Greta Gynt
Encyclopedia
Greta Gynt born Margrethe Woxholt, was a Norwegian singer, dancer
and actress
.
shows in Oslo
. After the Swedish film Sången till henne (1934), her mother, costume designer Kirsten Woxholt, felt her daughter would have better luck in England. She got a letter of recommendation from Fox Film and moved to the UK.
She played lead roles in minor British films in the 1930s and 40s. The Rank Organisation
was trying to market her as the British Jean Harlow
. She also tried an unsuccessful career in the US, and went back to England afterwards.
Her most famous film is the 1939 Bela Lugosi
film The Dark Eyes of London. In the film, she plays Diana Stewart and her portrayal is not a cowardly leading lady à la Fay Wray
in King Kong
(1933) or Lugosi's other leading ladies. Gynt's Diana is a headstrong woman and stands up to him. Her last film was a Columbia Pictures
release - the 1963 (released 1966) The Runaway in which she played the lead.
As an actress, she had a style that people liked and a true gift for cinema acting. Her English accent was by far considered the best from a Scandinavian actress. Neither Ingrid Bergman
, Greta Garbo
, Liv Ullmann
nor Sonja Henie
could match her fluency in the adopted language. Her talent survives in three movies - Mr Emmanuel (1944), Take My Life and Dear Murderer (both 1947)
's Peer Gynt Suite in a hotel in London
in the late 1930s.
Gynt was married four times. Her last husband was Frederick Moore, a plastic surgeon, who died in 1983. She was the sister of underwater photographer Gil Woxholt who photographed underwater scenes in the 1965 film The Heroes of Telemark
.
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and actress
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
Greta Gynt was born Margrethe Woxholt in Oslo, Norway. As a child, she came with her parents to England and started dancing lessons at the age of 5. Eventually, they moved back to Norway. At age 12, she started out as a dancer at the Chat NoirChat Noir
Chat Noir is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri.-Establishment:...
shows in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. After the Swedish film Sången till henne (1934), her mother, costume designer Kirsten Woxholt, felt her daughter would have better luck in England. She got a letter of recommendation from Fox Film and moved to the UK.
She played lead roles in minor British films in the 1930s and 40s. The Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
was trying to market her as the British Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
. She also tried an unsuccessful career in the US, and went back to England afterwards.
Her most famous film is the 1939 Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
film The Dark Eyes of London. In the film, she plays Diana Stewart and her portrayal is not a cowardly leading lady à la Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
in King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
(1933) or Lugosi's other leading ladies. Gynt's Diana is a headstrong woman and stands up to him. Her last film was a Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
release - the 1963 (released 1966) The Runaway in which she played the lead.
As an actress, she had a style that people liked and a true gift for cinema acting. Her English accent was by far considered the best from a Scandinavian actress. Neither Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Liv Ullmann
Liv Ullmann
Liv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director, as well as one of the "muses" of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman...
nor Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
could match her fluency in the adopted language. Her talent survives in three movies - Mr Emmanuel (1944), Take My Life and Dear Murderer (both 1947)
Personal life
Reportedly, she adopted the name Gynt after she heard a pianist playing Edvard GriegEdvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Peer Gynt Suite in a hotel in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the late 1930s.
Gynt was married four times. Her last husband was Frederick Moore, a plastic surgeon, who died in 1983. She was the sister of underwater photographer Gil Woxholt who photographed underwater scenes in the 1965 film The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II...
.
Filmography
- Sången till henne (1934)
- It Happened in ParisIt Happened in ParisIt Happened in Paris is a 1935 British comedy film made at Ealing Studios, directed by Carol Reed and Robert Wyler and starring John Loder, Nancy Burne, and Esme Percy. A British millionaire's son travels to France to study art, and falls in love in Paris. It is based on the play L'Arpete by Yves...
(1935) - Boys Will Be Girls (1936)
- The Last CurtainThe Last CurtainThe Last Curtain is a 1937 British crime film directed by David MacDonald and starring Campbell Gullan, Kenne Duncan and Greta Gynt. An insurance investigator examines a series of robberies that have taken place.-Cast:...
