[ b i o g .]



Madeleine Carroll
Manipulated Promotional Still



[madeleine carroll]

[dvds & videos]







Biography

born:
26 February 1906
west bromwich, west midlands, england, uk

died:
2 October 1987
Marbella, Spain. (pancreatic cancer)



Born Marie-Madeleine Bernadette O'Carrol in West Bromwich (England), on February the 26th 1906

Classically cool, beautiful British blonde who first attracted the attention of American audiences as the heroine of two imported thrillers directed by Alfred Hitchcock: The 39 Steps (1935) and Secret Agent (1936).

For in The 39 Steps, Hitchcock brought out the best in his actors with methods that were unconventional. If the scene in which Donat is handcuffed to Carroll has a certain edge, for instance, that's perhaps because the director mischievously cuffed them together in a rehearsal, then left them attached for a whole afternoon, pretending to have lost the key.

After Secret Agent she never worked for Hitchcock again. There seems to have been some kind of falling out, the nature of which remains unknown to this day. But a possible indicator as to why she never appeared in another Hitch movie may be found in a comment he made when being quizzed about his potential film about the Titanic:

'Oh yes, I've had experience with icebergs. Don't forget, I directed Madeleine Carroll...'

Whatever the reason, the ill feeling lasted until their deaths, well, at least on Hitchcock's side. At the time he was directing Topaz in 1969, Carroll lived in the cul-de-sac that contained Michel Piccoli's apartment in the film. Hitch declined her invitation for dinner.

Carroll had been acting in British films since 1928 (in The Guns of Loos), having abandoned both teaching and modeling for an acting career in 1927. 1928 was the year Hitchcock's wife, Alma, spotted her potential as a leading lady after meeting her.

She came to Hollywood in 1936, achieving immediate prominence in The General Died at Dawn (opposite Gary Cooper), Lloyd's of London (opposite Tyrone Power), and The Case Against Mrs. Ames. Her function in American movies was largely decorative, although she made a spirited Princess Flavia in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937, co-starring with Ronald Colman) and a convincing snobbish heiress in On the Avenue (1937, co-starring with Dick Powell and Alice Faye).

Her other Hollywood films including five light comedies opposite Fred MacMurray-included Blockade (1938), Cafe Society, Honeymoon in Bali (both 1939), Safari, Northwest Mounted Police (both 1940), Virginia, One Night in Lisbon (both 1941), Bahama Passage (opposite then-husband Sterling Hayden), My Favorite Blonde (both 1942, opposite Bob Hope in the latter), Don't Trust Your Husband (1948), and The Fan (1949, her last film). Carroll became an American citizen in 1943, but returned to England during World War 2 to work in the relief effort.

She only made a few more films in the postwar era before disappearing from the screen. Subsequently she worked on the stage, radio and TV for several years before eventually ending up spending her retirement on a large farm just outside Paris.

She died in 1987 in Marbella, Spain of pancreatic cancer.



Trivia

Birth name
Marie-Madeleine Bernadette O'Carroll

Spouse
Andrew Heiskell (1950 - 1965) (divorced)
Sterling Hayden (1942 - 1945) (divorced)
Captain Phillip Astley (26 March 1931 - 1940) (divorced)
Henri Lavorel (divorced)

Trivia
After losing her sister, Marguerite, in a London air bombing, she chose to halt her acting career and worked for the war effort from California.

Madeleine Carroll appeared on the NBC Radio Program, "Chase And Sanborn Hour" October 30, 1938, with Nelson Eddy and Dorothy Lamour (Vocalists) Robert Armbruster and his orchestra, starring Edgar Bergen (Charlie McCarthy), Don Ameche (host) Judy Zeke and Annie Canova. Madeleine Carroll performed with Nelson Eddy and Don Ameche and Edgar Bergem.



