Renee Gadd
Encyclopedia
Renee Gadd was an Argentine-born British film actress. She acted mostly in British films.
, Argentina in 1908 to immigrants from Jersey
. Her father Talbot Gadd was a railway executive who abandoned the family, after which they moved to England
in 1913. Gadd lived with her aunt, and began to study dancing, working as a chorus girl
in Brighton
by the age of fourteen. In 1924 was cast in a production of Hassan by the powerful theatrical agent Basil Dean
, followed by several musical comedies and then straight plays after becoming a member of a Shakespearian company at Stratford-on-Avon. She enjoyed a series of successful West End
roles. During this era she had an affair of Fred Astaire
when they were acting together.
she began a tempestuous affair with her co-star Hugh Williams
. When her contract with British International expired in 1934 she followed Williams who had gone to Hollywood, but found he had a new lover. She appeared opposite him in the 1935 film David Copperfield, but returned to Britain the following year. Her career began to tail off and she appeared mostly in quota quickies and small roles in minor productions for the remainder of her career. Her final appearance was in the 1950 Ealing Studios
film The Blue Lamp
.
Early life
Gadd was born on a ranch in Bahía BlancaBahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
, Argentina in 1908 to immigrants from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. Her father Talbot Gadd was a railway executive who abandoned the family, after which they moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1913. Gadd lived with her aunt, and began to study dancing, working as a chorus girl
Chorus Girl
A chorus girl is a female performer in a chorus or chorus line.It may also refer to:*Chorus Girl , a compilation from Atomic Records*Chorus Girls , a 1981 musical*"The Chorus Girl", a story by Anton Chekhov...
in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
by the age of fourteen. In 1924 was cast in a production of Hassan by the powerful theatrical agent Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
, followed by several musical comedies and then straight plays after becoming a member of a Shakespearian company at Stratford-on-Avon. She enjoyed a series of successful West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
roles. During this era she had an affair of Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
when they were acting together.
Film career
In 1931 Gadd signed a contract with British International Pictures and spent two years making films for them. Finding the various comedy films she was cast in uninspiring she behaved uncooperatively until she was released from her contract. In 1932 while working on the crime film White FaceWhite Face
White Face is a 1932 British crime film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Hugh Williams, Gordon Harker and Renee Gadd. A Doctor becomes a blackmailer and a jewel thief in order to raise funds for a hospital in East London but is uncovered by an ambitious reporter. It was based on a play by...
she began a tempestuous affair with her co-star Hugh Williams
Hugh Williams
Hugh Williams was an English actor and dramatist of Welsh descent.-Personal life:...
. When her contract with British International expired in 1934 she followed Williams who had gone to Hollywood, but found he had a new lover. She appeared opposite him in the 1935 film David Copperfield, but returned to Britain the following year. Her career began to tail off and she appeared mostly in quota quickies and small roles in minor productions for the remainder of her career. Her final appearance was in the 1950 Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
film The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp is a British crime film released in early 1950 by Ealing Studios, directed by Basil Dearden and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Jack Warner as police constable George Dixon, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde in an early role...
.
Filmography
- The Bad Companions (1932)
- Josser Joins the Navy (1932)
- The Maid of the Mountains (1932)
- His Wife's Mother (1932)
- Money for NothingMoney for Nothing (1932 film)Money for Nothing is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Seymour Hicks, Betty Stockfeld and Edmund Gwenn. A peniless gambler is mistaken for a very wealthy man in Monte Carlo.-Cast:* Seymour Hicks ... Jay Cheddar...
(1932) - White FaceWhite FaceWhite Face is a 1932 British crime film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Hugh Williams, Gordon Harker and Renee Gadd. A Doctor becomes a blackmailer and a jewel thief in order to raise funds for a hospital in East London but is uncovered by an ambitious reporter. It was based on a play by...
(1932) - Aren't We All?Aren't We All? (film)Aren't We All? is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Gertrude Lawrence, Hugh Wakefield and Owen Nares. It is based on the play Aren't We All? by Frederick Lonsdale.-Cast:* Gertrude Lawrence - Margot...
