Irene Handl
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Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austrian-born father—Friedrich (later Frederick) Handl (1874–1961) and German mother, Marie (née Schiepp or Schuepp; 1875 – before 1924). Both of Handl's parents became naturalised British citizens. Her father came to England via Switzerland and started as a bank clerk, before becoming a stockbroker, then became a private banker. The Handls lived a comfortable middle-class life, with a German cook and housekeeper living in the family home. From 1907 to 1915, Handl attended the Paddington and Maida Vale High School. In the 1920s Handl travelled several times to New York with her father, with the ship's log listing her on each occasion as having no occupation and residing in the family home. Handl studied at an acting school run by a sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike, and then made her stage debut in London in February 1937, at the relatively advanced age of 36. In 1939, and by now an actress, she was living with her widower father in London. She continued to live with her father until his death in 1961. Her elder sister Liane (1898–1977) had married Russian electrical engineer and photographer Victor Kraminsky (born Viktor Azar'evich Kraminskii; later known as Victor Kennett; 1894–1980) in 1920 in Marylebone, Middlesex (now London). They had at least one child, a son, Charles Kennett. Handl appeared in supporting roles in more than 100 British films, mostly comedy character parts such as slightly eccentric mothers, grannies, landladies and servants. She was a passionate lover of rock and roll, especially the work of Elvis Presley, and was president of the Lewisham branch of the Elvis Presley fan club. She was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and one of Britain's most avid champions of Chihuahuas, being inseparable from the pair that she owned. Handl had minor roles in such landmark films as Night Train to Munich and Brief Encounter. Her other notable roles included the wife of the union activist Fred Kite (played by Peter Sellers) in I'm All Right Jack (1959); Mrs Gammon, the formidable cook, opposite Gordon Harker in Small Hotel (1957); Tony Hancock's landlady in The Rebel (1961); Sherlock Holmes's housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970); and Morgan's Communist mother, Mrs Delt, in Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966). She also had small roles in two of the Carry On films, Carry On Nurse and Carry On Constable), and played Miss Peach in the original version of The Italian Job. She worked until 1987, the year of her death. Her last role was released posthumously the following year. Handl died in her flat in Kensington, West London, on 29 November 1987, aged 85, reportedly from cancer. She never married. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, North London.
Known for
Credits
The Italian Job (1969)
as Miss Peach
Brief Encounter (1945)
as The Cellist and Organist (uncredited)
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
as Mrs. Hudson
Stage Fright (1950)
as Mrs. Mason (uncredited)
Carry On Nurse (1959)
as Marge Hickson
Absolute Beginners (1986)
as Mrs Larkin
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
as Winnie Wainwhisle
Night Train to Munich (1940)
as Stationmaster (uncredited)
Come Play with Me (1977)
as Lady Bovington
The Wrong Box (1966)
as Mrs. Hackett
Heavens Above! (1963)
as Rene Smith
The Key (1958)
as Clerk
"Pimpernel" Smith (1941)
as Bit Part
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
as Miss Wormwood
Two-Way Stretch (1960)
as Mrs. Price
A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
as Mrs. Abramowitz
I'm All Right Jack (1959)
as Mrs. Kite
Wonderwall (1969)
as Mrs. Peurofoy
Carry On Constable (1960)
as Willie's Mother
Young Wives' Tale (1951)
as Nanny (uncredited)
Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)
as Miss Friggin
The Rebel (1961)
as Mrs. Crevatte
The Belles of St Trinian's (1954)
