Jane Hylton (born Audrey Gwendolene Clark; 16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life and education

Jane Hylton was born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark on 16 July 1926 in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Talent-spotted in her teens, Hylton was a product of the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...

's Company of Youth (more commonly referred to as the Rank Charm School), which took promising young actors and groomed them for a career in film. The programme turned out some genuine stars such as

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House (film), Doctor in the Hous ...

and

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

, but most alumni only had modest film careers, regularly employed in British films but rarely if ever receiving star-billing. Female graduates of the programme were often referred to somewhat disparagingly as "Rank Starlets", with the implication that their purpose was merely to appear on screen and look glamorous; however, Hylton did feature in substantial acting roles with prominent billing. Hylton's first screen appearance came in a 1946 programmer ''

A Girl in a Million A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

''. She quickly moved on to minor roles in films produced by

Gainsborough Studios Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The comp ...

('' Jassy'', '' When the Bough Breaks'') and

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

(''

Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...

'', ''

It Always Rains on Sunday ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' is a 1947 British film adaptation of Arthur La Bern's novel of the same name, directed by Robert Hamer. The film has been compared with the poetic realism movement in the French cinema of a few years earlier by the ...

''), then in 1948 landed her largest role to that time, as an escaped convict's mistress in Gainsborough's '' My Brother's Keeper''. She was cast as one of the daughters in the successful comedy '' Here Come the Huggetts'', then in 1949 as Molly Reed in the Ealing Comedy ''

Passport to Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...

''. In the early 1950s, Hylton was cast in major roles in several films with a predominantly female cast and targeted at female audiences; ''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

'' (1950), ''

It Started in Paradise ''It Started in Paradise'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the storyline concerns an established master of her craft being u ...

'' (1952 – set in the world of

haute couture (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...

) and 1954 women's prison drama ''

The Weak and the Wicked ''The Weak and the Wicked'' (U.S. title: ''Young and Willing'') is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors. It was written by Anne Burnaby, Thompson and Joan Henry, based on the 1952 au ...

''. The quality of film roles offered to her then began to fall and she found herself for the rest of the decade toiling mainly in quickly-shot B-films, an exception being a prominent role in the 1960 horror film '' Circus of Horrors''. Hylton's first television appearance was in the starring role of Queen Guinevere in the 1956 series ''

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a ...

'' and from the early 1960s she spent her career entirely in television, where she featured in a number of one-off productions for BBC and ITV drama strands as well as appearing in series such as ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', ''

Journey to the Unknown ''Journey to the Unknown'' is a British anthology television series, produced by Hammer Film Productions and 20th Century Fox Television. It aired on ABC from September 26, 1968, to January 30, 1969.The Troubleshooters'' and ''

Take Three Girls ''Take Three Girls'' is a British comedy-drama television series that aired on BBC1 from 17 November 1969 to 1 January 1971. It follows three young women sharing a flat in "Swinging London" (located at 17 Glazbury Road, West Kensington, W14). I ...

''. Her most identifiable TV role was Beryl Fisher, the mother of Betty Spencer (

Michele Dotrice Michele Dotrice (born 27 September 1948) is an English actress. She played Betty Spencer, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer (Michael Crawford), Frank Spencer, portrayed by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', ...

) in the BBC comedy series ''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen (scriptwriter), Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, inc ...

''.

Critical assessment

The film historians Steve Chibnall and

Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is best known as a broadcaster on Hockey Night In Canada and as an author of hockey books. He is also the honorary president of the Society for International Hockey Researc ...

praise her "quite unusual intensity and a real capacity for depicting working-class lives", and note her extensive

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

career in the 1950s: "Virtually everything she did is worth watching, for her if sometimes for little else." They add that each film she was in "benefits from the instinctive humanity, the sense of her characters having a past and a place in the world, which she brings to them".

Personal life

Hylton's first marriage to film producer

Euan Lloyd Euan Lloyd (6 December 1923 – 2 July 2016) was a British film producer. Biography He began his career directing short travelogue documentaries, starting with '' April in Portugal'' in 1954 (not released until 1956). He worked in publicity ...

ended in divorce, although the couple remained on good terms. The marriage produced a daughter,

Rosalind Lloyd Rosalind Lloyd (born 25 March 1953) is a British film and television actress. She is the daughter of film producer Euan Lloyd and actress Jane Hylton. She released 45rpm recordings in the early 1970's on the Phoenix and Cambrian labels. One ...

