Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director.
He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife Anna Neagle.
Early life
Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, and Wilcox considered himself Irish, but he was born in Norwood, south London.7 Dagmar Villas, Gipsy Road. Mr Michael Thornton re Mr Herbert Wilcox. The Times, Thursday, 19 May 1977; p. 18; Issue 60007; col F His family moved to Brighton when Wilcox was eight years old; he was one of five children.
His family was poor and Wilcox had to do a number of part-time jobs, including some work as a chorus boy at the local Hippodrome. His mother died of tuberculosis when she was 42. Wilcox left school before the age of fourteen to find work. Shortly afterwards, his father died at the age of 42. Wilcox began earning money as a professional pool player at the Metropole in Camberwell Green.
The First World War broke out and Wilcox enlisted in the British Army. He was training cadets in County Cork when the Easter Rising broke out in 1916 and Wilcox was wounded.Wilcox p 3, 30–32 He then enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps to earn more money and trained as a pilot. A case of appendicitis kept him away from the front for a time but he wound up serving in France and serving as a flight instructor in England.Wilcox p 40–46
Film career
After the war, Wilcox went to work for his brother Charles as a film salesman. He began selling American films to Yorkshire exhibitors, occasionally working with Victor Saville.
Astra Films
In 1919, Wilcox used his war gratuity to found his own distribution company, Astra Films, in association with his brother and a colleague, Jack Smart. Wilcox contributed £117, and the others made up the rest. It was based in Yorkshire. "Owing to the war, there were practically no British productions", said Wilcox. "They were almost all American films."Wilcox p 48 The company was immediately successful so they expanded into London.
Graham-Wilcox Productions
Astra had a lot of success with a British film, A Peep Behind the Scenes (1919) so Wilcox decided to produce a British film himself. He raised £1,400 to make The Wonderful Story (1922). It was directed by a Newcastle exhibitor who shared Wilcox's enthusiasm for D. W. Griffith, Jack Graham Cutts; he and Wilcox established Graham-Wilcox Productions. Wilcox sold the film for £4,000 and the premiere got excellent reviews. This enabled Wilcox to raise funds for a slate of films, before The Wonderful Story was released and flopped at the box office.Wilcox p 51Obituary. Mr Herbert Wilcox Pioneer British film maker The Times, Monday, 16 May 1977; pg. 16; Issue 60004; col F
However the next Graham-Wilcox production, Flames of Passion (1922), starring imported Hollywood star Mae Marsh was a big hit, among the first British films sold to the USA. The success of the film inspired Wilcox to steer away from realistic drama and focus on escapist entertainment.
Director
Wilcox optioned the screen rights for Chu-Chin-Chow (1923), with imported American star Betty Blythe. The film was shot in Germany at UFA's studios in association with Eric Pommer with a huge budget but was only a moderate success.Wilcox p 55 He followed it with Southern Love (1924), shot in Vienna, again with Blythe. Wilcox launched the film with a mock bull fight in Albert Hall and says the film returned a profit in England alone.Wilcox p 58
Pommer asked Wilcox to collaborate again and they made Decameron Nights (1924).
Back in Britain he made Paddy the Next Best Thing (1923).
After what he described as a "series of unimpressive films" he made The Only Way (1926), based on a stage play which was based on A Tale of Two Cities.Wilcox p 62
He followed it with Nell Gwyn (1926), starring Dorothy Gish in the title role. This was a big success around the world.
British National Films
The world rights to Nell Gwyn were purchased by British National Films, a company established by J.D. Williams, who signed Wilcox and Gish to make three more films, all financed by Paramount: Madame Pompadour (1926), the first film shot at the newly built Elstree Studios; London (1926); and Tip Toes (1927). It was later revealed in a court case that Wilcox's fee was £3,000 a film plus 25% of the profits, but there were no profits for the three films.
British and Dominions Film Corporation
Wilcox ended up leaving British National and founded the British and Dominions Film Corporation with Nelson Keys with capital of half a million pounds. His first film for them, via Herbert Wilcox Productions, was Mumsie (1927), starring Pauline Frederick and, in his debut, Herbert Marshall.
Wilcox wanted to make another film with Frederick and suggested Noël Coward's The Vortex but Frederick disliked the role. Wilcox instead decided to do a version of the Edith Cavell story, Dawn (1928). Frederick dropped out of the film, and was replaced by Sybil Thorndike. Filming proved difficult but the resulting movie was a big hit. In 1928 British and Dominion Films insured Wilcox for £100,000.
There was some talk he would make a film of the Burke and Wills story. Instead he made what he described as "a series of unimportant but profitable films":Wilcox p 83 The Bondman (1929), The Woman in White (1929),
Sound Films
Generally, Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail is regarded as the first film with sound, but Wilcox's Black Waters was trade-shown several weeks earlier in May, 1929.
He produced more than a hundred films, of which he directed about half. "His film production team were never laid off, even during the worst depressions of the British film industry. They were on full salary 52 weeks of the year."
Wilcox built and equipped sound studios next to the British International Pictures studios, which they bought from John Maxwell. Wilcox signed up top stage artists such as Jack Buchanan, Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn and Sydney Howard, with C.B. Cochran and Albert de Courville as producers. He announced plans to make nine talkies.
