Muriel Pavlow
Encyclopedia
Muriel Lilian Pavlow is a British actress. Her mother was French
and her father was Russia
n.
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
. During the war, she was in ENSA
and also made the crossover from theatre to screen.
Pavlow's roles include the Maltese
girl Maria in Malta Story
(1953), where she played alongside Alec Guinness
; Joy, the girlfriend of Simon Sparrow, in Doctor in the House
(1954); Thelma Bader, the wife of World War II
fighter pilot Douglas Bader
(played by fellow Doctor in the House cast member Kenneth More
) in Reach for the Sky
(1956); and the daughter of an irascible curmudgeon (played by fellow Doctor in the House cast member, James Robertson Justice
) in Murder, She Said
(1961).
More recently, she has appeared in the television drama "The Final Cut", part 3 of the House of Cards political trilogy lobbying the Prime Minister as an Age Concern campaigner, the serial Belonging (2004), starring Brenda Blethyn
, and was interviewed for the documentary series on BBC 2, British Film Forever. In 2007, she guest-starred in the audio play Sapphire and Steel: Cruel Immortality
and had a cameo in the movie Glorious 39 in 2009.
from 1947 until his death in 1986. They met in 1941 during the shooting of Quiet Wedding
and again at the set of The Shop at Sly Corner in 1947. They continued to play together on stage and in films. They had no children.
Pavlow was inducted into the actors' care home and charity, Denville Hall
, and was active on its management committee.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and her father was Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n.
Film career
She began work as a child actor with John GielgudJohn Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. During the war, she was in ENSA
ENSA
ENSA may refer to:* ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association* ENSA * École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d'Oujda, an engineering school in Morocco* EC-Council Network Security Administrator...
and also made the crossover from theatre to screen.
Pavlow's roles include the Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
girl Maria in Malta Story
Malta Story
Malta Story is a 1953 British war film based on the heroic defence of Malta, the island itself, its people and the RAF aviators who fought to defend it...
(1953), where she played alongside Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
; Joy, the girlfriend of Simon Sparrow, in Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
(1954); Thelma Bader, the wife of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fighter pilot Douglas Bader
Douglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Bader joined the...
(played by fellow Doctor in the House cast member Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
) in Reach for the Sky
Reach for the Sky
Reach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film of aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956.-Plot:In 1928, Douglas Bader, a...
(1956); and the daughter of an irascible curmudgeon (played by fellow Doctor in the House cast member, James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
) in Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
(1961).
More recently, she has appeared in the television drama "The Final Cut", part 3 of the House of Cards political trilogy lobbying the Prime Minister as an Age Concern campaigner, the serial Belonging (2004), starring Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, and was interviewed for the documentary series on BBC 2, British Film Forever. In 2007, she guest-starred in the audio play Sapphire and Steel: Cruel Immortality
Cruel Immortality
Cruel Immortality is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the popular British science fiction television series Sapphire & Steel.-Cast:*Steel — David Warner*Sapphire — Susannah Harker*Mrs P — Muriel Pavlow*Enid — Daphne Oxenford...
and had a cameo in the movie Glorious 39 in 2009.
Personal life
She was married to the actor Derek FarrDerek Farr
Derrick Capel Farr was a British actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986....
from 1947 until his death in 1986. They met in 1941 during the shooting of 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...
and again at the set of The Shop at Sly Corner in 1947. They continued to play together on stage and in films. They had no children.
Pavlow was inducted into the actors' care home and charity, Denville Hall
Denville Hall
Denville Hall is a retirement home for professional actors, situated in Northwood, Hillingdon, London, which was designed by Founded in 1925 as a charity for actors by Alfred Denville, impresario, actor-manager and MP, he dedicated the Hall to the acting profession, in memory of his son Jack, who...
, and was active on its management committee.
Filmography
- Sing As We GoSing as We GoSing As We Go is a 1934 British musical film starring Gracie Fields and Stanley Holloway. The script was written by Gordon Wellesley and J. B. Priestley; it was directed by Basil Dean....
(1934) - A Romance in FlandersA Romance in FlandersA Romance in Flanders is a 1937 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Paul Cavanagh, Marcelle Chantal, Olga Lindo and Alastair Sim. It is set during the First World War with the British Expeditionary Force in Flanders...
(1937) - Quiet WeddingQuiet WeddingQuiet 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...
(1941) - Night Boat to DublinNight Boat to DublinNight Boat to Dublin is a 1946 British thriller film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Robert Newton, Raymond Lovell, Guy Middleton, Muriel Pavlow and Herbert Lom.-Plot:...
(1946) - Code of Scotland YardCode of Scotland YardCode of Scotland Yard is a 1947 British crime film directed by George King and starring Oskar Homolka, Muriel Pavlow, Derek Farr and Irene Handl. It was also known as The Shop at Sly Corner...
(1947) - Out of TrueOut of True (film)Out of True is a 1951 British drama-documentary film, directed by Philip Leacock and starring Jane Hylton and Muriel Pavlow. Out of True was made by the Crown Film Unit with sponsorship from the Ministry of Health, and was promoted as a "fictional account of a nervous breakdown which conforms to...
(1951) - It Started in ParadiseIt Started in ParadiseIt Started in Paradise is a 1952 British drama film, directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the film was squarely aimed at female audiences...
(1952) - The NetThe Net (1953 film)The Net is a 1953 British film made by Two Cities Films, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring James Donald, Phyllis Calvert, Robert Beatty and Herbert Lom...
(1953) - Malta StoryMalta StoryMalta Story is a 1953 British war film based on the heroic defence of Malta, the island itself, its people and the RAF aviators who fought to defend it...
(1953) - Doctor in the HouseDoctor in the HouseDoctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
(1954) - Simon and LauraSimon and LauraSimon and Laura is a 1955 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Peter Finch, Kay Kendall and Muriel Pavlow. A married couple are hired for a television programme to portray domestic happiness, although in real life their marriage is breaking down.-Cast:* Peter Finch - Simon Foster*...
(1955) - Reach for the SkyReach for the SkyReach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film of aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956.-Plot:In 1928, Douglas Bader, a...
(1956) - EyewitnessEyewitness (1956 film)Eyewitness is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Muriel Box and starring Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Belinda Lee, Michael Craig, Nigel Stock and Richard Wattis. It was made by the Rank Organisation.-Plot:...
(1956) - Tiger in the SmokeTiger in the SmokeTiger in the Smoke is a 1956 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Tony Wright, Bernard Miles and Christopher Rhodes. It is based on the 1952 novel The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham, although the film omits the principal character of...
(1956) - Doctor at LargeDoctor at Large (film)Doctor at Large is a 1957 British comedy film, the third installment of the Doctor in the House series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, and James Robertson Justice.-Cast:* Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow...
(1957) - RooneyRooney (film)Rooney is a 1958 British comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Barry Fitzgerald. The film depicts the life of James Ignatius Rooney, a Gaelic sportsman at the weekends, and a Dublin rubbish collector during the week...
(1958) - Whirlpool (1959)
- Murder, She SaidMurder, She SaidMurder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
(1961) - Glorious 39 (2009)