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