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)
Wonderwall (1969)
as Mrs. Peurofoy
Come Play with Me (1977)
as Lady Bovington
Stage Fright (1950)
as Mrs. Mason (uncredited)
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
as Mrs. Hudson
Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976)
as Miss Slenderparts
The Key (1958)
as Clerk
Carry On Nurse (1959)
as Marge Hickson
Absolute Beginners (1986)
as Mrs Larkin
The Wrong Box (1966)
as Mrs. Hackett
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
as Winnie Wainwhisle
Night Train to Munich (1940)
as Stationmaster (uncredited)
No Kidding (1960)
as Mrs. Spicer
Top Secret (1952)
as Mrs. Tidmarsh
Adventures of a Private Eye (1977)
as Miss Friggin
Two-Way Stretch (1960)
as Mrs. Price
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
as Miss Wormwood
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)
as Cinema Usherette
Heavens Above! (1963)
as Rene Smith
I'm All Right Jack (1959)
as Mrs. Kite
Make Mine Mink (1960)
as Madame Spolinski
Carry On Constable (1960)
as Willie's Mother
The Belles of St Trinian's (1954)
as Miss Gale
"Pimpernel" Smith (1941)
as Bit Part
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
as Mrs. Barrymore
Mad About Men (1954)
as Mme. Blanche
A Weekend with Lulu (1961)
as Florence Bell
Hotel du Lac (1986)
as Madame de Bonneuil
The Rebel (1961)
as Mrs. Crevatte
A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
as Mrs. Abramowitz
Riding High (1981)
as Gran
Who Done It? (1956)
as Customer (uncredited)
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960)
as Miss Harker-Parker
Millions Like Us (1943)
as Landlady
Doctor in Love (1960)
as Professor MacRitchie
Brothers in Law (1957)
as Mrs. Potter
Happy Is the Bride (1958)
as Madame Edna
The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
as Ruby Towser
Double Bunk (1961)
as Mrs. Harper
Law and Disorder (1958)
as Woman in Train
School for Scoundrels (1960)
as Mrs Stringer
Just for Fun (1963)
as Housewife
Smashing Time (1967)
as Mrs Gimble
The Terror (1938)
as Kitchen Maid
Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966)
as Mrs. Delt
Watch It, Sailor! (1961)
as Edie Hornett
A French Mistress (1960)
as Staff Sergeant Hodges
Next to No Time (1958)
as Mrs. Crowley, Greengrocer
Great Day (1945)
as Lady serving Tea in Tea Stall.
Upstairs and Downstairs (1959)
as Large Woman
The Best of the Adventures (1981)
as Miss Friggin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Woman Hater (1948)
as Mrs. Fletcher
The Weak and the Wicked (1954)
as Waitress
The Silken Affair (1956)
as Receptionist
Young Wives' Tale (1951)
as Nanny (uncredited)
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959)
as Mrs. Carter
Mr. Emmanuel (1944)
as Trude
You Must Be Joking (1965)
as Elderly Woman
Desert Mice (1959)
as Miss Maud Patch
One Wild Oat (1951)
as Emily Pepys
Girl in the News (1940)
as Gertrude Mary Blaker
The Importance of Being Earnest (1964)
Actor
Silent Dust (1949)
as Cook
For Them That Trespass (1949)
as Inn Proprietress
Doctor in Trouble (1970)
as Mrs. Dailey
Gasbags (1941)
as Burgomaster's wife
The Flemish Farm (1943)
as Frau
Temptation Harbour (1947)
as Ethel Gowshall
Left Right and Centre (1959)
as Mrs. Maggs
Cardboard Cavalier (1949)
as Lady Agnes
English Without Tears (1944)
as (uncredited)
Small Hotel (1957)
as Mrs. Gammon
Inn for Trouble (1960)
as Lily
Kiss the Bride Goodbye (1945)
as Mrs. Victory
Uncensored (1942)
as Frau Von Koerner
Stand up, Virgin Soldiers (1977)
as Mrs. Phillimore
Treasure Hunt (1952)
as Nanny
Burnt Evidence (1954)
as Mrs. Raymond
The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959)
as Mrs Billingsgate
The Perfect Woman (1949)
as Mrs. Butters
On the Night of the Fire (1939)
as Neighbour
I'll Walk Beside You (1943)
as Ma Perkins
Adam and Evelyne (1949)
as Mrs. Crouch, Manageress (uncredited)
The Night We Got the Bird (1960)
as Ma
The Light Princess (1978)
as Nanny
Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
as Lady with the Dog
It's Never Too Late (1956)
as Neighbour
Medal for the General (1944)
as Mrs. Farnsworth
Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light (1941)
as Councillor
I'll Turn to You (1946)
as Mrs. Gammon
Dark Secret (1949)
as 'Woody' Woodman
Get Cracking (1943)
as Maggie Turner
It's Your Move (1982)
as Grand Old Lady
The Wedding of Lilli Marlene (1953)
as Rosie
For the Love of Ada (1972)
as Ada Bingley
The Crowning Touch (1959)
as Bebe
Rhythm Serenade (1943)
Actor
It's in the Bag (1944)
as Mrs. Beam
Give Us the Moon (1944)
as Miss Haddock
For You Alone (1945)
as Miss Trotter
The Hills of Donegal (1947)
as Mrs. Mactavish
The Mini-Affair (1967)
as Cook
Nothing Barred (1961)
as Elsie
Lionheart (1968)
as Lil
The Spell of Amy Nugent (1941)
as Mrs. Nugent
Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard (1940)
as Miss Bell
Look at Life: Saturday Special (1969)
as Self
Strange Boarders (1938)
as Mrs. Dewar
Room to Let (1976)
as Lady on crossing
Partners in Crime (1942)
as Mrs. Wilson
George and Margaret (1940)
as Beer