Flora Robson | |
|---|---|
 Robson in a 1940s studio publicity shot | |
| Born | Flora McKenzie Robson (1902-03-28)28 March 1902 South Shields,County Durham, England |
| Died | 7 July 1984(1984-07-07) (aged 82) Brighton,East Sussex, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1921–1984 |
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 1902 – 7 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity.[1] Her range extended from queens to murderesses.[2][3]
Flora McKenzie Robson was born on 28 March 1902 inSouth Shields, County Durham,[4] daughter of David Robson (1864-1947) and Eliza Robson (nee McKenzie; 1870-1953) both of Scottish descent. She had six siblings.[5] Many of her forebears were engineers, mostly in shipping.[6] Her father was a ship's engineer who moved fromWallsend nearNewcastle toPalmers Green in 1907 andSouthgate in 1910, both in north London, and later toWelwyn Garden City.[7]
She was educated at thePalmers Green High School and theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art,[5] where she won a bronze medal in 1921.[8]
Her father discovered that Flora had a talent for recitation and, from the age of five, she was taken around by horse and carriage to recite, and to compete in recitations. This established a pattern that remained with her.[6]
Robson made her stage debut in 1921.[9] By the 1930s she was appearing in several prominent films both in the UK and in Hollywood, alongside such stars asLaurence Olivier,Paul Muni andGeorge Raft. Her most notable role was that ofQueen Elizabeth I in bothFire Over England (1937) andThe Sea Hawk (1940).[10] In 1934, Robson played theEmpress Elizabeth inAlexander Korda'sThe Rise of Catherine the Great (1934).[11] She was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Angelique Buiton, a servant, inSaratoga Trunk (1945).[12] The same year, audiences in the U.K. and the U.S. watched her performance as Ftatateeta, the nursemaid and royal confidante and murderess-upon-command toVivien Leigh's Queen Cleopatra in the screen adaptation ofGeorge Bernard Shaw'sCaesar and Cleopatra (1945).[13]
After theSecond World War, demonstrating her range, she appeared inHoliday Camp (1947), the first of a series of films which featured the very ordinary Huggett family; as Sister Philippa inBlack Narcissus (1947); as a magistrate inGood-Time Girl (1948); as a prospective Labour MP inFrieda (1947); and in the costume melodramaSaraband for Dead Lovers (1948).[14] Her other film roles included theEmpress Dowager Cixi in55 Days at Peking (1963), Miss Milchrest inMurder at the Gallop (1963), theQueen of Hearts inAlice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972), and Livia in the abortedI, Claudius in 1937.[15]
She struggled to find a footing in the theatre after she graduated fromRADA with a bronze medal since she lacked the conventional good looks which were then an absolute requisite for actresses in dramatic roles.[citation needed] After touring in minor parts withBen Greet's Shakespeare company she may have played small parts for two seasons in the new repertory company atOxford, but her contract was not renewed.[9] She was told that they required a prettier actress.[16] Unable to secure any acting engagements, she gave up the stage at the age of 23, and she took up work as a welfare officer in theNabisco shredded wheat factory in Welwyn Garden City.[9]Tyrone Guthrie, due to direct a season at the new Festival Theatre, Cambridge, asked her to join his company.[7] Her performance as the stepdaughter inPirandello'sSix Characters in Search of an Author made her the theatrical talk of Cambridge.[17] She followed with Isabella inMeasure for Measure withRobert Donat, Pirandello'sNaked, the title role inIphigenia in Tauris, Varya inThe Cherry Orchard, and Rebecca West inHenrik Ibsen'sRosmersholm.[18][19]
In 1931, she was cast as the adulterous Abbie inEugene O'Neill'sDesire Under the Elms.[20] Her brief, shocking appearance as the doomed prostitute inJames Bridie's playThe Anatomist put her firmly on the road to success.[21] "If you are not moved by this girl's performance, then you are immovable" theObserver critic wrote. This success would lead to her famous 1933 season as leading lady at theOld Vic.[22]
She continued her acting career late into life, though not on the West End stage, from which she retired at the age of 67, often for American television films, including a lavish production ofA Tale of Two Cities (in which she played Miss Pross).[23] She also performed for British television, includingThe Shrimp and the Anemone.[24] In the 1960s, she continued to act in theWest End, inRing Round the Moon,The Importance of Being Earnest andThree Sisters, among others.
She continued to act on film and television. She was last briefly seen as a Stygian Witch in the fantasy adventureClash of the Titans in 1981.[2] Both theBBC andITV made special programmes to celebrate her 80th birthday in 1982, and the BBC ran a short season of her best films.
She was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Angelique Buiton, aHaitian maid, inSaratoga Trunk (1945).[25]
She was created a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (CBE) in the1952 New Year Honours, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in the1960 Birthday Honours.[26] She was also the first famous name to become president of theBrighton Little Theatre.[27] She has a road named after her in her birthplace of South Shields.
On 4 July 1958, she received an honorary DLitt fromDurham University at a congregation inDurham Castle.[28]
Her private life was largely focused on her large family of sisters Margaret and Shela, and her nephews and nieces[citation needed].
