Nova Pilbeam
Encyclopedia
Nova Margery Pilbeam is a British film
and stage
actress. She was born in Wimbledon
. Her father was RADA
-trained actor Arnold Pilbeam.
's film The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1934), followed by her lead performance as Lady Jane Grey
in Tudor Rose
(1935). In 1937 when she was seventeen Pilbeam had a starring role in Hitchcock's Young and Innocent
, for which she is most widely known. Her film career may have stalled somewhat when she was considered for Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes
(1938), but lost the role to Margaret Lockwood.
In 1939 she appeared on an early British television drama. That year, David O. Selznick
wanted Pilbeam for the lead in Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and thought she could be an international film star. However, her agent was worried about the length of a five-year contract and meanwhile Hitchcock, whose outlook on the film was not the same as Selznick's, auditioned hundreds of others over many months, at last giving the role to Joan Fontaine
. Unlike other widely known English film actors of the 1930s Pilbeam never made a film in Hollywood. She carried on with appearances in at least nine English films along with many stage roles throughout the 1940s. One of Pilbeam's last films was The Three Weird Sisters
(1948), its post-war gothic-drama screenplay credited to five writers, among them Dylan Thomas
. By 1949, before the age of 30, she had left her acting career.
, a great-grandson of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson and an assistant director to Hitchcock. Tennyson became a film director
the year they were married but died in a 1941 plane crash. Pilbeam was married to BBC Radio
journalist Alexander Whyte from 1950 until his death in 1972. Their child Sarah Jane was born in 1952. Pilbeam was last known to be living in Highgate
, north London
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actress. She was born in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
. Her father was RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
-trained actor Arnold Pilbeam.
Career
Pilbeam had widely noted roles as a child stage actress. This led to much work in her teen years, appearing in Alfred HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's film The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a British suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring Peter Lorre, and released by Gaumont British. It was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Hitchcock's British period....
(1934), followed by her lead performance as Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
in Tudor Rose
Tudor Rose (film)
Tudor Rose is a 1936 British film starring Cedric Hardwicke and Nova Pilbeam and directed by Robert Stevenson....
(1935). In 1937 when she was seventeen Pilbeam had a starring role in Hitchcock's Young and Innocent
Young and Innocent
Young and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney and John Longden...
, for which she is most widely known. Her film career may have stalled somewhat when she was considered for Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
(1938), but lost the role to Margaret Lockwood.
In 1939 she appeared on an early British television drama. That year, David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
wanted Pilbeam for the lead in Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) and thought she could be an international film star. However, her agent was worried about the length of a five-year contract and meanwhile Hitchcock, whose outlook on the film was not the same as Selznick's, auditioned hundreds of others over many months, at last giving the role to Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
. Unlike other widely known English film actors of the 1930s Pilbeam never made a film in Hollywood. She carried on with appearances in at least nine English films along with many stage roles throughout the 1940s. One of Pilbeam's last films was The Three Weird Sisters
The Three Weird Sisters
The Three Weird Sisters is a 1948 British melodrama with Gothic influences, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Nancy Price, Mary Clare, Mary Merrall and Raymond Lovell. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Louise Birt from the novel The Case of the Weird Sisters by Charlotte Armstrong...
(1948), its post-war gothic-drama screenplay credited to five writers, among them Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
. By 1949, before the age of 30, she had left her acting career.
Personal life
In 1939 Pilbeam married Pen TennysonPen Tennyson
Frederick Penrose Tennyson was a British film director whose promising career was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash. Tennyson gained experience as an assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock in several of his British films during the 1930s...
, a great-grandson of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson and an assistant director to Hitchcock. Tennyson became a film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
the year they were married but died in a 1941 plane crash. Pilbeam was married to BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
journalist Alexander Whyte from 1950 until his death in 1972. Their child Sarah Jane was born in 1952. Pilbeam was last known to be living in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, north 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...
.
Filmography
- Little FriendLittle Friend (film)Little Friend is a 1934 British drama film directed by Berthold Viertel and starring Matheson Lang, Nova Pilbeam and Lydia Sherwood. A young girl slowly becomes aware that her parent's marriage is disintegrating. It was based on a novel by Ernst Lothar and adapted for the screen by Margaret Kennedy...
(1934) - The Man Who Knew Too MuchThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)The Man Who Knew Too Much is a British suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring Peter Lorre, and released by Gaumont British. It was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Hitchcock's British period....
(1934) - Tudor RoseTudor Rose (film)Tudor Rose is a 1936 British film starring Cedric Hardwicke and Nova Pilbeam and directed by Robert Stevenson....
(1936) - Young and InnocentYoung and InnocentYoung and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney and John Longden...
(1937) - Cheer Boys CheerCheer Boys CheerCheer Boys Cheer is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Nova Pilbeam, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy O'Dea, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. Made by Ealing Studios the film depicts the fanatical rivalry between two local firms of brewers each hoping to establish a monopoly....
(1939) - Pastor HallPastor HallPastor Hall is a 1940 British drama film directed by Ray Boulting and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, among others. The film is based on the play of the same title by German author Ernst Toller who had lived as an emigrant in the United States until his suicide in...
(1940) - Spring MeetingSpring MeetingSpring Meeting is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and starring Enid Stamp-Taylor, Michael Wilding, Basil Sydney and Sarah Churchill. Instead of marrying the woman his parents have chosen for him, a man falls in love with her sister. It was based on the play by M. J...
(1941) - Banana RidgeBanana RidgeBanana Ridge is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and starring Robertson Hare, Alfred Drayton and Isabel Jeans. The film is based on a 1938 stage play of the same name by Ben Travers...
(1942) - The Next of KinThe Next of KinThe Next of Kin, also known as Next of Kin, is a 1942 World War II propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios.The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government propaganda message that "Careless talk costs lives"...
(1942) - Yellow CanaryYellow Canary (film)Yellow Canary is a 1943 British drama film starring Anna Neagle, Richard Greene and Albert Lieven. Neagle plays a British Nazi sympathiser who travels to Halifax, Canada trailed by spies from both sides during the Second World War.-Plot:...
(1943) - This Man is MineThis Man Is Mine (1946 film)This Man Is Mine is a 1946 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Tom Walls, Glynis Johns and Jeanne De Casalis. A Canadian soldier is billeted with a British family for the Christmas holidays to the delight of the two unmarried daughters...
(1946) - Green FingersGreen FingersGreen Fingers is a 1947 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring Robert Beatty, Carol Raye and Nova Pilbeam. After returning from fighting in a war, a young man discovers he has what appear to be healing powers.-Cast:...
(1947) - CounterblastCounterblast (film)Counterblast is a 1948 British drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Mervyn Johns and Nova Pilbeam.-Plot:A Nazi scientist experiments with biological warfare with which he intends to wage the next war against Britain.-Cast:...
(1948) - The Three Weird SistersThe Three Weird SistersThe Three Weird Sisters is a 1948 British melodrama with Gothic influences, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Nancy Price, Mary Clare, Mary Merrall and Raymond Lovell. The screenplay was adapted by Dylan Thomas and Louise Birt from the novel The Case of the Weird Sisters by Charlotte Armstrong...
(1948)