Mary Taviner


Mary Taviner, was a British stage and film actress active during the early- and mid-20th century, known for her roles in British second feature ('B') drama and mystery films. She was also an active member of the far-right from the pre-Second World War days of British fascism and continuing into the late 1960s. She had an affair with Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, sued him for slander, and British Intelligence concluded she was blackmailing him.

Biography

Early life

Mary Russell Taviner was born on 28 November 1909 in Turnham Green, London. Her parents were Mabel Caroline Griffiths and Horace Russell Taviner, who had a florist business in Hammersmith. They later divorced.

Stage and film career

As a child, Mary appeared as a ballerina in educational short films, and in a drama film Darby and Joan. Picturegoer described her as a "British child talent" and her interpretation "stands out as a performance". Kine Weekly later commented that she "started her career as one of England's leading child film stars." She also made 115 appearances on stage in 1924–1925, taking part in "pretty and charming" dances as a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Old Vic and at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
The reception of her acting career after childhood is mixed; her stage performances portraying Mary, Queen of Scots were described as played "with reserve and dignity" and giving "a most memorable performance... dignified, restrained, and deeply moving". Her adult film career consisted of three films: Castle Sinister ; The Trial of Madame X, for which Kine Weekly commented that she "displays all the confidence but unfortunately little of the talent of Sarah Bernhardt, bites off more than she can chew as Jacqueline"; and The Devil's Jest, in which Kine Weekly noted she "keeps forgetting her accent and exaggerates."

Claims of royal or noble associations

Taviner claimed she could trace her lineage back to the House of Guise, and separately that she was descended from a German prince and an English or Irish aristocrat; there is no evidence for either assertion. She also claimed she had had an unconsummated marriage in France, resulting in her having the title of Baroness Marovna. She was later described as the "widow of a young Russian nobleman who claimed descent from the Romanoffs – the royal family of Imperial Russia."
Taviner also claimed she had been elected in 1939 as spiritual leader of Scotland by a group of Scottish nationalists, and that she was the reincarnation of Mary, Queen of Scots. This claim was based on a supposed resemblance; on Taviner saying she "had always felt drawn to the queen"; and on the testimony of a "famous Highland seeress". She had a portrait painted of her dressed as Mary, Queen of Scots, played the queen on stage, and often portrayed monarchs and aristocrats on stage and in film.

Fascism and Oswald Mosley

In June 1933, Taviner met the newly widowed Sir Oswald Mosley, founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists at a film studio, and they had an affair. Taviner declared she wanted to marry him, and wrote him lengthy, rambling and spiteful letters. Several months later Taviner wrote him a very long letter, referring to a discussion of marriage between them, and claiming royal descent for herself. After this, Mosley would not return her phone calls and may have given orders that she should not be allowed into his house. Rumours spread of compromising letters, which might have serious political consequences for Mosley and the BUF.
She enlisted the help of William Joyce, who had been sacked from the BUF by Mosley in 1937 and had set up the rival National Socialist League and was seeking revenge. He wrote that Mosley was guilty of breach of promise to Taviner, had cast aspersions about her, and had freely shown off a compromising photograph of her. In July 1937, Taviner was observed visiting the NSL's headquarters, and British Intelligence concluded she was blackmailing Mosley. In February 1938, Taviner, described as "a noted society beauty, has appeared on the stage and in several films", launched a lawsuit for slander against Mosley on the grounds of breach of promise and displaying a 'lightly veiled' or nude photograph of herself, which was missing. She represented herself in court, and the case was eventually dismissed, She later accused Joyce of running a 300-strong pre-war spy ring under the noses of the intelligence services, an unlikely claim. Joyce rebutted this charge on air. In 1949 she was declared bankrupt, and she did not apply for discharge until 1957.
After the war, Taviner remained in contact with Mosley, and was involved with post-war far-right political parties, including Mosley's Union Movement, and was treasurer of the White Defence League. Mosley used her as an intermediary in discussions with rival far-right factions. She was also the chief organiser of the Young Britain Movement, organising secretary for the fascist Friends of Europe group, and stood unsuccessfully as a UM candidate in the 1962 Kensington borough council election.
The Devil's Jest was the first and only film produced by Taviner's own company, Terra Nova Productions, and gives an insight into her post-war political views. The film starts with a voiceover, which says: A monologue by her character in the film says that Britain and Germany should have been allies against communism during the Second World War, rather than fighting each other:
The Sunday Express reported Taviner as saying at the time "I have Fascist sympathies, but the film is not pro- German. I love Germany because I had a German grandmother", an untrue statement. A contemporaneous interview in Der Spiegel observed that a "bracelet with the Iron Cross clinked softly on her wrist." In the same interview, she claimed that during the war, she worked in the British Intelligence Service, uncovering communist activities, a claim which is almost certainly fictional.

Death

Taviner died from a heart attack on 21 September 1972 in St Pancras, London. She lived with her mother for her entire adult life, and there is no evidence that she married or had children. Her death went almost unnoticed, and was not reported even in The Stage, the theatre's leading newspaper.

Stage appearances

Partial list:

Filmography

Darby and Joan, credited as Mary TavinerCastle Sinister, credited as Mara Russell-Tavernan; a film version of The Mark of Judas by Vance YoudanThe Trial of Madame X, credited as Mary TavinerThe Devil's Jest, credited as Mara Tavernan; a remake of Castle Sinister.
Unconfirmed sources refer to Taviner appearing in several films directed by Maurice Elvey in 1918 and 1919, and in other films in the 1920s.