Evelyn Ankers (17 August 1918 – 29 August 1985) was a British actress born in Chile. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man (1941) at age 23 opposite Lon Chaney, Jr., a frequent screen partner. Known as "the Queen of the Screamers", her other films include The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Captive Wild Woman (1943), Son of Dracula (1943), The Mad Ghoul (1943), Jungle Woman (1944), Weird Woman (1944), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) and The Frozen Ghost (1945).Ankers also appeared in Hold That Ghost (1941), Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), His Butler's Sister (1943), The Pearl of Death (1944), Pardon My Rhythm (1944), Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), and played Calamity Jane in The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950), one of many movies for which she received top billing.Ankers made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950, then retired from movies at the age of 32 to be a housewife. She occasionally played television roles, such as that of saloon owner Robbie James in the 1958 episode "Gambler" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Cheyenne, with Clint Walker in the title role. She returned ten years later to make one more film, No Greater Love (1960), with her husband Richard Denning.She died of ovarian cancer at the age of 67 on 29 August 1985 in Maui, Hawaii.
Roles in horror films (most notably those for Universal Studios)
2
Often wore gorgeous formfitting dresses
3
Often played the damsel in distress opposite Lon Chaney Jr.
4
Her scream
#
Quote
1
[on Lon Chaney Jr.] When he wasn't drinking, he could be one of the sweetest men in the world.
2
Right after he [Lon Chaney Jr.] and I had finished Son of Dracula (1943), I think, the studio invited the major magazines to a dinner party on the lot to meet all the horror stars. Everybody was there--Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and George Zucco. Lon, seated near my husband [Richard Denning] and me, proceeded to direct a number of rude, uncalled-for remarks toward Dick. Being a gentleman, Dick ignored them. Until . . . "How come", I recall Lon saying to Dick, "you're in the Navy and still in Los Angeles?" Dick replied, "It's a lot better than not being in the service at all during wartime"--which was Lon's situation. A while later, Lon said, "I've got a little ice cream on my sleeve", and wiped it on Dick's dress blues. That did it. Dick took his ice cream--which was pistachio green, in keeping with the horror motif--and pushed it in Lon's face. With all that green dripping from his face, he looked as if he were back in make-up for one of his monster characters.
#
Fact
1
Died 12 days after her 67th birthday.
2
First name was pronounced "Ee-vul-lynn".
3
Following her death, she was interred at Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao, Hawaii.
4
Her last film was the drama film No Greater Love (1960). She came out of retirement to appear in this film with her husband Richard Denning.
Despite the numerous times she worked with Lon Chaney Jr., the two reportedly had a strong disliking for each other. Often Chaney would scare Ankers and because of this, she referred to him as "a brute with bad breath".
7
She was the only actress to appear in a Wolf Man, Dracula, and Frankenstein film. She played Gwen Conliffe in The Wolf Man (1941), in Son of Dracula (1943) she played Claire Caldwell and she appeared in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) as Elsa Frankenstein. Each of these roles was opposite Lon Chaney Jr. who played the monsters which terrorized Ankers.
8
She remembered that many of the B movies she made were rush jobs. Arriving for a love scene on The Great Impersonation (1942), director John Rawlins called "Action!" before the actors were even given any blocking. When she and actor Ralph Bellamy remained frozen, she stuttered to the director, "I would like to meet my leading man, as I have never kissed a man before first being introduced to him.".
9
She was engaged to actor Glenn Ford, but Ankers broke the engagement when she met Richard Denning while Ford was on location.
10
She was called "Queen of the Screamers" on account of her bloodcurdling vocal outbursts in "B" suspense thrillers of the 1940s.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
No Greater Love
1960
Cheyenne
1958
TV Series
Robbie James
The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1956
TV Series
Millicent
Screen Directors Playhouse
1955
TV Series
Miss Loving
The Star and the Story
1955
TV Series
Ruth McCabe
Adventures of the Falcon
1954
TV Series
Inga Grinley
General Electric Theater
1953
TV Series
Cavalcade of America
1953
TV Series
Mr. & Mrs. North
1952
TV Series
Constance Noble
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane
1950
Calamity Jane
Your Show Time
1949
TV Series
Miss Stoner
Tarzan's Magic Fountain
1949
Gloria James Jessup
Parole, Inc.
1948
Jojo Dumont
The Lone Wolf in London
1947
Iris Chatham
Last of the Redmen
1947
Alice Munro
Spoilers of the North
1947
Laura Reed
Flight to Nowhere
1946
Catherine Forrest
Black Beauty
1946
Evelyn Carrington
Queen of Burlesque
1946
Crystal McCoy
The French Key
1946
Janet Morgan
The Fatal Witness
1945
Priscilla Ames
The Frozen Ghost
1945
Maura Daniel
Bowery to Broadway
1944
Bonnie Latour
The Pearl of Death
1944
Naomi Drake
The Invisible Man's Revenge
1944
Julie Herrick
Jungle Woman
1944
Beth Mason
Pardon My Rhythm
1944
Julia Munson
Follow the Boys
1944
Evelyn Ankers (uncredited)
Weird Woman
1944
Ilona Carr
Ladies Courageous
1944
Wilhelmina Van Kronk
His Butler's Sister
1943
Elizabeth Campbell
The Mad Ghoul
1943
Isabel Lewis
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
1943
Lynn Smith
Son of Dracula
1943
Claire Caldwell
Crazy House
1943
Evelyn Ankers (uncredited)
Hers to Hold
1943
Flo Simpson
All by Myself
1943
Jean Wells
Captive Wild Woman
1943
Beth Colman
Keep 'Em Slugging
1943
Sheila
The Great Impersonation
1942
Lady Muriel Dominey
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
1942
Kitty
Pierre of the Plains
1942
Celia Wellsby
Eagle Squadron
1942
Nancy Mitchell
The Ghost of Frankenstein
1942
Elsa Frankenstein
North to the Klondike
1942
Mary Sloan
The Wolf Man
1941
Gwen Conliffe
Burma Convoy
1941
Ann McBragel
Hold That Ghost
1941
Norma Lind
Hit the Road
1941
Patience Ryan
Bachelor Daddy
1941
Beth Chase
Over the Moon
1939
Sanitarium Patient (uncredited)
Second Thoughts
1938
Molly Frame
The Villiers Diamond
1938
Joan Raymond
Coming of Age
1938
Christine Squire
The Claydon Treasure Mystery
1938
Rosemary Shackleford
Murder in the Family
1938
Dorothy Osborne
Bells of St. Mary's
1937
Short
Village girl
Knight Without Armor
1937
Minor Role (uncredited)
Fire Over England
1937
Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited)
Wings of the Morning
1937
Party Guest (uncredited)
Rembrandt
1936
Minor Role (uncredited)
Forbidden Music
1936
A Lady of the Court (segment "Who said Carlini?") (uncredited)
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Queen of Burlesque
1946
performer: "Oh No, Not Much", "How Can I Tell You"
The Mad Ghoul
1943
performer: "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", "All For Love" - uncredited
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Svengoolie
2015
TV Series
Beth Colman
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness
2007-2011
TV Series documentary
Elsa Frankenstein / Gwen Conliffe
The American Nightmare
2000
Documentary
Herself
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999
Video documentary short
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
Documentary
Elsa
Known for movies
The Wolf Man (1941) as Gwen Conliffe
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) as Kitty
$11 Million
