Acting

Lillian Hall-Davis

Born 1898-06-23 · Mile End, London, England, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films. Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London taxi driver, her films included a part-colour version of I Pagliacci (1923), The Passionate Adventure (1924), Blighty (1927), The Ring (1927), and The Farmer's Wife (1928), the latter two both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who at the time considered her his "favourite actress." She had a lead role in a "lavish production" of Quo Vadis (1924), an Italian film directed by Gabriellino D'Annunzio and Georg Jacoby. Hall-Davis also appeared in a comedy short film made in the Lee DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, As We Lie (1927), co-starring and directed by Miles Mander. Hall-Davis did not make the transition to talkies; in 1933 her "sharp career decline and health problems" prompted her to commit suicide by turning on the gas oven and cutting her own throat at home in the Golders Green area of London. She was 35.

Acting credits

5.6

Successful middle-aged farmer Samuel Sweetland becomes widowed, then his daughter marries and leaves home. Deciding he wishes to remarry, Sweetland pursues some local women he considers prospects.

The Farmer's Wife

1928

6.3

"The Roman Banquet, the golden glories, the unrivaled luxuries, the wine, the dance, the song, the beautiful women, the sumptuous splendors that taxed a barbaric world for a night of feasting and revel-- Re-created for your entertainment in the most colossal drama produced", reads an ad in the Daily Argus of New York. Unione Cinematografica Italiana's lavish production of the oft-told tale stars Emil Jannings as Nero.

Quo Vadis?

1924

7.0

A cleric enlists on learning he loves his brother's sweetheart, saves his life, and finds he is really an Earl.

Tommy Atkins

1928

5.9

Both Jack Sander and Bob Corby are boxers in love with Mabel. Jack and Mabel wed, but their marriage is flat. The young wife looks to Bob for comfort.

The Ring

1927

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Little Women

1918

No artwork available

7.0

A woman plans to boost her public profile by getting a divorce. She enlists the help of a male friend to act as co-respondent leading to a series of mix-ups and her eventual decision not to get divorced.

Her Reputation

1931

10.0

aka Maisie's Marriage, based on Marie Stopes book, a fireman falls in love with a daughter from a large family. When she refuses to marry and have children, she is estranged from her family, and after being imprisioned after a failed suicide attempt becomes a maid. Controversial at the time for its views on marriage and birth control.

Married Love

1923

8.5

A sardonic look at the dark secrets of the British Film Industry of the 1920s and 30s, where scandal and sordid behaviour was almost as rife as in Hollywood.

Shepperton Babylon

2005

No artwork available

10.0

A Lord who intervenes to save the mistress of a notorious playboy from a suicide attempt. After rescuing her, he eventually marries her, leading to a dramatic shift in her social standing and life.