Peg of Old Drury

Peg of Old Drury

Directed by Herbert Wilcox
Produced by Herbert Wilcox
Screenplay by Miles Malleson
Based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor
Starring Anna Neagle
Cedric Hardwicke
Margaretta Scott
Cinematography Freddie Young
Edited by Merrill G. White
Production
company
Herbert Wilcox Productions for British & Dominions Film Corporation
Distributed by United Artists Corporation (UK)
Release date
28 August 1935 (London) (UK)
Running time
75 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Peg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott.[1] The film is a biopic of eighteenth-century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor. It contains passages of eighteenth century Shakespearian performance, from The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and As You Like It.[2]

The film was voted the third best British movie of 1936.[3]

Cast

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote, "with superb acting, photography that is effective and unusual, yet not bizarre, and direction that is gentleness and good taste itself, Peg of Old Drury is one of the finest cinema production ever to come out of England, or of anywhere else, for that matter";[4] while TV Guide wrote, "Neagle and Hardwicke give impressive performances, and the excerpts from Shakespeare and Jonson are flawlessly mounted. Much of the film's power derives from the screenplay by actor Malleson in his first screenwriting assignment."[5] Graham Greene, writing for The Spectator, gave a more mixed review suggesting that there is "no historical truth to be found anywhere in the deft, neat tale". Greene remarked on the attractiveness of Neagle and found that the film was "very pretty", but concluded that "prettiness is a quality one wants, if at all, in small quantities".[6]

References

  1. "Peg of Old Drury". BFI.
  2. "Peg of Old Drury". bufvc.ac.uk.
  3. "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954). Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 9 July 1937. p. 8 Edition: LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  4. "Movie Review - Peg of Old Drury - At the Bijou - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com.
  5. "Peg Of Old Drury". TVGuide.com.
  6. Greene, Graham (13 September 1935). "On Wings of Song/Peg of Old Drury/Break of Hearts". The Spectator. (reprinted in: John Russel, Taylor, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 20. ISBN 0192812866.)


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