Madeleine Carroll(1906-1987)
- Actress
The original ash-blonde "iceberg maiden", Madeleine Carroll was a
knowing beauty with a confident air, the epitome of poise and
"breeding". Not only did she have looks and allure in abundance, but
she had intellectual heft to go with them, graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts from Birmingham University at the age of 20. The daughter of a
French mother and an Irish father, she briefly held a position teaching
French at a girls seminary near Brighton, but was by this time
thoroughly determined to seek her career in the theatre--much to her
dad's chagrin. Madeleine's chance arrived, after several failed
auditions (and in between modeling hats), in the shape of a small part
as a French maid in a 1927 West End production of "The Lash". Her film
debut followed within a year and stardom was almost instantaneous. By
the time she appeared in
The W Plan (1930), Madeleine had
become Britain's top female screen star. That is not to say, however,
that she was a gifted actress from the outset. In fact, she learned her
trade on the job, finding help along the way from established thespians
such as Seymour Hicks and
Miles Mander. Most of her early films
tended to focus on that exquisite face, and bringing out her regal,
well-bred--if rather icy--personality. Her beautiful speaking voice
enabled her to make the transition to sound pictures effortlessly.
Following a year-long absence from acting (and marriage to Capt. Philip
Astley of the King's Guards) she returned to the screen, having been
tempted with a lucrative contract by Gaumont-British. The resulting
films, Sleeping Car (1933) and
I Was a Spy (1933), were both popular
and critical successes and prompted renewed offers from Hollywood.
However, on loan to Fox, the tedious melodrama
The World Moves On (1934) did
absolutely nothing for her career and she quickly returned to
Britain--a fortuitous move, as it turned out.
Alfred Hitchcock had been on
the lookout for one of the unattainable, aloof blondes he was so
partial to, whose smoldering sexuality lay hidden beneath a layer of
ladylike demeanor (other Hitch favorites of that type included
Grace Kelly and
Kim Novak). Madeleine fitted the bill
perfectly. The 39 Steps (1935),
based on a novel by John Buchan,
made her an international star. The process was not entirely painless,
however, as Hitchcock "introduced" Madeleine to co-star
Robert Donat by handcuffing them together
(accounts vary as to how long, exactly, but it was likely for several
hours) for "added realism". In due course the enforced companionship
got the stars nicely acquainted and helped make their humorous banter
in the film all the more convincing.
Hitchcock liked Madeleine and attempted to repeat the success of "The
39 Steps" with Secret Agent (1936),
but with somewhat diminished results (primarily because Donat had to
pull out of the project due to illness and Madeleine's chemistry with
John Gielgud was not on the same level as
it was with Donat). Nonetheless, her reputation was made. After
Alexander Korda sold her
contract, she ended up back in Hollywood with Paramount. Initially she
was signed for one year (1935-36), but this was extended in 1938 with a
stipulation that she make two pictures per year until the end of 1941.
The studio publicity machine touted Madeleine as "the most beautiful
woman in the world". This was commensurate with her being given A-grade
material, beginning with
The General Died at Dawn (1936),
opposite Gary Cooper. For once,
Madeleine portrayed something other than a regal or "squeaky clean"
character, and she did so with more warmth and élan than she had
displayed in her previous films. She then showed a humorous side in
Irving Berlin's
On the Avenue (1937); had
Tyrone Power and
George Sanders fight it out for
her affections in
Lloyd's of London (1936) (on
loan to Fox); and turned up as a particularly decorative--though in
regard to acting, underemployed--princess, in
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937).
Thereafter she had hit the peak of her profession in terms of salary,
reportedly making $250,000 in 1938 alone. For the remainder of her
Hollywood tenure, Madeleine co-starred three times with
Fred MacMurray (the most enjoyable
encounter was
Honeymoon in Bali (1939)), and
opposite Bob Hope in one of his most
fondly remembered comedies,
My Favorite Blonde (1942).
Then it all started to come to an end.
Having lost her sister Guigette during a German air attack on London in
October 1940, Madeleine devoted more and more of her time to the war
effort, becoming entertainment director for the United Seamens Service
and joining the Red Cross as a nurse under the name Madeleine Hamilton.
She was unable to rekindle her popularity after the war, her last film
of note being The Fan (1949), a
dramatization of Oscar Wilde's play. She
made a solitary, albeit very successful, attempt at Broadway, with a
starring role in the comedy "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1948), directed by and
co-starring a young Sam Wanamaker. There
were a few more TV and radio appearances but, for all intents and
purposes, her career had run its course. Britain's most glamorous
export to Hollywood became increasingly self-deprecating, rejecting
further overtures from producers. Instead, she became more committed to
charitable works on behalf of children, orphaned or injured as the
result of the Second World War.