He produced and directed the first British all talkie ever made, Wolves (1930), with Charles Laughton and Dorothy Gish and produced Canaries Sometimes Sing (1930).
He made an arrangement to produce a series of films in association with His Master's Voice, with the aim of using their celebrity recording stars. Among the films they were to make together were Cochran's Talkie Revue, a film of C.B Cochran's variety show; the play Rookery Nook; an adaptation of the novel The Blue Lagoon, and the life story of Robert Burns.
However their first movie, The Loves of Robert Burns (1930), with Joseph Hislop, was not a success and the arrangement abruptly ended. Wilcox's plans to make The Life of Beethoven and a version of Don Quixote starring Chaliapin had to be cancelled.Wilcox p 86–87
Wilcox produced Rookery Nook (1930), an Aldwych farce based on the play by Ben Travers and directed by Tom Walls. It led to a series of Aldwych farces from Travers and Walls.
He acted as producer only on Splinters (1930), high Treason (1930, The Mountain of Mourne (1930), Warned Off (1930), On Approval (1930), Tons of Money (1930), Mischief (1931), The Speckled Band (1931), Plunder (1931), Almost a Divorce (1931), Up for the Cup (1931) with Sydney Howard, The Barton Mystery (1932), Life Goes On (1932), Thark (1932), Leap Year (1932), It's a King (1932),The Love Contract (1932), Say It with Music(1932), The Mayor's Nest (1932), and A Night Like This (1932).
As a director he made The Chance of a Night Time (1931) with Ralph Lynn from a play by Ben Travers; Carnival (1931); and The Blue Danube (1933).
Anna Neagle
Wilcox's professional relationship with Anna Neagle began when he was looking for a leading lady to support Jack Buchanan in Goodnight, Vienna (1932). He decided to cast her after seeing Neagle support Buchanan on stage in a musical Stand Up and Cheer. Goodnight Vienna was Wilcox's biggest success to that time.Wilcox p 91
He used Neagle again in The Flag Lieutenant (1932) He made some films without her – Money Means Nothing (1932), The King's Cup (1933), General John Regan (1933), The Blarney Stone (1933), The King of Paris (1933), Lord of the Manor (1933), Discord (1933) – then they were reunited on The Little Damozel (1933), a conscious effort on Wilcox's part to ensure that Neagle was not type cast as an "English Rose".Wilcox p 98
He bought the rights to a John Galsworthy play Loyalties and developed a screenplay. He later sold it to William Fox for a profit.Wilcox p 95–97 He produced That's a Good Girl (1933).
Bitter Sweet (1933) starred Neagle, based on the operetta by Noël Coward. It was a box office failure.Wilcox p 97
Yes, Mr Brown (1933) was a vehicle for Jack Buchanan and Lilies of the Field (1934) without her. Wilcox was back to Neagle for The Queen's Affair (1934). He and Neagle had a big hit with a new version of Nell Gwynn (1934). They followed it with Peg of Old Drury (1935).
He also produced Escape Me Never (1935), starring Elisabeth Bergner, which was a surprise box office hit.Wilcox p 93
Herbert Wilcox Productions
The success of Peg of Old Drury saw Wilcox approached by Lord Portal to set up his own company, Herbert Wilcox Productions. Wilcox resigned from British Dominion, and set up the new company with C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank. The only other shareholders in the company apart from Wilcox were Woolf and his brother Maurice.
Wilcox, Woolf, Portal and Rank soon established themselves as a major player in the industry by buying Universal Pictures' English operations; Wilcox was appointed to the board to directors of Universal English and the Universal American parent company. He also had shares in a new company, General Cinema Finance, which was to control the distribution and production of films and acquire cinemas. This company would go on to acquire Gaumont British and the Odeon circuit and form the back bone of the Rank Film empire.Wilcox p 104–108
Their first film was Street Singer Serenade (1936), aka Limelight, directed by Wilcox with Neagle and Jack Buchanan. It was followed by Fame (1936), which he produced, starring Sydney Howard and new Wilcox discovers Miki Hood and Geraldine Hislop. He and Neagle did a story about trapeze artists, Three Maxims (1936).
He made Where's George? (1936) with Sydney Howard.
Wilcox was back with Buchanan with This'll Make You Whistle (1936). He wanted to make an epic version of The Blue Lagoon with Hollywood stars to be shot mostly on location in Hawaii and a biopic of Lady Hamilton with Neagle but neither was made.Wise, James E., Jr. and Anne Collier Rehill. Stars in Blue. Naval Institute Press, 1997, p. 201. . Instead he made Millions (1937).
Wilcox's film studio at Elstree burnt down and Wilcox moved to new studios at Pinewood. There he made London Melody (1937) with Neagle.
RKO
Wilcox wanted to star Neagle in a biopic of Queen Victoria. Woolf refused to finance it, believing it to be a bad investment, so Wilcox raised the bulk of the finance himself. Wilcox invested his entire savings and Neagle put in £10,000. They secured a distribution agreement with RKO. Victoria the Great (1937) was a massive success and led to Wilcox signing a ten-year deal with RKO to help finance and distribute the films.
He and Neagle promptly made a sequel, Sixty Glorious Years (1938). Wilcox produced but did not direct A Royal Divorce (1938) starring Ruth Chatterton. Wilcox announced he would make a biopic of Lord Kitchener but the film was never made.
Hollywood