Initially a London-based theatre actress, she quickly began to accumulate walk-on parts in film, making her film debut in
Keepers of Youth (1931). She had roles in
These Charming People (1931),
The Ghost Train (1931),
The Water Gipsies (1932) and
The Return of Bulldog Drummond (1934). For
Alex Korda, Todd was in
Things to Come (1936),
Action for Slander (1937),
The Squeaker (1937), and
South Riding (1938). During World War II, Todd was in
Poison Pen (1939),
Danny Boy (1941), and
Ships with Wings (1941). But she concentrated later again on theatre roles, putting in a memorable performance in
Enid Bagnold's psychological thriller "Lottie Dundass" at the
Vaudeville Theatre in 1943.
Stardom Todd returned to film post-WWII with a good support role in a big hit,
Perfect Strangers (1945, as a nurse), then had a huge success when she played a suicidal concert pianist in
The Seventh Veil (1945), opposite
James Mason. She followed this with a musical,
Gaiety George (1946) and a noir,
Daybreak (shot in 1946, released in 1948).
The Seventh Veil was a hit in the US as well as the UK. In 1946, having been signed by producer
David O. Selznick, Todd was said to be the "holder of the most lucrative contract ever signed by an English cinema actress, with over a million dollars involved in its clauses." She commented in subsequent interviews that she continued to do her own grocery shopping, and latterly in her autobiography noted that she paid $880,000 in taxes on the contract. She received a Hollywood offer from
Alfred Hitchcock to play
Gregory Peck's wife in
The Paradine Case (1947), which was a flop.
So Evil My Love (1948), a US-British co-production, was a box office disappointment, as was
The Passionate Friends (1949), directed by her then husband
David Lean. Lean also directed Todd in
Madeleine (1950) and
The Sound Barrier (1952); the latter was successful commercially. Todd appeared in some thrillers,
The Green Scarf (1954) and
Time Without Pity (1957). She appeared in Hammer Films'
Taste of Fear (1961).
Television Todd appeared in
Ann and Harold (1938), the first British TV serial. Todd starred in two episodes of
Playhouse 90: "Not the Glory" and "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing". She also appeared in the title role of "Sylvia" on
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 3, episode 16) in 1958.
Stage In 1941, she appeared at
St Martin's Theatre in
Kenneth Horne's comedy
Love in a Mist. In 1944 she played
Madeleine Smith in
The Rest is Silence at the
Prince of Wales Theatre, a role she would later return to in the 1950 film
Madeleine In 1951 she reprised her film role in a
stage version of
The Seventh Veil in the West End. In 1957, post her divorce from David Lean, Todd made her
Broadway-debut in the production of
Four Winds. == Later career ==