Mary Clare

Mary Clare (born July 17, 1894 in London as Mary Clare Absalom ; † August 29, 1970 ibid) was a British actress with character roles in theater, film and television. Her acting career spanned over 50 years. First at the theater, through silent films, sound films and episodes of TV series. She played numerous roles in British cinema productions from the 1920s to the 1950s. Including in films such as Young and Innocent , A Lady Disappears , The Citadel , Oliver Twist , The Black Rose or Moulin Rouge .

life and career

Mary Clare, born in London in 1894, left her office job with £ 50 on loan in 1910 to train as a stage actress. After touring provincial theaters for two years, Mary Clare returned to London to appear in the play A Posy on a Ring at the theater at the Earls Court Exhibition in 1912. She made her West End debut in the play Turandot at the St. James Theater in 1913. In 1931, she appeared in Noël Coward's play Cavalcade , written especially for her. Over the decades, Mary Clare has starred as a character actress on all of the major English stages.

In 1920 she moved from the stage to silent film as an actress. In 1931 she starred in her first sound film, directed by Victor Saville . In the comedy Bill's Legacy by director Harry Revier , she got her first female lead due to her outstanding theater experience. Mary Clare's film career in the 1930s led to productions such as Bernard Vorhaus The Night Club Queen in 1934, to John Baxter's musical Say It with Flowers , the Maurice Elvey drama The Clairvoyant , where she acted alongside Claude Rains , to supporting supporting roles in the early stages Masterworks by director of the century Alfred Hitchcock in Young and Innocent and in 1938 with the role of the Baroness in the famous film classic A Lady Disappears . Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave played the leading roles . That same year she was seen in King Vidor's Oscar- nominated drama The Citadel in the role of Mrs. Orlando. She starred in the 1939 film noir entanglement, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst .

In the 1940s, we saw Mary Clare on the canvas in character roles including in films like the musical paradise of love by Wesley Ruggles , in Harold French's biography My brother Jonathan , in David Lean's film adaptation of Oliver Twist or Walter Fordes Comedy Great days , again at the side of fellow actor Margaret Lockwood. In the early 1950s she starred in Henry Hathaway's adventure film The Black Rose , in the romantic comedy The Smuggler Princess of Val Guest or in John Huston's Oscar-winning film Moulin Rouge . Her last role was in 1959 in the crime drama The Price of Silence, directed by director Montgomery Tully .

By the mid-1950s, Mary Clare had also turned to television, starring in episodes of several successful series. Her appearances in the new medium included the BBC Sunday Night Theater (1953-1954), Colonel March of Scotland Yard (1954), London Playhouse (1956) and Lilli Palmer Theater (1956).

Mary Clare died on August 29, 1970 at the age of 76 in her hometown of London.

Filmography (selection)

movie theater

1920: The Black Spider
1921: The Skin Game
1922: A Prince of Lovers
1922: A Gipsy Cavalier
1923: Lights of London
1923: Becket
1928: The Constant Nymph
1929: The Feather
1931: The Outsider
1931: Hindle Wakes
1931: Many Waters
1931: Bill's Legacy
1931: Shadows
1931: Keepers of Youth
1932: Carmen
1933: The Constant Nymph
1934: The Night Club Queen
1934: Jew Süss
1934: Lorna Doone
1934: Say It with Flowers
1935: A Real Bloke
1935: The Passing of the Third Floor Back
1935: The Guv'nor
1935: Line Engaged
1935: The Clairvoyant
1937: The Mill on the Floss
1937: Young and Innocent (Young and Innocent)
1937: The rat (The Rat)
1938: A Lady Vanishes (The Lady Vanishes)
1938: The Challenge
1938: The Citadel (The Citadel)
1938: Climbing High
1939: A Girl Must Live
1939: There Ain't No Justice
1939: Verstrickung (On the Night of the Fire)
1940: Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard
1940: The Briggs Family
1941: Old Bill and Son
1941: The Patient Vanishes
1942: The Night Has Eyes
1942: The Next of Kin
1944: The Hundred Pound Window
1944: Fiddlers Three
1944: One Exciting Night
1946: Paradise of Love (London Town)
1947: Mrs. Fitzherbert
1948: My Brother Jonathan (My Brother Jonathan)
1948: The Three Weird Sisters
1948: Oliver Twist
1948: Esther Waters
1949: Great days (Cardboard Cavalier)
1950: The Black Rose (The Black Rose)
1950: Portrait of Clare
1952: The Smuggler Princess (Penny Princess)
1952: Moulin Rouge
1952: Hindle Wakes
1953: The Beggar's Opera (The Beggar's Opera)
1954: Mambo
1959: The Price of Silence

watch TV

1953–1954: BBC Sunday-Night Theater (TV series, 2 episodes)
1954: Colonel March of Scotland Yard (TV series, 1 episode)
1956: London Playhouse (TV series, 1 episode)
1956: Lilli Palmer Theater (TV series, 1 episode)

Short film

1927: Packing Up
1940: Miss Grant Goes to the Door

literature

Mary Clare. In: John Gielgud, Richard Mangan: Sir John Gielgud: A Life in Letters. , Arcade Publishing, 2005, p. 526.

Web links

Commons : Mary Clare - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

↑ Mary Clare. In: Cathy Hartley: A Historical Dictionary of British Women. , Routledge, 1961, p. 213.
↑ Mary Clare. In: Frank C. Roberts: Obituaries from the Times. , Newspaper Archive Developments Limited, 1961, p. 149.
↑ Mary Clare. In: Donald Spoto: The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures. , Random House LLC, 2010, p. 73.

personal data
SURNAME	Clare, Mary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Absalom, Mary Clare (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British actress in theater, film and television
DATE OF BIRTH	July 17, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	London , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH	August 29, 1970
Place of death	London , England , UK

[1] Mary Clare. In: Cathy Hartley: A Historical Dictionary of British Women. , Routledge, 1961, p. 213.

[2] Mary Clare. In: Frank C. Roberts: Obituaries from the Times. , Newspaper Archive Developments Limited, 1961, p. 149.

[3] Mary Clare. In: Donald Spoto: The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures. , Random House LLC, 2010, p. 73.