Renee Gadd (1908–2003) was an Argentine-born British

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. She acted mostly in British films.

Early life

Gadd was born on a ranch in

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 1908 to

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. Her father Talbot Gadd was a railway executive who abandoned the family, after which they moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1913. Gadd lived with her aunt and began to study dancing, working as a

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms s ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

by the age of fourteen. In 1924, she was cast in a production of ''Hassan'' by the powerful

theatrical agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sport ...

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, after organising unoff ...

, after which she appeared in several musical comedies, then straight plays after becoming a member of a Shakespearian company at

Stratford-on-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...

. She enjoyed a series of successful West End roles. During this same period she acted, and had an affair, with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Film career

In 1931 Gadd signed a contract with

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

and spent two years making films for them. Finding the various comedy films she was cast in uninspiring she behaved uncooperatively until she was released from her contract. In 1932 while working on the crime film ''

White Face ''White Face'' (also known as ''Edgar Wallace's White Face the Fiend'') is a 1932 British crime film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Hugh Williams, Gordon Harker and Renee Gadd. The film is based on a play by Edgar Wallace. Plot A do ...

'' she began a tempestuous affair with her co-star

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

. When her contract with British International expired in 1934 she followed Williams who had gone to Hollywood, but found he had a new lover. She appeared opposite him in the 1935 film ''

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 ...

'', but returned to Britain the following year. Her career began to tail off and she appeared mostly in

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

and small roles in minor productions for the remainder of her career. Her final appearance was in the 1950

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

film ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that ...

''.Sweet p.91-92

Partial filmography

* '' Money for Nothing'' (1932) - Maid * ''

Josser Joins the Navy ''Josser Joins the Navy'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Ernie Lotinga, Cyril McLaglen and Jack Hobbs. It was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures.Wood p.72 It was part of a series of film ...

'' (1932) - Polly * ''

Aren't We All? ''Aren't We All?'' is a comic play by Frederick Lonsdale. At the core of the drawing room comedy's slim plot is the Hon. William Tatham who, having been consigned to the proverbial doghouse for a romantic indiscretion, is determined to catch his ...

'' (1932) - Kitty Lake * ''

The Bad Companions ''The Bad Companions'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by J. O. C. Orton and starring Nor Kiddie, Renee Gadd and Wallace Lupino. The title is a reference to the 1929 novel '' The Good Companions'' by J. B. Priestley which was itself mad ...

'' (1932) - Josie * ''

'' (1932) - Janice Harman * ''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham an ...

'' (1932) - Vittoria * '' His Wife's Mother'' (1932) - Tony * ''

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

'' (1933) - Pauline * '' Skipper of the Osprey'' (1933, Short) - Maggie Cringle * ''

Letting in the Sunshine ''Letting in the Sunshine'' is a 1933 British comedy crime film directed by Lupino Lane and starring Albert Burdon, Renee Gadd and Molly Lamont. It was based on a story by Anthony Asquith.Sutton p.218 The film was made by British International ...

'' (1933) - Jane * ''

Uncertain Lady ''Uncertain Lady'' is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Karl Freund, written by Daniel Evans, Doris Anderson, Edward A. Curtiss, George O'Neil and Don Ryan, and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin, Paul Cavanagh, Mary Nash, R ...

'' (1934) - Myra Spaulding * ''

The Love Captive ''The Love Captive'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by Max Marcin and written by Karen DeWolf, adapted from Marcin's play of the same name. The film stars Gloria Stuart, Nils Asther, Paul Kelly, Alan Dinehart, Renee Gadd, and Russ Bro ...

'' (1934) - Valerie Loft * ''

'' (1935) - Janet * '' The Crimson Circle'' (1936) - Millie Macroy * ''

Where's Sally? ''Where's Sally?'' is a 1936 British comedy film, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Chili Bouchier, Gene Gerrard and Claude Hulbert. The film was a quota quickie production and is now believed to be lost.Tomorrow We Live'' (1936) - Patricia Gordon * '' The Man in the Mirror'' (1936) - Miss Blake * ''

The Man Who Made Diamonds ''The Man Who Made Diamonds'' is a 1937 British crime film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Noel Madison, James Stephenson and Lesley Brook. Plot summary A professor invents a way of manufacturing diamonds. Cast * Noel Madison ... Josep ...

'' (1937) - Marianne * ''

Clothes and the Woman ''Clothes and the Woman'' is a 1937 British romance film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Rod La Rocque, Tucker McGuire and Constance Collier. It was made at J.H. Studios, Elstree Studios.Wood p.89 While enjoying a holiday in the reso ...

'' (1937) - Schoolmistress * ''

Brief Ecstasy ''Brief Ecstasy'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Paul Lukas, Hugh Williams, Linden Travers and Marie Ney. It was made at Ealing Studios. Plot Cast * Paul Lukas a Professor Paul Bernardy * Hugh Willia ...

'' (1937) - Marjorie * '' Under a Cloud'' (1937) - Judy St. John * ''

Meet Mr. Penny ''Meet Mr. Penny'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Richard Goolden, Vic Oliver and Fabia Drake. It was made at Welwyn Studios by British National Films.Wood p.98 Cast * Richard Goolden as Henry Penny * Vi ...

'' (1938) - Mrs. Brown * ''

Murder in Soho ''Murder in Soho'' is a 1939 British crime film directed by Norman Lee and starring Jack La Rue, Sandra Storme, Googie Withers and Bernard Lee. It concerns a murder in the Central London district of Soho. It was released in the U.S. as ''Murder i ...

'' (1939) - Woman in Police Station * ''

Unpublished Story ''Unpublished Story'' is a 1942 British black-and-white war film directed by Harold French and starring Richard Greene and Valerie Hobson. It was produced and co-written by Anthony Havelock-Allan. The film served as a propaganda film during Wo ...

'' (1942) - Miss Hartley * ''

They Came to a City ''They Came to a City'' is a 1944 British film directed by Basil Dearden adapted from the 1943 play of the same title by J. B. Priestley. It stars John Clements, Googie Withers, Raymond Huntley, Renee Gadd, A. E. Matthews and others, and is not ...

'' (1944) - Mrs. Stritton * ''

Dead of Night ''Dead of Night'' is a 1945 black and white British anthology horror film, made by Ealing Studios. The individual segments were directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Wi ...

'' (1945) - Mrs. Craig (segment "Linking Story") * '' Frieda'' (1946) - Mrs. Freeman * ''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They ex ...

'' (1948) - Mrs. Parsons * ''

'' (1950) - Woman Driver (uncredited)

References

Bibliography

* Sweet, Matthew. ''Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema''. Faber and Faber, 2005.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadd, Renee 1908 births 2003 deaths British film actresses People from Buenos Aires British stage actresses Argentine emigrants to the United Kingdom British expatriate actresses in the United States