Alma Louise Taylor (3 January 1895 – 23 January 1974) was a British actress.

Life

Taylor was born in London. She made her first screen appearance as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

in the 1907 film ''His Daughter's Voice''. She went on to appear in more than 150 film roles, appearing in a number of larger-budget films such as '' Shadow of Egypt'' which was shot on location in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in 1924. Taylor was one of the major British stars of the 1910s and early 1920s. In 1915 she was voted the most popular British performer by readers of ''Pictures and the Picturegoers'', comfortably beating

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

into second place. She acted only occasionally after 1932, appearing in films such as '' Lilacs in the Spring'', ''

Blue Murder at St Trinian's ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis; the film also includ ...

'', and '' A Night to Remember'' during the 1950s. On television, she started twice in

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canadi ...

, in 1957: she played Mrs. Castor and Greta Stenbourg. She died in London at the age of 79.
The Shadow of Egypt
''.

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, retrieved 10 August 2011

Selected filmography

* ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1912) as Nancy * '' Adrift on Life's Tide'' (1913) * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1913) * '' The Cloister and the Hearth'' (1913) * ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'' (1914) * ''

The Heart of Midlothian ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of '' Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series'', and the author was given as "Jedediah Cle ...

'' (1914) * ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...

'' (1914) * '' The Baby on the Barge'' (1915) * ''

The Golden Pavement ''The Golden Pavement'' is a 1915 British silent drama film directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, Stewart Rome and Lionelle Howard.Palmer p.790 Cast * Alma Taylor as Brenda Crayle * Stewart Rome as Dennis * Lionelle ...

'' (1915) * '' The Man Who Stayed at Home'' (1915) * ''

Sweet Lavender ''Sweet Lavender'' is a play in three acts by Arthur Wing Pinero, first performed in 1888. The sentimental and gently humorous story concerns the romance of Lavender Rolt and Clement Hale, and the complications impeding the course of true love. ...

'' (1915) * ''

The Bottle "The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "Th ...

'' (1915) * '' Molly Bawn'' (1916) * ''

The Marriage of William Ashe ''The Marriage of William Ashe'' is a novel by Mary Augusta Ward that was the best-selling novel in the United States in 1905.(March 8, 1905)Books of the Day - The Marriage of William Ashe ''Boston Evening Transcript'' Hackett, Alice Payne (194 ...

'' (1916) * ''

Trelawny of the Wells ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society. Synopsis ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' te ...

'' (1916) * '' Sowing the Wind'' (1916) * ''

The Grand Babylon Hotel ''The Grand Babylon Hotel'' is a novel by Arnold Bennett, published in January 1902, about the mysterious disappearance of a German prince. It originally appeared as a serial in the ''Golden Penny''. The titular Grand Babylon was modelled on the ...

'' (1916) * ''

Annie Laurie "Annie Laurie" is an old Scottish song based on a poem said to have been written by William Douglas (1682?–1748) of Dumfriesshire, about his romance with Annie Laurie (1682–1764). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Sco ...

'' (1916) * ''

The American Heiress ''The American Heiress'' is a 1917 British silent crime film directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, Violet Hopson and Stewart Rome.Wintour p.173 Cast * Alma Taylor as Bessie * Violet Hopson Violet Hopson (16 December ...

'' (1917) * ''

Nearer My God to Thee "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because th ...

'' (1917) * The Touch of a Child'' (1918) * The Leopard's Spots (1918) * A New Version (1918) * ''

Boundary House ''Boundary House'' is a 1918 British silent drama film directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, Gerald Ames and William Felton.Palmer p.900 Plot A man forces a woman to pose as his dead wife, who was her doppelganger. Cast ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Forest on the Hill ''The Forest on the Hill'' is a 1919 British silent crime film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, James Carew and Gerald Ames. It was based on a novel by Eden Phillpotts. Cast * Alma Taylor - Drusilla Whyddon * James Car ...

