Peg of Old Drury
- 28 August 1935 (1935-08-28) (London)
Peg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott.[1] The film is a biopic of 18th century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor. It contains passages of 18th century Shakespearian performance, from The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and As You Like It.[2]
The film was voted the third best British movie of 1936.[3] Wilcox said the film "was enormously successful both here and in the States, artistically as well as at the box office."[4]
Plot
The film is a very affectionate look at the life of Peg, and her relationship with David Garrick. It is a lavish costume drama and recreates a Hogarth-type atmosphere of contemporary London in the mid 18th century. It is laced with snippets of legendary history such as Lord Sandwich's invention of the sandwich. Peg is generally more popular with the men than with the women, particularly her fellow female actors. The film has it that Peg dies off stage at the end of the film.
Cast
- Anna Neagle ... Peg Woffington
- Cedric Hardwicke ... David Garrick
- Margaretta Scott ... Kitty Clive
- Maire O'Neill ... Mrs. Woffington – Peg's Mother
- Arthur Sinclair ... Mr. Woffington – Peg's Father
- Dorothy Robinson ... Mrs. Margaret Dalloway
- Polly Emery ... Martha the Maid
- Aubrey Fitzgerald ... Digby
- Jack Hawkins ... Michael O'Taffe
- Robert Atkins ... Dr. Samuel Johnson
- Hay Petrie ... John Rich
- George Barrett ... Tom – Stage Doorkeeper
- Stuart Robertson ... Singer
- Leslie French ... Alexander Pope
- Tom Heslewood ... William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
- Christopher Steele ... Oliver Goldsmith
- Eliot Makeham ... Dr. Bowdler
- Sara Allgood ... Irish Woman on Boat
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote, "with superb acting, photography that is effective and unusual, yet not bizarre, and direction that is gentleness and good taste itself, Peg of Old Drury is one of the finest cinema production ever to come out of England, or of anywhere else, for that matter";[5] while TV Guide wrote, "Neagle and Hardwicke give impressive performances, and the excerpts from Shakespeare and Jonson are flawlessly mounted. Much of the film's power derives from the screenplay by actor Malleson in his first screenwriting assignment."[6] Graham Greene, writing for The Spectator, gave a more mixed review suggesting that there is "no historical truth to be found anywhere in the deft, neat tale". Greene remarked on the attractiveness of Neagle and found that the film was "very pretty", but concluded that "prettiness is a quality one wants, if at all, in small quantities".[7]
References
- ^ "Peg of Old Drury". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008.
- ^ "Peg of Old Drury". bufvc.ac.uk.
- ^ "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR". The Examiner (LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY ed.). Launceston, Tasmania. 9 July 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 4 March 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Wilcox, Herbert (1967). Twenty Five Thousand Sunsets. South Brunswick. p. 104.
- ^ "Movie Review – Peg of Old Drury – At the Bijou – NYTimes.com". nytimes.com.
- ^ "Peg Of Old Drury". TVGuide.com.
- ^ Greene, Graham (13 September 1935). "On Wings of Song/Peg of Old Drury/Break of Hearts". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 20. ISBN 0192812866.)
External links
- Peg of Old Drury at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Chu-Chin-Chow (1923)
- Southern Love (1924)
- Decameron Nights (1924)
- The Only Way (1926)
- Nell Gwyn (1926)
- London (1926)
- Tip Toes (1927)
- Madame Pompadour (1927)
- Mumsie (1927)
- Dawn (1928)
- The Bondman (1929)
- The Woman in White (1929)
- The Loves of Robert Burns (1930)
- The Chance of a Night Time (1931)
- Carnival (1931)
- The Blue Danube (1932)
- Goodnight, Vienna (1932)
- Money Means Nothing (1932)
- The Little Damozel (1933)
- Bitter Sweet (1933)
- Yes, Mr Brown (1933)
- The Queen's Affair (1934)
- Nell Gwyn (1934)
- Peg of Old Drury (1935)
- This'll Make You Whistle (1936)
- Three Maxims (1936)
- London Melody (1937)
- Limelight (1937)
- Victoria the Great (1937)
- Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
- Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
- Irene (1940)
- No, No, Nanette (1940)
- Sunny (1941)
- They Flew Alone (1942)
- Forever and a Day (1943)
- Yellow Canary (1943)
- I Live in Grosvenor Square (1945)
- Piccadilly Incident (1946)
- The Courtneys of Curzon Street (1947)
- Spring in Park Lane (1948)
- Elizabeth of Ladymead (1948)
- Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
- Odette (1950)
- Into the Blue (1950)
- The Lady with a Lamp (1951)
- Derby Day (1952)
- Trent's Last Case (1952)
- Laughing Anne (1953)
- Trouble in the Glen (1954)
- Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
- King's Rhapsody (1955)
- My Teenage Daughter (1956)
- These Dangerous Years (1957)
- The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958)
- Wonderful Things! (1958)
- The Lady Is a Square (1959)
- The Heart of a Man (1959)
- The Wonderful Story (1922)
- Flames of Passion (1922)
- Paddy the Next Best Thing (1923)
- A Peep Behind the Scenes (1929)
- When Knights Were Bold (1929)
- Black Waters (1929)
- Splinters (1929)
- Rookery Nook (1930)
- Wolves (1930)
- Warned Off (1930)
- On Approval (1930)
- Plunder (1930)
- Tons of Money (1930)
- The Speckled Band (1931)
- Almost a Divorce (1931)
- Up for the Cup (1931)
- Mischief (1931)
- A Night Like This (1932)
- Life Goes On (1932)
- The Mayor's Nest (1932)
- Thark (1932)
- The Love Contract (1932)
- Leap Year (1932)
- The Flag Lieutenant (1932)
- Say It with Music (1932)
- The Barton Mystery (1932)
- The King's Cup (1933)
- Discord (1933)
- One Precious Year (1933)
- The Blarney Stone (1933)
- Lord of the Manor (1933)
- It's a King (1933)
- Summer Lightning (1933)
- Purse Strings (1933)
- That's a Good Girl (1933)
- Up for the Derby (1933)
- Just My Luck (1933)
- Trouble (1933)
- Night of the Garter (1933)
- Sorrell and Son (1933)
- Faces (1934)
- Lucky Loser (1934)
- It's a Cop (1934)
- General John Regan (1934)
- Girls, Please! (1934)
- Up to the Neck (1934)
- The King of Paris (1934)
- Lilies of the Field (1934)
- Brewster's Millions (1935)
- Escape Me Never (1935)
- Come Out of the Pantry (1935)
- Fame (1936)
- The Frog (1937)
- The Rat (1937)
- The Return of the Frog (1938)
- A Royal Divorce (1938)
- No Parking (1938)
- Blondes for Danger (1938)
- The Beggar's Opera (1953)
- Yangtse Incident (1957)
- The Navy Lark (1959)