Jean Gillie
Encyclopedia
Jean Gillie was an English film actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Gillie appeared in 20 British and two American films before her career was cut short by her early death.
, who pushed for her to be cast in the 1936 screen version of This'll Make You Whistle
in which he was to star. She acquitted herself well in the film, showing a natural talent for playing comedy, and over the next few years went on to appear in a series of madcap roles in films such as The Girl in the Taxi (1937), Sweet Devil (1938) and Tilly of Bloomsbury
(1940).
Gillie made no films in 1941 or 1942, but returned to the screen in 1943 in a straight dramatic role as one of the lead players in Leslie Howard
's wartime propaganda piece The Gentle Sex
. This was followed by The Saint Meets the Tiger
, notable as the only time her character Patricia Holm
(the love interest of Simon Templar
aka The Saint) was ever featured on screen in any film adaptation of a novel from the Leslie Charteris
The Saint canon. 1944 saw Gillie starring in the whimsical propaganda drama Tawny Pipit
, while her last British film Flight from Folly
(1945) marked a return to comedy.
During the war Gillie met American film director Jack Bernhard while he was on military service and stationed in England. The couple married in May 1944, and after the end of the war went to live in the United States. Gillie made her American screen debut in 1946 in the cult film noir
Decoy
, directed by Bernhard. This was a radical departure from any role she had played before, casting her as a devious, manipulative, conniving and completely unscrupulous femme fatale. A contemporary reviewer commented: "It's been a long time since the screen has seen a more sinister feminine character than the one which Jean Gillie plays in Decoy" The film was a Poverty Row
production from Monogram Pictures
, fading from view after its original cinema run and remaining little-known and largely unseen for many years. Latterly however it has gained an appreciative new audience among film noir aficionados after being included in Volume 4 of the Warner Bros. issued DVD series Film Noir Classics Collection, released in the U.S. in 2007, when it was described in Entertainment Weekly
as a "weird but transfixing tale".
In 1947 Gillie appeared in the Gregory Peck
vehicle The Macomber Affair
, which turned out to be her final film. Her marriage to Bernhard had quickly run into trouble, and the couple divorced. Gillie returned to England in 1948 but had no time to revive her British career, as she died of pneumonia
on 19 February 1949, aged 33.
Career
Gillie broke into films in 1935 and quickly chalked up a number of credits in quota quickie productions. Most of these were comedic in nature, and Gillie's good looks and apparent aptitude for comedy attracted the attention of stage star Jack BuchananJack 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...
, who pushed for her to be cast in the 1936 screen version of This'll Make You Whistle
This'll Make You Whistle
This'll Make You Whistle is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and William Kendall.-Cast:* Jack Buchanan - Bill Hoppings* Elsie Randolph - Bobbie Rivers* Jean Gillie - Joan Longhurst...
in which he was to star. She acquitted herself well in the film, showing a natural talent for playing comedy, and over the next few years went on to appear in a series of madcap roles in films such as The Girl in the Taxi (1937), Sweet Devil (1938) and Tilly of Bloomsbury
Tilly of Bloomsbury (1940 film)
Tilly of Bloomsbury is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscot and based on the play Tilly of Bloomsbury by Ian Hay. It starred Sydney Howard, Jean Gillie, Kathleen Harrison and Henry Oscar...
(1940).
Gillie made no films in 1941 or 1942, but returned to the screen in 1943 in a straight dramatic role as one of the lead players in Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
's wartime propaganda piece The Gentle Sex
The Gentle Sex
The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British, black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films and Derrick de Marney.-Synopsis:...
. This was followed by The Saint Meets the Tiger
The Saint Meets the Tiger
The Saint Meets the Tiger is the title of a crime thriller motion picture produced by the British unit of RKO Pictures and released in 1943 by Republic Pictures that RKO sold the film to after a dispute with Leslie Charteris...
, notable as the only time her character Patricia Holm
Patricia Holm
Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels of Leslie Charteris from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" and shared a number of his adventures....
(the love interest of Simon Templar
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
aka The Saint) was ever featured on screen in any film adaptation of a novel from the Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
The Saint canon. 1944 saw Gillie starring in the whimsical propaganda drama Tawny Pipit
Tawny Pipit (film)
Tawny Pipit is a British war film produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest is discovered there.-Plot:...
, while her last British film Flight from Folly
Flight from Folly
Flight from Folly is a 1945 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Patricia Kirkwood and Hugh Sinclair, with music from Edmundo Ros and his famous Rumba Band...
(1945) marked a return to comedy.
