Sonia Dresdel
Sonia Dresdel | |
|---|---|
 inThe Clouded Yellow(1950) | |
| Born | Lois Obee 5 May 1909 Hornsea,East Riding of Yorkshire,England |
| Died | 18 January 1976(aged 66) Canterbury,Kent,England |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, theatre director |
Sonia Dresdel(5 May 1909 – 18 January 1976) was an English actress, whose career ran between the 1940s and 1970s.[1]
Life
[edit]She was bornLois ObeeinHornsea,East Riding of Yorkshire,England, and was educated atAberdeen High School for GirlsandRADA.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Her performance in the lead role ofIbsen'sHedda Gablerat theWestminster Theatrein 1942 "was legendary. It was the performance on which her reputation was founded.James Agatewas ecstatic... "[3]For a decade Dresdel was regarded as one of England's foremost stage actresses.[4]Her leading role in the 1947 filmWhile I Livealso gained her a great deal of acclaim.[5]In the film she plays Julia Trevelyan, a spinster living in a lonely cliff top house inCornwalland haunted by the death of her sister 25 years earlier.[6][7]
Her best remembered role is as Mrs. Baines in the film version ofGraham Greene'sThe Fallen Idol(1948), which starredRalph Richardson,Michèle MorganandBobby Henrey.[8]The film receivedAcademy Awardsnominations forBest Director(Sir Carol Reed) andBest Screenplay.[9]
In the 1950s, as well as appearing increasingly on television, Dresdel moved more to the management side of things, becoming a theatre director under the aegis of theNew White Rose Players,directing plays including the thrillerNight of the Shoot.[4]
In the 1970s she played the Witch in BBC Television seriesLizzie Dripping,and played Lady Dorothy in the series “Sykes” series 2 episode 5 “Rolls”.
Death
[edit]She died of lung cancer, aged 66. The criticPhilip Hope-Wallace,said Dresdel was "an actress of high definition with a real power to take an audience by the wrist and give them the works. She had terrific personality and was terribly underused and misused. She would have been the Lady Macbeth of all Lady Macbeths."[3]
Partial filmography
[edit]- The World Owes Me a Living(1945) as Eve Heatherley
- While I Live(1947) as Julia Trevelyan
- This Was a Woman(1948) as Sylvia Russell
- The Fallen Idol(1948) as Mrs. Baines
- The Clouded Yellow(1951) as Jess Fenton
- The Third Visitor(1951) as Steffy Millington
- Now and Forever(1956) as Miss Fox
- The Secret Tent(1956) as Miss Mitchum-Browne
- David Copperfield(1956) asBetsey Trotwood
- Death Over My Shoulder(1958) as Miss Upton
- The Trials of Oscar Wilde(1960) as Lady Wilde
- George and the Dragon(1967–1968, TV Series) as Priscilla
- The Break(1962) as Sarah
- Jane Eyre(1963, TV series) as Mrs. Reed
- Public Eye(1968, TV Series) as Mrs. Briggs
- Dixon of Dock Green(1968) as Mrs. Dewar
- The Caesars(1968) as Livia
- Last of the Long-haired Boys(1968) as Miss Dearborn
- Bachelor Father(1970–1971, TV Series) as Mother
- Paul Temple(1971, TV Series) as Agnes Armadyne
- Wives and Daughters(1971, TV Mini-Series) as Lady Cumnor
- The Strauss Family(1972, TV Mini-Series) as Lucari
- Lady Caroline Lamb(1972) as Lady Pont
- The Onedin Line(1972, TV Series) as Lady Lazenby
- Lizzie Dripping(1973-1975, TV Series) as The Witch
- The Pallisers(1974, TV Mini-Series) as the Marchioness of Auld Reekie
References
[edit]- ^ab"Sonia Dresdel".BFI.Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2012.
- ^Hartley, Cathy (15 April 2013).A Historical Dictionary of British Women.ISBN9781135355333.
- ^abN. de J., 'Obituary: Sonia Dresdel',The Guardian,19 January 1976
- ^abBruce Eder."Sonia Dresdel - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie".AllMovie.
- ^David Parkinson."While I Live".RadioTimes.
- ^Harper, Sue (1 June 2000).Women in British Cinema.ISBN9781441134981.
- ^"While I Live (1947)".BFI.Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2012.
- ^"The Fallen Idol (1948)".BFI.Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2012.
- ^"The Fallen Idol (1948) - Carol Reed - Awards - AllMovie".AllMovie.
