Period drama starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding. When Sir Edward Courtney marries Irish maid Catherine, the ensuing insults force his pregnant bride to flee to Ireland alone. She returns some years later as an entertainer during the First World War.
Although it now seems twee, it's easy to see why this class-divide drama would have been so popular in postwar Britain. With an egalitarian theme and plenty of period gaiety to distract from the austerity of the time, this box-office smash perfectly demonstrates director Herbert Wilcox's ability to gauge public taste. However, Wilcox's master stroke was the teaming of his wife Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding. This was the second of their six collaborations, with Wilding's aristocrat shocking Victorian society by falling for Neagle's spirited maid. Spanning the 19th century, it boasts the corniest of twists, but somehow it works.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Catherine O'Hallaron | Anna Neagle |
| Sir Edward Courtney | Michael Wilding |
| Lady Courtney | Gladys Young |
| Edward Courtney | Michael Medwin |
| Valerie | Coral Browne |
| Cynthia | Daphne Slater |
| Teddy Courtney | Jack Watling |
| Mary Courtney | Helen Cherry |
| Colonel Gascoyne | Bernard Lee |
| Sir Frank Murchison | Percy Walsh |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Herbert Wilcox |
