By Chris Hughes

It’s well known that the director, Alfred Hitchcock had a fondness for icy blondes, often casting actresses that met that criteria in his projects. One of the earliest examples of this penchant can be found in his 1935 version of ‘The 39 Steps’ in the shape of its elegant leading lady, Madeleine Carroll.

Struck by her good looks, the legendary filmmaker is reported to have referred to her as ‘his favourite blonde’. The star proved with her work in his movie and her activities in later life however that there was much more to her than her beauty.
Madeleine was born in 1906 in West Bromwich, England, the daughter of John Carroll, an Irish Professor of Languages, and his French wife, Helene. Her father hailed from County Limerick where she enjoyed many family holidays as a youngster.

After graduating from the University of Birmingham she took up teaching but was increasingly drawn to an acting career.
“Everything indicated that I would spend the rest of my days teaching”, she later recalled. “My father had set his heart on my getting an MA and all would have gone well if I had not joined a drama society in my senior year.”

Speaking of the appeal of performing, she said: “Somehow I did it as if I had been acting all my life. I understood then how people get ‘a call’.”
John opposed her decision to desert the classroom for the stage but with Helene’s support, she travelled to London in search of employment in the theatre.
Her departure resulted in an estrangement between father and daughter.

After several failed auditions she was cast in the stage play, ‘The Lash’ in 1927. In less than a year she garnered her first film role in ‘The Guns Of Loos’ at which point she and John reconciled. Her screen debut was so well received that it led to other features and an unsuccessful attempt to launch a Hollywood career.

Returning to England, she landed the part in The 39 Steps that would make her famous and much in demand. Alfred Hitchcock was so taken with her that he reunited with her for the successful spy thriller, Secret Agent in 1936. Her popularity prompted a triumphant return to America where she co-starred with the likes of Tyrone Power, Bob Hope and Gary Cooper. Box-office hits included ‘The Prisoner Of Zenda’, ‘Northwest Mounted Police’ and ‘My Favourite Blonde’. She became, for a time, Hollywood’s highest-paid actress.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own