(1937) - Second Best BedSecond Best BedSecond Best Bed is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Tom Walls and starring Walls, Jane Baxter and Veronica Rose. It was based on a story by Ben Travers...
(1938) - The Last Barricade (1938)
- Sexton Blake and the Hooded TerrorSexton Blake and the Hooded TerrorSexton Blake and the Hooded Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by George King and starring George Curzon, Tod Slaughter and Greta Gynt.- Plot summary :...
(1938) - Too Dangerous to LiveToo Dangerous to LiveToo Dangerous to Live is a 1939 British crime film directed by Anthony Hankey and Leslie Norman and starring Sebastian Shaw, Anna Konstam and Reginald Tate. It was based on the novel Crime Unlimited by David Hume. A private detective goes undercover by joining a gang of burglars.-Cast:* Sebastian...
(1939) - She Couldn't Say NoShe Couldn't Say No (1939 film)She Couldn't Say No is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Tommy Trinder, Fred Emney and Googie Withers. It was based on a play Funny Face by Paul Girard Smith and Fred Thompson...
(1939) - The Arsenal Stadium MysteryThe Arsenal Stadium MysteryThe Arsenal Stadium Mystery is a 1939 British mystery film, and is one of the first feature films where football is a central element in the plot....
(1939) - The Dark Eyes of London (1939)
- Bulldog Sees It ThroughBulldog Sees It ThroughBulldog Sees it Through is a 1940 British, black-and-white, mystery war film directed by Harold Huth and starring Ronald Shiner as Pug, Jack Buchanan, Greta Gynt, Googie Withers and Sebastian Shaw. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation....
(1939) - The Middle WatchThe Middle Watch (1940 film)The Middle Watch is a 1940 British, black-and-white, comedy film, directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Ronald Shiner as the Ship's Mechanic or Engineer, Jack Buchanan, Greta Gynt, Fred Emney and Kay Walsh. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation...
(1940) - Two for DangerTwo for DangerTwo for Danger is a 1940 British crime film directed by George King and starring Barry K. Barnes, Greta Gynt, Ian McLean and Gordon McLeod.-Cast:* Barry K...
(1940) - Room for TwoRoom for TwoRoom for Two is a 1940 British comedy film.The story takes place in Venice, where a womanising Englishman Vic Oliver takes a strong interest to married tourist played by Frances Day. Oliver disguises himself in drag and gets himself hired as the Days' maid. When Day's philandering husband, played...
(1940) - Crook's TourCrook's TourCrook's Tour is a 1941 British film directed by John Baxter featuring Charters and Caldicott. It is adapted from a BBC radio serials of the same name.-Plot:Charters and Caldicott are touring the Middle East...
(1941) - The Common TouchThe Common TouchThe Common Touch is a 1941 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Geoffrey Hibbert, Harry Welchman, Greta Gynt and Joyce Howard.-Cast:* Geoffrey Hibbert - Peter Henderson* Harry Welchman - 'Lincoln's Inn'* Greta Gynt - Sylvia Meadows...
(1941) - Tomorrow We Live (1943)
- It's That Man AgainIt's That Man Again (film)It's That Man Again is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Tommy Handley, Greta Gynt and Jack Train. It was based on the successful radio show It's That Man Again. The mayor of a small town lends his assistance to some drama students.-Cast:* Tommy Handley ... Mayor...
(1943) - Mr. EmmanuelMr. EmmanuelMr Emmanuel is a British film directed by Harold French, based on a 1938 novel by Louis Golding, who adapted the novel for the screen.-Plot synopsis:...
(1944) - London Town (1946)
- Dear MurdererDear MurdererDear Murderer is a 1947 British thriller, directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures, and starring Eric Portman and Greta Gynt. The film was well-received for its tautness and ingenuity, with one reviewer noting: "Dear Murderer is a shrewd, semi-psychological thriller with Eric Portman,...
(1947) - Take My LifeTake My LifeTake My Life is a 1947 British thriller film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt and Marius Goring.-Cast:* Hugh Williams as Nicholas Talbot* Greta Gynt as Philippa Shelley* Marius Goring as Sidney Flemming...
