Brenda de Banzie

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Brenda de Banzie (born July 28, 1909 in Manchester , England , according to other information 1915, † March 5, 1981 in Haywards Heath , Sussex , England), also known as Brenda De Banzie , was a British actress. In addition to a successful theater career, the character actress appeared in more than 30 film and television roles, mostly dramas, from the early 1950s. Her best-known films include Herr im Haus bin ich (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and The Comedian (1960).

Life

Training and first stage roles

Brenda de Banzie was born in 1909 (according to other information 1915) as the daughter of the musician Edward Thomas de Banzie and his wife Dorothy (birth name: Lancaster). She received private tuition and graduated from St. Paul's School in her hometown. From 1928 De Banzie attended the Lawrence Tiller School of Dancing . In the same year she received voice training from Frank Mullins.

De Banzie started her stage career in 1935. She was a member of repertoire groups at theaters in Manchester, Bradford , Birmingham and Nottingham . She also went on tour with the pieces The Two Mrs. Carrolls (as Sally), Night Must Fall (as Olivia) and Man and Superman (as Ann) in 1936. From 1939 to 1940 De Banzie belonged to a repertoire group in Harrogate before going on tour again with Revues 1066 and All That in 1941.

Her debut in London's West End was De Banzie on 22 October 1942, the part of La Duchesse de Vilandelle in the premiere of Cole Porter's musical comedy Du Barry Was a Lady at His Majesty's Theater . This was followed by other roles in comedies - the part of Mabel on a tour of the American play Three Men on a Horse (1943) and Diane in the London production of The Quaker Girl (1945) from the age of Edward VII. In 1950, De Banzie appeared under directed by Laurence Olivier in the comedy verse Venus Observed . In it, she was seen together with Valerie Taylor and Rachel Kempson as the object of desire of an aged duke (also played by Olivier).

Award-winning theater actress and beginning of her film career

After a supporting role in Peter Ashmore's production of Jean Anouilh's Point of Departure with Dirk Bogarde , Mai Zetterling , Hugh Griffith and George Hayes, she made her breakthrough as a stage actress with Murder Mistaken (1952). In the successful crime grotesque by Janet Green , De Banzie starred as a richly widowed, ex-barmaid who is ensnared by a marriage fraud and murderer. According to the London Times, she perfected the role and interpreted it with "happy vulgarity, lynx-eyed cleverness" and "funny pagan sensuality" . The part of Jessie Dill, in which Green had seen a "plump, younger and attractive" , plump person, "tough under her happy down-to-earth manner" , earned De Banzie the 1953 Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Actress in the West End. In 1954 she starred in the comedy Hippo Dancing in Dublin, Ireland , opposite Robert Morley , but was not hired for the London production.

1956 De Banzie was with the mystery drama Speaking of Murder her debut at New York's Broadway . The play, which received mixed reviews by the specialist critics and in which the successful film director Delbert Mann took on a Broadway production for the first time, focuses on an innocent family of architects who are involved in a murder story. In addition to Estelle Winwood , De Banzie played the murderess, according to Brooks Atkinson ( The New York Times ), "as cool as a duchess and significantly cuter" . De Banzie managed to surpass earlier success with Tony Richardson's world premiere of John Osborne's three-act play The Entertainer (1957/58). At the side of Laurence Olivier, she was seen as the long-suffering and alcoholic wife of a worn-out music hall artist, whose escapades threatened to break her. The role of Phoebe Rice, which the influential theater critic Kenneth Tynan described at the time as “neglected-affected” and “dead inside” , she repeated in the production of the play on Broadway. This performance earned her a Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actress . In her home country she had already been awarded the Evening Standard theater prize. American critics praised De Banzie's performance as “wonderful” or “most perfect” that one would have ever seen.

