MovieChat Forums > The Wolf Man (1941) Discussion > Evelyn Ankers was born thirty years too...

Evelyn Ankers was born thirty years too early


I say Evelyn Ankers was born thirty years too early. I'm saying this as a man, of course, infatuated with her beauty, figure, supple & athletic legs, and her surprising, tall 5'8" height for her time period.

I saw a few photos of Evelyn Ankers on the Internet that really highlighted her beauty and shapely body. Being a leg man myself, Evelyn had a pair of gorgeous gams. Unfortunately, she was born in 1918 and in the 1940s skirts were long, leotards, tights, and miniskirts were decades into the future.

Imagine the opportunities for Evelyn to showcase her entire feminine charms had she been born in 1948 instead. What a waste. She passes through her acting career like so many steady B actresses (not derogatory) and then marries and retires. Then decades later, she dies in obscurity, but at least in good surroundings, the beautiful island of Maui in the island chain of Hawai'i, the 50th state of the U.S. It's interesting how a beautiful young British actress can start her life in South America, grow up in her native England, live her adult life in California, retire and die in a tropical island paradise. She rests in peace on Maui in a U.S. military veterans cemetery. She and her husband share a grave memorial plaque. But there is no information on the plaque to indicate she was at one time a prolific Hollywood B actress. (nothing wrong about a B actor level; most actors are at that level anyway - few can ever make it to A list). It's a shame Evelyn Ankers was already long-forgotten by the time of her death.

Thanks to the magic of the Internet, her screen life memories can be seen by everyone around the world like me. Although long dead for 25 years, her life and acting career are now immortalized on the Internet.

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...crazy'bout Ankers'ankles(!)and everything ELSE

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Well, I'm gay, and I love her 1940's hairdo - so 1941! It was very
flattering on her, as were the long dresses, highlighting her lower legs
(let's leave something to the imagination). Also loved her makeup.
She was indeed a beautiful woman. And a solid actress.

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I wonder why nothing was written on her gravestone about her being an actress? At least there are those of us around that do appreciate her.

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[deleted]

Yea I agree so beautiful and charming in this film

Classical beauty don't see anymore in hollywood

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I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Ankers and her equally handsome husband in Hawaii back in the mid-1970s when Richard Denning was doing Hawaii Five-O. She was such a lovely, charming, and gracious person and still strikingly beautiful well into her fifties. Evelyn and her husband made the perfect couple; one complemented the other, and both seemed very happy with their lives. I asked her if she ever missed doing films ("no, not really") and told her what an impressive body of work she had and how much I enjoyed her work, particularly her roles in "The Wolfman" and "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror" (a favorite of hers too). She didn't seem very keen on discussing her film career and instead preferred to talk about their lives and interests in Hawaii. I got the impression that an acting career had never been a major priority for her, especially once she met "the man of her dreams," and that she wouldn't trade her life in Hawaii being Mrs. Richard Denning for anything. Very nice lady, indeed.

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I agree with what is being said here. Sadly, Evelyn Ankers died much too young (at age 67) in 1985. Even though I've seen The Wolf Man far more times than I care to count, I saw it for the first time in a movie theatre last night and was struck by her incredible, sensuous beauty. In fact, when she first came on, I think I said "whoa" without meaning to, just because she was so sexy. I never really realized that before. The OP raises an excellent point: Options have really improved for actresses. And Evelyn - though appearing in B Movies - really had A-list acting chops, and probably would've had far more options if she'd started acting in more recent decades (e.g., the 1970s). After seeing her on the big screen last night, I have a newfound appreciation for her incredible beauty.

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