Margaret Lindsay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Lindsay
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![]() Lindsay in the 1930s
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Born |
Margaret Kies
September 19, 1910 Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
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Died | May 9, 1981 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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(aged 70)
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1932–1963 |
Relatives | Jane Gilbert (sister) |
Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. She was very busy during the 1930s when she worked for Warner Bros. studio.
She was known for her supporting roles in popular movies like Baby Face, Jezebel (1938), and Scarlet Street (1945). She also played main characters in smaller films, such as the Ellery Queen series in the early 1940s. Many critics believe her best role was Hepzibah Pyncheon in the 1940 movie The House of the Seven Gables.
Contents
Early life
Margaret Lindsay was born in Dubuque, Iowa. She was the oldest of six children. Her father was a pharmacist and passed away in 1930.
When she was young, Margaret was a tomboy. She enjoyed climbing pear trees and was very good at roller-skating. She finished school at Visitation Academy in Dubuque in 1930.
Career
1930s
After attending National Park Seminary, Margaret convinced her parents to let her study acting. She went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
She then traveled to England to start her acting career on stage. She performed in plays like Escape and Death Takes a Holiday. People often thought she was British because she was so good at using an English accent.
A fellow acting student, Robert Cummings, pretended to be British. He convinced Margaret Kies to do the same and change her name to Margaret Lindsay.
Universal Studios was impressed by her and signed her for their 1932 movie The Old Dark House. However, when Lindsay returned to America, she found that another actress, Gloria Stuart, had been given her role.
After some small parts in early films like Christopher Strong and Baby Face, Lindsay got a role in the movie Cavalcade. She played Edith Harris, an English bride whose honeymoon trip was on the Titanic.
She got this role by pretending to be British. She even made up a story about being born in London. She later said, "Although I looked and talked English... to tell them I was actually from Iowa would have lost the assignment for me."
Her work in Cavalcade helped her get a contract with Warner Bros.. There, she became a reliable supporting actress. She worked with many famous actors like James Cagney, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Humphrey Bogart.
Lindsay played the love interest of James Cagney four times between 1933 and 1935. These films included Frisco Kid, Devil Dogs of the Air, G Men, and Lady Killer.
She also co-starred with Bette Davis in four Warner Bros. movies. She played Davis's sister in Fog Over Frisco (1934). She was also in Dangerous, for which Davis won her first Best Actress Academy Award.

Lindsay also had leading roles in smaller films. For example, in The Law in Her Hands (1936), she played a lawyer who worked for the mob. This movie was special because it showed a woman in a role usually played by men.
1940s
In 1940, Lindsay appeared in The House of the Seven Gables. She starred alongside George Sanders and Vincent Price. The film's music was even nominated for an Academy Award.
Vincent Price said that "Margaret Lindsay was a delight to work with and a very good actress." Film experts have praised her performance in this movie.
Lindsay herself said that her part in The House of the Seven Gables was her "favorite role." She also said that the most fun she had was in The Vigilantes Return (1947). In that movie, she played a saloon singer who chased after the main character. She even sang a song in the style of Mae West.

In the 1940s, Lindsay also appeared in film series. She played Nikki Porter in Columbia's Ellery Queen series (1940–1942).
She had a supporting role in the 1942 film The Spoilers, which starred Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne. She also appeared in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945) with Edward G. Robinson.
Later in the 1940s, her film career slowed down. She took roles in smaller films and returned to the stage.
1950s and 1960s
Margaret Lindsay started acting on television in 1950. Her first TV role was in The Importance of Being Earnest. This allowed her to use her excellent British accent again.
She appeared in only four films during the 1950s and two in the 1960s. Her last movie was Tammy and the Doctor in 1963.
Personal life
Early in her career, Margaret lived with her sister Helen in Hollywood. Later, she lived with her youngest sister, Mickie. She never married.
Death
Margaret Lindsay passed away at age 70 in 1981. She died from emphysema in Los Angeles. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.
Family
Margaret Lindsay's sister, Jane Kies, was also an actress. She used the stage name Jane Gilbert.
