A%20%27Somewhat%20Homely%27%20Stardom%20Draft%205.pdf (935.77 kB)
A “Somewhat homely” stardom: Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and refurnishing domestic modernity in the postwar years
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-15, 21:12 authored by Hollie PriceThe husband and wife acting duo, Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray, achieved popular acclaim in British cinema during the 1940s, Gray in They Were Sisters (1945) and Denison in My Brother Jonathan (1948). Following the success of My Brother Jonathan (in which Gray also appeared), the couple's star status was soon cemented by roles together on screen, including notably The Glass Mountain (1949), The Franchise Affair (1951), Angels One Five (1952) and There Was a Young Lady (1953). As a result of these roles in popular films and images of the couple in extra-cinematic culture, a picture of cosy, domestic consensus became irrevocably associated with Denison and Gray's status as British film stars, much to Denison's later chagrin. Rachael Low's History of the British Film suggests that British actors and actresses have not been deemed worthy of the glamorous connotations of star status because they are ‘somewhat homely in comparison with legendary international figures’ (1971: 263). In this period, the Denisons’ star image was characterised by the ‘homely’: by a vision of their domestic life together as at once aspirational, ordinary and English. However, this article argues that their stardom can be resituated as a postwar reformulation of modes linking British stars with ideas surrounding domestic modernity in the middlebrow culture of the interwar years. Therefore, Low's label of homeliness can be redefined as a key characteristic of the distinction, promotion and reception of popular British stardom in the immediate postwar period.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of British Cinema and TelevisionISSN
1743-4521Publisher
Edinburgh University PressExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
12Page range
25-44Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-07-14First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-07-14First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-07-13Usage metrics
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