Margaretta Scott
Encyclopedia
Margaretta Scott was an English
stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs. Pumphrey in the BBC
television series
All Creatures Great and Small (1978–1990).
in 1912 to Bertha Eugene and Hugh Arthur Scott, a distinguished music critic.
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
where she shared a scholarship with Celia Johnson
and was awarded the Kendal Prize.
's Page in a 1926, Fellowship of Players revival of Romeo and Juliet
. Scott became a leading exponent of the work of William Shakespeare
through a series of notable performances in the early and mid-1930s: Cast firstly as the Player Queen and then Ophelia in Hamlet
, she followed this with Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing
for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
.
She appeared as Viola at The New Theatre and as Ophelia and Juliet in a couple of BBC radio
productions in 1932. In 1933 she played the first of four summer seasons at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park
. She also played Lavinia in George Bernard Shaw
's Androcles and the Lion
with the rehearsals under the supervision of the author himself.
In 1936 Scott was cast as Rosaline in one of the great productions of Love's Labours Lost at The Old Vic and in the following year performed in more Shakespeare which included her last appearance at the Open Air Theatre until 1984 in Ring Round the Moon.
In addition to these classical roles, Scott's credits in contemporary drama have included the premieres of Emlyn Williams
' A Murder Has Been Arranged (directed by the author in 1930), MacLeish's Panic (1936), Morna Stuart's Traitor's Gate (1938) and Sidney Howard
's Alien Corn (1939). By 1939 Scott had become one of Great Britain
's leading young stage actresses.
, the British
actors' trade union
, in 1934.
's The Private Life of Don Juan
. Thereafter she reprised her stage role of Leonora Stafford in the film version of the Ben Travers
' Aldwych
farce
Dirty Work with Robertson Hare
and Ralph Lynn
and appeared in Herbert Wilcox
's Peg of Old Drury with Anna Neagle
before again joining Alexander Korda in 1936. Engaged by Korda, Scott made three pictures for London Films
:
and Italy
with ENSA
in 1944. In addition to seasons at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford upon Avon in 1941 and 1942, her stage credits included Clare Boothe's Margin for Error (1940), the premiere of James Bridie
's The Holy Isle (1942) and the first British productions of Lillian Hellman
's play Watch on the Rhine (1943) and John Patrick
's The Hasty Heart
(1945).
Her screen roles meanwhile included Judith Bentley in The Girl in the News (1940), Marcia Royd in Anthony Asquith
's comedy Quiet Wedding (1940), Atlantic Ferry (1941), Sabotage At Sea
(1942) and Alicia in the Gainsborough Pictures
melodrama, Fanny By Gaslight
(1944).
and Othello
and, on stage, in Macbeth and Hamlet, in addition to other productions at the Fortune
, Saville
, Cambridge
and Her Majesty's
theatres in London. At this time, she appeared in pictures such as The Man From Morocco (1945), Where's Charley? (1952), Town On Trial (1956), The Scamp
(1957), Mayerling
(1958) and Crescendo (1970).
Scott was active on the concert platform as a narrator/speaker under the batons of Sir Henry Wood
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
, Sir David Willcocks and Sir John Pritchard performing scores by Grieg
, Honegger
, Purcell
, Elgar
, Prokofiev
and her late husband, the British composer, John Wooldridge
.
Over the course of the next three decades Scott appeared on stage throughout the United Kingdom and toured in plays abroad including the Far East
, Canada
, and North and South Africa
. Apart from world premieres of contemporary plays such as Aunt Edwina (1958) with Henry Kendall
directed by the author William Douglas Home; The Right Honourable Gentleman (1963) with Anthony Quayle
and Angela Huth
's The Understanding
(1982) with Celia Johnson
and Ralph Richardson
, many of her theatre credits in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were revivals of Oscar Wilde
's comedies including Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1968 Tour); A Woman of No Importance
(1974 and 1978); The Importance of Being Earnest
(1974 and The Old Vic Theatre 1980; also on television); An Ideal Husband
(1976/1977 Tour) and Lady Windermere's Fan
(Canada 1979). Her last West End
role was with Leo McKern
in the revival of Hobson's Choice (1984) directed by Frank Hauser.
broadcast by the BBC in 1937. In 1946, she portrayed Portia in a made for television production of The Merchant of Venice.
For twenty-five years, from the 1970s, Scott played a number of distinguished parts in popular television dramas. These included Elizabeth R
, The Duchess of Duke Street
, Upstairs, Downstairs
, Lovejoy
, and for several years as Mrs Pumphrey with her pekinese, Tricki Woo, in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. The character was based largely on Miss Marjory Warner of Sowerby
and her pekinese Bambi.
composer John Wooldridge
, who was killed in a car accident in 1958. Their daughter, Susan Wooldridge
, is also an actress and their son, Hugh Wooldridge
is a theatre director and producer. Scott died in 2005, aged 93, from natural causes and is buried with her late husband, John, at St Lawrence's Church Cholesbury
, Buckinghamshire
. A devout Roman Catholic, she belonged to the British Catholic Stage Guild
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs. Pumphrey in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
All Creatures Great and Small (1978–1990).
Early life and education
Scott was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1912 to Bertha Eugene and Hugh Arthur Scott, a distinguished music critic.
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
where she shared a scholarship with Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
and was awarded the Kendal Prize.
Acting career
After giving private performances of verse-speaking and dance drama as a child for her family and their friends, she made her first appearance on the London stage at the age of 14 as MercutioMercutio
Mercutio a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio, and also a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, being neither a Montague nor a Capulet, Mercutio is one of the few in Verona...
's Page in a 1926, Fellowship of Players revival of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. Scott became a leading exponent of the work of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
through a series of notable performances in the early and mid-1930s: Cast firstly as the Player Queen and then Ophelia in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, she followed this with Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
.
She appeared as Viola at The New Theatre and as Ophelia and Juliet in a couple of BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
productions in 1932. In 1933 she played the first of four summer seasons at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
. She also played Lavinia in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion (play)
Androcles and the Lion is a 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw.Androcles and the Lion is Shaw's retelling of the tale of Androcles, a slave who is saved by the requited mercy of a lion. In the play, Shaw portrays Androcles to be one of the many Christians being led to the Colosseum for torture...
with the rehearsals under the supervision of the author himself.
In 1936 Scott was cast as Rosaline in one of the great productions of Love's Labours Lost at The Old Vic and in the following year performed in more Shakespeare which included her last appearance at the Open Air Theatre until 1984 in Ring Round the Moon.
In addition to these classical roles, Scott's credits in contemporary drama have included the premieres of Emlyn Williams
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
' A Murder Has Been Arranged (directed by the author in 1930), MacLeish's Panic (1936), Morna Stuart's Traitor's Gate (1938) and Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard
Sidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
's Alien Corn (1939). By 1939 Scott had become one of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
's leading young stage actresses.
Trade union organiser
Scott was a signatory of the document that established EquityBritish Actors' Equity Association
Equity is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1930 by a group of West End performers....
, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actors' trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, in 1934.
Film career
Scott's screen career began in 1934 when she made an uncredited appearance in Alexander KordaAlexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
's The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
. Thereafter she reprised her stage role of Leonora Stafford in the film version of the Ben Travers
Ben Travers
Ben Travers AFC CBE in London) was a British playwright best remembered for his farces.Born in the London borough of Hendon, Travers was educated at Charterhouse, where today there is a theatre named for him...
' Aldwych
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
Dirty Work with Robertson Hare
Robertson Hare
John Robertson Hare was an English comedy actor, popularly known as Bunny, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is known for routinely losing his trousers on-stage, at which point he would utter his catchphrase "Oh Calamity"...
and Ralph Lynn
Ralph Lynn
Ralph Lynn was a British stage and screen actor.Lynn was born in Manchester and began his acting career in Wigan in 1900 in King of Terrors. After years spent touring regional theatres and a spell in America he made his West End debut in 1915 at the Empire theatre in By Jingo...
and appeared in Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...
's Peg of Old Drury with Anna Neagle
Anna Neagle
Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
before again joining Alexander Korda in 1936. Engaged by Korda, Scott made three pictures for London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
:
- Things to ComeThings to ComeThings to Come is a British science fiction film produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells and is a loose adaptation of his own 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction work, The Work, Wealth and Happiness...
(1936) as Roxana/Rowana in H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' adaptation of his novel with Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
and Ann ToddAnn ToddDorothy Anne Todd was an English actress and producer.She was born in Hartford, Cheshire and was educated at St. Winifrid's School, Eastbourne. She became a popular actress from appearing in such films as Perfect Strangers and The Seventh Veil...
. - Action for Slander (1937).
- Return of the Scarlet PimpernelReturn of the Scarlet PimpernelThe Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1937 British thriller film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, Margaretta Scott and James Mason. It is a sequel to the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel based on the stories by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.France, 1794. Citizen...
(1937).
World War II
Throughout the war Scott continued to perform in theatrical productions both at home and abroad, touring North AfricaNorth Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with ENSA
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
in 1944. In addition to seasons at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford upon Avon in 1941 and 1942, her stage credits included Clare Boothe's Margin for Error (1940), the premiere of James Bridie
James Bridie
James Bridie was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and surgeon whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor....
's The Holy Isle (1942) and the first British productions of Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
's play Watch on the Rhine (1943) and John Patrick
John Patrick
John Patrick was an American playwright and screenwriter.- Biography :Born John Patrick Goggin in Louisville, Kentucky, his parents soon abandoned him and he spent a delinquent youth in foster homes and boarding schools. At age 19, he secured a job as an announcer at KPO Radio in San Francisco,...
's The Hasty Heart
The Hasty Heart
The Hasty Heart is a 1949 British-American co-production film based on the play of the same name by John Patrick. It tells the story of a group of wounded Allied soldiers in a mobile surgery unit at the end of World War II who, after initial resentment and ostracism, rally around a loner, a...
(1945).
Her screen roles meanwhile included Judith Bentley in The Girl in the News (1940), Marcia Royd in Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
's comedy Quiet Wedding (1940), Atlantic Ferry (1941), Sabotage At Sea
Sabotage at Sea
Sabotage at Sea is a 1942 British, black-and-white, drama, mystery, war film, directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Ronald Shiner as Ernie, the Cook and Ian Fleming. It was produced by British National Films and Shaftesbury Films.-Synopsis:...
(1942) and Alicia in the Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
melodrama, Fanny By Gaslight
Fanny by Gaslight (film)
Fanny by Gaslight was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir . It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas"...
(1944).
Post-war career
In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s Scott continued to play a wide range of roles on stage and screen. Her association with Shakespeare was maintained with performances in the first 1946 television productions of The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
and Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
and, on stage, in Macbeth and Hamlet, in addition to other productions at the Fortune
Fortune Theatre
The Fortune Theatre is a 432 seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, built in 1922-4 by Ernest Schaufelberg for impresario Laurence Cowen. The façade is principally bush hammered concrete, with brick piers supporting the roof...
, Saville
Saville Theatre
The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
, Cambridge
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
and Her Majesty's
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
theatres in London. At this time, she appeared in pictures such as The Man From Morocco (1945), Where's Charley? (1952), Town On Trial (1956), The Scamp
The Scamp
The Scamp is a 1957 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Richard Attenborough, Colin Petersen, and Dorothy Alison.-Cast:* Richard Attenborough as Stephen Leigh* Dorothy Alison as Barbara Leigh* Colin Petersen as Tod Dawson...
(1957), Mayerling
Mayerling
Mayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat River, in the Wienerwald , 15 miles southwest of Vienna...
(1958) and Crescendo (1970).
Scott was active on the concert platform as a narrator/speaker under the batons of Sir Henry Wood
Henry Wood
Henry Wood was a British conductor.Henry Wood may also refer to:* Henry C. Wood , American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient* Henry Wood , English cricketer...
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
, Sir David Willcocks and Sir John Pritchard performing scores by Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
, Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
, Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
, Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
and her late husband, the British composer, John Wooldridge
John Wooldridge
Wing Commander John De Lacy Wooldridge, DSO, DFC and Bar, DFM, was a British film composer.- Early life :Wooldridge was born in Yokohama, Japan and was educated at St Paul's School, London...
.
Over the course of the next three decades Scott appeared on stage throughout the United Kingdom and toured in plays abroad including the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and North and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Apart from world premieres of contemporary plays such as Aunt Edwina (1958) with Henry Kendall
Henry Kendall
Henry Kendall may refer to:*Henry Kendall , British stage and film character actor*Henry Kendall , Australian ornithologist*Henry Kendall , Australian poet...
directed by the author William Douglas Home; The Right Honourable Gentleman (1963) with Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
and Angela Huth
Angela Huth
Angela Huth is an English novelist and journalist.-Personal life and career:Huth is the daughter of the actor Harold Huth. She left school at age 16 in order to paint and to study art in both France and Italy. At 18 she travelled, mostly alone, across the United States before returning to England...
's The Understanding
The Understanding
The Understanding is the second studio album by Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp. It was released in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2005 by Wall of Sound and in the United States on 12 July 2005 by Astralwerks. The deluxe edition, including a bonus CD, is sold in a Digipak...
(1982) with Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
and Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, many of her theatre credits in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were revivals of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's comedies including Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1968 Tour); A Woman of No Importance
A Woman of No Importance
A Woman of No Importance is a play by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde. The play premièred on 19 April 1893 at London's Haymarket Theatre. It is a testimony of Wilde's wit and his brand of dark comedy...
(1974 and 1978); The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
(1974 and The Old Vic Theatre 1980; also on television); An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...
(1976/1977 Tour) and Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
(Canada 1979). Her last West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
role was with Leo McKern
Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian-born British actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and movies, and more than 200 stage roles.-Early life:...
in the revival of Hobson's Choice (1984) directed by Frank Hauser.
Television career
Scott was one of the first women to perform Shakespeare on television, in the role of Beatrice in a stage production of Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
broadcast by the BBC in 1937. In 1946, she portrayed Portia in a made for television production of The Merchant of Venice.
For twenty-five years, from the 1970s, Scott played a number of distinguished parts in popular television dramas. These included Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
, The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess Of Duke Street is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1935. It was created by John Hawkesworth, the former producer of the highly successful ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
, Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
, Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
, and for several years as Mrs Pumphrey with her pekinese, Tricki Woo, in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. The character was based largely on Miss Marjory Warner of Sowerby
Sowerby, North Yorkshire
Sowerby is a small village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, it is situated immediately south of Thirsk....
and her pekinese Bambi.
Personal life
Scott was married to the EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer John Wooldridge
John Wooldridge
Wing Commander John De Lacy Wooldridge, DSO, DFC and Bar, DFM, was a British film composer.- Early life :Wooldridge was born in Yokohama, Japan and was educated at St Paul's School, London...
, who was killed in a car accident in 1958. Their daughter, Susan Wooldridge
Susan Wooldridge
Susan Wooldridge , is the daughter of British actress Margaretta Scott and composer John Wooldridge. She is also the sister of Hugh Wooldridge.She was born in London, England, and educated at convent schools....
, is also an actress and their son, Hugh Wooldridge
Hugh Wooldridge
Hugh Wooldridge was born in London, England, UK, the son of British composer John Wooldridge and actress Margaretta Scott. He is the brother of actress Susan Wooldridge...
is a theatre director and producer. Scott died in 2005, aged 93, from natural causes and is buried with her late husband, John, at St Lawrence's Church Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. A devout Roman Catholic, she belonged to the British Catholic Stage Guild
British Catholic Stage Guild
The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Roman Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was "to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social intercourse among [Roman] Catholics connected with the...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Dirty Work Dirty Work (1934 film) Dirty Work is a 1934 British comedy crime film directed by Tom Walls and starring Ralph Lynn, Gordon Harker, Robertson Hare and Basil Sydney... |
Leonora Stafford | |
| The Private Life of Don Juan The Private Life of Don Juan The Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:... |
Pepilla | uncredited | |
| 1935 | Peg of Old Drury Peg of Old Drury Peg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of eighteenth century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor.-Cast:*... |
Kitty Clive | |
| 1936 | Things to Come Things to Come Things to Come is a British science fiction film produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells and is a loose adaptation of his own 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction work, The Work, Wealth and Happiness... |
Roxana/Rowena | as Margueretta Scott |
| 1937 | Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.... |
