from Alma Taylor to Sean Connery edited by Bruce Babington Manchester University Press MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave Contents List of illustrations page ix Notes on contributors x Acknowledgements xii 1 Introduction: British stars and stardom BRUCE BABINGTON I 2 'Our English Mary Pickford': Alma Taylor and ambivalent British stardom in the 1910s JONATHAN BURROWS ' 29 3 The curious appeal of Ivor Novello LAWRENCE NAPPER AND MICHAEL WILLIAMS 42 4 The extraordinary ordinariness of Gracie Fields: the anatomy of a British film star MARCIA LANDY 56 5 'Britain's finest contribution to the screen': Flora Robson and character acting ANDREW HIGSON 68 6 Dangerous limelight: Anton Walbrook and the seduction of the English ANDREW MOOR 80 7 'Queen of British hearts': Margaret Lockwood revisited BRUCE BABINGTON 94 8 James Mason: the man between PETER WILLIAM EVANS 108 9 The nun's story: femininity and Englishness in the films of Deborah Kerr CELESTINO DELEYTO 120 10 Trevor, not Leslie, Howard GEOFFREY MACNAB 132 11 Sir Alec Guinness: the self-effacing star NEILSINYARD 143 12 'Madness, madness!': the brief stardom of James Donald CHARLES BARR 155 13 The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the blonde bombshell phenomenon PAM COOK ' 167 Viii CONTENTS 14 'The Angry Young Man is tired': Albert Finney and 1960s British cinema JUSTINEASHBY 179 15 Song, narrative and the mother's voice: a deepish reading of Julie Andrews BRUCE BABINGTON 192 16 'There's something about Mary...' JULIAN PETLEY 205 17 Sean Connery: loosening his Bonds ANDREW SPICER 218 18 'Bright, particular stars': Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson and William Shakespeare RICHARD W. SCHOCH ' 231 Select bibliography 244 Index 255.