Catherine Lacey (6 May 1904 – 23 September 1979) was an English actress of stage and screen.

Stage

Lacey made her stage debut, performing with

Mrs Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Shaw and J. M. ...

, in ''The Thirteenth Chair'' at the West Pier Brighton on 13 April 1925. Her first appearance in the West End was in July 1926 in ''Cock o' the Roost'' at the Garrick Theatre.John Parker (ed), ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 15th edition, Pitman Publishing 1972 Her other West End credits included ''The Beetle'' (Strand Theatre 1928), '' The Venetian'' (Little Theatre 1931; her Broadway debut, at the Masque Theatre, followed in the same play the same year), ''

The Green Bay Tree ''The Green Bay Tree'' is a 1933 three-act drama written by Mordaunt Shairp that explores a "half-suggested homosexual relationship" between a man and his protégé or, in the words of one critic "a rich hot-house sybarite" and someone "he a ...

'' (St Martin's Theatre 1933), '' After the Dance'' (St James' Theatre 1939), '' She Follows Me About'' (Garrick Theatre 1943), '' The Late Edwina Black'' (Ambassadors Theatre 1949), '' Tiger at the Gates'' (Apollo Theatre 1955; she appeared at the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway in the same play later the same year), '' The Tiger and the Horse'' (Queen's Theatre 1960) and '' I Never Sang for My Father'' (Duke of York's Theatre 1970). Having acted at Stratford and the Old Vic in 1935/36, she returned to both companies in later years: to the Old Vic in 1951 (Clytemnestra in ''

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

'') and 1962 (Aase in ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'', Emilia in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''), and to the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

in 1967, playing Volumnia in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'' and the Countess of Rousillon in ''

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate about the date of its composition, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608. ...

''.

Screen

She made her film debut in 1938 as the secretive nun who wears high heels in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

'', in which she was credited as Catherine Lacy. Her film credits include ''

I Know Where I'm Going! ''I Know Where I'm Going!'' is a 1945 romance film directed and written by the British filmmakers Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown (actress), Pamela ...

'' (1945), ''

The October Man ''The October Man'' is a 1947 mystery film/film noir starring John Mills and Joan Greenwood, written by novelist Eric Ambler, who also produced. A man is suspected of murder, and the lingering effects of a brain injury he sustained in an earli ...

'' (1947), '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949), '' The Servant'' (1963) and '' The Fighting Prince of Donegal'' (1966), in which she played

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. In 1966/67 she played a malevolent fortune-teller in '' The Mummy's Shroud'' and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

's insane wife in Michael Reeves' '' The Sorcerers''. For the latter, she won a 'Silver Asteroid' award as Best Actress at the Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival in 1968.Jonathan Rigby, 'British Horror Classics – The Sorcerers', ''Hammer Horror'' no 4, June 1995 Eight years earlier, she received the Guild of TV Producers and Directors award as Actress of the Year. Her television debut in 1938 was in a BBC production of ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...

''. Her last appearance in 1973 was in the ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' installment ''Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont''.

Personal life

She was married to and divorced from the British actors Roy Emerton and Geoffrey Clark.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1938) - The Nun * '' Poison Pen'' (1939) - Connie Fateley * '' The House of the Arrow'' (1940) - Francine Rollard * '' Cottage to Let'' (1941) - Mrs. Stokes * ''

'' (1945) - Mrs. Robinson * '' Pink String and Sealing Wax'' (1945) - Miss Porter * ''

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

'' (1946) - Florrie Raeburn * ''

'' (1947) - Miss Selby * '' The White Unicorn'' (1947) - Miss Cater * '' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947) - Almoner * '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949) - Mrs. Waggett * ''Another Sky'' (1954) - Selena Prouse * '' The Man in the Sky'' (1957) - Mary's Mother * '' Innocent Sinners'' (1958) - Angela Chesney * ''The Solitary Child'' (1958) - Mrs. Evans * '' Rockets Galore!'' (1958) - Mrs. Waggett * '' Crack in the Mirror'' (1960) - Mother Superior * '' The Shadow of the Cat'' (1961) - Ella Venable * '' The Servant'' (1963) - Lady Mounset * '' The Fighting Prince of Donegal'' (1966) - (uncredited) * '' The Mummy's Shroud'' (1967) - Haiti * '' The Sorcerers'' (1967) - Estelle / Estelle Monserrat * ''Journey to Midnight'' (1968) - Miss Sarah Prinn (episode 'The Indian Spirit Guide') * '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) - Woman in Wheelchair

References

External links

*
Catherine Lacey
at Theatricalia * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Catherine Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners English film actresses English television actresses 1904 births 1979 deaths Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English businesspeople