Genteel London-born actress Joyce Carey came from a distinguished
theatrical family. Her own lengthy career on the stage began in 1916
when she played Princess Katherine in an all-female ensemble of "Henry
V". She made her debut on the legitimate stage in a small part in the
West End production of the exotic melodrama "Mr.Wu". During the 1920's,
Joyce became a well-known interpreter of Shakespearean roles in
Stratford-upon-Avon (including Miranda in "The Tempest" and Perdita in
"The Winter's Tale"), as well as acting in several fashionable drawing
room comedies in London. She came to be best known, however, for her
long association with Noël Coward whom she
met (and befriended) during a rehearsal for his play "The Vortex" in
1924. Coward liked her so much, that he cast her in the leading role of
Sarah Hurst in "Easy Virtue" the following year. The play went from
London to Broadway, opening at the Empire Theatre and enjoying a
successful run of 147 performances. Joyce's career was now made and she
regularly featured in Coward plays for the remainder of her life on
stage.
In 1934, Joyce added another string to her bow as the author of the
comedy "Sweet Aloes", written under the pseudonym 'Jay Mallory'. She
also took on the key role of Lady Farrington. The play did better on
the West End than on Broadway. Warner Brothers, nonetheless, bought the
rights and filmed it as a teary melodrama entitled
Give Me Your Heart (1936),
starring Kay Francis and
George Brent. Following wartime
tours with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) in
Coward plays, she later repeated her stage successes in the filmed
versions of the same, notably in
The Way to the Stars (1945),
Geisterkomödie (1945) and
The Astonished Heart (1950).
Her best remembered role was that of the train station buffet
manageress Myrtle Bagot in
David Lean's
Begegnung (1945).
During Joyce's later career, her air of quiet authority and ladylike
manner were perfectly suited to a gallery of aristocratic dowagers,
doting or confused aunts or mothers. A true professional, she still
performed at the age of 90 - on stage, unsurprisingly, in a minor
Coward play, "Semi-Monde". On the screen she achieved critical acclaim for her role as
an elderly lady facing eviction, in
Michael Palin's BBC play
Number 27 (1988). In 1982, Joyce was
awarded the Order of the British Empire.
