Jessie Matthews

Acting

Jessie Matthews

Born — Died

1907-03-11 — 1981-08-19

Place of birth

London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

33 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jessie Matthews, OBE (11 March 1907 – 19 August 1981) was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period. After a string of hit stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, Matthews developed a following in the USA, where she was dubbed "The Dancing Divinity". Her British studio was reluctant to let go of its biggest name, which resulted in offers for her to work in Hollywood being repeatedly rejected. Matthews' first major film role was in Out of the Blue (1931). She was in two films directed by Albert de Courville, The Midshipmaid (1932) and There Goes the Bride (1932). Matthews enjoyed g…

Known for

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

No artwork available
NR

Jubilee 1977 is a thirteen-part 1977 BBC One television limited series produced by Pieter Rogers, an anthology centred around the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession on Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official 'Jubilee Days', held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday.

Jubilee 1977

1977

40 Minutes poster
6.4

40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.

40 Minutes

1981

Edward and Mrs Simpson poster
6.8

While still the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII meets the married American socialite, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship causes furor in the palace and in parliament, especially when King George V dies, Mrs. Simpson gets divorced, and King Edward announces his intention to marry her.

Edward and Mrs Simpson

1978

Tom Thumb poster
6.4

A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

Tom Thumb

1958

Film credits

1970s · 4 titles

1940s · 4 titles

1930s · 14 titles

The Man from Toronto poster
5.0

According to the terms of a will two strangers must marry. Leila (Jessie Matthews) is an English widow, and Fergus (Ian Hunter) is a Canadian bachelor. Both are bequeathed a fortune, but there is a condition to receive it; the two must marry within a year. To aid matters, Leila disguises herself as Fergus' maid, and the two begin to fall in love. However, when Fergus discovers the truth, he is less than pleased by the deception.

The Man from Toronto

1933

Waltzes from Vienna poster
5.4

In Vienna, aspiring composer Johann Strauss Jr. clashes with his domineering father, who wants him to abandon music for a steady job in a bakery. Torn between his love for the baker’s daughter, Resi, and the encouragement of a wealthy countess, Strauss finds inspiration that leads to the creation of "The Blue Danube."

Waltzes from Vienna

1934

It's Love Again poster
6.5

Elaine Bradford is a young singer and dancer, looking for her big break. Peter Carlton is a gossip columnist facing a deadline and a blank page. So, Peter invents "Mrs. Smythe-Smythe", a mysterious Englishwoman who spends her days hunting tigers in India, jumping out of airplanes, and generally driving men mad with her beauty. Since no one in London has ever seen Mrs. Smythe-Smythe, Elaine decides to impersonate the lady, in hopes that the publicity will land her the big break she's been looking for.

It's Love Again

1936

Friday the Thirteenth poster
6.4

It is pouring with rain at one minute to midnight on Friday the thirteenth, and the driver of a London bus is peering through his blurred windscreen as his vehicle sails down an empty road. Suddenly, lightning strikes, and a vast crane above topples into the path of the oncoming bus... Then Big Ben begins to wind backwards. Time recedes. And we discover the lives of all the passengers and the events that brought them to that late-night bus journey, from the con-man with a hundred-pound cheque to the businessman's distraught and elderly wife. Time flows on, inevitably, to the crash -- and past it, as some live and some die.

Friday the Thirteenth

1933

There Goes the Bride poster
6.5

A businessman's daughter runs away from an arranged marriage, only to find herself penniless and suspected of theft after she becomes the victim of a bag thief in the train. When she refuses to tell him who she really is, her accuser decides to take her home where he can keep an eye on her until 12 o'clock the next day, the time at which she has calculated that it will be safe to tell the truth! But when his fiancée arrives unexpectedly and then his 'guest' is mistaken for her, it all gets rather embarrassing...

There Goes the Bride

1932

Evergreen poster
6.4

Harriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era, mysteriously disappears on the eve of her wedding. Years later, she reappears on the stage as young looking and beautiful as ever.

Evergreen

1934

First a Girl poster
6.4

An aspiring singer quits her menial job and is talked into performing as a female impersonator by her friend. Her drag act makes her famous, which causes problems for her when a very determined young man falls in love with her. A remake of the 1933 German film Viktor und Viktoria.

First a Girl

1935

The Good Companions poster
6.4

Film musical taken from JB Priestley's novel about three musicians joining together to save a failing concert party, the Dinky Doos.

The Good Companions

1933

Out of the Blue poster
8.0

Impoverished aristocrat's daughter Tommy Tucker is in love with radio announcer Bill Coverdale, but he is engaged to her more glamorous sister Angela, who he does not love. Seeking escape from this hopeless situation, and her life of genteel poverty, Tommy flees abroad to Biarritz to become a nightclub singer.

Out of the Blue

1931

Sailing Along poster
7.8

A barge-owner's adopted daughter falls in love with his son, and gives up her chances of stardom to be with him.

Sailing Along

1938

Climbing High poster
7.1

Wealthy Nicky finds himself engaged to gold-digger Lady Constance, but he really loves scatty model Diana. Complications, slapstick and mountaineering are the result.

Climbing High

1938

The Midshipmaid poster
7.0

Sir Percy Newbiggin visits the fleet to find ways to economize Naval expenditures. Daughter Celia tags along and organizes a morale-boosting show utilizing ship-board talent. Her fiancé shows up, and romantic complications ensue.

The Midshipmaid

1932

Gangway poster
7.0

Newspaper reporter becomes involved with gang of crooks who take her for a tough American gangster.

Gangway

1937

Head Over Heels poster
9.0

Legendary British musical-comedy favorite Jessie Matthews chalks up another winner with Head Over Heels in Love. The ever-charming Matthews plays Jeanne, a Parisian entertainer who manages to get herself in hot water with the French version of Actors' Equity and is forced to take a series of jobs under a series of assumed names. Meanwhile, a romantic triangle involving American film star Norma (Helen Whitney Bourne) and gangsters Pierre (Robert Flemyng) and Marcel (Louis Borrell) spells big trouble for all concerned -- including the plucky Jeanne. Highlighted by six sprightly song numbers, Head Over Heels in Love is our girl Jessie's vehicle all the way, and never mind the "main" plot. The film was directed by Sonnie Hale, who just so happened to be the star's husband.

Head Over Heels

1937

Series credits

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

No artwork available
NR

Jubilee 1977 is a thirteen-part 1977 BBC One television limited series produced by Pieter Rogers, an anthology centred around the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession on Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official 'Jubilee Days', held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday.

Jubilee 1977

1977

40 Minutes poster
6.4

40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.

40 Minutes

1981

Edward and Mrs Simpson poster
6.8

While still the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII meets the married American socialite, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship causes furor in the palace and in parliament, especially when King George V dies, Mrs. Simpson gets divorced, and King Edward announces his intention to marry her.

Edward and Mrs Simpson

1978

Behind the camera