Complete filmography
- Okay, America! (1932) as Ruth Drake
- The Fourth Horseman (1932) as Molly O'Rourke
- The All American (1932) as Miss Bowen
- Once in a Lifetime (1932) as Dr. Lewis' Secretary
- Cavalcade (1933) as Edith Harris
- West of Singapore (1933) as Shelby Worrell
- Christopher Strong (1933) as Autograph Seeker at Party (uncredited)
- Private Detective 62 (1933) as Janet
- Baby Face (1933) as Ann Carter
- Voltaire (1933) as Nanette
- Captured! (1933) as Monica A. Allison
- Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933) as Eileen Adair
- From Headquarters (1933) as Lou Winton
- The World Changes (1933) as Jennifer Clinton Nordholm
- The House on 56th Street (1933) as Eleanor Van Tyle Burgess
- Lady Killer (1933) as Lois Underwood
- Merry Wives of Reno (1934) as Madge
- Fog Over Frisco (1934) as Valkyr Bradford
- The Dragon Murder Case (1934) as Bernice
- Gentlemen Are Born (1934) as Joan Harper
- Bordertown (1935) as Dale Elwell
- Devil Dogs of the Air (1935) as Betty Roberts
- The Florentine Dagger (1935) as Florence
- The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) as Rhoda Montaine
- G Men (1935) as Kay McCord
- Personal Maid's Secret (1935) as Joan
- Frisco Kid (1935) as Jean Barrat
- Dangerous (1935) as Gail Armitage
- The Lady Consents (1936) as Gerry Mannerly
- The Law in Her Hands (1936) as Mary Wentworth
- Public Enemy's Wife (1936) as Judith Roberts Maroc
- Isle of Fury (1936) as Lucille Gordon
- Sinner Take All (1936) as Lorraine
- Green Light (1937) as Frances Ogilvie
- Song of the City (1937) as Angelina Romandi
- Slim (1937) as Cally
- Back in Circulation (1937) as Arline Wade
- Breakdowns of 1938 (1938, Short) (uncredited)
- Gold is Where You Find It (1938) as Rosanne
- Jezebel (1938) as Amy Bradford Dillard
- When Were You Born (1938) as Doris Kane (Leo)
- Garden of the Moon (1938) as Toni Blake
- Broadway Musketeers (1938) as Isabel 'Isabelle' Dowling Peyton
- There's That Woman Again (1938) as Mrs. Nacelle
- On Trial (1939) as Mae Strickland
- Hell's Kitchen (1939) as Beth
- The Under-Pup (1939) as Mrs. Cooper
- 20,000 Men a Year (1939) as Ann Rogers
- British Intelligence (1940) as Helene von Lorbeer
- Honeymoon Deferred (1940) as Janet Payne Farradene
- The House of the Seven Gables (1940) as Hepzibah Pyncheon
- Double Alibi (1940) as Sue Casey
- Meet the Wildcat (1940) as Ann Larkin
- Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) as Nikki Porter
- Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as Nikki Porter
- The Hard-Boiled Canary (1941) as Sylvia Worth
- Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941) as Nikki Porter
- Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941) as Nikki Porter
- A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942) as Nikki Porter
- A Tragedy at Midnight (1942) as Beth Sherman
- A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942) as Nikki Porter
- The Spoilers (1942) as Helen Chester
- Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942) as Nikki Porter
- No Place for a Lady (1943) as June Terry
- Let's Have Fun (1943) as Florence Blake
- Crime Doctor (1943) as Grace Fielding
- Alaska (1944) as Roxie Reagan
- Adventures of Rusty (1945) as Ann Mitchell
- Club Havana (1945) as Rosalind
- Scarlet Street (1945) as Millie Ray
- Her Sister's Secret (1946) as Renee DuBois Gordon
- The Vigilantes Return (1947) as Kitty
- Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947) as Connie Lane
- Louisiana (1947) as Alvern Adams
- Cass Timberlane (1947) as Chris Grau
- B.F.'s Daughter (1948) as 'Apples' Sandler
- The Bottom of the Bottle (1956) as Hannah Cady
- Emergency Hospital (1956) as Dr. Janet Carey
- The Restless Years (1958) as Dorothy Henderson
- Jet Over the Atlantic (1959) as Mrs. Lanyard
- Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) as Mona James
- Tammy and the Doctor (1963) as Rachel Colman, Head Nurse
- The Chadwick Family (1974, TV movie) as Elly (final film role)
See also
In Spanish: Margaret Lindsay para niños