Success with "I am the master of the house" and other film roles

Parallel to her stage career, De Banzie only began to gain a foothold in film and television when she was over thirty, after having worked as an extra in film before and during the war . After making her feature film debut in the crime drama The Long Dark Hall (1951) with Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer in the lead roles, she celebrated her greatest success with David Lean's Lord of the House I am (1954). In the theater film, she took on the female lead role of the eldest daughter of a widowed shoemaker from Victorian England (played by Charles Laughton ), who cleverly circumvents the marriage ban imposed on her and becomes a partner in the family business with her husband ( John Mills ). Although Laughton initially did not want to take on the role that had been interpreted on stage decades ago and could not make friends with his co-actors De Banzie and Mills, director Lean managed to keep the atmosphere during the filming at a professional level. The reward was winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and the British Film Academy Award as "Best Film" of the year 1954. Praised for its "admirable representation" received as Maggie Hobson De Banzie even a nomination for the prize of the British Film Academy as best local actress , but lost to Yvonne Mitchell ( The Divided Heart ). In the USA, Bosley Crowther ( The New York Times ) spoke of an “excellent” performance, while the Los Angeles Times also praised De Banzie and co-actor John Mills . There were moments in Lord I Am when both threatened to outshine Charles Laughton.

As a result, De Banzie was only able to build on the previous film success to a limited extent. The blonde character actress appeared in both serious roles in problem films such as Branded or Black Torch (both 1961), as well as cheerful subjects. That included her angry vamp in Doctor Ahoy! (1955), the second part of the successful doctoral series that made Dirk Bogarde the most popular English film actor of the time. De Banzie also received praise for her portrait of a humorous Scottish missionary in the British war film Flames over the Far East (1954) with Gregory Peck and Win Min Than .

De Banzie became known to a wide international audience through her participation in Alfred Hitchcock's own thriller remake The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). Together with Bernard Miles , she was seen as a criminal priest couple and child kidnapper alongside James Stewart and Doris Day . In the same year followed the title role in the BBC production Miss Chloe (1956), in which she stands between two men as an older tea shop owner. De Banzie also starred in the 1959 Hitchcock remake, The 39 Steps, directed by Ralph Nelson . 1960 followed Tony Richardson's film adaptation of The Comedian , in which De Banzie repeated her star role from the theater alongside Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright . Despite positive criticism, she could not build on the previous theatrical success. De Banzie's film career ended in the 1960s with supporting roles in The Pink Panther (1963) and the Hayley Mills vehicle Pretty Polly (1967). She also appeared in British and American television productions.

Brenda de Banzie was married to Rupert Marsh until her death. There was a son from the relationship. Her niece Lois de Banzie (* 1930) later also became an actress. In 1981, the mime, who was praised as perfect and self-confident, died at the age of 65 (according to other sources, 71 years) during an operation in Sussex , England , where she also lived.

Plays (selection)

year Play role stage
1942 You Barry Was a Lady La Duchesse de Vilandelle His Majesty's Theater ( London )
1945 The Quaker Girl Diane Stoll Theater (London)
1946 A Grim Fairy Tale Beattle / Young Woman Embassy Theater (London)
1950 Venus Observed Jessie Dill St. James Theater (London)
1950 Point of departure Mother Lyric Hammersmith Theater (London)
1952/53 Murder Mistaken Freda Jefferies Ambassadors' Theater Theater (London)
Vaudeville Theater (London)
1954 Hippo dancing Therese Olympia Theater ( Dublin )
1956 Speaking of Murder Annabelle Logan Royale Theater ( New York )
1957/58 The entertainer Phoebe Rice Royal Court Theater / Palace Theater (London)
Royale Theater (New York)

Filmography (selection)

  • 1951: The Long Dark Hall
  • 1952: I Believe in You
  • 1952: Private information
  • 1952: Never Look Back
  • 1953: The Yellow Balloon ( The Yellow Balloon )
  • 1953: A Day to Remember
  • 1954: The Happiness of Three Women
  • 1954: Don't Blame the Stork
  • 1954: I am the master of the house ( Hobson's Choice )
  • 1954: What every woman wants ( What Every Woman Wants )
  • 1954: Flames over the Far East ( The Purple Plain )
  • 1955: Hahn im Korb ( As Long as They're Happy )
  • 1955: Life is full of wonder (A Kid for Two Farthings)
  • 1955: Doctor Ahoy! ( Doctor at Sea )
  • 1956: Miss Chloe (TV)
  • 1956: The Man Who Knew Too Much ( The Man Who Knew Too Much )
  • 1956: In the claws of the gangsters ( House of Secrets )
  • 1958: Eddie, Death and the Devil ( Passport to Shame )
  • 1959: Too many crooks ( Too Many Crooks )
  • 1959: The 39 Steps ( The 39 Steps )
  • 1960: The Ladies of the Corridor (TV)
  • 1960: Der Komödiant ( The Entertainer )
  • 1961: Branded (The Mark)
  • 1961: Black Torch ( Flame in the Streets )
  • 1961: Happy End in September ( Come September )
  • 1962: She has the last word ( A Pair of Briefs )
  • 1962: The Secret of the Green Drug ( I Thank a Fool )
  • 1963: The Pink Panther ( The Pink Panther )
  • 1967: Pretty Polly
  • 1971: A Bit of Family Feeling (TV)

