Leading lady
That Evelyn Ankers, what a doll !
shareYes she certainly was. Lovely!!
shareMs. Ankers is positively radiant in this film... Gorgeous.
Luxuriate in the eclectic...
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She was to play opposite Rathbone's Holmes again in "The Pearl Of Death"..but as a villianes this time.
Ankers was notorious as Universal's reigning "Scream Queen" because of her many appreances in the Universal Horror classics.She got that spot after appearing opposite Lon Chaney Jr as Gwen in the 1941 "The WolfMan".
I'll Teach You To Laugh At Something's That's Funny
Homer Simpson
It is interesting to contrast the roles she plays in the Pearl of Death and the Voice of Terror. She plays them so differently, that you would almost think that they are played by two different actresses. Especially fine is her speech in the "lower pub?" summoning up everybody to go find "Christopher". There is one thing I find unclear at the end and that is, if she is killed by Meade or just wounded. I think Holmes says some thing like, "All England owes a debt of gratitude..." and then he asks Watson to either attend to her or look after her, but that doesn't seem to be definitive. Anybody know for sure? Regards, mustangp51b
shareMy impression is that she's killed. I seem to recall that the bystanders look solemn rather than anxious. Anyway, it would fit in with the Hollywood moral code of the time, under which it was usual for "fallen women" and other characters with hopelessly blemished characters to be either bad or dead by the end of the story. I don't mean to deny the exceptions, especially in more complex films and comedies, but it was a common pattern in simple melodramas. A sympathetic female character who had submitted to being a villain's mistress would normally be allowed the cleansing fate of death.
shareShe is killed. It is very subtle, but Watson looks at Holmes and shakes his head.
shareher performance in the pub,galvanizing the cynical residents,was outstanding,good enough for a supporting nomination,but alas,seral films didnt garner that type of props...the queen of screams indeed..
shareYes. Ankers was damn near inspiring in the pub scene. She was a fine actress, maybe not at the studio best suited to he talents she had. It would have been interesting if she could have broken away and done more non-genre films, but this rarely happened back in the day.
shareEvelyn Ankers 'death' scene is subtle. I thought it was Holmes who looks at Watson and nods. They both brush it off very quickly.
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