Filmography


(1940s) (1930s) (1920s)

1. Fan, The (1949 .... Mrs. Erlynne
   ... aka Lady Windermere's Fan (1949) (UK)
2. Innocent Affair, An (1948) .... Paula Doane
   ... aka Don't Trust Your Husband (1948) (USA: reissue title)
3. White Cradle Inn (1946) .... Magda
   ... aka High Fury (1946) (USA)
4. My Favorite Blonde (1942) .... Karen Bentley
5. Virginia (1941) .... Charlotte Dunterry
6. Bahama Passage (1941) .... Carol Delbridge
7. One Night in Lisbon (1941) .... Leonora Perrycoate
8. North West Mounted Police (1940) .... April Logan
   ... aka Northwest Mounted Police (1940)
   ... aka Scarlet Riders, The (1940)
9. Safari (1940) .... Linda Stewart
10. My Son, My Son (1940) .... Livia Vaynol
    
    
11. Honeymoon in Bali (1939) .... Gail Allen
    ... aka Husbands or Lovers (1939) (UK)
    ... aka My Love for Yours (1939) (USA: video title)
12. Cafe Society (1939) .... Christopher West
13. Blockade (1938) .... Norma
14. Prisoner of Zenda, The (1937) .... Princess Flavia
15. It's All Yours (1937) .... Linda Gray
16. On the Avenue (1937) .... Mimi Caraway
17. Story of Papworth, The (1936) .... Guest
18. Lloyd's of London (1936) .... Lady Elizabeth Stacy
19. General Died at Dawn, The (1936) .... Judy Perrie
20. Secret Agent (1936) .... Elsa Carrington
    ... aka Laugh Track: Secret Agent (2003) (USA: video title (redubbed comic version))
21. Case Against Mrs. Ames, The (1936) .... Hope Ames
22. Dictator, The (1935) .... Queen Caroline Struensee
    ... aka For Love of a Queen (1935)
    ... aka Love Affair of the Dictator, The (1935)
    ... aka Loves of a Dictator (1935) (USA)
23. 39 Steps, The (1935) .... Pamela/Mrs. Henry Hopkinson
24. World Moves On, The (1934) .... Mrs. Warburton, 1825/Mary Warburton Girard, 1914
25. Sleeping Car (1933) .... Anne
    ... aka Love and Let Love (1933) (UK)
26. I Was a Spy (1933) .... Martha
27. Fascination (1931) .... Gwenda Farrell
28. Kissing Cup Race, The (1931) .... Lady Molly Adair
29. Madame Guillotine (1931) .... Lucille de Choisigne
30. Written Law, The (1931) .... Lady Margaret Rochester
31. W Plan, The (1931) .... Rosa Hartmann
32. French Leave (1930/I) .... Mlle. Juliette/Dorothy Glenister
33. School for Scandal (1930) .... Lady Teazle
34. Young Woodley (1930) .... Laura Simmons
35. Escape (1930) .... Dora
    
    
36. American Prisoner, The (1929) .... Grace Malherb
37. Atlantic (1929) .... Monica
    ... aka Titanic: Disaster in the Atlantic (1999) (USA: video title)
38. Crooked Billet, The (1929) .... Joan Easton
    ... aka International Spy (1929) (UK)
39. Instinct, L' (1929)
    ... aka Instinct (1929) (International: English title: literal title)
40. First Born, The (1928) .... Lady Madeleine Boycott
41. Guns of Loos, The (1928) .... Diana Cheswick
42. Pas si bête (1928)
43. What Money Can Buy (1928) .... Rhoda Pearson
    
    

---

Filmography as: Actress, Notable TV Guest Appearances

---

Notable TV Guest Appearances

1. "General Electric Theater" (1953) playing "Nurse Johansen" in episode: "The Bitter Choice" (episode # 3.24) 20 March 1955
2. "Philco Television Playhouse, The" (1948) in episode: "Women of Intrigue" (episode # 3.52) 9 September 1951
3. "Your Show of Shows" (1950) 21 October 1950
4. "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1950) in episode: "The Letter" (episode # 1.1) 30 January 1950





rare movie memorabilia now in stock

shipped from the uk




[ m a d e l e i n e c a r r o l l ]
[ t h u m b g a l l e r y ]








39 steps posters:
repro. worldwide film release posters at affordable prices!



secret agent posters:
repro. worldwide film release posters at affordable prices!




the 39 steps photo gallery


other galleries


advertise | search site


biography | dvds | filmography
gallery | trivia | videos

madeleine carroll | memorabilia buy

julie christie | josette day
britt ekland | greta garbo
grace kelly | margaret lockwood

ｩ 2014 by the appropriate owners of the included material

Madeleine Carroll Archives: ihuppert5@aol.com.