62 Facts About Herbert Wilcox

Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE was a British film producer and director.

Herbert Wilcox was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Herbert Wilcox is best known for the films he made with his third wife Anna Neagle.

Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, and Wilcox considered himself Irish, but he was born in Norwood, south London.

Herbert Wilcox's family moved to Brighton when Wilcox was eight years old; he was one of five children.

Herbert Wilcox's family was poor and Wilcox had to do a number of part-time jobs, including some work as a chorus boy at the local Hippodrome.

Herbert Wilcox's mother died of tuberculosis when she was 42.

Herbert Wilcox left school before the age of fourteen to find work.

Herbert Wilcox began earning money as a professional pool player at the Metropole in Camberwell Green.

The First World War broke out and Herbert Wilcox enlisted in the British Army.

Herbert Wilcox was training cadets in County Cork when the Easter Rising broke out in 1916 and Wilcox was wounded.

Herbert Wilcox then enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps to earn more money and trained as a pilot.

Herbert Wilcox began selling American films to Yorkshire exhibitors, occasionally working with Victor Saville.

In 1919, Herbert Wilcox used his war gratuity to found his own distribution company, Astra Films, in association with his brother and a colleague, Jack Smart.

Griffith, Jack Graham Cutts; he and Herbert Wilcox established Graham-Herbert Wilcox Productions.

However the next Graham-Herbert Wilcox production, Flames of Passion, starring imported Hollywood star Mae Marsh was a big hit, among the first British films sold to the USA.

The success of the film inspired Herbert Wilcox to steer away from realistic drama and focus on escapist entertainment.

Herbert Wilcox optioned the screen rights for Chu-Chin-Chow, with imported American star Betty Blythe.

Herbert Wilcox followed it with Southern Love, shot in Vienna, again with Blythe.

Herbert Wilcox launched the film with a mock bull fight in Albert Hall and says the film returned a profit in England alone.

Pommer asked Herbert Wilcox to collaborate again and they made Decameron Nights.

Herbert Wilcox followed it with Nell Gwyn, starring Dorothy Gish in the title role.

Herbert Wilcox ended up leaving British National and founded the British and Dominions Film Corporation with Nelson Keys with capital of half a million pounds.

Herbert Wilcox wanted to make another film with Frederick and suggested Noel Coward's The Vortex but Frederick disliked the role.

Herbert Wilcox instead decided to do a version of the Edith Cavell story, Dawn.

Herbert Wilcox produced more than a hundred films, of which he directed about half.

Herbert Wilcox built and equipped sound studios next to the British International Pictures studios, which they bought from John Maxwell.

Herbert Wilcox produced and directed the first British all talkie ever made, Wolves, with Charles Laughton and Dorothy Gish and produced Canaries Sometimes Sing.

Herbert Wilcox made an arrangement to produce a series of films in association with His Master's Voice, with the aim of using their celebrity recording stars.

Herbert Wilcox produced Rookery Nook, an Aldwych farce based on the play by Ben Travers and directed by Tom Walls.

Herbert Wilcox decided to cast her after seeing Neagle support Buchanan on stage in a musical Stand Up and Cheer.

Herbert Wilcox bought the rights to a John Galsworthy play Loyalties and developed a screenplay.

Herbert Wilcox later sold it to William Fox for a profit.

Herbert Wilcox was back to Neagle for The Queen's Affair.

Herbert Wilcox produced Escape Me Never, starring Elisabeth Bergner, which was a surprise box office hit.

The only other shareholders in the company apart from Herbert Wilcox were Woolf and his brother Maurice.

Herbert Wilcox had shares in a new company, General Cinema Finance, which was to control the distribution and production of films and acquire cinemas.

Herbert Wilcox was back with Buchanan with This'll Make You Whistle.

Herbert Wilcox wanted to make an epic version of The Blue Lagoon with Hollywood stars to be shot mostly on location in Hawaii and a biopic of Lady Hamilton with Neagle but neither was made.

Herbert Wilcox wanted to star Neagle in a biopic of Queen Victoria.

Woolf refused to finance it, believing it to be a bad investment, so Herbert Wilcox raised the bulk of the finance himself.

Victoria the Great was a massive success and led to Herbert Wilcox signing a ten-year deal with RKO to help finance and distribute the films.

Herbert Wilcox produced but did not direct A Royal Divorce starring Ruth Chatterton.

Herbert Wilcox announced he would make a biopic of Lord Kitchener but the film was never made.

Herbert Wilcox planned to make a biopic about Van Gogh starring Trevor Howard, but it was never made.

Herbert Wilcox made a film without Neagle, Into the Blue, with Wilding and Odile Versois; it was not particularly popular.

In November 1951 Herbert Wilcox signed a multi picture deal with Margaret Lockwood to make six films in three years.

The first movie Lockwood-Herbert Wilcox film, Trent's Last Case was a solid success, helped by a cast including Wilding and Orson Welles.

Herbert Wilcox was further hurt when a film he produced, The Beggar's Opera, was a box office disaster.

Herbert Wilcox formed a new production company, Everest, and made two musicals with Neagle and Errol Flynn: Lilacs in the Spring, based on The Glorious Years, and King's Rhapsody, based on a musical by Ivor Novello.

Herbert Wilcox had a hit with My Teenage Daughter, a story of Neagle dealing with a juvenile delinquent daughter played by Sylvia Syms.

Less successful was These Dangerous Years, produced by Neagle and directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring George Baker and Frankie Vaughan, and no Neagle.

Herbert Wilcox produced but did not direct a war film, Yangtse Incident, which performed reasonably well at the British box office but ultimately lost money.

Herbert Wilcox found himself personally liable for some of the film's costs.

Herbert Wilcox was plagued with financial troubles in the 1950s and 1960s.

Herbert Wilcox spent two years trying to make a film about King Edward VII but the Queen refused permission.

In June 1917, Herbert Wilcox was granted a divorce from his first wife Dorothy, whom he had married on 2 December 1916 at St Luke's, Brighton.

At the time, Herbert Wilcox was a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps.

Herbert Wilcox's wife was "carrying on a disgraceful intrigue" with an -married Mr Stanley Steel.

In 1920, Herbert Wilcox married Maude Bower; they had four children together.

Herbert Wilcox married his third wife, actress Anna Neagle, on 9 August 1943.

However, Victoria the Great and Herbert Wilcox won the Festival's Nations Cup for "Best World Premiere".