricia Cutts Picture Show', which I used ironically as I haven't found that many of her, I'd like to put together some of the photos of Madeleine that I've seen in the last few days and dedicate them to Captain Waggett, who requested a post at the 'Silent Stars' thread.

"Actress Madeleine Carroll with a large artificial flower" and a publicity photo for Hitchcock's Secret Agent (both 1936)











Publicity cards I found on eBay some time ago (unknown dates)

[Brief Encounter]

Great role in The 39 Steps. But did she really have any other well-known roles, even in Hollywood? I think the aforementioned film is the only one most people could bring to mind.

[CaptainWaggett]

Great role in The 39 Steps. But did she really have any other well-known roles, even in Hollywood? I think the aforementioned film is the only one most people could bring to mind.

She was the highest paid actress in the world c1938. I would have thought The Prisoner of Zenda is still fairly well-known. Perhaps she'd be better known if she hadn't quit acting during the war to take up nursing - after the war she didn't really resume her career.

[cornershop15]

But do you like the photos, Captain? I spotted two of them in that elegant YouTube video (music by Richard Clayderman?): the first, with the "artificial flower", and the fourth.



As for Madeleine's film legacy her collaborations with Mr. Hitchcock (The 39 Steps and Secret Agent) should ensure she will be long remembered. There is an American child actress called Madeline Carroll who'll be getting more attention these days, however.

[will.15]

I've never seen it described as such, but I've always regarded My Favorite Blonde as a parody of The 39 Steps. Unlike a lot of Hope's leading ladies (rememer Heddy Lamarr in My Favorite Spy?), Carroll acts like she knows she is in a comedy. It has the same basic plot, although Carrol has a better part than in 39 Steps (unlike the female spy in Steps, she stays alive) and even has a variation of the scene where Donat is mistaken for a politician and has to make a speech. Hope is mistaken for a doctor who is supposed to give a lecture. It is easily Hope's funniest film.

[The Spine Breaker]

Given how good an actress she became - I was shocked at how bad she was in the almost unwatchable "Atlantic" (1929) - but I guess hardly anyone put in a decent performance in this primitive early British talkie. Her delivery was even slower than that of poor old John Longden - thank goodness they managed to redeem themselves later on in their careers!