Awards

  • 1953: Clarence Derwent Award for Murder Mistaken (Category: Most Promising Actress in West End)
  • 1955: nominated for the British Film Academy Award for Hobson's Choice (Best British Actress)
  • 1957: Evening Standard Theater Award for The Entertainer (Best Actress in a Play)
  • 1958: Tony Award nomination for The Entertainer (Best Supporting Actress in a Play)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. McFarlane, Brian (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of British Film . 3rd edition. London: Methuen, 2008. - ISBN 978-0-413-77660-0 . Pp. 186-187.
  2. ↑ cf. IMDb profile (accessed June 5, 2011).
  3. ↑ a b cf. Brenda de Banzie, 65: Film and Stage Actress . In: The New York Times , March 10, 1981, p. 17.
  4. ↑ a b c d e cf. de BANZIE, Brenda . In: Ridgon, Walter (Ed.): The biographical encyclopaedia & who's who of the American theater . New York: Heineman, 1966 (accessed via WBIS Online ).
  5. ↑ cf. Profile  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at allrovi.com (English; accessed May 8, 2011).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.allrovi.com  
  6. ↑ cf. The Theaters: Sir Laurence Olivier At The St. James’s . In: The Times, Jan 16, 1950, No. 51590, p. 7.
  7. ↑ cf. Ambassadors Theater: "Muder Mistaken" By Janet Green . In: The Times, Nov 5, 1952, No. 52461, p. 11.
  8. ↑ a b c d cf. Miss Brenda De Banzie: Accomplished and confident actress . In: The Times, Mar 7, 1981, No. 60870, p. 16.
  9. ↑ cf. Clarence Derwent Awards For Acting . In: The Times, May 16, 1953, No. 52623, p. 8.
  10. ↑ cf. Atkinson, Brooks: Theater: Shudder Show . In: The New York Times, December 20, 1956, p. 37.
  11. ↑ cf. Atkinson, Brooke: Theater: Olivier in 'The Entertainer': John Osborne Play Opens at Royale . In: The New York Times, February 13, 1958, p. 22.
  12. ↑ cf. Kerr, Walter: Olivier Tries, but Chaotic Osborne Play Defeats Him . In: Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1958, p. E3.
  13. ↑ cf. I am the master of the house . In: The large TV feature film film lexicon (CD-ROM). Directmedia Publ., 2006. ISBN 978-3-89853-036-1 . Pp. 5686-5688.
  14. ↑ cf. Mr. David Lean's New Film "Hobson's Choice" . In: The Times, March 1, 1954, No. 52868, p. 9.
  15. ↑ cf. Crowther, Bosley: The Screen in Review: 'Hobson's Choice' Stars Charles Laughton . In: The New York Times, June 15, 1954, p. 37.
  16. ↑ cf. Laughton's Choice Keys British film . In: Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1954, p. 12.
  17. ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 1: A - C. Erik Aaes - Jack Carson. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 243.
  18. ↑ cf. Doctor ahoy! . In: The large TV feature film film lexicon (CD-ROM). Directmedia Publ., 2006. ISBN 978-3-89853-036-1 . P. 2898.
  19. ↑ cf. 'The Purple Plain' Mr. HE Bates's Novel Filmed . In: The Times, Sep 20, 1954, No. 53041, p. 9.
  20. ↑ cf. Television Play "Miss Chloe" . In: The Times, Jan 4, 1956, No. 53419, p. 3.
  21. ↑ cf. The Entertainer More Than Entertaining . In: The Times, July 26, 1960, No. 54833, p. 5.
personal data
SURNAME Banzie, Brenda de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES de Banzie, Brenda; DeBanza, Brenda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Manchester , England
DATE OF DEATH March 5th 1981
Place of death Haywards Heath , Sussex , England