Evelyn Ankers: The B Movie Queen

Queen of the Bs

If you enjoy Svengoolie on MeTV, old B movies on YouTube and Turner Classic Movies you have seen Evelyn Ankers who was known as "the Queen of the Bs."

Long before Jamie Lee Curtis was dubbed the Queen of Scream, Ankers was entertaining audiences in some of the most popular suspense and horr films of the era.

The actress made over fifty movies between 1936 and 1950 when she retired to become a housewife. While her star burned bright she had many memorable roles.

Ankers' stage debut came in Colombia at age 10 when she had the title role in The Daughter of Dolores. On Broadway, she had the role of Lucy Gilham in Ladies in Retirement (1940).In London, she acted in Bats in the Belfry.

Horror film Queen

Fans say there is something enchanting about the old Black & White films although not everyone feels this way. Ankers seemed Taylor-made for the roles she had.

She began her career while still in school and her first major role was in Hold That Ghost (1941). She starred in many memorable films including The Wolf Man (1941), The Ghost of Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), and Captive Wild Woman, Son of Dracula, His Butler's Sister, and The Mad Ghoul in 1943.

Richard Denning and Lon Chaney Jr.

She married actor Richard Denning in 1942 and they remained together until her death from ovarian cancer in 1985. She was 67 years old. Denning went a year and a half without work after returning from the army and his family lived in a mobile home that he parked in several locations.

The couple only starred in two films together. Black Beauty (1946) and No Greater Love *1960) which was Ankers final movie. The couple had one child, daughter Dana Dunning Dwyer.

Lon Chaney Jr., was her screen partner in six horror films although they privately disliked each other. Their friction stemmed from Chaney's heavy drinking, bullying, and immature pranks, and famously culminated in a physical food fight that drew in Ankers' husband.

I find it fascinating that actors can have great on screen chemistry and their friction when the cameras are not rolling is not detected.

Additional facts

Ankers was also in Jungle Woman, Weird Woman and The Invisible Man's Revenge, The Pearl of Death, and Pardon My Rhythm in 1944. She appeared in The Frozen Ghost (1945) Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), and in 1950 portrayed Calamity Jane in The Texan Meets Calamity Jane.

Many film lovers prefer the so called B grade films and continue to enjoy them. Ankers style and grace made every role she was in memorable. In 1945 the actress was a pinup girl in Yank Army Magazine. She was born to British parents in Valparaíso, Chile on September 6, 1942 and became a US citizen in 1946.

Evelyn Ankers television roles

Her career could have gone on for decades but she retired from movies at the young age of 32. She devoted herself to being a housewife but occasionally appeared television.

Onn television she portrayed saloon owner, Robbie James in the 1958 episode "Gambler" of the Western series Cheyenne. Other roles include The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1956) ,Screen Directors Playhouse (1955).The Star and the Story (1955), The Adventures of the Falcon (1954), General Electric Theater (1953) –.Cavalcade of America (1953), Mr. & Mrs. North (1952) and Your Show Time (1949).

Evelyn Ankers was an active during the "golden years" of Hollywood when many famous stars reigned. She will be fondly remembered for her contribution to the world of entertainment.