Heather Thatcher
Encyclopedia
Heather Thatcher was an English actress in theatre and motion pictures. She was from London.
harem
dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia
. They featured stencil
slits in the waist, trouserettes, and sleeves. Her attire was billed as the boldest costume ever shown in England.
She continued her London stage work, performing with June Clyde
in Lucky Break. Premiering at the Strand Theatre
in September 1934, the theatrical presentation was a production of Leslie Henson
. In 1937, Thatcher came to America
in Full House. The previous season, she was paired with Ivor Novello
in the English rendition. Jack Buchanan
, Austin Trevor, and Coral Browne
teamed with Thatcher in Canaries Sometimes Sing (1947). Produced by Firth Shephard, the theatrical presentation opened in Blackpool
and came to London a month later. Thatcher participated in a Salute To Ivor Novello at the London Coliseum in September 1951. The production raised funds to run his old home, Redroofs. It had been purchased by the Actors' Benevolent Fund.
, begins as a silent film
. It develops into an audible film which is recorded in good quality for its time. The theme concerns a Highland
laird
who falls in love with a hedonistic London heiress. Thatcher plays a prominent role as Martyn Bennett.
In 1931 she visited Hollywood while attending the wedding of James Gleason
. As a star of English comedy, she was being compared to Marilyn Miller
, Thatcher wore a monocle
to the marriage ceremony. In the fall of 1931 she was invited to a reception following the premiere of Strictly Dishonorable
(1931), at the Carthay Circle Theater. Among her friends in motion pictures were Anthony Bushell and Zelma O'Neal.
Thatcher was signed by MGM in February 1932. She was given a feature role in But The Flesh Is Weak (1932). The film stars Robert Montgomery
and is directed by Jack Conway. The film was adapted from a British
stage production which showcased Novello. Thatcher was praised for her performance. German
actress, Nora Gregor
was found disappointing. The English actress "gives a brilliant performance and creates the only human being in the piece."
Thatcher sued Gloria Swanson
British Productions for breach of contract
in a suit which was settled in December 1933. During the filming of Perfect Understanding (1933) Thatcher's contract was canceled before the production was completed. No explanation was given. She was excluded from the film when a new author was hired. The replacement writer chose to eliminate her character.
The Private Life of Don Juan
(1934) was also filmed at Ellsworth Studios. The film has Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. as its leading man. Owen Nares
plays the title role and Thatcher is Anna Dora, one of the ladies.
Later in her career Thatcher returned to England to make films. Among these is Will Any Gentleman...?
(1953), filmed at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood
. Thatcher appears together with George Cole and Veronica Hurst
. The motion picture was a short adventure about a hypnotist who puts a man in a trance.
Thatcher made her last films in 1955. The Deep Blue Sea has a screenplay
written by Terence Rattigan
and features Vivien Leigh
and Kenneth More
. Thatcher depicts Aunt May Luton in Josephine and Men. The motion picture is a comedy starring Glynis Johns
and Peter Finch
.
Dancer
By 1922 Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an EgyptianCulture of Egypt
The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself...
harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. They featured stencil
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
slits in the waist, trouserettes, and sleeves. Her attire was billed as the boldest costume ever shown in England.
English theatre
Thatcher played the feminine lead in London stage productions like Oh Daddy and Warm Corner. At the London Winter Garden she sang and danced in a revue in 1923. In August 1926, she appeared in Thy Name Is Woman at the Q Theatre. It marked her graduation from musical comedy to serious acting.She continued her London stage work, performing with June Clyde
June Clyde
June Clyde was an American actress, singer and dancer. She was a niece of actress ....
in Lucky Break. Premiering at the Strand Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
in September 1934, the theatrical presentation was a production of Leslie Henson
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
. In 1937, Thatcher came to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in Full House. The previous season, she was paired with Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
in the English rendition. Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
, Austin Trevor, and Coral Browne
Coral Browne
Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School...
teamed with Thatcher in Canaries Sometimes Sing (1947). Produced by Firth Shephard, the theatrical presentation opened in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
and came to London a month later. Thatcher participated in a Salute To Ivor Novello at the London Coliseum in September 1951. The production raised funds to run his old home, Redroofs. It had been purchased by the Actors' Benevolent Fund.
Movie career
The Plaything (1929), produced by Castleton Knight and Elstree StudiosElstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
, begins as a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. It develops into an audible film which is recorded in good quality for its time. The theme concerns a Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
who falls in love with a hedonistic London heiress. Thatcher plays a prominent role as Martyn Bennett.
