Jessie Matthews

Saucer-eyed, long-legged Jessie Matthews (1907-1981) was a gamine, graceful dancer, with a sweet, pure-toned singing voice, and waif-like sex appeal. She embodied 1930s style. For most of the decade, she was the most popular musical star in England and ranked on a par with Fred Astaire, Ruby Keeler, and Ginger Rogers. She was a favourite of Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart, all of whom gave her some of their very best work. Her personal life was blighted by relationship breakdowns and her struggles against ill-health and insecurity.


British postcard in the Film-Kurier series, London, no. 138a. Sent by mail in Great Britain in 1937. Photo: Gaumont British.


British collectors card by De Reszke Cigarettes, no. 9. Photo: Gaumont-British.

Dancing on the ceiling

Jessie Margaret Matthews was born in Soho, London, in 1907, in relative poverty. She was the seventh of sixteen children (of whom eleven survived) of a fruit-and-vegetable seller. Matthews enjoyed dancing from an early age, and elocution lessons created her distinctive ‘plummy’ accent.

Aged 12, she debuted on stage as a child dancer in 'Bluebell in Fairyland' (1919) by Seymour Hicks, at the Metropolitan Music Hall in London. She made her West End debut at 16 in Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue.

Her first film appearance was in the silent film The Beloved Vagabond (Fred LeRoy Granville, 1923). More fleeting dancing roles in silent films followed. Matthews was in the chorus of 'Charlot Review' (1926) in London, and went with the show to New York, where she was also understudy to the star, Gertrude Lawrence. When Lawrence fell ill, Matthews took over the role and was given great reviews.

Matthews was acclaimed in the United Kingdom as a dancer and as the first performer of numerous popular songs of the 1920s and 1930s, including 'A Room with a View' and 'London Calling!' by Noël Coward and 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love' by Cole Porter. In London, she was in 'Ever Green' (1930), a musical by Rodgers and Hart that was partly inspired by the life of music hall star Marie Lloyd.

At its time, 'Ever Green was the most expensive musical ever mounted on a London stage. It featured the hit song 'Dancing on the Ceiling'. Matthews co-starred with Sonnie Hale (then husband of Evelyn Laye), which led to a scandalous divorce action, with Matthews cited as the ‘other woman’. The scandal should have kept Matthews off the screen but the talkies needed musical stars and Matthews clicked big-time in films like Out of the Blue (Gene Gerrard, J.O.C. Orton, 1931), There Goes the Bride (Albert de Courville, 1932) opposite Owen Nares, and The Man from Toronto (Sinclair Hill, 1933).


British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Real Photograph series, no. 66-S. Photo: Gaumont-British.


Vintage postcard.


British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Real Photograph Series, no. 27-B. Photo: Gaumont-British. Publicity still for The Good Companions (Victor Saville, 1933) with a.o. John Gielgud (third from left), A.W. Baskcomb (fifth from left) and Jessie Matthews (third from right).

Dancing with airy grace and fluidity

Jessie Matthews’ fame reached its initial height with her breakthrough performance in the film of J.B. Priestley's novel, The Good Companions (1933). As Susie Dean, she danced with airy grace and fluidity in this classic film by Victor Saville, who would be her most sympathetic director.

The film is about three musicians, including John Gielgud in his first film and Edmund Gwenn, joining together to save a failing concert party, the Dinky Doos.

At IMDb, Bensonj reviews: “Jessie Matthews' ability and magnetism are so evident there's just no question that when the right person finally sees her perform, her star quality will be instantly recognised. This was never more true than in The Good Companions, where Matthews' vitality, youth, sex appeal and talent absolutely light up the film!

Like every aspect of this film, the romance between Gielgud and Matthews is remarkable to behold. She's so strong-willed, so incandescent, Gielgud seems almost afraid to burn his fingers, yet dares to hold his own. As with only the finest fairy tale fantasies, this is absolutely grounded in the real world, filled with sharp, rich characterisations and the details of its time and place.”

She then appeared in Friday the Thirteenth (Victor Saville, 1933) opposite Sonnie Hale, and the flop Waltzes from Vienna (Alfred Hitchcock, 1934) about the lives of Johann Strauss the elder (Edmund Gwenn) and younger (Esmond Knight).


British postcard, no. 159b. Photo: Gaumont British.


British postcard by Real Photograph, no. 159. Photo: Gaumont-British Pictures.


British postcard in the Film Partners series, London, no. P 196. Photo: Gaumont British. With Sonnie Hale.

Gender-swapping musical comedy

That same year, Jessie Matthews’ biggest film triumph followed: the film version of Evergreen (Victor Saville, 1934) with Sonnie Hale and Betty Balfour. At IMDb, bbrntwist reviews: “This is an utterly charming and delightful film, derived from the London production of a Rodgers and Hart musical. (...) Matthews is a sheer delight, reminding me of Joan Collins, Julie Andrews, Jane Wyatt and Jennifer Jones, all rolled into one.”

The film opened in the USA at Radio City Music Hall, New York, and Matthews was labelled ‘The Dancing Divinity’, although attempts to co-star her and Fred Astaire in a film never materialised. Her British studio (Gaumont British) was reluctant to let go of its biggest name, which resulted in offers for her to work in Hollywood being repeatedly rejected.

Evergreen (1934) featured the newly composed song 'Over My Shoulder', which would become Matthews' personal theme song, later giving its title to her 1974 autobiography and to a 21st-century musical stage show of her life. Next came the gender-swapping musical comedy First A Girl (Victor Saville, 1935). It was later remade as Victor, Victoria (Blake Edwards, 1982) starring Julie Andrews. Like all of Matthews' major 1930s films, it was produced by Gaumont British, which surrounded her with the best available talent.

Other, weaker films were directed by Sonnie Hale, including Head over Heels (Sonnie Hale, 1937) with Louis Borel, and Sailing Along (Sonnie Hale, 1938) with Roland Young. In Climbing High (Carol Reed, 1938), Matthews costarred with Michael Redgrave. During the shooting, Matthews and Carol Reed had a brief affair.

Her only US film role was a cameo in the all-star fundraiser Forever and a Day (René Clair, 1943). Roger Phillip Mellor writes in the Encyclopedia of British Cinema: “For most of the 1930s, Matthews was the most popular female film star in England: the image of her in Sailing Along (Sonnie Hale, 1938), in a white evening gown, with a gentleman's black top hat and walking cane, performing 'Souvenir of Love' in Lime Grove's art deco luxury sets, indelibly incarnates 1930s style.”


British postcard in the Picturegoer series, London, no. 711a. Photo: Gaumont British.


British postcard by Real Photogravure. Photo: Gaumont British.

Nice middle-class doctor's wife

Jessie Matthews’ distinctive warbling voice and round cheeks made her a familiar and much-loved personality to British theatre and film audiences at the beginning of World War II, but her popularity waned in the 1940s after several years' absence from the screen followed by an unsatisfactory thriller, Candles at Nine (John Harlow, 1944). Post-war audiences associated her with a world of hectic pre-war luxury that was now seen as obsolete in austerity-era Britain. After a few false starts as a straight actress, she played Tom Thumb's mother in the children's film Tom Thumb (George Pal, 1958).

During the 1960s, she found new fame when she took over the leading role of Mary Dale in the hugely popular BBC radio show, 'The Dales', formerly 'Mrs Dale's Diary' The title character was a nice middle-class doctor's wife, Mary, and her husband Jim, who lived at Virginia Lodge in the Middlesex suburb of Parkwood Hill. Live theatre and variety shows remained the mainstay of Matthews' work through the 1950s and 1960s, with successful tours of Australia and South Africa interspersed with periods of less glamorous but welcome work in British provincial theatre and pantomimes.

Matthews was awarded an OBE in 1970 and became a stalwart nostalgia feature of TV variety shows such as The Night Of A Thousand Stars and The Good Old Days. She returned to the stage in 1973 in an acclaimed performance in Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies. Her television appearances also included one-off guest roles in the popular BBC series Angels (1976) and an episode of the ITV mystery anthology Tales of the Unexpected (1980). She was perfectly cast as Aunt Bessie in the mini-series Edward and Mrs. Simpson (Waris Hussein, 1978) starring Edward Fox. The following year, she took her one-woman stage show to Los Angeles and won the United States Drama Logue Award 1979 for the year's best performance in concert. Her last film role was in the Horror comedy The Hound of the Baskervilles (Paul Morrissey, 1978) starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

Jessie Matthews was married three times. In 1926, she married actor Henry Lytton, Jr. They divorced in 1929. The second marriage was to Sonnie Hale (1931-1944); the third to a military officer, Lt. Brian Lewis (1945-1959). All of her marriages ended in divorce and were marred by affairs and a series of unsuccessful pregnancies. With Hale, she had one adopted daughter, Catherine Hale-Monro. Jessie Matthews had suffered from periods of ill health throughout her life and eventually died of cancer in 1981 in Eastcote, England. She was 74.

At British Pictures, David Absalom remembers: “Her films were fluff, but unlike her musical-comedy rivals (Gracie Fields and George Formby), she had grace and glamour. Her costumes were carefully designed to show off as much of her body as the censor would allow, and her dancing can best be described as a high-class bump and grind act. No other star had that fluidity of movement and that joie de vivre.”


