Minnie Rayner (2 May 1869 – 13 December 1941) was a British stage and film actress. In 1889, while in Cape Colony, she acted in the comic opera '' Falka'' as Edwige, the fiery Gipsey girl and sister of the brigand chief. The play was staged at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

in Johannesburg and produced by Mr. Perkins of The Edgar Perkins Lyric Opera Company. A character actress, she played

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

figures, often mothers, in films of the 1930s. Her roles include the matriarch of the working-class

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

family who takes in an exiled Russian prince (

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

) as a lodger in the comedy '' I Lived with You'' (1933). The same year she played

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

's mother in '' This Week of Grace''. A recurring role was that of the landlady Mrs. Hudson in a series of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

adaptations starring Arthur Wontner. Her stage work included the part of Clara in the original production of

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 ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...

'' at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, in 1925. She also appeared in a series of

's plays and musicals in the West End: ''Symphony in Two Flats'' (1929), '' Fresh Fields'' (1933), '' Glamorous Night'' (1935), '' Careless Rapture'' (1936), '' Crest of the Wave'' (1937), and '' The Dancing Years'' (1939). In 1930, she reprised her performance as Mabel in ''Symphony in Two Flats'' in the Broadway stage and British film versions.

Filmography

* ''

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 ...

'' (1913) * '' My Old Dutch'' (1915) * '' Lost and Won'' (1915) * '' Sunken Rocks'' (1919) * '' The Auction Mart'' (1920) * '' Mary Latimer, Nun'' (1920) * ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is the fourth novel by English author Charles Dickens; being one of his two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 t ...

'' (1921) * '' If Youth But Knew'' (1926) * '' The Ring'' (1927) * '' Symphony in Two Flats'' (1930) * '' The Sleeping Cardinal'' (1931) * '' These Charming People'' (1931) * ''

The Man at Six ''The Man at Six'' is a 1931 British mystery film directed by Harry Hughes (director), Harry Hughes and starring Anne Grey, Lester Matthews and Gerald Rawlinson. It was released in America the following year under the alternative title ''The Gab ...

'' (1931) * '' Stranglehold'' (1931) * '' Hobson's Choice'' (1931) * '' The Missing Rembrandt'' (1932) * '' The Veteran of Waterloo'' (1933) * '' I Lived with You'' (1933) * '' Excess Baggage'' (1933) * '' This Week of Grace'' (1933) * '' Dora'' (1933 short) * '' Murder at the Inn'' (1934) * '' Song at Eventide'' (1934) * ''

Flood Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

'' (1934) * '' Sometimes Good'' (1934) * '' It Happened in Paris'' (1935) * '' Barnacle Bill'' (1935) * '' The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' (1935) * '' The Small Man'' (1936) * '' A Woman Alone'' (1936) * '' The House of the Spaniard'' (1936) * '' If I Were Rich'' (1936) * '' Dreams Come True'' (1936) * '' Silver Blaze'' (1937) * '' Gaslight'' (1940) as Elizabeth, the Cook * '' Old Mother Riley in Society'' (1940)

References

External links

* * 1869 births 1941 deaths English stage actresses English film actresses English silent film actresses 20th-century English actresses Actresses from London {{UK-film-actor-stub