Marie Ney (18 July 1895 — 11 April 1981) was a British character actress who had an acting career spanning five decades, from 1919 to 1969, encompassing both stage and screen.

Early life

Ney was born in London, and as a young child, went with her family to live in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She began her acting career in that country, and continued it in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Early roles

After several years of performing in those two countries, she moved back to her native

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, where she acted at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

with many famous actors of the day such as

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' ...

and

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat ( ; 18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. Making his breakthrough film role in Alexander Korda's ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933), today he is best remembered for his roles in ''The Count of Monte C ...

. In 1930, Ney played Lady de Winter in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

in London.

Career: Film and stage

Ney's first film appearance was in ''

Desert Gold Desert Gold may refer to: * ''Geraea canescens'', a wildflower also known as Desert Sunflower * Desert Gold (horse), a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse **Desert Gold (1919 Australian film), ''Desert Gold'' (1919 Australian film), an Australian fil ...

'' (1919), a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

made in

. She appeared in 11 films during the 1930s, including ''

The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew (occasionally referred to as the Eternal Jew, a calque from German ) is a mythical Immortality, immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way ...

'', '' Scrooge'' (1935), '' Brief Ecstasy'' (1937), ''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet of ...

'' (1939), and ''A People Eternal'' (1939). In 1941, Ney returned to Australia for a six-month season, appearing in the plays ''No Time for Comedy'',

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'', and ''Ladies in Retirement'' in Sydney and Melbourne. She appeared in the 1948 play '' Rain on the Just'' in London, and in 1959 ''The Last Word'' at the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

in Edinburgh. In the 1950s, she appeared in the films '' Shadow of the Past'' (1950), ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' (also known as ''Ultimatum'') is a 1950 British political thriller film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting and starring Barry Jones, Olive Sloane and André Morell. It was written by Frank Harvey and Roy Bou ...

'' (1950), ''

The Lavender Hill Mob ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...

'' (1951), ''

Simba Simba is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...

'' (1955), ''

Yield to the Night ''Yield to the Night'' (U.S. title: ''Blonde Sinner'') is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell and Michael Craig. It was written by John Cresswell and Joan Henry based on Henry's ...

'' (1956), and '' The Surgeon's Knife'' (1957). In the 1950s, Ney had also moved into television roles, appearing in episodes of ITV's ''ITV Television Playhouse'', ''ITV Play of the Week'', and ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

''. In 1960, she appeared in the Greek film '' Eroica'', and in an episode of ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

''. Her last credited screen appearance was in the ''

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'', also known as ''ITV Playhouse'', is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black a ...

'' episode ''Remember the Germans'' (1969).

Personal life

Ney was married to Thomas Menzies, and was active in the union Equity. She was a collector of art and books. Ney died in London in April 1981 aged 85.

Partial filmography

* ''Desert Gold'' (1919) * ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and ...

'' (1930) as Grace * ''Stürmisch die Nacht'' (1931) * ''

'' (1933) as Judith * '' Home, Sweet Home'' (1933) as Constance Pelham * '' Scrooge'' (1935) as Spirit of Christmas Past (uncredited) * '' Brief Ecstasy'' (1937) as Martha Russell * ''

'' (1939) as Patience Merlyn * '' Uneasy Terms'' (1948) as Honoria Wymering * '' Conspirator'' (1949) as Lady Pennistone * '' The Romantic Age'' (1949) as Miss Hallam * '' Shadow of the Past'' (1950) as Mrs. Bentley * ''

'' (1950) as Mrs. Willingdon * ''

'' (1951) as School Headmistress (uncredited) * '' Night Was Our Friend'' (1951) as Emily Raynor * ''

'' (1955) as Mrs. Crawford * ''

'' (1956) as Governor * '' The Surgeon's Knife'' (1957) as Matron Fiske * '' Our Last Spring'' (1960) * '' West 11'' (1963) as Mildred Dyce * ''

Witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

'' (1964) as Malvina Lanier

References

External links

*
Ney Film Biography
on '' Time Out''
Ney on 'Radio and TV Personalities'

Images of Ney
on

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Marie 1895 births 1981 deaths Actresses from London People from Chelsea, London English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses 20th-century English actresses Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea