Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work.

Stage career

Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stage appearance in 1907, as Queenie Merrall, and for the rest of her life she remained a well-known and respected stage actress. Although she was based in London, she often appeared in other prestigious venues in the UK such as the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

and the Theatre Royal,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Among her most famous stage roles were

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

in a controversial but influential 1928 modern-dress production by Barry Jackson which opened in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

before transferring to London's

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, and Mrs. Danvers in

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

's ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'' at the Strand Theatre in 1940. Her stage career also took her to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where she appeared in ''Canaries Sometimes Sing'' ( Frederick Lonsdale) in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1930.

Film and television

With the exception of an appearance in a 1932 quota quickie '' Men of Steel'', Merrall did not make the move into films until the 1940s. She was given leading roles in the 1940 Irish-set drama '' Dr. O'Dowd'' (now classed as a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

) and the film adaptation of

Walter Greenwood Walter Greenwood (17 December 1903 – 13 September 1974) was an English novelist, best known for the socially influential novel '' Love on the Dole'' (1933). Early life Greenwood was born at 56 Ellor Street, his father's house and hairdr ...

's '' Love on the Dole'' the following year. The 1940s then brought a steady stream of good film parts including her best-remembered roles as Mrs. Foley in the 1945 classic '' Dead of Night'' and Mrs. Nickleby in the

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a p ...

-directed 1947 screen version of '' Nicholas Nickleby''. Into the 1950s Merrall also landed a string of diverse roles in films such as '' Encore'' (1951), prison drama '' The Weak and the Wicked'' (1954), comedy ''

The Belles of St. Trinian's ''The Belles of St Trinian's'' is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley. Inspired by British cartoonist Ron ...

'' (1954) and harrowing World War II drama ''

The Camp on Blood Island ''The Camp on Blood Island'' is a 1958 British World War II film, directed by Val Guest for Hammer Film Productions and starring André Morell, Carl Möhner, Edward Underdown and Walter Fitzgerald. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner o ...

'' (1958). As film work began to dry up from the late 1950s, Merrall increasingly found work in television, appearing in several productions for the ITV drama strands ''Play of the Week'' and ''ITV Playhouse'' as well as guest appearances in popular series such as ''

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...

'' and the '' UFO'' episode " A Question of Priorities".

Private life

Merrall married three times. Her first marriage to John Bouch Hissey in 1909 ended acrimoniously in 1914 amid a great deal of public and media interest, after Hissey brought a highly publicised divorce suit alleging infidelity on Merrall's part, naming several men including famous

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

star

Albert Whelan Albert Whelan (born Albert Waxman; 5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in English music halls during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The son of an immigrant Polish Je ...

. Merrall's second marriage, to noted Shakespearean actor Ion Swinley, was also dissolved in 1927. Her third marriage, to fellow actor Franklin Dyall, lasted until Dyall's death in 1950. Merrall died in Brighton on 31 August 1973, aged 83.

Partial filmography

* ''Fatal Fingers'' (1916) - Irene Lambton * '' The Manxman'' (1917) - Tom's girl * '' Duke's Son'' (1920) - Billy Honour * '' Men of Steel'' (1932) - Mrs. Harg * '' Dr. O'Dowd'' (1940) - Constantia * '' You Will Remember'' (1941) - London Landlady (uncredited) * '' Love on the Dole'' (1941) - Mrs. Hardcastle * '' Squadron Leader X'' (1943) - Miss Thorndike * '' Dead of Night'' (1945) - Mrs. Foley (segment "Linking Story") * '' Pink String and Sealing Wax'' (1945) - Mrs. Ellen Sutton * '' This Man Is Mine'' (1946) - Mrs. Jarvis * '' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947) - Mrs. Nickleby * ''

They Made Me a Fugitive ''They Made Me a Fugitive'' (also known as ''They Made Me a Criminal''; U.S. title: ''I Became a Criminal'') is a 1947 British black-and-white film noir directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Sally Gray and Trevor Howard. It was written b ...

'' (1947) - Aggie * '' The Three Weird Sisters'' (1948) - Isobel Morgan-Vaughan * '' Badger's Green'' (1949) - Mrs. Wetherby * '' For Them That Trespass'' (1949) - Mrs. Drew * '' Trio'' (1950) - Miss Atkin (uncredited) * '' The Late Edwina Black'' (1951) - Lady Southdale * '' Encore'' (1951) - Flora Penezzi (segment "Gigolo and Gigolette") * '' Out of True'' (1951, Short) - Granny * '' Judgment Deferred'' (1952) - Lady Musterby * '' Meet Me Tonight'' (1952) - Mrs. Rockett (segment "Fumed Oak: An Unpleasant Comedy") * ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...

'' (1952) - Grandma Wardle * ''Three's Company'' (1953) - Mrs. Bailey (segment "Take a Number' story) * '' The Weak and the Wicked'' (1954) - Mrs. Skinner * '' Duel in the Jungle'' (1954) - Mrs. Henderson * ''

'' (1954) - Miss Buckland * '' The Green Carnation'' (1954) - Mrs. Rydon-Smith * ''The Last Moment'' (1954) - Housekeeper (segment: 'The Last Moment') * '' Destination Milan'' (1954) * '' It's Great to Be Young'' (1956) - Miss Wyvern, School Mistress * '' Campbell's Kingdom'' (1957) - Miss Ruth * '' Rx Murder'' (1958) - Miss Bettyhill * ''

'' (1958) - Helen * '' Spare the Rod'' (1961) - Miss Fogg * '' Bitter Harvest'' (1963) - Aunt Louisa * '' The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders'' (1965) - A Lady * '' Who Killed the Cat?'' (1966) - Janet Bowering * '' Futtocks End'' (1970) - The Aunt

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrall, Mary 1890 births 1973 deaths English stage actresses English film actresses English silent film actresses English television actresses Actresses from Liverpool 20th-century English actresses