, who also became an actress; Hylton and her daughter both appeared in Lloyd's big budget 1978

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

drama ''

The Wild Geese ''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Eua ...

'', which was Hylton's first screen role for 17 years and was her last. Hylton's second marriage to actor

Peter Dyneley Peter Dyneley (13 April 1921 – 19 August 1977) was an English actor. Although he appeared in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for supplying the voice of Jeff Tracy for the 1960s "Supermarionation" televis ...

, whom she met on the set of ''Ett kunglit aventyr'' (''

Laughing in the Sunshine ''Laughing in the Sunshine'' (Swedish: ''Ett kungligt äventyr'') is a 1956 British-Swedish romance film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Bengt Logardt and Adolf Jahr. It was Birt's final film. It is sometimes alternatively descr ...

''), made in 1956, lasted until Dyneley's death from cancer in 1977.

Death

Hylton, who had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect in her late 30s, died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 28 February 1979, aged 52.

Partial filmography

* '' The Years Between'' (1946) – Minor role (uncredited) * ''

'' (1946) – Nurse * '' Dear Murderer'' (1947) – Rita * '' The Upturned Glass'' (1947) – Miss Marsh * ''

'' (1947) – Receptionist * '' Jassy'' (1947) – Amelia (uncredited) * '' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947) – Maid * ''

'' (1947) – Bessie, his sister * '' Daybreak'' (1948) – Doris * '' Streets Paved with Water'' (1947) (abandoned during filming) * ''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald and starring Jean Kent, Dennis Price and Herbert Lom. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she's run a ...

'' (1948) – Doris * '' My Sister and I'' (1948) – Elsie * '' My Brother's Keeper'' (1948) – Nora Lawrence * '' Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948) – Jane Huggett * ''

'' (1949) – Molly * ''

'' (1950) – Mary * '' Out of True'' (1951, Short) – Molly Slade * '' The Quiet Woman'' (1951) – Jane * '' The Tall Headlines'' (1952) – Frankie Rackham * ''

'' (1952) – Martha Watkins * ''

'' (1954) – Babs Peters, inmate * '' Burnt Evidence'' (1954) – Diana Taylor * '' Secret Venture'' (1955) – Joan Butler * ''

'' (1956) – Princess Caroline * ''

You Pay Your Money ''You Pay Your Money'' is a 1957 British 'B' crime drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Hugh McDermott, Jane Hylton and Honor Blackman. It was written by Michael Cronin and Rogers. Plot On a visit to Belgium, married couple Bob ...

'' (1957) – Mrs. Delgado * ''

Dial 999 (TV series) ''Dial 999'' is a British television series that ran for one series of 39 episodes from 1958 to 1959. The series was a co-production between ITV contractor ABC Weekend TV, and American television producer Ziv Television Programs. Synopsis Na ...

'' (1958) - Ruth Harrison * ''

Violent Moment ''Violent Moment'' (U.S. title: ''Rebound'') is a 1959 British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Lyndon Brook, Jane Hylton and Jill Browne. It was film editor Hayers' first film as director. It also marked ...

'' (1959) – Daisy Hacker * '' Deadly Record'' (1959) – Ann Garfield * ''

The Manster is a 1959 American science-fiction horror film. Shot in Japan, it was produced by George P. Breakston and directed by Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane from a screenplay by Walter J. Sheldon. Sheldon's script was based on Breakston's story, which ...

'' (1959) – Linda Stanford * '' Devil's Bait'' (1959) – Ellen Frisby * ''

Night Train for Inverness ''Night Train for Inverness'' (also known as ''Night Train to Inverness'') is a 1960 black and white British second feature ('B') drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. It was writte ...

'' (1960) – Marion * '' Circus of Horrors'' (1960) – Angela * ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'' (1961) – Stella Lemming * '' Bitter Harvest'' (1963) – Carole (uncredited) * ''

'' (1978) – Mrs. Marjorie Young

References

External links

"A new kind of happiness for Jane Hylton"
1972 interview * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hylton, Jane 1926 births 1979 deaths English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses