Lillian Hall-Davis (23 June 1898 – 25 October 1933) was an English actress during the silent film era, featured in major roles in English film and a number of German, French and Italian films.[1]

Lillian Hall-Davis
Born
Lilian Hall Davis

(1898-06-23)23 June 1898
Mile End, London, England
Died25 October 1933(1933-10-25) (aged 35)
Years active1917–1931
SpouseWalter Pemberton
Children1 son

Born Lilian Hall Davis, the daughter of a London taxi driver,[1] her films included a part-colour version of Pagliacci (1923), The Passionate Adventure (1924), Blighty (1927), The Ring (1927) and The Farmer's Wife (1928), the latter two both directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who at the time considered her his "favourite actress."[1] She had a lead role in a "lavish production" of Quo Vadis (1924), an Italian film directed by Gabriellino D'Annunzio and Georg Jacoby.[1]

Hall-Davis also appeared in As We Lie (1927), a comedy short film made in the Lee DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, co-starring and directed by Miles Mander.

Hall-Davis did not make the transition to sound films; in 1933 her "sharp career decline and health problems" prompted her to commit suicide by turning on the gas oven and cutting her own throat at home in the Golders Green area of London.[1][2]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e McCallum, Simon. "Hall-Davis, Lilian (1897–1933)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Film actress's death: inquest on Miss Lilian Hall-Davis". The Times. 28 October 1933. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
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