Betty Balfour

Betty Balfour

Nacimiento : 1903-03-27, Durham, England, UK

Muerte : 1977-11-04

Historia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Betty Balfour (27 March 1903 – 4 November 1977) was an English screen actress, popular during the silent era, and known as the "British Mary Pickford" and "Britain's Queen of Happiness". She was best known to audiences for her Squibs series of films. Balfour was the most popular actress in Britain in the 1920s, and in 1927 she was named by the Daily Mirror as the country's favourite world star. Her talent was most evident in the Squibs comedy series produced by George Pearson, while in his Love, Life and Laughter (1923) and Reveille (1924), rediscovered in 2014, she demonstrated a serious side to her character. Her role as a wealthy heiress in Somebody's Darling (1925) was an attempt to break out of her previous role as Squibs, to avoid typecasting. She made her stage debut in 1913, and was appearing in Medora at the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square when T. A. Welsh and Pearson saw and signed her for Nothing Else Matters in 1920. After replacing Gertrude Lawrence on stage in The Midnight Follies, Balfour was back with Pearson with her first starring role in Mary Find the Gold. In 1916 she starred in Fred Karno's all female revue, 'All Women,' notable at the time for its all female cast, including stage manager, musical director and advanced agent. Balfour made no attempt to break into Hollywood but like Ivor Novello she was able to export her talents to mainland Europe. She starred in the German films, Die sieben Töchter der Frau Gyurkovics and Die Regimentstochter; she also worked for Marcel L'Herbier in Le Diable au cœur, for Louis Mercanton in Croquette and La Petite Bonne du palace, and for Géza von Bolváry in Bright Eyes. Back in Britain, she also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Champagne (1928). Balfour's sound debut, The Nipper (1930), based on the Squibs character, was only moderately successful. Her popularity diminished in the 1930s, though she played a supporting role to Jessie Matthews in Evergreen (1934), appeared with John Mills in Forever England (1935) and played the matriarch in 29 Acacia Avenue (1945). Balfour had less fortune in her private life. Her marriage with composer Jimmy Campbell went on the rocks in 1941 after ten years, a try of a comeback at the theatre failed in 1952. She died at age 74 in Weybridge, Surrey.

Perfil

Betty Balfour

Películas

29 Acacia Avenue
Mrs Robinson
The Robinsons are two respectable middle class parents living with their children in a suburban house in Acacia Avenue. Preferring to holiday every year in Bognor, they are pressed into booking a cruise for their annual vacation and thereby leaving their teenage children free run of their house. As the youngsters enjoy their newfound freedom and discover the angst of teenage life, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson begin to have second thoughts about their cruise and decide to return home early.
Eliza Comes to Stay
Eliza Vandan
A British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards
Squibs
Amelia "Squibs" Hopkins
Squibs, a cockney flowerseller with a father overwhelmed by gambling debts wins through with the help of assorted friends and a romantically inclined policeman.
Brown on Resolution
Elizabeth Brown
Forever England gives John Mills his first leading role as Brown. Born after a brief affair between his mother and a naval officer, he joins the Royal Navy during the First World War. There his bravery and marksmanship keeps a German ship in port so a British ship can sink it. He becomes a hero, but at what cost?
My Old Dutch
Lil
Moving family drama of the life of a working-class Hackney couple over 40 years, inspired by the famous music hall song This moving family drama - with time for some laughs - portrays the life and hardships of a working class Hackney couple over a span of 40 years. Our intrepid couple (wonderfully played by Betty Balfour and Michael Hogan) have to face everything life throws at them with fortitude, from the Great War (a son in the RAF and zeppelin raids) to a raging oil fire during the Great Strike. The inimitable Gordon Harker provides sterling support. The film the couple watch at the cinema is the 1915 version of My Old Dutch, starring Albert Chevalier (writer of the original music hall song) and Florence Turner. As the complete silent film is now believed to be lost, this 1934 version contains the only surviving footage.
Evergreen
Maudie
Harriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era mysteriously disappears on the eve of her wedding. Years later she reappears on the stage as young looking and beautiful as ever.
The Nipper
The Nipper
A producer makes a star of the cockney waif who tried to rob him.
The Nipper
Producer
A producer makes a star of the cockney waif who tried to rob him.
Raise the Roof
Maisie Grey
The wealthy Rodney Langford, who dreams of going on the stage, hopes to fulfil his ambitions by buying a failing revue called 'Raise the Roof', starring Maisie Grey. His father, fearing scandal, bribes amoral actor Atherley Armitage to sabotage the show. But, when all hope seems lost, Maisie comes up with an ingenious idea to try and save the day.
Daughter of the Regiment
The Vagabond Queen
Sally / Princess Zonia
The Vagabond Queen is a 1929 British comedy film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Betty Balfour, Glen Byam Shaw and Ernest Thesiger. It was the final film directed in Britain by Bolváry before he returned to Germany. A young woman takes the place of a Princess who is a target for an assassination. This film was released in May 1929 as a silent film and re-released with synchronized music and sound effects in August 1930.
Champagner
Jenny
A 1929 British-Austrian romance film directed by Géza von Bolváry.
Paradise
Kitty Cranston
The daughter of a poor clergyman wins £500 and goes to find happiness on the Riviera.
Champagne
Betty
La rica heredera (Betty Balfour) de uno de los más acaudalados hombres de Wall Street (Gordon Harker), está tan enamorada que osa volar, hasta alta mar, para alcanzar el barco en el que viaja su pretendiente (Jean Bradin). El aeroplano hundido y otros despilfarros, hará pensar a su padre que la chica necesita una gran lección.
A Little Bit of Fluff
Syd Chaplin And Betty Balfour star in this British International Picture.
Little Devil May Care
Ludivine Bucaille - une fille étrange
Ludivine, a lttle tomboy, takes on the too polite Delphin. Being caught, and punished, she wants him and his father to be dead. When the latter dies, she feels guilty and takes Delphin under her wing.
A Sister of Six
Mizzi
A silent romantic comedy
The Cabaret Kid
A pilot saves a dancer from a Paris nightclub owner and they stow away to Cornwall.
Réveille
Mick
A seamstress stops a poor ex-soldier from becoming a left-wing agitator.
Love, Life and Laughter
Tip-Toes
Love, Life and Laughter tells the story of a pair of working class youngsters with big dreams – a cheery chorus girl and a serious writer. The film toys with our expectations, blurring the boundaries of reverie and reality; tragedy and comedy. Directed by George Pearson, the film was considered lost for many years until in March 2014 when a copy was discovered in an old Dutch cinema.
Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweep
Squibs Hopkins
A flower girl wins £60,000 and takes her family to Paris to save her sister from her murderous husband.