During the war Gillie met American film director Jack Bernhard while he was on military service and stationed in England. The couple married in May 1944, and after the end of the war went to live in the United States. Gillie made her American screen debut in 1946 in the cult film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
Decoy
Decoy (film)
Decoy is a 1946 American film noir. Directed by Jack Bernhard, the film stars Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, Sheldon Leonard and Marjorie Woodworth...
, directed by Bernhard. This was a radical departure from any role she had played before, casting her as a devious, manipulative, conniving and completely unscrupulous femme fatale. A contemporary reviewer commented: "It's been a long time since the screen has seen a more sinister feminine character than the one which Jean Gillie plays in Decoy" The film was a Poverty Row
Poverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
production from Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
, fading from view after its original cinema run and remaining little-known and largely unseen for many years. Latterly however it has gained an appreciative new audience among film noir aficionados after being included in Volume 4 of the Warner Bros. issued DVD series Film Noir Classics Collection, released in the U.S. in 2007, when it was described in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
as a "weird but transfixing tale".
In 1947 Gillie appeared in the Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
vehicle The Macomber Affair
The Macomber Affair
The Macomber Affair is a 1947 in filmZ1947 psychological drama set in British East Africa concerning a fatal triangle of a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who comes between them. The film was distributed by United Artists, directed by Zoltan Korda, and starring by...
, which turned out to be her final film. Her marriage to Bernhard had quickly run into trouble, and the couple divorced. Gillie returned to England in 1948 but had no time to revive her British career, as she died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 19 February 1949, aged 33.
Filmography
- 1935: His Majesty and Co.
- 1935: Brewster's MillionsBrewster's Millions (1935 film)Brewster's Millions is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan, Lili Damita and Nancy O'Neil...
- 1935: Smith's Wives
- 1935: School for Stars
- 1935: 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: While Parents SleepWhile Parents SleepWhile Parents Sleep is a 1935 British, black-and-white, comedy or farce, directed by Adrian Brunel. The film is a screen adaptation of a 1933 play by Anthony Kimmins, which had been a popular success on the West End stage in the West End of London....
- 1936: This'll Make You WhistleThis'll Make You WhistleThis'll Make You Whistle is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and William Kendall.-Cast:* Jack Buchanan - Bill Hoppings* Elsie Randolph - Bobbie Rivers* Jean Gillie - Joan Longhurst...
- 1937: The Live Wire
- 1937: The Girl in the Taxi
- 1938: Sweet Devil
- 1939: What Would You Do, Chums?What Would You Do, Chums?What Would You Do, Chums? is a 1939 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Syd Walker, Jean Gillie, Cyril Chamberlain and Peter Gawthorne.-Cast:* Syd Walker - Himself/Narrator* Jean Gillie - Lucy* Cyril Chamberlain - Mike Collins...
- 1940: The Call for ArmsThe Call for ArmsThe Call for Arms is a 1940 British propaganda short film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Gillie and René Ray. The film was commissioned by the Ministry of Information and was aimed at women, urging them to sign up for war work....
- 1940: The Spider
- 1940: 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: Tilly of BloomsburyTilly of Bloomsbury (1940 film)Tilly of Bloomsbury is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscot and based on the play Tilly of Bloomsbury by Ian Hay. It starred Sydney Howard, Jean Gillie, Kathleen Harrison and Henry Oscar...
- 1940: Sailors Don't Care
- 1943: The Gentle SexThe Gentle SexThe Gentle Sex is a 1943 British, black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films and Derrick de Marney.-Synopsis:...
- 1943: The Saint Meets the TigerThe Saint Meets the TigerThe Saint Meets the Tiger is the title of a crime thriller motion picture produced by the British unit of RKO Pictures and released in 1943 by Republic Pictures that RKO sold the film to after a dispute with Leslie Charteris...
- 1944: Tawny PipitTawny Pipit (film)Tawny Pipit is a British war film produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest is discovered there.-Plot:...
- 1945: Flight from FollyFlight from FollyFlight from Folly is a 1945 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Patricia Kirkwood and Hugh Sinclair, with music from Edmundo Ros and his famous Rumba Band...
- 1946: DecoyDecoy (film)Decoy is a 1946 American film noir. Directed by Jack Bernhard, the film stars Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, Sheldon Leonard and Marjorie Woodworth...
- 1947: The Macomber AffairThe Macomber AffairThe Macomber Affair is a 1947 in filmZ1947 psychological drama set in British East Africa concerning a fatal triangle of a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who comes between them. The film was distributed by United Artists, directed by Zoltan Korda, and starring by...
External links
- Jean Gillie filmography at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...