Scene from The Good Companions (1933) with John Gielgud, Max Miller and Jessie Matthews. Source: Art Deco Chap (YouTube).


Jessie Matthews sings Over My Shoulder in Evergreen (1934). Source: Other-Pete (YouTube).


Scene from Gangway (1937). Source: Guggle 86 (YouTube).


Trailer Tom Thumb (1958). Source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers (YouTube).

Sources: Roger Phillip Mellor (Encyclopedia of British Cinema), David Absalom (British Pictures), Bruce Eder (AllMovie - Page now defunct), Michael Thornton (Daily Mail), Pete Lambert (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 14 June 2025.

Raphael Tuck and sons

The British Tuck postcards were sent to millions all over the world, and decorated rooms in elegant mansions as well as country cottages. Publisher Raphael Tuck (1821–1900) and his sons caught the imagination of the public and created a new graphic arts business. Their business was one of the most well known in the 'postcard boom' of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their contributions left a lasting effect on most of the artistic world.


Sir Henry Irving. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Oilette Series, no. 6671 Photo: Window & Grove.


Rita Sacchetto. German Postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons, and R. Wagner, München in the Fürstliche Frauen Series, no. 1238. Portrait by Baron B. de Szankowski.


Madge Lessing. British Postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Framed Gem Series, no. 5773, ca. 1912.

The Royal Warrant Of Appointment
The online database Tuck DB lists all the antique postcards by Rapahel Tuck and sons and tells the history of this publishing firm, which produced so many film star postcards. Raphael Tuck was born Raphael Tuch in Koschmin near Poznan, East Prussia (now Poland) in 1821. There he worked as a joiner and devoted his early years to the study of Judaism, including a working knowledge of Hebrew. Raphael was married to Ernestine Lissner in 1848. She gave birth to seven children, four boys, and three girls, all born in Prussia prior to their migration to England in 1865. In 1866, Raphael and Ernestine opened a little shop in London. The business began with the sale of pictures and frames but within a few months of their arrival Raphael has established himself as a distributor of graphic art printing which included chromos, oleographs, and black and white lithographs. Tuck had received training in graphic arts in his home country. Although he was not an artist himself, he had a flair for commercial art that prompted his interest in this new field. The Tucks displayed reproductions of famous and popular art along with those Victorian greeting cards that were available at the time. Raphael had made contact with lithographers in his native country to supply him with work from their presses suitable for British and American sales. Ironically a Jew, a respected Talmudic scholar, became the chief exponent and promoter of the Christmas card. Raphael discovered that Christmas card designs were mainly secular; and in spite of the increased religious consciousness of the Victorian age, these cards featured the gaiety and revelry of the holiday season. In 1871 Tuck supervised the design of Christmas cards featuring the religious aspects of the season: Jesus Christ, the Holy Pair, the Magi, the Nativity scene, as well as the traditional Santa Claus, holly and mistletoe. As the family of seven children grew, the children provided more help to the business. Three of the four sons participated in the firm. The greatest period of expansion of the Tuck firm came under the direction of Adolph, the second son, who had joined his father in 1870. Gustave and Herman soon followed their brother in 1871. Gustave directed the book and calendar departments, while Herman handled the financial end of the business. The business became known as Raphael Tuck and Sons. In 1875, Raphael became naturalized as a British citizen. In 1880, Adolph launched a nationwide contest offering 5,000 pounds in prizes for the best Christmas card designs. Over five thousand paintings were said to be have been entered in the contest. Entries were displayed in the Dudley Galleries and vast crowds visited the exhibition. Around 1880 the company moved to Coleman Street with a branch in Chiswell Street. Tuck established offices in Paris, Berlin, Montreal, and New York. In 1883, Queen Victoria granted the firm the Royal Warrant of Appointment.


Madge Lessing. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons Real Photograph Post Card., no. T 708. Photo: Dover Street Studios.


Lewis Waller. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Play Pictorial Series, no. 5A. Photo: publicity still for the stage play Monsieur Beaucaire.

