Calvert was born on 18 February 1915 in
Chelsea, London, and trained at the
Margaret Morris School of Dancing. She began performing from the age of ten, appearing with
Ellen Terry in
Crossings. Calvert performed in repertory theatre in Malvern and Coventry. She made her London stage debut in ''A Woman's Privilege
in 1939. Her early films include Two Days to Live'' (1939).
Gainsborough Pictures Calvert was spotted in a play
Punch without Judy, and was signed to a contract by
Gainsborough Pictures which gave her the lead in
They Came by Night (1940), opposite
Will Fyffe. She was
George Formby's love interest in
Let George Do It! (1940) and had a support part in ''
Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt'' (1940), starring
Arthur Askey. Calvert was championed by the head of Gainsborough, Ted Black. Calvert was in a war movie,
Neutral Port (1940), then had a good role as
Michael Redgrave's love interest in
Kipps (1941), directed by
Carol Reed. After a detective film
Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (1941) she had the co-lead in
Uncensored (1942), a war movie with
Eric Portman. Reed used her again in
The Young Mr. Pitt (1942), playing
Eleanor Eden. In 1942, she had the lead role as Patricia Graham in the
West End production of
Terence Rattigan's play
Flare Path.
Stardom Calvert was by now well established in British films. She did not become a star, however, until given one of the four leading roles in the
Gainsborough melodrama The Man in Grey (1943). The movie was a huge success, making her and her three co-stars –
Stewart Granger,
James Mason and
Margaret Lockwood – genuine box office stars in Britain. Calvert followed it with
Fanny by Gaslight (1944), co-starring Granger and Mason, which was another big hit. Also popular was
Two Thousand Women (1944), made by
Launder and Gilliat, about British women interned in occupied France. It co-starred
Patricia Roc, who appeared with Calvert and Granger in
Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), another Gainsborough melodrama, and another hit. Exhibitors voted her the fifth-most popular star of 1945 in Britain. She was one of Stewart Granger's loves in
The Magic Bow (1946), a biopic about Niccolo
Paganini, and had the female lead in a drama about colonialism in Africa
Men of Two Worlds (1946), made a few years before being released. It was a success, though not profitable because of its high cost.
The Root of All Evil (1947) was one of the last of the Gainsborough melodramas. She was voted the sixth most popular British star at the box office in 1946.
Hollywood Calvert's success had been noticed in the US, although her films had not been as popular there.
Universal-International signed her to star in
Time Out of Mind (1947), which was a box office disappointment. She received several offers from studios and eventually decided to sign a six-picture deal with
Paramount. She returned to Britain to make
Broken Journey (1948) playing a role written especially for her, but the film failed at the box-office. Calvert went to Hollywood to make two films, both for Paramount:
My Own True Love (1949), with
Melvyn Douglas, and
Appointment with Danger (1951 but made two years earlier) with
Alan Ladd, in which she played a nun.
Producer Back in Britain she made two films with director
Ladislao Vajda, neither particularly successful:
Golden Madonna (1950), shot in Italy, and
The Woman with No Name (1950). She wanted to produce other films:
Eastward Ho, about an Englishwoman who romances a cowboy, and
Equilibrium, about a trapeze artist, as well as star in a third film for Paramount but none of these were made. Calvert was in a thriller
Mr. Denning Drives North (1951) with
John Mills and a BBC TV production
The Holly and the Ivy (1951). She had her first big hit in a while,
Mandy (1952). She followed it with
Child in the House (1956). On TV she was in
Strindberg's
The Father for ITV's
Television Playhouse, and played the lead in ''Tatiana, the Czar's Daughter''. Calvert had a support part in the Hollywood-financed
Indiscreet (1958), then played a concerned mother in
The Young and the Guilty (1958) and a wacky spinster in
A Lady Mislaid (1959). On TV she was in "The Break" for
Armchair Theatre (1959) and played
Katharine O'Shea in
Parnell for
Play of the Week (1959), then reprised her role as Mrs March for the BBC in
Good Wives (1959). She made TV appearances in programmes such as
Crown Court,
Ladykillers,
Tales of the Unexpected,
Boon,
After Henry,
Victoria Wood and
Limelight: The Film Years – The Lime Grove Story. She also played
D.I. Barnaby's Aunt Alice (Alice Bly) in a
Midsomer Murders episode, "Blue Herrings", in 2000. She was the subject of
This Is Your Life in 1972 when she was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews. In 1993, Calvert had a small uncredited role as the Old Lady in comedy series
Mr. Bean in the episode "
Mr. Bean in Room 426". ==Personal life==