Madge Evans
Lovely Madge Evans was the perennial nice girl in films of the 1930s. By then, she had been in front of the camera for many years, starting with Fairy Soap commercials at the age of two (she sat on a bar of soap holding a bunch of violets with the tag line reading "have you a little fairy in your home?"). 'Baby Madge' also lent her name to a children's hat company. In 1914, aged five, she was picked out by talent scouts to appear in the William Farnum movie The Sign of the Cross (1914), followed by The Seven Sisters (1915) with Marguerite Clark. By the end of the following year, she had amassed some twenty film credits, appearing with such noted contemporary stars as Pauline Frederick or Alice Brady. All of her early films were made on the East Coast, at studios in Ft.Lee, New Jersey. In 1917 (aged eight), Madge made her Broadway debut in 'Peter Ibbetson' with John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. She resumed her stage career in 1926 as an ingenue with 'Daisy Mayme' and the following year appeared with Billie Burke in Noel Coward's costume drama 'The Marquise' (1927). Her pleasing looks and personality soon attracted the attention of Hollywood and she was eventually signed by MGM in 1931. During the next decade, she appeared in several A-grade productions, notably as Lionel Barrymore's daughter in MGM's Dinner at Eight (1933) and as the dependable Agnes Wickfield in one of the best-ever filmed versions of David Copperfield (1935). She co-starred opposite James Cagney in the gangster movie The Mayor of Hell (1933), Spencer Tracy in The Show-Off (1934) and listened to Bing Crosby crooning the title song in Pennies from Heaven (1936). Madge received praise for her performance as the star of Beauty for Sale (1933) and The New York Times review of January 13 1934 described her acting in Fugitive Lovers (1934) (opposite Robert Montgomery ) as 'spontaneous and captivating'. Many of her 'typical American girl' roles did not allow her to express aspects of the greater acting range she undoubtedly possessed. Too often she was cast as the 'nice girl' - and those rarely make much of a dramatic impact. On the few occasions she was assigned the role of 'other woman' , such as the Helen Hayes-starrer What Every Woman Knows (1934), audiences found her character difficult to believe and disassociate from her all-round wholesome image. When her contract with MGM expired in 1937, Madge wound down her film career and, following her 1939 marriage, concentrated on being the wife of celebrated playwright Sidney Kingsley. She last appeared on stage in one of his plays, "The Patriots", in 1943.
Known For
Credits
- 1975 · Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
- 1961 · Hollywood: The Selznick Years as 'Dinner at Eight' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · The Alcoa Hour as
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Sylvia
- 1950 · Your Show of Shows as
- 1948 · Studio One as
- 1948 · Studio One as Ann
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Elizabeth Bennet
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Elinor Dashwood
- 1938 · Army Girl as Julie Armstrong
- 1938 · Sinners in Paradise as Anne Wesson
- 1937 · The Thirteenth Chair as Nell O'Neill
- 1937 · Espionage as Patricia Booth
- 1936 · Pennies from Heaven as Susan Sprague
- 1936 · Piccadilly Jim as Ann Chester
- 1936 · Moonlight Murder as Toni Adams
- 1936 · Exclusive Story as Ann Devlin
- 1935 · The Tunnel as Ruth McAllan
- 1935 · Men Without Names as Helen Sherwood
- 1935 · Calm Yourself as Rosalind Rockwell
- 1935 · Age of Indiscretion as Maxine Bennett
- 1935 · David Copperfield as Agnes Wickfield as a Woman
- 1935 · Helldorado as Glenda Wynant
- 1934 · What Every Woman Knows as Lady Sybil Tenterden
- 1934 · Death on the Diamond as Frances Clark
- 1934 · Paris Interlude as Julie
- 1934 · Grand Canary as Lady Mary Fielding
- 1934 · Stand Up and Cheer! as Mary Adams
- 1934 · The Show-Off as Amy Fisher Piper
- 1934 · Fugitive Lovers as Letty Morris
- 1933 · Dinner at Eight as Paula Jordan
- 1933 · Day of Reckoning as Dorothy Day
- 1933 · Broadway to Hollywood as Anne Ainsley
- 1933 · Beauty for Sale as Letty Lawson
- 1933 · The Mayor of Hell as Dorothy Griffith
- 1933 · Hell Below as Joan
- 1933 · The Nuisance as Dorothy Mason
- 1933 · Made on Broadway as Claire
- 1933 · Hallelujah, I'm a Bum as June Marcher
- 1932 · Fast Life as Shirley
- 1932 · Huddle as Rosalie
- 1932 · Are You Listening? as Laura O'Neil
- 1932 · The Greeks Had a Word for Them as Polaire
- 1932 · Lovers Courageous as Mary Blayne
- 1931 · West of Broadway as Anne
- 1931 · Heartbreak as Countess Vima Walden
- 1931 · Guilty Hands as Barbara 'Babs' Grant
- 1931 · Sporting Blood as Miss 'Missy' Ruby
- 1931 · Son of India as Janice
- 1930 · Envy as Helen
- 1930 · The Bard of Broadway as
- 1924 · Classmates as Sylvia
- 1923 · On the Banks of the Wabash as Lisbeth
- 1919 · Three Green Eyes as Child
- 1918 · Love Net as Patty Barnes
- 1918 · The Power and the Glory as Deanie Consadine
- 1918 · The Golden Wall as Madge Lathrop
- 1918 · Stolen Orders as Ruth Le Page - as a child
- 1918 · True Blue as Ruth, as a Child
- 1918 · Wanted, A Mother as Eileen Homer
- 1917 · The Volunteer as Self
- 1917 · The Burglar as Editha
- 1917 · The Corner Grocer as Mary Brian, age 8
- 1917 · Beloved Adventuress as Francine - Age 7
- 1917 · Maternity as Constance
- 1917 · The Web of Desire as Marjorie
- 1916 · The New South as Georgia Gwynne, as a girl
- 1916 · Seventeen as Jane Baxter
- 1916 · The Hidden Scar as Dot
- 1916 · The Revolt as Nannie Stevens
- 1916 · Husband and Wife as Bessie
- 1916 · Sudden Riches as Little Emily
- 1916 · The Devil's Toy as Betty
- 1915 · The Master Hand as Jean as a Child
- 1915 · The Seven Sisters as Clara