Successful Postcard Competitions
In 1888 Raphael Tuck laid the cornerstone of a splendid building on the corner of Moorfield and Tener Street. Raphael House opened the next year and the five-storey building enabled the Tuck firm to consolidate their various offices and departments that had spread throughout various parts of the city. In addition to the administrative offices, the new building provided adequate space for eight functioning departments: Card Department (Toy-Books, Gift-Books, Booklets); Birthday Book Department; Educational Department; Wall Text and Scripture Motto Department; Engraving Department; Chromo, Oleograph, and Art Study Department; Relief and Art Novelty Department; and Show-Card Department. These Tuck departments attest to the fact that the Victorian age was the age of printed pictorials that took shape by means of the various printing and engraving processes. In 1895 Ernestine died and Raphael’s health began to fail. At the turn of the century, Tuck was into printing almost anything in paper. Through the early 1900s, Tuck’s continued to run very successful postcard competitions with the focus changing to collectors of Tuck postcards rather than the artists whose work was depicted. The prize competitions aroused much interest and proved to be an effective marketing technique. Although the Tuck firm did some black and white printing in their London offices, the majority of color work was contracted for in Germany, Raphael’s home country. This is evidenced by the printed in Bavaria, Germany, or Saxony inscribed on the majority of the early Tuck postcards. It was not until 1899 that Tuck issued its first regular Series of Postcards, a group of twelve consecutively numbered chromographic (i.e. colored) views of London. These issues, frequently referred to as ‘early Tuck’s’ are numbered on the front left edge along with the publisher’s name. Tuck numbered almost 4,000 cards consecutively but at the same time began to use Series numbering which usually consisted of six cards in a Series with the same number. It was due to the efforts of Adolph Tuck that the size of the postcard in England was increased to the size allowed by the Universal Postal Union. Only a small picture and brief message had been allowed on one side with just address and stamp on the other. After four years of negotiations, Adolph succeeded in convincing the British Postmaster General that a larger card could have a picture on one side and a brief message as well as the address and stamp on the other. In 1898, the Postmaster General finally agreed and a new era was begun. On 29 November 1899, the regulations were promulgated and Tuck’s were ready with their first cards as Adolph Tuck was aware of the coming change. Raphael Tuck died in 1900. He did not live to see the postcard blossom into the popular form of social communication that it became just a decade after his death. He did have the vision and that vision was passed on to his sons in good Jewish custom. Adolph and his brothers continued to expand the business after Raphael’s death. The final change to the postcard happened in the first half of 1902 when the address and message were allowed to be printed on the back of the card (split back) leaving the maximum area for an artist drawn and photographic view pictures to appear on the front.


British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Real Photograph Series, no. 176. Photo: Gaumont-British. Herbert Marshall in I was a Spy (Victor Saville, 1933).


A.W. Baskcomb. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons' Real Photograph, no. 20-S. Photo: Gaumont-British.


A.W. Baskcomb. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons' Real Photograph, no. 42-S. Photo: Gaumont-British.

The Blitz
In the early 1900, Tuck issued sets covering topics such as London and other Thames river views, military and war drawings of Harry Payne and others, and well-known paintings by Turner. Later in the year Tuck issued more sets bringing the yearly total of sets to almost 100. In 1901 Tuck continued their frantic pace, issuing many new sets of postcards. By the end of 1903 Tuck had in production over 10,000 different cards. 1904 was yet another banner year for Tuck. Such sets as the Olde Print Series, the Connoisseur Series and the Silverette Series came into production. By the close of 1904 over 15,000 designs were in production. 1909 through 1914 saw continued growth of sets and Series including the Postcard Painting Books and Picture Postcard Puzzles. The sons of Adolph Tuck, Reginald and Desmond continued the business their grandparents had started. With the advent of World War I, they volunteered for military service. Queen Victoria later knighted Adolph. He died shortly after and was succeeded to the title by Reginald, his oldest son. Soon after that Gustave retired and the business was left in the hands of Sir Reginald and Desmond. Many cards are in the Oilette style but some were published under common European Series trademarks such as Platemarked, Real Photograph, and Photogravure. Others were printed in some of the less known Series trademarks such as Opal, Charmette, and Excelsior. During The Blitz, on 29 December 1940, the Nazis bombed London, and Raphael House was ruined. Records of seventy-four years and 40,000 or more original pictures and photographs by the best artists were in ashes. In spite of having to start over, the company was soon making great progress. Sir Reginald Tuck died in 1954, and Desmond continued the business until 1959 when he retired. The company combined with two others to become the British Printing Corporation, which was located only a short distance from where the first shop of Ernestine and Raphael Tuck once stood.


Jessie Matthews. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Real Photograph Series, no. 138a. Photo: Gaumont-British.


British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons, no. 14. Photo: Gaumont-British. Cicely Courtneidge in Soldiers of the King/The Woman in Command (Maurice Elvey, 1933).


Madeleine Carroll. British postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the Real Photograph Series, no. 7-8. Photo: Gaumont-British.

Sources: Tuck DB Postcards, Henry Wimbush Home Page and Wikipedia (English, German and French).