Christine Finn

Christine L. T. Finn(1929 – 5 December 2007) was an English actress, known primarily for her role in the 1950s TV serialQuatermass and the Pit,and, after that, her voice work for the 1960sThunderbirdstelevision series. She also performed in film, radio and theatre in a career that started in the 1940s and lasted until the mid-1970s.

Christine Finn
As Barbara Judd inQuatermass and the Pit(1958–59)
Born	1929(1929) Wellington,Madras,India
Died	5 December 2007(aged 77) Guildford,Surrey, England
Nationality	English
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1940s–1970s
Organization(s)	Birmingham Repertory Theatre Bristol Old Vic
Television	Quatermass and the Pit Thunderbirds
Spouse	Alan Malcomson ​ (m.1961)​

Life and work

Finn was born and brought up inIndia.She moved to Britain in July 1946 aboard theCunardshipRMSScythiafromBombay,just before the end ofBritish rule,and found a clerical job with theBBC.Noticed for a performance with the BBC Staff Amateur Company, she was then sent to theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art(LAMDA). Her first professional work was a part inEdmond T. Gréville's filmThe Romantic Age(1949), followed by a juvenile lead in a tour of the playRandom Harvest.

After joining theBirmingham Repertory Theatre,she remained in the company of actors for two years, departing with the role Lady Grey inHenry VI Part IIIatthe Old Vic.A television role followed, as Mrs Crichton inLarger Than Life.At theArts Theatrein London, she played Sybil Merton in the playLord Arthur Savile's Crime.She returned toBirminghamto play David inThe Boy David;then, back in London, asOpheliainHamletandOliviainTwelfth Nightat theCentral School of Speech and Drama'sEmbassy Theatre.

A small part in the filmThe Large Rope(1953) and a tour of the playAngels in Lovefollowed, after which Finn joined theBristol Old Vic.Her theatre work led to a role in the BBCSunday Night Theatreproduction ofA Midsummer Night's Dreamin November 1958, in which she played Hermia. Soon afterwards, the director,Rudolph Cartier,cast her in the leading female role, Barbara Judd, in the science-fiction horror serialQuatermass and the Pit(1958–59).

Finn's career as a film actress, other than providing voices for two films based onThunderbirds,did not develop further. DuringHammer Films' preparations for a film version ofQuatermass and the Pit,Barbara Shelleywas cast as Judd, althoughNigel Kneale,the writer of theQuatermassseries, preferred Finn's performance. In a book about his work, written by Andy Murray, Kneale recalled: "I'd liked Christine very much... but she wasn't the kind of screen star that Hammer wanted. So we got Barbara Shelley, who was taller".

Finn also performed as a voice actress, supplying the voices ofTin-Tin,Grandma Tracyand other characters inThunderbirds(1965–66). She also starred in a number ofradio playsfrom the end of the 1950s to the mid-1970s. During the final years of her career, she performed with voice actorPeter Tuddenham.

Radio work

1959

• Lady Windermere's FanbyOscar Wilde,withCatherine Lacey,John Humphry andSylvia Coleridge.

1961

• The Sand LeopardbyBerkely MatherwithNeil McCallum

1963

• No HighwaybyNevil Shute,with Nicolette Bernard and Virginia Winter.

1967

• Sort of SoufflébyPeter Bryant,withPeter Tuddenham
• That's Enough for the PresentbyJohn Hollis,with Peter Tuddenham andSheila Grant

1970

• All Made Out of Ticky-TackybyGaie Houston,withFrancis de Wolffand Peter Tuddenham

1971

• The Importance of Being EarnestbyOscar Wilde,with Dorothy Lane, John Rye and Peter Tuddenham

1973

• A Way With WomenbyMichael Brett,with Peter Tuddenham and Jan Edwards
• The Bashful Canaryby Sheila Hodgson, withMiriam Margolyesand Peter Tuddenham

1974

• Bang Bang You're Deadadapted byJill Hyemfrom a short story byMuriel Spark,withElizabeth Morgan,Alan Dudley, David Timson, Grizelda Harvey,Hector Ross,Carole Boyd,John Rye,Sean Arnoldand Peter Jefferson

Theatre work

1952

• Beauty and the BeastbyNicholas Stuart Gray(Opened 22 December), as Mickey (Mercury Theatre,London)

1953

• Henry VI Part IIIas Lady Grey, from Shakespeare'sHenry VI – Parts One, Two&Three(The Old Vic,London)
• Hamlet,26 March (Embassy, London)

1954

• Winter Journey(Tuesday 23 February for three weeks), as Nancy Stoddard, an actress (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• The Shoemaker's Holiday(Tuesday 16 March 1954 to Saturday 3 April), as Rose, Sir Roger Oatley's daughter (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• The School for Wives(Tuesday 6 April 1954 to Saturday 1 May), as Agnes (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• Murder in the CathedralbyT. S. Eliot(Tuesday 11 May to Saturday 29 May), as a Woman of Canterbury (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• Salad Days(Tuesday 1 June to Saturday 19 June), as Fiona (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• The Living RoombyGraham Greene(Tuesday 22 June 1954 to Saturday 10 July), as Rose Pembertson (Bristol, Theatre Royal)
• Salad Days,5 August (Vaudeville Theatre, London)

1959

• SganarelleandTartuffebyMolière(Opened 18 March; The Old Vic)
• The Importance of Being Earnest(The Old Vic)
• The Tempest, or The Enchanted Island(Opened 9 June; The Old Vic)

References

• Pamphlet for the production ofThe School for Wivesat theTheatre Royal,Bristol, 1954.

External links

• Christine FinnatIMDb
• Christine Finnat theBritish Film Institute
• Fan site