Madeleine spent the last 21 years of her life in retirement, first in
Paris, then in the south of Spain. Two of her four ex-husbands included
the actor Sterling Hayden and the French
director/producer Henri Lavorel. Last of
the quartet was Andrew Heiskell, publisher of 'Life' magazine. She died
in Marbella in October 1987. In her private life, the trimmings of
stardom seemed to have mattered little to Madeleine. As to her status
as a sex symbol, she was once said to have quipped to a group of
collegians who had voted her the girl they'd most like to be marooned
with on a desert island, that she would not object, provided at least
one of them was a good obstetrician!
knowing beauty with a confident air, the epitome of poise and
"breeding". Not only did she have looks and allure in abundance, but
she had intellectual heft to go with them, graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts from Birmingham University at the age of 20. The daughter of a
French mother and an Irish father, she briefly held a position teaching
French at a girls seminary near Brighton, but was by this time
thoroughly determined to seek her career in the theatre--much to her
dad's chagrin. Madeleine's chance arrived, after several failed
auditions (and in between modeling hats), in the shape of a small part
as a French maid in a 1927 West End production of "The Lash". Her film
debut followed within a year and stardom was almost instantaneous. By
the time she appeared in
The W Plan (1930), Madeleine had
become Britain's top female screen star. That is not to say, however,
that she was a gifted actress from the outset. In fact, she learned her
trade on the job, finding help along the way from established thespians
such as Seymour Hicks and
Miles Mander. Most of her early films
tended to focus on that exquisite face, and bringing out her regal,
well-bred--if rather icy--personality. Her beautiful speaking voice
enabled her to make the transition to sound pictures effortlessly.
Following a year-long absence from acting (and marriage to Capt. Philip
Astley of the King's Guards) she returned to the screen, having been
tempted with a lucrative contract by Gaumont-British. The resulting
films, Sleeping Car (1933) and
I Was a Spy (1933), were both popular
and critical successes and prompted renewed offers from Hollywood.
However, on loan to Fox, the tedious melodrama
The World Moves On (1934) did
absolutely nothing for her career and she quickly returned to
Britain--a fortuitous move, as it turned out.
Alfred Hitchcock had been on
the lookout for one of the unattainable, aloof blondes he was so
partial to, whose smoldering sexuality lay hidden beneath a layer of
ladylike demeanor (other Hitch favorites of that type included
Grace Kelly and
Kim Novak). Madeleine fitted the bill
perfectly. The 39 Steps (1935),
based on a novel by John Buchan,
made her an international star. The process was not entirely painless,
however, as Hitchcock "introduced" Madeleine to co-star
Robert Donat by handcuffing them together
(accounts vary as to how long, exactly, but it was likely for several
hours) for "added realism". In due course the enforced companionship
got the stars nicely acquainted and helped make their humorous banter
in the film all the more convincing.
Hitchcock liked Madeleine and attempted to repeat the success of "The
39 Steps" with Secret Agent (1936),
but with somewhat diminished results (primarily because Donat had to
pull out of the project due to illness and Madeleine's chemistry with
John Gielgud was not on the same level as
it was with Donat). Nonetheless, her reputation was made. After
Alexander Korda sold her
contract, she ended up back in Hollywood with Paramount. Initially she
was signed for one year (1935-36), but this was extended in 1938 with a
stipulation that she make two pictures per year until the end of 1941.
The studio publicity machine touted Madeleine as "the most beautiful
woman in the world". This was commensurate with her being given A-grade
material, beginning with
The General Died at Dawn (1936),
opposite Gary Cooper. For once,
Madeleine portrayed something other than a regal or "squeaky clean"
character, and she did so with more warmth and élan than she had
displayed in her previous films. She then showed a humorous side in
Irving Berlin's
On the Avenue (1937); had
Tyrone Power and
George Sanders fight it out for
her affections in
Lloyd's of London (1936) (on
loan to Fox); and turned up as a particularly decorative--though in
regard to acting, underemployed--princess, in
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937).
Thereafter she had hit the peak of her profession in terms of salary,
reportedly making $250,000 in 1938 alone. For the remainder of her
Hollywood tenure, Madeleine co-starred three times with
Fred MacMurray (the most enjoyable
encounter was
Honeymoon in Bali (1939)), and
opposite Bob Hope in one of his most
fondly remembered comedies,
My Favorite Blonde (1942).
Then it all started to come to an end.
Having lost her sister Guigette during a German air attack on London in
October 1940, Madeleine devoted more and more of her time to the war
effort, becoming entertainment director for the United Seamens Service
and joining the Red Cross as a nurse under the name Madeleine Hamilton.
She was unable to rekindle her popularity after the war, her last film
of note being The Fan (1949), a
dramatization of Oscar Wilde's play. She
made a solitary, albeit very successful, attempt at Broadway, with a
starring role in the comedy "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1948), directed by and
co-starring a young Sam Wanamaker. There
were a few more TV and radio appearances but, for all intents and
purposes, her career had run its course. Britain's most glamorous
export to Hollywood became increasingly self-deprecating, rejecting
further overtures from producers. Instead, she became more committed to
charitable works on behalf of children, orphaned or injured as the
result of the Second World War.
Madeleine spent the last 21 years of her life in retirement, first in
Paris, then in the south of Spain. Two of her four ex-husbands included
the actor Sterling Hayden and the French
director/producer Henri Lavorel. Last of
the quartet was Andrew Heiskell, publisher of 'Life' magazine. She died
in Marbella in October 1987. In her private life, the trimmings of
stardom seemed to have mattered little to Madeleine. As to her status
as a sex symbol, she was once said to have quipped to a group of
collegians who had voted her the girl they'd most like to be marooned
with on a desert island, that she would not object, provided at least
one of them was a good obstetrician!