Sonia Dresdel
Encyclopedia
Sonia Dresdel was an English actress, whose career ran between the 1940s and 1970s.
She was born Lois Obee in Hornsea
, East Riding of Yorkshire
, England and was educated at Aberdeen High School for Girls.
Her leading role in the 1947 film While I Live
gained her a great deal of acclaim. In the film she plays Julia Trevelyan, a spinster living in a lonely cliff top house in Cornwall
and haunted by the death of her sister 25 years earlier.
Her most noted role was that of "Mrs. Baines" in the 1948 film version of Graham Greene
's The Fallen Idol, which starred Ralph Richardson
, Michèle Morgan
and Bobby Henrey
.
The film received Academy Awards
nominations for Best Director
(Sir Carol Reed) and Best Screenplay.
She died of undisclosed causes, aged 66.
She was born Lois Obee in Hornsea
Hornsea
Hornsea is a small seaside resort, town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail.-Overview:According to the 2001 UK Census, Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England and was educated at Aberdeen High School for Girls.
Her leading role in the 1947 film While I Live
While I Live
While I Live is a 1947 British drama film, directed by John Harlow. While I Live is best remembered for its musical theme "The Dream of Olwen" composed by Charles Williams, reprised at intervals throughout the film, which became hugely popular in its time and is still regularly performed...
gained her a great deal of acclaim. In the film she plays Julia Trevelyan, a spinster living in a lonely cliff top house in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and haunted by the death of her sister 25 years earlier.
Her most noted role was that of "Mrs. Baines" in the 1948 film version of Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's The Fallen Idol, which starred 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....
, Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
and Bobby Henrey
Bobby Henrey
Bobby Henrey , a former child actor best known for his role as the son of the French ambassador to London in the classic 1948 English film The Fallen Idol, directed by Carol Reed.-Personal:...
.
The film received Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations for Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
(Sir Carol Reed) and Best Screenplay.
She died of undisclosed causes, aged 66.
Selected filmography
- The World Owes Me a LivingThe World Owes Me a LivingThe World Owes Me a Living is a 1945 British World War II film drama, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring David Farrar and Judy Campbell. The film is based on a novel by John Llewellyn Rhys, a young author who was killed in action in 1940 while serving in the Royal Air Force...
(1945) as Eve Heatherley - While I LiveWhile I LiveWhile I Live is a 1947 British drama film, directed by John Harlow. While I Live is best remembered for its musical theme "The Dream of Olwen" composed by Charles Williams, reprised at intervals throughout the film, which became hugely popular in its time and is still regularly performed...
(1947) as Julia Trevelyan - This Was a Woman (1948)
- The Fallen Idol (1948) as Mrs. Baines
- The Clouded YellowThe Clouded YellowThe Clouded Yellow is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty E. Box for Carillon Films.-Plot synopsis:...
(1951) as Jess Fenton - The Third VisitorThe Third VisitorThe Third Visitor is a 1951 British crime film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Sonia Dresdel, Guy Middleton and Karel Stepanek. A police detective investigating a murder, discovers that the dead man is not in fact dead. It was based on a play by Gerald Anstruther.-Cast:* Sonia Dresdel ... ...
(1951) - The Secret TentThe Secret TentThe Secret Tent is a 1956 film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Donald Gray and Andrée Melly.-Cast:*Donald Gray as Chris Martyn*Andree Melly as Ruth Martyn*Jean Anderson as Mrs. Martyn*Sonia Dresdel as Miss Mitchum-Browne...
(1956) as Miss Mitchum-Browne - Now and ForeverNow and Forever (1956 film)Now and Forever is a 1956 British drama film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Janette Scott, Vernon Gray and Kay Walsh. It is based on the play The Orchard Walls by R.F. Delderfield...
(1956) - Death Over My Shoulder (1958)
- The Trials of Oscar WildeThe Trials of Oscar WildeThe Trials of Oscar Wilde also known as The Man with the Green Carnation and The Green Carnation, is a 1960 British film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. It was produced by Irving Allen, written by Allen and Ken Hughes and...
(1960) - The Break (1963)
- George and the Dragon (1967–1968) as Priscilla
- Public Eye (1968) as Mrs. Briggs
- Dixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
(1968) as Mrs. Dewar - The CaesarsThe Caesars (TV series)The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the emperors of...
(1968) as Livia - The Man in the Iron Mask (1968) as Duchesse de Chevreuse
- Last of the Long-haired BoysLast of the Long-haired BoysLast of the Long-haired Boys is a 1968 British drama film directed by Peter Everett and starring Richard Todd, Gillian Raine and Patrick Barr. After the end of the Second World War an RAF pilot struggles to adjust to civillian life.-Cast:...
(1968) - Boy Meets Girl (1968) as Principessa di San Fernande
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969) as Miss Despencer
- Wicked Women (1970) as Mrs. Boding
- Bachelor Father (1970–1971) as Mother
- Paul TemplePaul TemplePaul Temple is a fictional character created by British writer Francis Durbridge for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple in 1938. Temple is an amateur private detective and author of crime fiction...
(1971) as Agnes Armadyne - Wives and DaughtersWives and DaughtersWives and Daughters is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866...
(1971) as Lady Pont - The Onedin LineThe Onedin LineThe Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...
(1972) as Lady Lazenby - The Strauss FamilyThe Strauss FamilyThe Strauss Family is a 1972 Associated Television series, made in England, of eight episodes, about the family of composers of that name, including Johann Strauss I and his sons Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Strauss....
(1972) as Lucari - Lady Caroline LambLady Caroline LambThe Lady Caroline Lamb was a British aristocrat and novelist, best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the Prime Minister...
(1972) as Lady Pont - Lizzie DrippingLizzie DrippingLizzie Dripping was a British television children's programme produced by the BBC in 1973 and 1975...
(1973) as The Witch - Owen, MD (1973) as Threnody Piper
- The PallisersThe PallisersThe Pallisers is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.-Cast :*Anthony Ainley: Rev. Emilius*Terence Alexander: Lord George*Anthony Andrews: Lord Silverbridge*Sarah Badel: Lizzie Eustace...
(1974) as the Marchioness of Auld Reekie