In 1931 she visited Hollywood while attending the wedding of James Gleason
James Gleason
James Austin Gleason was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.-Career:...
. As a star of English comedy, she was being compared to Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
, Thatcher wore a monocle
Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...
to the marriage ceremony. In the fall of 1931 she was invited to a reception following the premiere of Strictly Dishonorable
Strictly Dishonorable (1931 film)
Strictly Dishonorable is a 1931 romantic comedy film directed by John M. Stahl, starring Paul Lukas, Sidney Fox and Lewis Stone, and featuring George Meeker and Sidney Toler. It was written by Gladys Lehman and based on Preston Sturges' 1929 hit Broadway play of the same name...
(1931), at the Carthay Circle Theater. Among her friends in motion pictures were Anthony Bushell and Zelma O'Neal.
Thatcher was signed by MGM in February 1932. She was given a feature role in But The Flesh Is Weak (1932). The film stars Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
and is directed by Jack Conway. The film was adapted from a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stage production which showcased Novello. Thatcher was praised for her performance. German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
actress, Nora Gregor
Nora Gregor
-Biography:She was born Eleonora Hermina Gregor in Gorizia, a town which then belonged to Austria-Hungary but is now part of Italy, to Austrian Jewish parents.Her first husband was Mitja Nikisch, a pianist...
was found disappointing. The English actress "gives a brilliant performance and creates the only human being in the piece."
Thatcher sued Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
British Productions for breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
in a suit which was settled in December 1933. During the filming of Perfect Understanding (1933) Thatcher's contract was canceled before the production was completed. No explanation was given. She was excluded from the film when a new author was hired. The replacement writer chose to eliminate her character.
The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934) was also filmed at Ellsworth Studios. The film has Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. as its leading man. Owen Nares
Owen Nares
Owen Ramsay Nares had a long stage and film career and, for most of the 1920s, was Britain's favourite matinée idol and silent film star...
plays the title role and Thatcher is Anna Dora, one of the ladies.
Later in her career Thatcher returned to England to make films. Among these is Will Any Gentleman...?
Will Any Gentleman...?
Will Any Gentleman...? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. A young man is hypnotised into leading a more fulfilling life. It was based on a play by Vernon Sylvaine.-Cast:* George Cole as Henry...
(1953), filmed at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
. Thatcher appears together with George Cole and Veronica Hurst
Veronica Hurst
Veronica Hurst is an English motion picture, stageand television actress who was born in Malta. She was raised in Tooting, South London, England...
. The motion picture was a short adventure about a hypnotist who puts a man in a trance.
Thatcher made her last films in 1955. The Deep Blue Sea has a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
written by Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
and features Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
and Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
. Thatcher depicts Aunt May Luton in Josephine and Men. The motion picture is a comedy starring Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
and Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
.
Selected filmography
- The Plaything (1929)
- A Warm CornerA Warm CornerA Warm Corner is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Leslie Henson, Heather Thatcher and Austin Melford. It was based on a successful play by Franz Arnold...
(1930) - But the Flesh Is Weak (1932)
- It's a BoyIt's a Boy (film)It's a Boy is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Henson, Albert Burdon and Edward Everett Horton. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage...
(1933) - The Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don JuanThe Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934) - LoyaltiesLoyalties (1933 film)Loyalties is a 1933 British drama film directed by Basil Dean and starring Basil Rathbone, Heather Thatcher and Miles Mander. It is based on the John Galsworthy play Loyalties.The film addresses the theme of anti-Semitism...
(1933) - The DictatorThe Dictator (film)The Dictator is a 1935 British historical drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Clive Brook, Madeleine Carroll, Emlyn Williams and Helen Haye...
(1935) - The Thirteenth Chair (1937)
- TovarichTovarich (film)Tovarich is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak, based on the 1935 play by Robert E. Sherwood, which in turn was based on the 1933 French play Tovaritsch by Jacques Deval. It was produced by Litvak through Warner Bros., with Robert Lord as associate producer and Hal B. Wallis...
(1937) - Mama Steps Out (1937)
- Fools for ScandalFools for ScandalFools for Scandal is a 1938 comedy film starring Carole Lombard, Fernand Gravey, and Ralph Bellamy. It is now best remembered today as one of Lombard's worst films and one that set her on the course for seeking dramatic roles for the next few years.-Plot:...
(1938) - If I Were KingIf I Were KingIf I Were King is a 1938 American biographical historical drama film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee...
(1938) - Girl's School (1938)
- Beau GesteBeau Geste (1939 film)Beau Geste is a 1939 film produced by Paramount Pictures based on the novel of the same name by P. C. Wren. It was directed and produced by William A. Wellman from a screenplay by Robert Carson...
