Elizabeth of Ladymead is a 1948 British Technicolor drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Hugh Williams, Isabel Jeans and Bernard Lee.
Four generations of women (all played by Anna Neagle in the film) have lived in Ladymead, a Georgian mansion, while their husbands are away at war.
The film begins in the Second World War with her officer's husband, John Beresford, returning in a Short Sunderland.
The story moves forward to 1903 as Elizabeth awaits the return of her husband from the Second Boer War.
John attends major celebrations in the city with crowds singing Auld Lang Syne before going back to Ladymead, which on arrival he finds unoccupied.
Nice to look at, with lavish settings";[6] while Leonard Maltin found Anna Neagle "charming as English lady-of-the-manor with mind of her own," and described the film as a "star vehicle, unsuccessful when released, quite intriguing today for its depiction of woman's role in English society";[7] and Allmovie wrote, "Whenever the film becomes too repetitious, Elizabeth of Ladymead scores on the charm of Anna Neagle and her attractive deportment while wearing period costumes.
"[8] The film received a limited release in the United States, where it was notable for doing exceptionally well in certain small media markets.
In particular the film was the sixth most watched movie in every media market in the American state of Wyoming in 1948.
[9] Henry Wriston commented on the film's success in the south saying "Usually, when it comes to who is watching what, the state of Georgia is divided into three separate markets, those being: Atlanta, Savannah and the rest of it.
If you didn't count the markets in Atlanta and Savannah it was in the top five highest grossing pictures in Georgia...it performed very well there.