Helen Haye

Usually described as "the magnificent Helen Haye ", this regal British actress made her stage debut in 1898. Haye toured with the Frank Benson and Sir Beerbohm Tree repertory companies before making her London bow in 1911 as Gertrude in Hamlet. Her Broadway credits extended from 1925's The Last of Mrs. Cheyney to 1953's Anastasia, in which she beautifully cast as the Dowager Empress. After a brief flirtation with films in 1917, she plunged into moviemaking on a fairly regular basis in 1929. Her most famous screen roles include the socially proper wife of the master villain in Hitchcock's 39 Steps (1935), Countess Vronsky in Anna Karenina (1947), and the Duchess of York in Olivier's Richard III (1956). For many years, Helen Haye taught classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; among her prize pupils were John Gielgud and Charles Laughton. Helen Haye should not be confused with American actress Helen Hayes.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide