Hello all on this great forum. I'm looking forward to many hours here.
And the first thing I'd like to do is ask a question.
The first time I saw Alistair Sim's Christmas Carol (circa 1960 - I would have been 7 years old) I ws smitten by the maid who let Scrooge into his nephew's place and then, with a little smile, encourages him to enter the living room. Not too long ago I mentioned this to someone who admitted to sharing my crush. Shortly afterwards, during another discussion, the subject of the maid came up and several men in the room got involved, confessing that they always looked forward to that scene and wondering who the actress was.
Since then (about a year ago) I've been trying to find out. I've searched online movie databases, discussion groups, and anything else I could find. But with no luck.
So I'm asking you: does anyone here know the name of the actress?
Thanks for your help.
This question came up a couple of years ago on the Wicked Lady discussion board (I believe). Was it made by you Billy Moon?
Despite a number of persons getting their heads together, we never did get her name. I believe even Brian McFarlane was stumped.
MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED ON THE FILM ARE DEAD CASTING DIR AND PRODUCER EVEN BRIAN WORTH WHO PLAYED THE NEPHEW
THE ONLY PERSON I CAN THINK OF STILL ALIVE IS GEORGE COLE AND PERHAPS RICHARD PERSON WHO PLAYED MR TUPPER AT THE PARTY ELENOR SUMMMERFIELD IS SHE PASSED ON
REGARDS ANTHONY
Sorry to nag, but ...anthony chubb:
MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED ON THE FILM ARE DEAD CASTING DIR AND PRODUCER EVEN BRIAN WORTH WHO PLAYED THE NEPHEW
THE ONLY PERSON I CAN THINK OF STILL ALIVE IS GEORGE COLE AND PERHAPS RICHARD PERSON WHO PLAYED MR TUPPER AT THE PARTY ELENOR SUMMMERFIELD IS SHE PASSED ON
REGARDS ANTHONY
Please use some lower case as well as upper case and some punctuation. That's almost unreadable like that.
Steve
'Twasn't me, I swear. But I'm not surprised it's come up before. The only thing I have discovered so far is that there exists a surprising number of men (and even a few women) who remember that little maid with great fondness.Rennie:
This question came up a couple of years ago on the Wicked Lady discussion board (I believe). Was it made by you Billy Moon?
This does not bode well.Despite a number of persons getting their heads together, we never did get her name. I believe even Brian McFarlane was stumped.
anthony chubb
Thanks for the info (and yes, for some reason full caps are harder to read, and they do come across as shouting). I'm trying to follow up on your George Cole clue, but so far have not found any way of getting in touch with him.
Thanks for the responses.
Hi Billy,
I believe you can contact George Cole through the following address-
C/- Joy Jameson
19 The Plaza
535 Kings Road
London
SW10 0SZ
Good luck!
Dave.
Thanks David. I'm going to do just that.
Chris
Billy Moon. I have trawled Wicked Lady, and also carried out a Ctrl+F search under 'Scrooge'. I do recollect that the actress concerned was definitely NOT one listed in the supposed complete cast list on IMDb. The question may have been raised on this discussion board, but if I recollect, a block of earlier questions on this site were deleted when there was some work carried out to the web site. (forgive me if I am wrong who ever runs the site!!.
It's not Audrey Hepburn is it?
Hmmm. No. Looks to be the right age however.JIM:
It's not Audrey Hepburn is it?
One of the first places I checked was the IMDb and I couldn't find any listing for the maid, right or wrong. (Just checked again -- not trusting memory -- and there isn't any indication.)Rennie:
Billy Moon. I have trawled Wicked Lady, and also carried out a Ctrl+F search under 'Scrooge'. I do recollect that the actress concerned was definitely NOT one listed in the supposed complete cast list on IMDb. The question may have been raised on this discussion board, but if I recollect, a block of earlier questions on this site were deleted when there was some work carried out to the web site. (forgive me if I am wrong who ever runs the site!!
I think the only chance I have is to contact that agency and see if George Cole will (1) answer and (2) remember the actress.
I'd love to find out, there aren't many more years left before it will be completely impossible as everyone connected with the film dies and (apparently) no written record exists.
Actresses Rona Anderson, Carol Marsh and Olga Edwardes (who played the niece) are all still with us. As well as George Cole and Richard Pearson, Patrick Mcnee (who plays young Jacob Marley) is also still alive. Actor Douglas Muir may still be alive.
Legendary b/w cinematographer C.M. Pennington-Richards is still with us, as is editor Clive Donner (still working I believe), first asst director Denis O'Dell and costome designer Doris Lee.
Wow! That's a lot of people. Although I'm not really surprised -- it was just 1951, two years before I was born and my mother's still alive.
Thanks JamesM for the list of names. I'll see what I can do with them.
I just spotted this old thread from 2004 about the maid in "Scrooge".
Did anyone get any joy by writing to George Cole etc?
I noticed this post (from 27/11/2006) on IMDB:
"My Uncle worked for casting director Maude Spector, and while he wasn't directly involved in this film, he did keep extensive notes on all the projects she worked on. The only thing I could find in the production information was this: Maid (Nephew's House): Frances Arden
I couldn't find any other information about her in the notes or on IMDB, so I'm not sure if this info is correct or not, but thought I'd pass it along".
Has the name Frances Arden been confirmed and do we know anything about her?
Best wishes
DaveJ
I had a great book when i was a kid. A Christmas Carol. It had the story &
was full of stills from the film "Scrooge" 1951. I'd give anything to still have
it but alas it vanished somewhere along the way!
Just watched an episode of the fifties tv series The Buccaneers, one of the lady characters reminded me of Scrooge's nephew's maid and i remembered this thread. The actress was called Petra Davies in an episode called The Ladies.
Originally Posted by BillyMoon
Her name was Theresa Derrington - A young British actress who is still alive and well and living in Norfolk UK
Last edited by JamesM; 21-03-13 at 02:42 AM.
Her name was Theresa Derrington - A young British actress at the time, who is still alive and well and living in Norfolk UK
Last edited by Harvo; 20-03-13 at 08:40 AM.
The maids name was Theresa Derrington.
She is my sisters mother in law. She is alive and well and living in Norfolk England. She was at RADA and went on to play other minor roles in productions around that time. Including a 'Goose girl' in Robin Hood.
Posted by: Paul Tollet | March 20, 2013 at 11:47 AM on Dickensblog
"theresa derrington" actress
gave me a googlewhack!!!! Not many of them to the pound these days.........
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