(1939) - Man HuntMan Hunt (1941 film)Man Hunt is a 1941 American thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Walter Pidgeon and Joan Bennett. It is based on the 1939 novel Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household and is set just prior to the Second World War. A Jewish liberal, Lang had fled Germany into exile in the mid 1930s - this was...
(1941) - Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin BlakeSon of Fury: The Story of Benjamin BlakeSon of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake is a 1942 adventure film directed by John Cromwell, starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney. The film was adapted from Edison Marshall's 1941 historical novel Benjamin Blake.-Plot:...
(1942) - We Were DancingWe Were DancingWe Were Dancing is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed in alternating groups of three plays, across three evenings...
(1942) - This Above All (1942)
- The Moon and SixpenceThe Moon and SixpenceThe Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire...
(1942) - Journey for MargaretJourney for MargaretJourney for Margaret is a 1942 drama film set in London in World War II. It stars Robert Young and Laraine Day as a couple who have to deal with the loss of their unborn child due to a bombing raid. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by William Lindsay White.-Plot:John Davis is a...
(1942) - The Hammond Mystery (1942)
- Above SuspicionAbove Suspicion (1943 film)Above Suspicion is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer spy drama film starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray as newlyweds who spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon, along with Basil Rathbone as a Nazi who pursues them. The screenplay by Keith Winter, Melville Baker, and...
(1943) - Flesh and FantasyFlesh and FantasyFlesh and Fantasy is a 1943 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier, starring Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer and Barbara Stanwyck. The making of this film was inspired by the success of Duvivier's previous anthology film, the 1942 Tales of Manhattan.Flesh and Fantasy tells three...
(1943) - GaslightGaslight (1944 film)Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier...
(1944) - Anna KareninaAnna Karenina (1948 film)Anna Karenina [p] is a 1948 British film based on the 19th century novel, Anna Karenina, by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. The film was directed by Julien Duvivier, and starred Vivien Leigh in the title role...
(1948) - Trottie TrueTrottie TrueTrottie True is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was adapted from a play by Caryl Brahms and S. J...
(1949) - Dear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. Prohack is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde.-Plot:...
(1949) - EncoreEncore (1951 film)Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:*"The Ant and the Grasshopper", directed by Pat Jackson and adapted by T. E. B...
(1951) - Father's Doing FineFather's Doing FineFather's Doing Fine is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, Noel Purcell and Sid James. It was based on the 1950 play Little Lambs Eat Ivy by Noel Langley.-Cast:...
(1952) - The Hour of 13 (1952)
- Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. A young man is hypnotised into leading a more fulfilling life. It was based on a play by Vernon Sylvaine.-Cast:* George Cole as Henry...
(1953) - Duel in the JungleDuel in the JungleDuel in the Jungle is a 1954 British adventure film directed by George Marshall and starring Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain and David Farrar. Its plot involves an American insurance investigator who is sent to Rhodesia in Southern Africa to investigate the suspicous death of a major diamond...
(1954) - The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
- Josephine and MenJosephine and MenJosephine and Men is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch...
(1955)
General
- Lima News, "Has London Gone Crazy About Clothes?", 10 December 1922, Page 38.
- Lima News, "Why They Covered Up The Three Prettiest Figures In England", 1 April 1923, Page 12.
- Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "English Star Here", 15 September 1931, Page A9. - Los Angeles Times, "Silver Wedding Bells", 4 October 1931, Page I2.
- Los Angeles Times, "Society of Cinemaland", 15 November 1931, Page B19.
- Los Angeles Times, "Heather Thatcher With MGM", 2 February 1932, Page A9.
- Los Angeles Times, "English Play Being Screened", 21 February 1932, Page B11.
- Los Angeles Times, "Feeble Follow-Up", 24 April 1932, Page B15.
- New York Times, "London Stage Notes", 22 August 1926, Page X1.
- New York Times, "London Film Notes", 6 October 1929, Page X9.
- New York Times, "Don Juan Is To Be A Film Hero", 17 January 1934, Page X2.
- New York Times, "The Cable Spies On London", 30 September 1934, Page X1.
- New York Times, "News Of The Stage", 18 September 1936, Page 19.
- New York Times, "London Notes", 25 October 1947, Page 13.
- The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, "Actress' Action Settled", Wednesday, 13 December 1933, Page 4. - The Times, "Stage Tribute To Ivor Novello", Saturday, 8 September 1951, Page 8.