Jessie Matthews
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1970
Biography
Exuberant, coyly girlish, immensely popular star of British musicals of the 1930s, arguably the one real international superstar created in England during the Depression years. Matthews's elegant dancing earned her such tags--conjured by the publicity department--as "The British Ginger Rogers" and, more memorably, "The Dancing Divinity."
With her endearing "funny face" prettiness, lovely large dark eyes, toothy smile, gawky but oddly graceful gangliness and charming coo of a singing voice, Matthews typically played pert gamines and waifs caught up in mistaken identity complications and backstage musical comedy shenanigans. A big success on the London stage during the late 1920s, she clinched her film stardom in the open-air freshness of "The Good Companions" (1932), directed by Victor Saville. Probably her best-remembered film is the delightful musical "Evergreen" (1934), also helmed by Saville, in which she played both mother and daughter and performed to songs ranging from "Dancing on the Ceiling" to "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow." The beguiling, effervescent Matthews also did well by "First a Girl" (1935), a mild remake of the German gender-bending farce "Viktor und Viktoria" (1933) which later inspired Blake Edwards's "Victor/Victoria" (1982). One of her lesser films, though, was "Waltzes from Vienna" (1933), with young director Alfred Hitchcock completely lost at sea and bored helming an operetta.
Unlike some of England's popular film stars whose background was the music hall tradition and whose appeal was somewhat limited to the U.K., Matthews found that her vivacious flair for comedy and delightful dancing, showcased in films much more lavish than many other English efforts of the day, traveled extremely well. At several times Hollywood beckoned (once proposing to team her with Fred Astaire), but nothing ever came of the attempts. Matthews' second husband was stage comedian and director Sonnie Hale, who played goofy comedy roles in several of her starring vehicles, but whose direction of three of them (including the lesser if enjoyable "Head Over Heels" 1937) left a bit to be desired.
After her stardom declined at the end of the decade Matthews returned to extensive stage work (from "Wild Rose" in 1944 to "Water Babies" in 1973, and even doing a spot of directing). Her many radio appearances included the long-running 1960s radio program "Mrs. Dale's Diary," and her tours in a wide variety of plays were international in scope. Late in life, Matthews also gave a number of concerts in America and on the London stage where her career got started, her light soprano retaining a great deal of its nostalgic charm. Matthews also made a handful film appearances from the 1940s on, perhaps most memorably by bringing a warm glow to the modest role of the tiny protagonist's mother in the beloved fantasy, "tom thumb" (1958).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Life Events
1917
Began dance training at age ten at the Madame Elise Clerc School (date approximate)
1919
Made stage debut in pantomime with Terry's Juveniles in "Bluebell in Fairyland"
1923
Danced onstage in C.B. Cochran's "Music Box Revue"
1923
Was a stand-by chorine in Andre Charlot's revue, "London Calling"
1923
Made film debut in a bit part in "The Beloved Vagabond"
1924
Travelled to the U.S. To understudy Gertrude Lawrence on Broadway in "Andre Charlot's Revue of 1924"
1925
Took over lead of Charlot's 1924 revue when Lawrence hospitalized
1925
Played the second female lead back in London in "Andre Charlot's Revue of 1925"
1926
Played the female lead in Charlot's "Show of 1926"
1927
Returned to Broadway to star in "Earl Carroll's Vanities"
1927
Played the West End in director Frank Collins's staging of "One Dam Thing After Another"; introduced what came to be her signature song, "My Heart Stood Still" (composed by Richard Rodgers)
1928
Starred onstage in "This Year of Grace", written by and directed by Noel Coward
1929
Starred in the Cole Porter musical "Wake Up and Dream" (directed by Collins) first in London and then on Broadway
1931
Starred on the London stage in "Evergreen" (directed by Collins) and then "Hold My Hand" (directed by stage star Stanley Lupino)
1931
Returned to films after seven years to play a leading role in "Out of the Blue"; was also her first sound film
1932
Signed contract with Gaumont-British Studios
1932
Made first of six films with director Victor Saville, "The Good Companions"; film's success also clinched her film stardom
1933
Last stage appearance for six years, in "Sally Who?" Opposite second husband Sonnie Hale
1933
Starred in film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, "Waltzes from Vienna"
1936
Offered contract by MGM; plans made for her to star in musical "This Time It's Love", but parties were unable to agree upon terms
1937
Considerable talk that Matthews would make her U.S. Film debut opposite Fred Astaire in RKO's "A Damsel in Distress", his first starring film without Ginger Rogers; again terms were unsettled and the studio used a very young and new contract player, Joan Fontaine
1939
Last British starring vehicle of the 1930s, "Climbing High", directed by Carol Reed
1939
Returned to British stage in "I Can Take It"; played Blackpool, Sheffield and other places as out-of-town tryouts, but play didn't in London due to outbreak of WWII; later that year a revamped version of the same play did open in London until the title "Come Out to Play"
1941
Travelled to the USA to appear in musical, "The Lady Comes Across"; suffered nervous breakdown while show was in try-out stage and Matthews returned to England
1943
First US film; also first film appearance in four years, the all-star anthology drama, "Forever and a Day"; Matthews's segment directed by Saville
1944
Made film directorial debut with "Victory Wedding", a short subject made for the National Savings Committee's "Salute the Soldier" week
1944
Appeared in the London West End production of "Wild Rose"
1944
Toured during WWII with the Entertainments National Service Association
1947
Appeared in two featurettes, "Life Is Nothing Without Music" and "Making the Grade"
1955
Toured South Africa in play, "Larger Than Life"
1955
Directed the stage play, "The Policeman and the Lady"
1957
Reunited with ex-husband Sonnie Hale in "A Nest of Robins", produced in Liverpool
1958
First feature film in 14 years; also second American film, "tom thumb" (deliberately not capitalized), directed by George Pal
1958
Lived in Australia for a time; opened acting school
1960
Toured Great Britain in the Peter Shaffer drama, "Five Finger Exercise"; also performed in the pantomime, "Dick Whittington"
1963
Appeared as herself as one of the interviewees in the medium-length film, "A Hundred Years Underground"
1966
Returned to the London stage to act in "A Share in the Sun"
1971
Performed in Cardiff in a production of the comedy-drama, "The Killing of Sister George"
1973
Performed onstage again in London's West End in "The Water Babies"
1976
Performed in London and on tour in "The Jessie Matthews Show"
1977
Last film, Paul Morrissey's semi-satirical remake of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", written by and co-starring the team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
1978
Performed in Los Angeles in the one-woman show, "Miss Jessie Matthews in Concert"
1980
Cast in "Never Never Land/Second to the Right and Straight on Till Morning/Second Star to the Right/Straight on Till Morning; replaced by Evelyn Laye during course of production
1987
Was the subject of a British TV film, "Catch a Fallen Star"
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Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1970
