Madge Evans

star 5.6

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  • group Other Names:
    Margherita Evans, Madge Evans Kingsley, Margherita "Madge" Evans

description About

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.

Info

  • wc Gender: Female
  • calendar_month Birth Date: 1909-07-01
  • event Death Date 1981-04-26
  • school Known for: Acting
  • star Popularity: 5.6
  • info Birth Place New York City, New York, USA
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smart_display Movies and TV shows by Madge Evans

0

The Volunteer

1917-12-24

0

The Bard of Broadway

1930-10-01

5.3

The Tunnel

1935-10-27

4.8

The Greeks Had a Word for Them

1932-02-03

6.6

David Copperfield

1935-01-18

6.7

Dinner at Eight

1933-12-22

0

True Blue

1918-05-05

0

Helldorado

1935-01-05

0

Heartbreak

1931-11-08

4.6

Broadway to Hollywood

1933-09-15

7.1

The Mayor of Hell

1933-06-24

0

Love Net

1918-12-23

7

Death on the Diamond

1934-09-14

0

The New South

1916-12-11

7.5

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum

1933-02-03

5

The Nuisance

1933-06-03

6.5

Piccadilly Jim

1936-08-14

6

Guilty Hands

1931-08-22

5.3

Sinners in Paradise

1938-05-19

5

Are You Listening?

1932-03-21

6.5

Exclusive Story

1936-01-17

5

Son of India

1931-08-01

5

Day of Reckoning

1933-10-26

5.8

The Thirteenth Chair

1937-05-07

6

West of Broadway

1931-11-28

0

Wanted, A Mother

1918-03-18

5.8

Lovers Courageous

1932-01-23

6.5

Made on Broadway

1933-05-19

7

Beauty for Sale

1933-09-01

6.9

Pennies from Heaven

1936-11-25

6

Army Girl

1938-08-11

6.6

Huddle

1932-05-14

5

Moonlight Murder

1936-03-27

6.5

Espionage

1937-02-26

6

Fugitive Lovers

1934-01-05

6.3

Hell Below

1933-06-08

5.2

Age of Indiscretion

1935-05-10

7

What Every Woman Knows

1934-10-18

0

On the Banks of the Wabash

1923-10-22

5.7

The Show-Off

1934-03-09

5.5

Sporting Blood

1931-08-08

8.3

Fast Life

1932-12-16

3.3

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

1961-12-31

4.5

Calm Yourself

1935-06-28

0

Stolen Orders

1918-06-02

0

The Power and the Glory

1918-09-02

3.5

Paris Interlude

1934-07-27

0

The Web of Desire

1917-03-04

6

Men Without Names

1935-06-29

0

The Hidden Scar

1916-10-15

0

The Revolt

1916-10-01

1

Husband and Wife

1916-08-28

0

Classmates

1924-11-19

0

The Devil's Toy

1916-03-06

4.1

Grand Canary

1934-07-20

5.7

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1975-08-06

4.8

Stand Up and Cheer!

1934-05-04

0

Envy

1930-12-01

0

Seventeen

1916-11-02

2

The Seven Sisters

1915-07-26

0

Three Green Eyes

1919-04-28

0

The Golden Wall

1918-07-15

0

The Burglar

1917-10-29

0

The Corner Grocer

1917-10-01

0

Beloved Adventuress

1917-07-16

0

Sudden Riches

1916-05-15

0

Maternity

1917-05-28

0

The Master Hand

1915-08-23

0

Neighbors

1918-07-29

4.7

Studio One

1948-11-07

8.7

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951-12-24

6

Lux Video Theatre

1950-10-02

4

The Alcoa Hour

1955-10-16

5.5

Your Show of Shows

1950-02-25

4.6

Matinee Theater

1955-10-31

6

The Philco Television Playhouse

1948-10-03

4.7

Studio One

1948-11-07

6

The Philco Television Playhouse

1948-10-03