British actress whose particular contribution to post-war cinema was
to introduce a genteel eroticism to the English upper classes, playing
off an unmistakable husky voice against 'English rose' respectability.
In Kind Hearts and
Coronets (1949) there is an unambiguous sexuality in her performance,
suggesting a delight in adultery unexpected in an Ealing comedy. Her
performance as Gwendolyn in The
Importance of Being Earnest (1952) confirmed her strength in high
theatrical comedy. Ealing was probably not the place to develop her
particular erotic potential, though she played winsome leads for Alexander
Mackendrick in Whisky
Galore! (1949) and The
Man in the White Suit (1951), and the British cinema in general
offered her very little after another sexy cameo in Tom
Jones (1963). She continued to work in theatre, and returned to
television in 1981 to play a wonderfully dotty, husky and still sexy
aunt in Trevor Griffiths' Country.