as Miss Gale
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
as Mrs. Barrymore
School for Scoundrels (1960)
as Mrs Stringer
Adam and Evelyne (1949)
as Mrs. Crouch, Manageress (uncredited)
Upstairs and Downstairs (1959)
as Large Woman
Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976)
as Miss Slenderparts
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)
as Cinema Usherette
The Weak and the Wicked (1954)
as Waitress
Doctor in Love (1960)
as Professor MacRitchie
Girl in the News (1940)
as Gertrude Mary Blaker
No Kidding (1960)
as Mrs. Spicer
Who Done It? (1956)
as Customer (uncredited)
Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
as Lady with the Dog
Mad About Men (1954)
as Mme. Blanche
Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966)
as Mrs. Delt
For Them That Trespass (1949)
as Inn Proprietress
Watch It, Sailor! (1961)
as Edie Hornett
Doctor in Trouble (1970)
as Mrs. Dailey
Hotel du Lac (1986)
as Madame de Bonneuil
Smashing Time (1967)
as Mrs Gimble
You Must Be Joking (1965)
as Elderly Woman
The Perfect Woman (1949)
as Mrs. Butters
Brothers in Law (1957)
as Mrs. Potter
Happy Is the Bride (1958)
as Madame Edna
One Wild Oat (1951)
as Emily Pepys
A French Mistress (1960)
as Staff Sergeant Hodges
Top Secret (1952)
as Mrs. Tidmarsh
The Silken Affair (1956)
as Receptionist
The Best of the Adventures (1981)
as Miss Friggin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Woman Hater (1948)
as Mrs. Fletcher
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960)
as Miss Harker-Parker
The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
as Ruby Towser
Millions Like Us (1943)
as Landlady
English Without Tears (1944)
as (uncredited)
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959)
as Mrs. Carter
Desert Mice (1959)
as Miss Maud Patch
Burnt Evidence (1954)
as Mrs. Raymond
Law and Disorder (1958)
as Woman in Train
Riding High (1981)
as Gran
Make Mine Mink (1960)
as Madame Spolinski
Great Day (1945)
as Lady serving Tea in Tea Stall.
A Weekend with Lulu (1961)
as Florence Bell
On the Night of the Fire (1939)
as Neighbour
Silent Dust (1949)
as Cook
The Light Princess (1978)
as Nanny
Give Us the Moon (1944)
as Miss Haddock
Nothing Barred (1961)
as Elsie
Cardboard Cavalier (1949)
as Lady Agnes
Get Cracking (1943)
as Maggie Turner
Double Bunk (1961)
as Mrs. Harper
Temptation Harbour (1947)
as Ethel Gowshall
Kiss the Bride Goodbye (1945)
as Mrs. Victory
Uncensored (1942)
as Frau Von Koerner
It's Your Move (1982)
as Grand Old Lady
Left Right and Centre (1959)
as Mrs. Maggs
The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959)
as Mrs Billingsgate
Next to No Time (1958)
as Mrs. Crowley, Greengrocer
Just for Fun (1963)
as Housewife
Mr. Emmanuel (1944)
as Trude
The Terror (1938)
as Kitchen Maid
Stand up, Virgin Soldiers (1977)
as Mrs. Phillimore
George and Margaret (1940)
as Beer
Strange Boarders (1938)
as Mrs. Dewar
Small Hotel (1957)
as Mrs. Gammon
The Mini-Affair (1967)
as Cook
The Importance of Being Earnest (1964)
Actor
Inn for Trouble (1960)
as Lily
The Flemish Farm (1943)
as Frau
Medal for the General (1944)
as Mrs. Farnsworth
For the Love of Ada (1972)
as Ada Bingley
Treasure Hunt (1952)
as Nanny
Gasbags (1941)
as Burgomaster's wife
The Wedding of Lilli Marlene (1953)
as Rosie
Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light (1941)
as Councillor
The Spell of Amy Nugent (1941)
as Mrs. Nugent
For You Alone (1945)
as Miss Trotter
The Night We Got the Bird (1960)
as Ma
I'll Turn to You (1946)
as Mrs. Gammon
The Hills of Donegal (1947)
as Mrs. Mactavish
Rhythm Serenade (1943)
Actor
Partners in Crime (1942)
as Mrs. Wilson
The Crowning Touch (1959)
as Bebe
Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard (1940)
as Miss Bell
Room to Let (1976)
as Lady on Crossing
Dark Secret (1949)
as 'Woody' Woodman
Lionheart (1968)
as Lil
It's Never Too Late (1956)
as Neighbour
I'll Walk Beside You (1943)
as Ma Perkins
It's in the Bag (1944)
as Mrs. Beam
Look at Life: Saturday Special (1969)
as Self