Katie Johnson
Encyclopedia
Katie Johnson born Bessie Kate Johnson, was an English actress who appeared on stage from 1894 and on screen from the 1930s to the 1950s. In 1908 she was married to the actor Frank Goodenough Bayley who predeceased her.
She first appeared in a film at age 53, in 1932, but never received critical acclaim for her performances until 1955, when she starred, aged 76, in the Ealing Studios
comedy The Ladykillers
as Mrs. Louisa Wilberforce. The role earned her a British Film Academy
award for best British actress. She died less than two years afterwards having only appeared in a single further film.
She also appeared in the BBC
science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
(1953) and played a spy in I See a Dark Stranger
(1946).
She first appeared in a film at age 53, in 1932, but never received critical acclaim for her performances until 1955, when she starred, aged 76, in the Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
comedy The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
as Mrs. Louisa Wilberforce. The role earned her a British Film Academy
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
award for best British actress. She died less than two years afterwards having only appeared in a single further film.
She also appeared in the BBC
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
(1953) and played a spy in I See a Dark Stranger
I See a Dark Stranger
I See a Dark Stranger is a British 1946 World War II spy film with touches of light comedy, by the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard.-Plot:...
(1946).
Selected filmography
- After Office HoursAfter Office Hours (1932 film)After Office Hours is a 1932 British romance film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Frank Lawton, Viola Lyel and Garry Marsh. It was based on the play London Wall by John Van Druten.-Cast:* Frank Lawton ... Hec* Heather Angel ... Pat...
(1932) - A Glimpse of Paradise (1934)
- Laburnum GroveLaburnum GroveLaburnum Grove is a 1936 British comedy film, written by J. B. Priestley, directed by Carol Reed and starring Edmund Gwenn, Cedric Hardwicke and Victoria Hopper. To rid himself of his sponging relatives a man tells them he is really a forger which causes them to leave...
(1936) - Dusty Ermine (1936)
- Sunset in ViennaSunset in ViennaSunset in Vienna is a 1937 British drama film directed by Norman Walker and starring Tullio Carminati, Lilli Palmer and John Garrick. An Italian officer marries an Austrian, but the outbreak of the First World War devastates their relationship.-Cast:...
(1937) - GaslightGaslight (1940 film)Gaslight is a 1940 film directed by Thorold Dickinson, based on Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light which stars Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, and Frank Pettingell...
(1940) - Freedom RadioFreedom RadioFreedom Radio is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War about an underground German resistance group who run a radio station broadcasting against the...
(1941) - JeannieJeannie (film)Jeannie is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Harold French.-Plot:Jeannie McLean is Scottish girl who finds that she has received an inheritance...
(1941) - The Black Sheep of WhitehallThe Black Sheep of WhitehallThe Black Sheep of Whitehall is a 1942 British, black-and-white, comedy, war film, directed by Will Hay and Basil Dearden, and; starring Will Hay as Professor Will Davis, John Mills and Basil Sydney...
(1942) - Talk About JacquelineTalk About JacquelineTalk About Jacqueline is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Harold French and Paul L. Stein and starring Hugh Williams, Carla Lehmann and Roland Culver. A woman tries to conceal her questionable past from her new husband.-Cast:...
(1942) - He Snoops to ConquerHe Snoops to ConquerHe Snoops to Conquer is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring George Formby, Robertson Hare, Elizabeth Allan, and Claude Bailey. An odd job man becomes mixed up in corruption in politics and town planning.-Plot:...
(1944) - Tawny PipitTawny Pipit (film)Tawny Pipit is a British war film produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest is discovered there.-Plot:...
(1944) - Love Letters (1945)
- I See a Dark StrangerI See a Dark StrangerI See a Dark Stranger is a British 1946 World War II spy film with touches of light comedy, by the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard.-Plot:...
(1946) - The Years BetweenThe Years Between (film)The Years Between is a 1946 British film starring Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson and Flora Robson in an adaptation of The Years Between by Daphne du Maurier...
(1946) - Meet Me at DawnMeet Me at DawnMeet Me at Dawn is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Peter Creswell and Thornton Freeland and starring William Eythe, Stanley Holloway and Hazel Court. A very skilled pistol shot hires himself out to fight duels in early twentieth century Paris.-Cast:...
(1947) - The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
- Death of an Angel (1952)
- I Believe in YouI Believe in You (film)I Believe in You is a 1952 film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Celia Johnson and Cecil Parker and is based on the book Court Circular by Sewell Stokes.-Cast:*Celia Johnson as Matty Matheson*Cecil Parker as Henry Phipps...
(1952) - Lady in the FogLady in the FogLady in the Fog is a 1952 British Mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell, Campbell Singer and Lloyd Lamble. An English woman asks for help from a visiting American detective to London to help her find out who has killed her brother. Killing people is bad.It...
(1952) - Three Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the DarkThree Steps in the Dark is a 1953 British B-movie whodunit, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Greta Gynt and Hugh Sinclair.-Plot:A rich but disliked elderly man invites his relatives to a family reunion at his home. Once the gathering is complete, he announces enigmatically that he intends to...
(1953) - Delavine AffairDelavine AffairDelavine Affair is a 1954 British crime film directed by Douglas Peirce and starring Peter Reynolds, Honor Blackman and Gordon Jackson. Its plot concerns a newspapermen who attempts to identify a murderer...
(1954) - The Rainbow JacketThe Rainbow JacketThe Rainbow Jacket is a 1954 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and featuring Robert Morley, Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Honor Blackman and Sid James.-Cast:* Robert Morley as Lord Logan* Kay Walsh as Barbara Crain...
(1954) - Out of the CloudsOut of the CloudsOut of the Clouds is a 1955 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Anthony Steel, Sid James and James Robertson Justice. An Ealing Studios film, it follows the lives of the passengers and crew on a day at an airport that was filmed in Heathrow Airport.-Description:The film was...
(1955) - John and JulieJohn and JulieJohn and Julie was a 1955 British comedy film. It featured Peter Sellers and Sid James in early screen roles-Plot:John and Julie are two children who personally want to see The Queen's coronation in spite of the fact that their parents have no intention of going. The two decide to run off to...
(1955) - The LadykillersThe LadykillersThe Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
(1955) - How to Murder a Rich UncleHow to Murder a Rich UncleHow to Murder a Rich Uncle is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Nigel Patrick and starring Patrick, Wendy Hiller, Charles Coburn and Anthony Newley. A man plans to kill his wealthy Uncle George...
(1957)