'' (1919) * ''

Broken in the Wars ''Broken in the Wars'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Henry Edwards, Chrissie White and Alma Taylor. The Pensions Minister John Hodge appeared in the film to promote the King's Fund, which support ...

'' (1919) * '' Sunken Rocks'' (1919) * ''

Sheba Sheba (; he, ''Šəḇāʾ''; ar, سبأ ''Sabaʾ''; Ge'ez: ሳባ ''Saba'') is a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament) and the Quran. Sheba features in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions, particularly the Ethiopian Ort ...

'' (1919) * '' The Nature of the Beast'' (1919) *'' Alf's Button'' (1920) * ''

Helen of Four Gates ''Helen of Four Gates'' is a 1920 British silent melodrama film directed by cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor (in a dual role as mother and daughter), James Carew, and Gerald Ames. Production background The film was ada ...

'' (1920) * '' Mrs. Erricker's Reputation'' (1920) * ''

The Narrow Valley ''The Narrow Valley'' is a 1921 British silent drama film directed by Cecil Hepworth. As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's " 75 Most Wanted" lost films. Ca ...

'' (1921) * ''

Tansy Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North America, and in ...

'' (1921) * ''

The Tinted Venus ''The Tinted Venus'' is a 1921 British silent fantasy film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, George Dewhurst and Maud Cressall.Palmer p.92 ''The Tinted Venus'' was based on the 1885 novella by F. Anstey (pseudonym of Thoma ...

'' (1921) * ''

Dollars in Surrey ''Dollars in Surrey'' is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by George Dewhurst and Anson Dyer and starring Alma Taylor, James Carew and Hugh Clifton.Connelly p.341 Cast * Alma Taylor * James Carew * Hugh Clifton * Gwynne Herbert ...

'' (1921) * '' The Pipes of Pan'' (1923) * '' Strangling Threads'' (1923) * '' Comin' Thro the Rye'' (1923) * ''

Mist in the Valley ''Mist in the Valley'' is a 1923 British silent crime film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, G. H. Mulcaster and James Carew. It was based on a novel by Dorin Craig. Cast * Alma Taylor - Margaret Yeoland * G. H. Mulc ...

'' (1923) * '' Strangling Threads'' (1923) * '' Shadow of Egypt'' (1924) * ''

The House of Marney ''The House of Marney'' is a 1927 British silent crime film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, John Longden and James Carew. It was based on a novel by John Goodwin. Cast * Alma Taylor - Beatrice Maxon * John Longden - ...

'' (1926) * '' Quinneys (1927) * '' Two Little Drummer Boys'' (1928) * ''

A South Sea Bubble ''A South Sea Bubble'' is a 1928 British silent comedy adventure film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Ivor Novello, Benita Hume and Alma Taylor. The screenplay concerns a group of adventurers who head to the Pacific Ocean to hunt f ...

'' (1928) * '' The Night of Terror'' (1929) * ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...

'' (1929) * ''

Things Are Looking Up Things or The Things may refer to: Music * ''Things'' (album), by Uri Caine and Paolo Fresu, 2006 * "Things" (Bobby Darin song), 1962; covered by Ronnie Dove, 1975 * "Things", a song by Joe Walsh from '' There Goes the Neighborhood'', 1981 * "Thi ...

'' (1935) * '' Everybody Dance'' (1936) * '' Lilacs in the Spring'' (1954) * ''

Stock Car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

'' (1955) * ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' (1956) * ''

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' is a 1956 American suspense thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. The film is Hitchcock's second film using this title, following his own 1934 film of the sa ...

'' (1956) * ''

'' (1957) * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958)

Bibliography

* Babington, Bruce. ''British stars and stardom: from Alma Taylor to Sean Connery''. Manchester University Press, 2001.

References

External links

* * 1895 births 1974 deaths English child actresses English silent film actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses {{england-film-actor-stub