Biography for Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Lanchester as the Bride
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster.
Biography for Elsa Lanchester
Date of birth
28 October 1902
London, England, UK
Date of death
26 December 1986
Woodland Hills, California, USA.
Birth name
Elizabeth Sullivan
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Trivia
Sharp-tongued Hollywood commentator, who was denied top billing for Bride of Frankenstein (1935), even though she played the title role.
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Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
She hissed her way into screen immortality (and had the movies' most memorable Bad Hair Day) as the titular temptress in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), her American film debut. Lanchester-who also played authoress Mary Shelley in that monstermovie milestone-delighted moviegoers on both sides of the Atlantic with her eccentric, sometimes impish characterizations. Trained as a dancer by Isadora Duncan, she turned to acting while still in her teens, and made her film debut in a 1924 short subject, The Scarlet Woman Lanchester, a dedicated nonconformist, married actor Charles Laughton in 1929, an unconventional union that lasted until his death in 1962. Her supporting roles in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933, as Anne of Cleves) and The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) brought Lanchester to the attention of director James Whale, who cast her in Bride and launched her Hollywood career. She was Oscarnominated for her performances in Come to the Stable (1949, as a dotty artist) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957, as Laughton's exasperated nurse). Lanchester infused many of her screen characterizations with an almost childlike playfulness. She wrote an early volume of memoirs, "Charles and Me," in 1939, and an autobiography, "Elsa Lanchester Herself" in 1983. OTHER FILMS INCLUDE: 1935: David Copperfield (as Clickett); 1936: Rembrandt (costarring with Laughton), The Ghost Goes West 1942: Tales of Manhattan, Son of Fury 1943: Forever and a Day, Lassie Come Home 1946: The Spiral Staircase, The Razor's Edge 1947: The Bishop's Wife 1948: The Big Clock 1949: The Inspector General 1952: Les Miserables 1955: The Glass Slipper 1958: Bell, Book and Candle 1964: Mary Poppins, Pajama Party 1965: That Darn Cat 1968: Blackbeard's Ghost 1971: Willard 1973: Terror in the Wax Museum 1976: Murder by Death (delightful as Miss Marbles); 1980: Die Laughing.
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Links:
Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers (1993) .... Herself
Terror in the Aisles (1984) (archive footage) .... The Bride (segment "The Bride of Frankenstein")
... aka Time for Terror (1984) (Europe: English title: video title)
Die Laughing (1980) .... Sophie
Murder by Death (1976) .... Jessica Marbles
Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) .... Julia Hawthorn
Arnold (1973) .... Hester
Willard (1971) .... Henrietta Stiles
"Nanny and the Professor" (1970) TV Series .... Aunt Henrietta (1971)
Me, Natalie (1969) .... Miss Dennison
Rascal (1969) .... Mrs. Satterfield
In Name Only (1969) (TV) .... Mrs. Caruso
My Dog, the Thief (1969) (TV) .... Mrs. Formby
Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) .... Emily Stowecroft
Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) .... Madame Neherina
That Darn Cat! (1965) .... Kipp MacDougall (Mrs. MacDougall)
"John Forsythe Show, The" (1965) TV Series .... Miss Margaret Culver
Honeymoon Hotel (1964) .... Chambermaid
Pajama Party (1964) .... Aunt Wendy
... aka Maid and the Martian, The (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964) .... Katie Nanna, the Banks' previous Nanny
Bell Book and Candle (1958) .... Queenie
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) .... Miss Plimsoll
Glass Slipper, The (1955) .... Widow Sonder
Alice in Wonderland (1955) (TV)
Three Ring Circus (1954) .... The Bearded Lady
... aka 3 Ring Circus (1954)
... aka Jerrico, the Wonder Clown (1954)
Hell's Half Acre (1954) .... Lida O'Reilly
Girls of Pleasure Island, The (1953) .... Thelma
Androcles and the Lion (1952) .... Megaera
Miserables, Les (1952) .... Madame Magloire
Dreamboat (1952) .... Dr. Coffey
Frenchie (1950) .... The Countess
Mystery Street (1950) .... Mrs. Smerrling
... aka Murder at Harvard (1950)
Petty Girl, The (1950) .... Dr. Crutcher
... aka Girl of the Year (1950) (UK)
Buccaneer's Girl (1950) .... Mme. Brizar
Inspector General, The (1949) .... Maria
Secret Garden, The (1949) .... Martha
Come to the Stable (1949) .... Amelia Potts
Big Clock, The (1948) .... Louise Patterson
Bishop's Wife, The (1947) .... Matilda
Northwest Outpost (1947) .... Princess 'Tanya' Tatiana
... aka End of the Rainbow (1947) (UK)
Razor's Edge, The (1946) .... Miss Keith
Spiral Staircase, The (1946) .... Mrs. Oates
Passport to Destiny (1944) .... Ella Muggins
... aka Passport to Adventure (1944)
Lassie Come Home (1943) .... Mrs. Carraclough
Thumbs Up (1943) .... Emma Finch
Forever and a Day (1943) .... Mamie
Tales of Manhattan (1942) .... Elsa Smith
Son of Fury (1942) .... Bristol Isabel
... aka Story of Benjamin Blake, The (1942)
Sullivan's Travels (1942) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
Ladies in Retirement (1941) .... Emily Creed
Vessel of Wrath (1938) .... Martha Jones
... aka Beachcomber, The (1938) (USA)
Rembrandt (1936) .... Hendrickje Stoffels
Ghost Goes West, The (1935) .... Miss Shepperton
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) .... Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley/The Monster's Mate
... aka Bride of Frankenstein, The (1935) (USA: poster title)
Naughty Marietta (1935) .... Madame d'Annard
David Copperfield (1935) .... Clickett
Private Life of Don Juan, The (1934) (uncredited) .... Maid
... aka Don Juan (1934)
Private Life of Henry VIII, The (1933) .... Anne of Cleves
Officer's Mess, The (1931) .... Cora Melville
Potiphar's Wife (1931) .... Therese
... aka Her Strange Desire (1931)
Stronger Sex, The (1931) .... Thompson
Love Habit, The (1931) .... Mathilde
Comets (1930)
Mr. Smith Wakes Up (1929)
Blue Bottles (1928) .... Elsa
Constant Nymph, The (1928)
Daydreams (1928) .... Elsa
Tonic, The (1928) .... Elsa
One of the Best (1927)
