Joan Greenwood
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Joan Greenwood | |
---|---|
Moonfleet (1955) | |
Born | Joan Mary Waller Greenwood 4 March 1921 , England |
Died | 28 February 1987 Chelsea, London, England | (aged 65)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1938–1987 |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and also appeared in The Man in the White Suit (1951), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Stage Struck (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and Little Dorrit (1987).
Greenwood worked mainly on the stage, where she had a long career, appearing with
She had leading roles in Stage Struck (1958) and then in Mysterious Island (1961), an adaptation of a Jules Verne novel; and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for Tom Jones (1963).
In 1960, Greenwood appeared as the title character in a production of Hedda Gabler at the Oxford Playhouse.[1] Starring opposite her as Judge Brack was the actor André Morell. They fell in love and flew in secret to Jamaica, where they were married, remaining together until his death in 1978.[2]
Early life and education
Greenwood was born in 1921 in
Career
Greenwood worked for two years in repertory. Her fluency in French saw her cast in London in a production of The Imaginary Invalid when she was 18. Greenwood appeared in Little Ladyship (1939) on TV and in the short John Smith Wakes Up (1941). Her first feature was My Wife's Family (1941) followed by He Found a Star (1941).[5]
She joined the Oxford Playhouse Repertory Company, and while there played leading- parts in a number of well known plays, such as School for Scandal, Caesar and Cleopatra, Hamlet and A Doll's House. She went back to the London stage and appeared in productions of Little Ladyship, Peter Pan, Heartbreak House, and The Women.[4] While appearing in the latter she was seen by Leslie Howard who cast her in a notable role in The Gentle Sex (1943), which was a hit.[6]
Greenwood had a support part in
She appeared in the role of Wendy in Peter Pan and as Elie Dunn in Heartbreak House, She played Ophelia in Hamlet with the Donald Wolfit company, Nora in Doll House, Celia in Volpone and Sabina in The Young Wives' Tale.[7]
Rank Organisation
Sydney Box offered her a seven year contract with the Rank Organisation, starting with the female lead in A Girl in a Million (1946). Box was so taken with her performance he changed the title to refer to her.[4]
She had a good role in The Man Within (1947), billed after Michael Redgrave and Jean Kent, then co starred alongside John Mills in The October Man (1947) and Margaret Lockwood in The White Unicorn (1947).
Stardom
Greenwood was cast in the lead role of Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948), as Sophia Dorothea of Celle, alongside Stewart Granger. It was an expensive box-office failure. [8] She did The Importance of Being Earnest (1949) for TV; then played Lady Caroline Lamb in The Bad Lord Byron (1949), a notorious flop.
More successful was Whisky Galore! (1949), which kicked off the Ealing comedy cycle. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and Greenwood was top billed along with Basil Radford. She did another for Ealing, Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), with Alec Guinness directed by Robert Hamer. Both films became regarded as comedy classics.
Greenwood was Richard Todd's leading lady in
Greenwood then appeared in
In Hollywood she was the female lead in Moonfleet (1955) at MGM, replacing original choice Merle Oberon.[10]
Later career
In 1956, Greenwood starred in
Greenwood had a flashy support role in
She was in the play Those That Play the Clowns (1966) which had a short run on Broadway. Greenwood dubbed the voice of The Black Queen in Barbarella (1968) when the voice of actress Anita Pallenberg was judged unsuitable for the role. She was in The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens (1970) and Girl Stroke Boy (1971).[citation needed]
Later roles included The Uncanny (1977), The Water Babies (1978), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978), Bognor (1981), Triangle (1982), and Ellis Island (1985).
She took over from Dame Celia Johnson on stage in The Understanding (1982) after Johnson's death.[13]
She played Lady Carlton, a quirky romance novelist and the landlady to the main characters, in the British sitcom Girls on Top (1985–86). She was in Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel (1987). Her last film was Little Dorrit (1988), released posthumously. Her last TV series was Melba (1988).
She appeared on stage in a sketch with Robert Morley two weeks before her death.[7]
Personal life and death
Greenwood married André Morell in 1960. Their son, Jason Morell, is an actor, writer and film/theatre director. In 1987, nine years after her husband's death, Greenwood died from acute bronchitis and asthma[3] at her home in London, less than a week before her 66th birthday.[14]
Partial filmography
- My Wife's Family (1941) - Irma Bagshott
- He Found a Star (1941) - Babe Cavour
- The Gentle Sex (1943) - Betty Miller
- Latin Quarter (1945) - Christine Minetti
- They Knew Mr. Knight (1946) - Ruth Blake
- A Girl in a Million (1946) - Gay Sultzman
- The Man Within (1947) - Elizabeth
- The October Man (1947) - Jenny Carden
- The White Unicorn (1947) - Lottie Smith
- Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) - Sophie Dorothea
- The Bad Lord Byron (1949) - Lady Caroline Lamb
- Whisky Galore! (1949) - Peggy Macroon
- Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - Sibella
- Flesh & Blood(1951) - Wilhelmina Cameron
- Le Passe-muraille (English: Mr Peek-a-boo) (1951) - Susan
- The Man in the White Suit (1951) - Daphne Birnley
- Young Wives' Tale (1951) - Sabina Pennant
- The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) - Gwendolen Fairfax
- Monsieur Ripois (1954) - Norah
- Father Brown (1954) - Lady Warren
- Moonfleet (1955) - Lady Ashwood
- Stage Struck (1958) - Rita Vernon
- Mysterious Island (1961) - Lady Mary Fairchild
- The Amorous Prawn (1962) - Lady Dodo Fitzadam
- Tom Jones (1963) - Lady Bellaston
- The Moon-Spinners (1964) - Aunt Frances Ferris
- Barbarella (1968) - The Great Tyrant (voice, uncredited)
- Girl Stroke Boy (1971) - Lettice Mason
- The Uncanny (1977) - Miss Malkin (segment "London 1912")
- The Water Babies (1978, animated film) - Lady Harriet
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) - Beryl Stapleton
- The Flame Is Love (1979, TV Movie) - Duchess of Grantham
- Ellis Island (1984) - Madame Levitska
- At Bertram's Hotel (1987, TV Movie) - Selina Hazy
- Little Dorrit (1987) - Mrs. Clennam
References
- ^ "Mr Andre Morell – Stage, film and television actor". The Times. 30 November 1978. p. 19.
- ^ "Obituary of Miss Joan Greenwood, The voice that intrigued generations". The Times. 3 March 1987.
- ^ a b Rachel Low, "Greenwood, Joan Mary Waller (1921–1987)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2011 available online. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ Voice. Vol. 23, no. 22. Tasmania, Australia. 3 June 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ British Film Actress Joan Greenwood, 65: [Home Edition] Los Angeles Times 5 Mar 1987: 24.
- ^ Lant, Antonia (1991). Blackout : reinventing women for wartime British cinema. Princeton University Press. p. 231.
- ^ a b JOAN GREENWOOD, 65, ACTRESS: [Obituary] New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, 3 March 1987: p. D27.
- ^ Brian MacFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema, Methuen 1997, p. 482
- ^ "Don Iddon's NEW YORK DIARY". The Herald. No. 23, 923. Victoria, Australia. 28 January 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 24 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Joan Greenwood Pauses for a Moment: Hollywood Letter By Richard Dyer MacCann. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 November 1954: p. 11.
- ^ "Joan Greenwood Wed", New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, 24 May 1960: p. 43.
- ISBN 978-0-246-12275-9. pp. 215–216.
- ^ "Joan Greenwood for 'Understanding'", The Guardian, 30 April 1982: p. 4.
- ^ "Jason Morell". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 3 May 2007.