Beatrice | TV |
| Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel is a 1937 British thriller film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, Margaretta Scott and James Mason. It is a sequel to the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel based on the stories by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.France, 1794. Citizen... |
Theresa Cobarrus | ||
| Action for Slander Action for Slander Action for Slander is a 1937 British drama film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Clive Brook, Ann Todd and Googie Withers. An army officer is falsely accused at cheating at cards by a man whose wife he had an affair with and struggles to clear his name... |
Josie Bradford | ||
| 1938 | Will Shakespeare | Anne | TV |
| The Constant Nymph | TV | ||
| Parnell | Katherine O'Shea | TV | |
| 1939 | The Taming of the Shrew | Katherina | TV |
| Traitor's Gate | TV | ||
| Katharine and Petruchio | Katharine | TV | |
| Shall We Join the Ladies? | Lady Wrathie | TV | |
| 1940 | Girl in the News Girl in the News Girl in the News is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams.-Cast:* Margaret Lockwood - Anne Graham* Barry K... |
Judith Bentley | |
| 1941 | Quiet Wedding Quiet Wedding Quiet Wedding is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Margaret Lockwood, Derek Farr and Marjorie Fielding. The screenplay was written by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald based on the play Quiet Wedding by Esther McCracken which was later remade as Happy is the... |
Marcia | |
| Atlantic Ferry Atlantic Ferry Atlantic Ferry is a 1941 British film starring Michael Redgrave and Valerie Hobson. It was made at Teddington Studios... |
Susan Donaldson | ||
| 1942 | Sabotage at Sea | Jane Dighton | |
| 1944 | Fanny by Gaslight Fanny by Gaslight (film) Fanny by Gaslight was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir . It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas"... |
Alicia | |
| 1945 | The Man from Morocco The Man from Morocco The Man from Morocco is a 1945 action adventure film directed by Mutz Greenbaum. The film was produced by Welwyn Studios in Great Britain.-Plot:... |
Manuela | |
| 1947 | Mrs. Fitzherbert Mrs. Fitzherbert Mrs. Fitzherbert is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Peter Graves, Joyce Howard and Leslie Banks... |
Lady Jersey | |
| The Merchant of Venice | Portia | TV | |
| 1948 | Counterblast Counterblast Counterblast is a band from Sweden, started in 1993. Their style is a mix of crust punk, thrash metal, death metal, and industrial. The band has been compared to Amebix, mid-period Neurosis, Dystopia, and Cult of Luna.-Current members:*Jocke - vocals... |
Sister "Johnnie" Johnson | |
| The Story of Shirley Yorke | Alison Gwynne | ||
| Idol of Paris | Empress Euginie | ||
| The First Gentleman The First Gentleman The First Gentleman is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense dealings with other members of his family such as Princess... |
Lady Hartford | ||
| Calling Paul Temple Calling Paul Temple Calling Paul Temple is a 1948 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Margaretta Scott. Paul Temple is called in to help Scotland Yard track down a serial killer who has murder several wealthy woman... |
Mrs. Trevellyan | ||
| 1949 | Landfall | Mrs. Burnaby | |
| 1950 | Othello | Emilia | TV - BBC Sunday Night Theatre |
| 1952 | Where's Charley? Where's Charley? Where's Charley? is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway and in the West End... |
Dona Lucia | |
| 1956 | The White Falcon | Catherine of Aragon | TV - BBC Sunday Night Theatre |
| The Last Man to Hang? The Last Man to Hang? The Last Man to Hang? is a 1956 crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Tom Conway and Elizabeth Sellars.-Cast:*Tom Conway as Sir Rodrick Strood*Elizabeth Sellars as Daphne Strood*Eunice Gayson as Elizabeth*Freda Jackson as Mrs. Tucker... |
Mrs. Cranshaw | ||
| 1957 | The Scamp The Scamp The Scamp is a 1957 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Richard Attenborough, Colin Petersen, and Dorothy Alison.-Cast:* Richard Attenborough as Stephen Leigh* Dorothy Alison as Barbara Leigh* Colin Petersen as Tod Dawson... |
Mrs. Blundell | |
| Town on Trial Town on Trial Town on Trial is a 1957 British mystery film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Mills, Charles Coburn, Barbara Bates and Derek Farr. A whole town comes under suspicion when a series of grisly murders are carried out - particularly members of the local tennis club.-Cast:* Charles Coburn... |
Helen Dixon | ||
| 1958 | A Woman Possessed | Katherine Winthrop | |
| 1960 | An Honourable Murder | Claudia Caesar | |
| 1970 | Crescendo | Danielle Ryman | |
| 1971 | Percy Percy (1971 film) Percy is a British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas starring Hywel Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Elke Sommer and Britt Ekland.Percy , an innocent and shy young man, is hit by a nude man falling from a high-rise building while carrying a chandelier... |
Rita's Mother | |
External links
- Images of Scott in Things to Come at 625.org.uk:
- 1936 Screen Pictorial Summer Annual - Advertisement
- 1939 My Favourite Part cigarette card - front reverse
