The Ageing Woman in British Film Comedy of the Mid-Twentieth Century
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Battleaxes, Spinsters and Chars: the Ageing Woman in British Film Comedy of the Mid-Twentieth Century Submitted by Claire Mortimer Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Art, Media and American Studies University of East Anglia February 2017 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. Word count: 94 090 i Abstract ‘Battleaxes, Spinsters and Chars: the Ageing Woman in British Film Comedy of the Mid- Twentieth Century’ explores the prominence of the mature woman in British film comedies of the mid-twentieth century, spanning the period from the Second War World to the mid- 1960s. This thesis is structured around case studies featuring a range of film comedies from across this era, selected for the performances of character actresses who were familiar faces to British cinema audiences. Organised chronologically, each chapter centres around films and actresses evoking specific typologies and themes relevant to female ageing: the ‘immobile’ woman in wartime, the spinster in the post-war era, retirement and old age in the 1950s, and the cockney matriarch in the early 1960s. The selection of case studies encompasses the overlooked and critically derided alongside the more celebrated and better known in order to represent the range of British film comedy of the time. The final chapter spans the time-frame of the whole thesis, exploring the later life stardom of Margaret Rutherford. The thesis is centred on close textual analysis of sequences from the case studies, applying research into a range of historical texts relevant to the films and actresses, including biographies, letters, correspondence, press, posters and publicity materials. Each chapter draws on diverse scholarly disciplines to interrogate representations of female ageing, encompassing age studies, feminist studies, star studies, sociological research, genre studies, political philosophy, anthropology and social history. I conclude that film comedy of the mid-twentieth century offered familiar and reassuring typologies of the ageing woman for audiences in a time of upheaval and social change. My analysis of the films demonstrates how the representations of female ageing provided by these character actresses and stars were inflected by the cultural and social context. In her various guises the character actress in British comedy offered a fantasy of continuity, stability and reassurance within a country which struggled to define its national identity, and a national cinema which was struggling to survive. ii Contents Title page i Abstract ii Contents iii Illustrations iv Acknowledgements vii Introduction Female Ageing, Comedy and Performance in British Film of the Mid-Twentieth Century 1 Chapter 1 ‘Immobile’ Femininity: the Mature Woman in Wartime Film Comedy 38 Chapter 2 ‘It Ain’t Natural Her Not Having a Husband!’: The Spinster and the Post-War Settlement 81 Chapter 3 The Age of Boredom: the Radicalisation of Retirement in Film Comedy 116 Chapter 4 Angry Old Women: Kitchen Sink Comedy of the 1960s 147 Chapter 5 ‘Mrs John Bull’: the Eccentric Stardom of Margaret Rutherford 180 Conclusion 236 Bibliography 242 iii Illustrations Figure 1 Deep England as evoked by wartime poster, 1942 (Imperial War Museum). .................................................................................................................................... 46 Figure 2 Went the Day Well?: Mrs Collins murders a German soldier. ..................... 47 Figure 3 A Greek chorus of gossiping matriarchs in Love On The Dole. .................. 49 Figure 4 Doris and Elsie Waters featured on a cigarette card, 1934. ......................... 51 Figure 5 Nellie Wallace, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1947.............................. 52 Figure 6 Lily Morris and Nellie Wallace as charwomen in Radio Parade of 1935. .. 53 Figure 7 Doris and Elsie Waters in costume for a publicity shot for Gert and Daisy's Weekend. .................................................................................................................... 56 Figure 8 Gert and Daisy endorsing Maclean's toothpaste, 1938. ............................... 60 Figure 9 Gert and Daisy's Wartime Cookery Book, 1941. ......................................... 62 Figure 10 Doris and Elsie Waters opening a communal feeding centre in March 1941. ........................................................................................................................... 63 Figure 11 Gert and Daisy confront Ma Butler in Gert and Daisy's Weekend............ 66 Figure 12 Poster for the Housewives' Service. .......................................................... 67 Figure 13 Gert and Daisy wait in the fish queue in Gert and Daisy’s Weekend. ...... 68 Figure 14 Gert and Daisy lead the dancing in the underground shelter in Gert and Daisy’s Weekend. ....................................................................................................... 69 Figure 15 Gert and Daisy meet the upper class in Gert and Daisy’s Weekend. ........ 71 Figure 16 Gert and Daisy on a tricycle: poster for Gert and Daisy's Weekend. ........ 73 Figure 17 ‘Now I want you to promise me you’re all going to be really good little evacuees and not worry his Lordship.’ Giles cartoon, Sunday Express, 30 July 1944. .................................................................................................................................... 74 Figure 18 Gert and Daisy demonstrate their more maternal side in Gert and Daisy’s Weekend. .................................................................................................................... 76 Figure 19 Gert and Daisy make a promise to the evacuees in Gert and Daisy’s Weekend. .................................................................................................................... 77 Figure 20 The seaside sauciness of the Holiday Camp poster. .................................. 88 Figure 21 Flora Robson as the 'imperial’ or ‘sanctified’ spinster in Fire Over London. ...................................................................................................................... 91 Figure 22 Elsie attempts to disguise her age in Holiday Camp. ................................ 95 Figure 23 Elsie and Esther find common ground as spinsters in Holiday Camp. ...... 96 Figure 24 Elsie competes in a beauty pageant in Holiday Camp. .............................. 99 Figure 25 ''Heavens! Who is that tall man standing beside Harriet?': cartoonist Helen Hokinson celebrates the strong-minded middle-aged woman. ................................ 105 Figure 26 Miss Reid dominates the conversation in Winter Cruise......................... 107 Figure 27 A fond farewell for Miss Reid from the French steward in Winter Cruise. .................................................................................................................................. 110 Figure 28 Miss Reid is subdued by romance in Winter Cruise. .............................. 110 Figure 29 The two spinsters discuss the joys of a cruise in Winter Cruise. ............ 112 iv Figure 30 The residents of Sunset Home await their royal visitor in Alive and Kicking. .................................................................................................................... 119 Figure 31 The three fugitives at sea in Alive and Kicking. ...................................... 121 Figure 32 Culture clash: Irish traditionalism meets English eccentricity in Alive and Kicking. .................................................................................................................... 123 Figure 33 The fugitives become carers in Alive and Kicking. ................................. 125 Figure 34 Dora abseils to collect birds' eggs in Alive and Kicking. ......................... 127 Figure 35 Rosie conceals her crimes in her carpet bag in Alive and Kicking. ......... 128 Figure 36 Mabel charms the Russians with her pirouettes in Alive and Kicking. .... 130 Figure 37 Pinkie scurries to the bathroom in Make Mine Mink. .............................. 133 Figure 38 Collective action unites the household in Make Mine Mink. ................... 136 Figure 39 Pinkie defends her modesty from the burglar under her bed in Make Mine Mink.......................................................................................................................... 137 Figure 40 Nan takes control in Make Mine Mink. .................................................... 139 Figure 41 Athene Seyler as Dame Bee in Make Mine Mink. ................................... 143 Figure 42 Spanager's mother-in-law demonstrates the perils of old age in Make Mine Mink.......................................................................................................................... 144 Figure 43 The generation gap manifests itself in the Seaton household in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1960). ............................................................................... 151 Figure 44 Ma Bull (Edna Morris) keeps an eye on Arthur (Albert Finney) in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. ............................................................................ 153 Figure 45 Ena Sharples was at the forefront of the appeal of Coronation Street. ... 154 Figure 46 The middle-aged matriarch