LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Anna Neagle
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The sight of Anna Neagle playing young and 'cute' whilst in her mid thirties is not very appealing. The only real reason for sitting through acres of boredom is to see the wonderful Ray Bolger and his amazing elastic legs in a couple of great dance routines. John Carroll is a slightly chubby and bland leading man. The musical numbers are expensively mounted but are not presented well enough to hold the interest. The movie needed a less stodgy director than Herbert Wilcox, a younger leading lady and should have been filmed in colour for maximum impact. The previous version of 'Sunny' was no masterpiece and this remake is no improvement. It must have played better on the stage and obviously doesn't lend itself to being filmed.
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Anna Neagle [A]chieved Star Status in Britain in the 1940s. She began her stage and film career as a young blonde ingenue - but later in life she achieved her greatest popularity playing strong and powerful women from history. These films remain as classics today and are frequently seen on TV. She was much loved by the British film-going public, and was always the "British Woman Star."
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Circus performer Sunny Sullivan (Anna Neagle) falls in love with Larry Warren (John Carroll), son of a wealthy auto maker. To make good graces with her boyfriend's family, Sullivan hides from them her profession. While meeting and befriending the family, her circus friends stop by and uncover her secret. Embarrassed by the truth, Sullivan retreats to the circus. Not to be undaunted in his pursuit of his girlfriend and future bride, Warren tracks her down to convince her and his family about his true feelings.
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Neagle had her first major success with in Nell Gwyn (1934), which Wilcox had filmed in 1926 as a silent starring Dorothy Gish. Neagle's performance as the woman who became the mistress of Charles II (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) prompted some censorship in the United States. The Hays Office had Wilcox add a (historically false) scene featuring the two leads getting married and ... a "framing" story resulting in an entirely different ending.[7] Noted writer Graham Greene said of Nell Gwynn: "I have seen few things more attractive than Miss Neagle in breeches".[6]
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Anna Neagle spent a year with Odette Hallowes visiting the various prisons and camps where Odette was held and being introduced to other surviving SOE agents. Odette said of her, "She was absolutely into it. In fact it took one year after the end of the film to get back to normal, she was more upset by doing that film than I was reliving the experience." more
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Synopsis: British film-favorite Anna Neagle, having previously played such great historical personages as Queen Victoria and Edith Cavell, tackles the role of Florence Nightingale in Lady with the Lamp. Based on a play by Reginald Berkeley, the film traces the indefatigable Nightingale's efforts to ministerRead More
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Anna Neagle