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Wylie Watson was a Scottish actor. Among his best-known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's film The 39 Steps (1935), and wily storekeeper Joseph Macroon in the Ealing comedy Whisky Galore! (1949). He emigrated to Australia in 1952, and made his final film appearance there in The Sundowners (1960).
The History of Mr. Polly is a 1949 British film based on the 1910 comic novel The History of Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells. It was directed by Anthony Pelissier and stars John Mills, Betty Ann Davies, Megs Jenkins, Moore Marriott and Finlay Currie. It was the first adaptation of one of Wells's works to be produced after his death in 1946.
Fame is the Spur is a 1947 British drama film directed by Roy Boulting. It stars Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, Bernard Miles, David Tomlinson, Maurice Denham and Kenneth Griffith. Its plot involves a British politician who rises to power, abandoning on the way his radical views for more conservative ones. It is based on the 1940 novel Fame Is the Spur by Howard Spring, which was believed to be based on the career of the Labour Party politician Ramsay MacDonald.
Under a Cloud is a 1937 British comedy film directed by George King and starring Betty Ann Davies, Edward Rigby, Hilda Bayley. The screenplay concerns a man who returns from Australia and tries to reconcile with his estranged family.
Murder by Proxy is a 1954 British 'B' film noir crime drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Dane Clark, Belinda Lee and Betty Ann Davies. The film was based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Helen Nielsen. It was produced by Hammer Films, and released in the United States by Lippert Pictures.
The Franchise Affair is a 1951 British mystery thriller film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Anthony Nicholls and Marjorie Fielding. It is a faithful adaptation of the novel The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey. It was shot at Elstree Studios with location shooting taking place around Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire which stood in for the fictional town of Melford. The film's sets were designed by the art director Terence Verity.
Paradise for Two is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Hulbert, Patricia Ellis and Arthur Riscoe. It was released in the U.S. with the alternative title Gaiety Girls. A chorus girl is mistaken for a millionaire's girlfriend.
A Warm Corner is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach. It featured an early screen appearance by Merle Oberon.
My Old Duchess is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring George Lacy, Betty Ann Davies and Dennis Hoey. The film was made at Elstree Studios. It was based on an original sketch by Fred Karno. The screenplay concerns a stage manager who disguises himself as a duchess.
Betty Ann Davies was a British stage and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1950s. Davies made her first stage appearance at the Palladium in a revue in 1924. The following year she joined Cochran's Young Ladies in revues such as One Dam Thing After Another and This Year of Grace. Davies enjoyed a long and distinguished West End career which included The Good Companions (1934), Morning Star (1942), Blithe Spirit (1943) and Four Winds (1953). Her outstanding stage triumph was in the role of Blanche du Bois, which she took over from Vivien Leigh, in the original West End production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Davies appeared in 38 films, most notably as the future Mrs Polly in The History of Mr. Polly and in the first of the St Trinian's films The Belles of St. Trinian's, and was active in TV at the time of her death. She went into hospital on May 14, 1955, to have an operation for appendicitis, but suffered from complications following surgery and died the same day. She was 44. She left one son, Brook Blackford.
Tropical Trouble is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Douglass Montgomery, Betty Ann Davies and Alfred Drayton. It was based on the novel Bunga-Bunga by Stephen King-Hall. A series of misunderstandings leads to a colonial governor's wife suspecting him of an affair with his assistant.
Lucky Jade is a 1937 British comedy crime film directed by Walter Summers and starring Betty Ann Davies, John Warwick and Syd Crossley. It was shot at Welwyn Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Duncan Sutherland. It was a quota quickie released by the British subsidiary of Paramount Pictures
Play Up the Band is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Stanley Holloway, Betty Ann Davies and Leslie Bradley.
Chick is a 1936 British comedy crime film directed by Michael Hankinson and starring Sydney Howard, Betty Ann Davies and Fred Conyngham. It is based on the 1923 novel of the same title by Edgar Wallace, which had previously been made into a 1928 silent film. The film was made at Elstree Studios. The hall porter at an Oxbridge College inherits an Earldom and enjoys a series of adventures.
Joy Ride is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Gene Gerrard, Zelma O'Neal and Betty Ann Davies. The film was made at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton. The film's art direction was by Don Russell.
Merry Comes to Town is a 1937 British comedy film directed by George King and starring Zasu Pitts, Guy Newall and Betty Ann Davies. It was made at Shepperton Studios.
The Black Mask is a 1935 British crime film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Wylie Watson, Aileen Marson and Ellis Irving. It was made at Teddington Studios as a quota quickie by Warner Bros.' British subsidiary. The film's sets were designed by the studio's resident art director Peter Proud. It is now considered a lost film.
Queer Cargo is a 1938 British drama film directed by Harold D. Schuster and starring John Lodge, Judy Kelly and Kenneth Kent. It was made at Elstree Studios. It was based on a play of the same title by Noel Langley.
Why Pick on Me? is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Wylie Watson, Jack Hobbs and Sybil Grove. It was made at Walton Studios. It was made as a quota quickie for release by the American company RKO Pictures.
The Trojan Brothers is a 1946 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Patricia Burke, David Farrar and Bobby Howes. It is an adaptation of the 1944 novel of the same title by Pamela Hansford Johnson.
References
- ↑ Wood p.92