She shared a home inWykeham Terrace, Brighton with her sisters for 8 years before she died[29] inBrighton, aged 82, in her sleep, of cancer.[9][30] She was never married and had no children.[9] The sisters died around the same time: Shela shortly before Flora, in 1984, and Margaret on 1 February 1985.[citation needed]
Dame Flora Robson Avenue, built in 1962, in Simonside,South Shields, is named after her.[31]There is a plaque on the house in Wykeham Terrace, Dyke Road, Brighton, and also one in the doorway ofSt Nicholas's Church, of which Flora Robson was a great supporter.[32][33]
There is also a plaque to commemorate the opening of thePrince Charles Cinema (Leicester Square, London) by Flora Robson.[34]
In 1996, theBritish Film Institute erected a plaque at number 14 Marine Gardens, location of Flora Robson's other home inBrighton, where she lived from 1961 to 1976.[35]
A plaque at 40 Handside Lane in Welwyn Garden City records Flora Robson living there from 1923 to 1925.[36]
Ablue plaque sponsored by Southgate District Civic Trust and Robson's former schoolPalmers Green High School was unveiled at her family home from 1910 to 1921, The Lawe, 65, The Mall, Southgate, on 25 April 2010.[5]
Robson attended the opening of the Flora Robson Playhouse inJesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1962, which was named in her honour.[37] The building was demolished in 1971 and the theatre company it housed relocated to the newUniversity Theatre.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | A Gentleman of Paris | Uncredited | |
| 1932 | Dance Pretty Lady | Mrs. Raeburn | |
| 1933 | One Precious Year | Julia Skene | |
| 1934 | The Rise of Catherine the Great | Empress Elisabeth | |
| The Private Life of Don Juan | Undetermined Role | (scenes deleted) | |
| 1937 | Fire Over England | Queen Elizabeth I of England | |
| Farewell Again | Lucy Blair | ||
| I, Claudius | Livia | Also in The Epic that Never Was | |
| 1939 | Wuthering Heights | Ellen Dean | |
| Smith | Mary Smith | Short | |
| Poison Pen | Mary Rider | ||
| We Are Not Alone | Jessica Newcome | ||
| Invisible Stripes | Mrs. Taylor | ||
| 1940 | The Sea Hawk | Queen Elizabeth I | |
| 1941 | Bahama Passage | Mrs. Ainsworth | |
| 1944 | Two Thousand Women | Miss Manningford | |
| 1945 | Great Day | Mrs. Liz Ellis | |
| Saratoga Trunk | Angelique Buiton (inblackface) | Nominated -Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | Ftatateeta | ||
| Dumb Dora Discovers Tobacco | Short | ||
| 1946 | The Years Between | Nanny | |
| 1947 | Black Narcissus | Sister Philippa | |
| Frieda | Nell | ||
| Holiday Camp | Esther Harman | ||
| 1948 | Good-Time Girl | Miss Thorpe | |
| Saraband for Dead Lovers | Countess Platen | ||
| 1952 | The Tall Headlines | Mary Rackham | |
| 1953 | Malta Story | Melita Gonzar | |
| 1954 | Romeo and Juliet | Nurse | |
| 1957 | High Tide at Noon | Donna MacKenzie | |
| No Time for Tears | Sister Birch | ||
| 1958 | The Gypsy and the Gentleman | Mrs. Haggard | |
| Innocent Sinners | Olivia Chesney | ||
| 1959 | This Is the BBC | ||
| 1963 | 55 Days at Peking | Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi | |
| Murder at the Gallop | Miss Milchrest | ||
| 1964 | Guns at Batasi | Miss Barker-Wise | |
| 1965 | Young Cassidy | Mrs. Cassidy | |
| Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines | Mother Superior | ||
| 1966 | 7 Women | Miss Binns | |
| Eye of the Devil | Countess Estell | ||
| 1967 | The Shuttered Room | Aunt Agatha | |
| Cry in the Wind | Anasthasia | ||
| 1970 | Fragment of Fear | Lucy Dawson | |
| 1971 | La grande scrofa nera | La Nonna | |
| The Beast in the Cellar | Joyce Ballantyne | ||
| The Beloved | Antigone | ||
| 1972 | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Queen of Hearts | |
| 1975 | The Canterville Ghost | Mrs. Umney | TV movie |
| 1978 | Les Misérables | The Prioress | TV movie |
| 1980 | Dominique | Mrs. Davis | |
| Gauguin the Savage | Sister Allandre | TV movie | |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Miss Pross | TV movie | |
| 1981 | Clash of the Titans | A Stygian Witch | final film role |
| Year | Series or miniseries | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | BBC Sunday-Night Theatre | Lilly Mofat/Sister Agatha | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | World Theatre | Anna Fierling | 1 episode |
| 1964 | The Human Jungle | Headmistress | 1 episode |
| 1966 | David Copperfield | Betsey Trotwood | 8 episodes |
| 1968 | BBC Play of the Month | May Beringer | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Heidi | Grandmother | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1975 | A Legacy | Narrator | 5 episodes |
| 1979 | A Man Called Intrepid | Sister Luke | 3 episodes |
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