MARGARET LOCKWOOD

The Wicked Lady (1945) – Review

In November 2004, the British Film Institute examined cinema ticket sales from the dawn of the talkies to determine the most popular films ever shown in the UK. To the surprise of many, The Wicked Lady ranked 9th, surpassing modern giants such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Grease, Jaws, and even The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Only Gone With the Wind drew more admissions.

BFI Director Amanda Nevil summed up the findings perfectly:

“The results have amazed even those who researched the data. They are a remarkable record of the nation’s film tastes… the list highlights the diversity of the British palate. And these are the nation’s favourites — selected not by vote or critic, but by the number of actual visits by audiences over the past 100 years.”

According to the Institute, 18.4 million people saw The Wicked Lady in British cinemas — a staggering figure for a 1946 release, and enough to make it the highest-earning UK film of 1946.

These numbers reveal something often forgotten: the enormous star power of Margaret Lockwood in the 1940s. Her portrayal of the 17th-century highwaywoman Lady Barbara Skelton was nothing short of revolutionary.

At a time when women in films were largely written as extensions of men — there to soothe, flatter or reflect a male lead — Lockwood shattered those restrictions. Her character was allowed to be dangerous, complex, seductive, manipulative, ambitious, and fully independent. Lockwood seized the opportunity and created one of the boldest female characters in British cinema.

In that sense, the film feels ahead of its time. Her performance helped open the door — knowingly or not — to the wave of female-centred storytelling that would grow in the decades that followed.

The film also gifted British cinema one of its great enduring images: Lockwood masked as the infamous highway robber, beauty-spot visible, eyes glinting, bosom heaving as she sneers at a trembling victim. Hollywood considered the image too provocative and ordered expensive reshoots for a toned-down U.S. release.

Not everything in the film is perfect. Much of it is typical costume-drama melodrama, with supporting players striding about in thigh-length boots. But that only makes Lockwood’s performance more remarkable. And James Mason, with his magnetic swagger, adds the film’s heartbeat.

Seen today, The Wicked Lady remains wonderfully entertaining. As the original trailer boasted:

“She was the wickedest woman ever seen on the screen.”

It was true then — and arguably still true today.

★★★★★ 5 STARS OUT OF FIVE