(1947) - Easy MoneyEasy Money (1948 film)Easy Money, a satirical 1948 British film about one of the most beloved traditions of the English middle class, the football pool, is composed of four tales about the effect a major win has on four different groups in the postwar period...
(1948) - The CalendarThe Calendar (1948 film)The Calendar is a 1948 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Greta Gynt, John McCallum, Raymond Lovell and Leslie Dwyer...
(1948) - Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill (1948)
- Shadow of the Eagle (1950)
- I'll Get You for ThisI'll Get You for ThisI'll Get You for This is a 1951 UK black-and-white film made by Kaydor. It was directed by Joseph M...
(1951) - La rivale dell'imperatrice (1951)
- Soldiers ThreeSoldiers Three (film)Soldiers Three is a 1951 film based upon a novel by Rudyard Kipling and starring Stewart Granger, Walter Pidgeon, and David Niven. The movie was directed by Tay Garnett .-Cast:*Stewart Granger as Pvt...
(1951) - Whispering Smith Hits LondonWhispering Smith Hits LondonWhispering Smith Hits London is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt and Herbert Lom. An American detective is summoned to London to investigate a death in suspicous circumstances.-Cast:...
(1952) - The RingerThe Ringer (1952 film)The Ringer is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Herbert Lom, Denholm Elliot, William Hartnell and Mai Zetterling.-Synopsis:An underhand solicitor receives threatening notes, and the police are called in to protect him....
(1952) - Three Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the Dark is a 1953 British B-movie whodunit, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Greta Gynt and Hugh Sinclair.-Plot:A rich but disliked elderly man invites his relatives to a family reunion at his home. Once the gathering is complete, he announces enigmatically that he intends to...
(1953) - The Last MomentThe Last MomentThe Last Moment is a silent experimental film conceived and directed by Paul Fejos. The film starred Otto Matieson and Georgia Hale....
(1954) - Destination Milan (1954)
- Forbidden CargoForbidden Cargo (1954 film)Forbidden Cargo is a 1954 British film starring Jack Warner, Nigel Patrick and Elizabeth Sellars. The plot involved a narcotics agent tryinng to halt illegal drug smuggling under the cover of bird-watching.-Cast:* Jack Warner as Major Alec White...
(1954) - Devil's Point (1954)
- Born for Trouble (1955)
- See How They RunSee How They Run (1955 film)See How They Run is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Ronald Shiner as Wally Winton.-Cast:* Ronald Shiner as Wally Winton* Greta Gynt as Penelope Toop* James Hayter as Bishop of Lax...
(1955) - The Blue Peter (1955)
- My Wife's FamilyMy Wife's Family (1956 film)My Wife's Family is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Ronald Shiner as Doc Knott, Ted Ray, Greta Gynt, Diane Hart and Robertson Hare. It was a remake of the 1941 British film My Wife's Family....
(1956) - Fortune Is a WomanFortune is a WomanFortune is a Woman is a 1957 British crime film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl and Dennis Price. An attempted insurance fraud goes badly wrong...
(1957) - Morning CallMorning Call (film)Morning Call is a 1957 British thriller film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Greta Gynt and Ron Randell. The film was originally cast with George Raft and Bella Darvi as the leads, but Raft reportedly pulled out, citing dissatisfaction with the script...
(1957) - The Crowning TouchThe Crowning TouchThe Crowning Touch is a 1959 British comedy film directed by David Eady and starring Ted Ray, Irene Handl and Greta Gynt.-Cast:* Ted Ray as Bert* Greta Gynt as Rosie* Griffith Jones as Mark* Sydney Tafler as Joe* Dermot Walsh as Aubrey Drake...
(1959) - The Witness (1959)
- Bluebeard's Ten HoneymoonsBluebeard's Ten HoneymoonsBluebeard's Ten Honeymoons is a 1960 British thriller directed by W. Lee Wilder and starring George Sanders, Corinne Calvet and Jean Kent.-Cast:* George Sanders - Henri Landru* Corinne Calvet - Odette* Jean Kent - Guillin* Patricia Roc - Dueaux...
(1960) - The Runaway (1963)
External links
- Obituary in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...