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Elsa Lanchester

Actor

Elsa Lanchester

Born October 28, 1902 in Lewisham, London, England, UKDied December 26, 198666 films

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television and former dancer.

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Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Laughton's success in American films resulted in the couple moving to Hollywood, where Lanchester played small film roles.

Her role as the bride in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), brought her recognition, and came to be one of the roles most closely associated with her throughout her life. Lanchester played supporting roles through the 1940s and 1950s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film, Willard, (1971) was highly successful and one of her last roles was in Murder By Death (1976).

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Witness for the Prosecution posterFirst watchWitness for the Prosecution19578.2as Miss PlimsollAn ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being…View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

66 films as actor
  1. 1992Commercial Entertainment ProductThe Monster's Bride
  2. 1980Die LaughingSophie
  3. 1976Murder by DeathJessica Marbles
  4. 1973ArnoldHester
  5. 1973Terror in the Wax MuseumJulia Hawthorn
  6. 1971WillardHenrietta Stiles
  7. 1969In Name OnlyGertrude Caruso
  8. 1969My Dog, the ThiefMrs. Formby
  9. 1969Me, NatalieMiss Dennison
  10. 1969RascalMrs. Satterfield
  11. 1968Blackbeard's GhostEmily Stowecroft
  12. 1967Easy Come, Easy GoMadame Neherina
  13. 1965That Darn Cat!Mrs. MacDougall
  14. 1964Mary PoppinsKatie Nanna
  15. 1964Pajama PartyAunt Wendy
  16. 1964Honeymoon HotelChambermaid
  17. 1962Noah and the FloodNoah's wife
  18. 1958Bell, Book and CandleAunt Queenie Holroyd
  19. 1957Witness for the ProsecutionMiss Plimsoll
  20. 1955Alice in WonderlandRed Queen
  21. 1955HeidiFräulein Rottenmeier
  22. 1955The Glass SlipperWidow Sonder
  23. 19543 Ring CircusThe Bearded Lady
  24. 1954Hell's Half AcreLida O'Reilly
  25. 1953The Girls of Pleasure IslandThelma
  26. 1952Androcles and the LionMegaera
  27. 1952Les MiserablesMadame Magloire
  28. 1952DreamboatMathilda Coffey
  29. 1950FrenchieCountess
  30. 1950The Petty GirlDr. Crutcher
  31. 1950Mystery StreetMrs. Smerrling
  32. 1950Buccaneer's GirlMadame Brizar
  33. 1949The Inspector GeneralMaria
  34. 1949Come to the StableAmelia Potts
  35. 1949The Secret GardenMartha
  36. 1948The Big ClockLouise Patterson
  37. 1947The Bishop's WifeMatilda
  38. 1947Northwest OutpostPrincess 'Tanya' Tatiana
  39. 1946The Razor's EdgeMiss Keith
  40. 1946The Spiral StaircaseMrs. Oates
  41. 1944Passport to DestinyElla Muggins
  42. 1943Lassie Come HomeMrs. Helen Carraclough
  43. 1943Thumbs UpEmily "Emmy" Ffinch
  44. 1943Forever and a DayMamie
  45. 1942Tales of ManhattanMrs. Smith
  46. 1942Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin BlakeBristol Isabel
  47. 1941Ladies in RetirementEmily Creed
  48. 1938Vessel of WrathMartha Jones
  49. 1936RembrandtHendrickje Stoffels
  50. 1935The Ghost Goes WestMiss Shepperton
  51. 1935Bride of FrankensteinMary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Mate
  52. 1935Naughty MariettaMadame d'Annard
  53. 1935David CopperfieldClickett
  54. 1933The Private Life of Henry VIIIAnne of Cleves
  55. 1931The Officers' MessCora Melville
  56. 1931Potiphar's WifeThérèse
  57. 1931The Stronger SexThompson
  58. 1931The Love HabitMatilde
  59. 1930AshesGirl
  60. 1929Mr. Smith Wakes UpTheir Daughter
  61. 1928Blue BottlesElsa
  62. 1928DaydreamsElsa / Heroine in Dream Sequence
  63. 1928The TonicElsa
  64. 1928The Constant NymphLady
  65. 1927One of the BestKitty
  66. 1924The Scarlet Woman: An Ecclesiastical MelodramaBeatrice de Carolle