(1932) - HappyHappy (1933 film)Happy is a 1933 British musical film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring Stanley Lupino, Laddie Cliff and Will Fyffe. In Paris, a band leader pretends to be a millionaire.-Cast:* Stanley Lupino ... Frank Brown* Laddie Cliff ... George...
(1933) - Letting in the SunshineLetting in the SunshineLetting in the Sunshine is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring Albert Burdon, Renee Gadd and Molly Lamont. It was based on a story by Anthony Asquith.-Cast:* Albert Burdon - Nobby Green* Renee Gadd - Jane...
(1933) - Skipper of the Osprey (1933)
- Uncertain Lady (1934)
- The Love Captive (1934)
- David Copperfield (1935)
- Tomorrow We LiveTomorrow We Live (1936 film)Tomorrow We Live is a 1936 British drama film directed by H. Manning Haynes and starring Godfrey Tearle, Haidee Wright and Renee Gadd. A financier on the brink of ruin reflects over his failings, and gives £50 to various down-and-outs in the hope that they can make something better of their...
(1936) - Where's Sally?Where's Sally?Where's Sally? is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Chili Bouchier, Gene Gerrard and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production and is now believed to be lost.-Plot:...
(1936) - Man in the MirrorMan in the Mirror (film)Man in the Mirror is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin and Ursula Jeans. A withdrawn, mild mannered man is surprised when his reflection in the mirror comes to life. The reflection then begins to live the wild life that the man...
(1936) - The Crimson CircleThe Crimson CircleThe Crimson Circle is a British crime film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Hugh Wakefield, Alfred Drayton, and Niall MacGinnis...
(1936) - The Man Who Made DiamondsThe Man Who Made DiamondsThe Man Who Made Diamonds is a 1937 British crime film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Noel Madison, James Stephenson and Lesley Brook. A professor invents a way of manufacturing diamonds.-Cast:* Noel Madison ... Joseph* James Stephenson ... Ben...
(1937) - Under a CloudUnder a CloudUnder a Cloud is a 1937 British drama film directed by George King and starring Betty Ann Davies, Edward Rigby, Bernard Clifton, Brian Buchel and Peter Gawthorne. A man returns from Australia and tries to reconcile with his estranged family....
(1937) - Clothes and the Woman (1937)
- Brief EcstasyBrief EcstasyBrief Ecstasy is a 1937 British drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Paul Lukas, Hugh Williams, Linden Travers and Marie Ney.-Cast:* Paul Lukas - Professor Paul Bernardy* Hugh Williams - Jim Wyndham...
(1937) - Meet Mr. Penny (1938)
- Murder in SohoMurder in SohoMurder in Soho is a 1939 British crime film featuring Jack La Rue, Sandra Storme, Googie Withers and Bernard Lee. It concerns a murder in the Central London district of Soho....
(1939) - Unpublished StoryUnpublished StoryUnpublished Story is a 1942, British, black-and-white, drama, war film, directed by Harold French and starring Ronald Shiner as the agitating, Pamphleteer or Leaflet Distributor, Richard Greene, Valerie Hobson, Basil Radford and Roland Culver...
(1942) - They Came to a CityThey Came to a CityThey Came to a City is a 1945 British film directed by Basil Dearden adapted from a J. B. Priestley play, starring John Clements, Googie Withers and Raymond Huntley with a cameo from Priestley himself. The plot concerns the experiences of various people coming to their "ideal" city....
(1944) - Dead of NightDead of NightDead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(1945) - FriedaFrieda (film)Frieda is a 1947 British film, directed by Basil Dearden, screenplay by Angus MacPhail and Ronald Millar and was produced by Michael Balcon. Frieda is a German woman who helps an English airman, Robert , to escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in April 1945...
(1946) - Good-Time GirlGood-Time GirlGood-Time Girl is a 1948 British drama film directed by David MacDonald. The film was based on Arthur La Bern's novel "Night Darkens the Street."-Plot:...
(1948) - The Blue LampThe Blue LampThe Blue Lamp is a British crime film released in early 1950 by Ealing Studios, directed by Basil Dearden and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Jack Warner as police constable George Dixon, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde in an early role...
(1950)