Valerie Hobson
Encyclopedia
Valerie Hobson was a British
actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was born Babette Valerie Louise Hobson in Larne
, County Antrim
, Ireland
.
She appeared as Baroness Frankenstein in Bride of Frankenstein
(1935) with Boris Karloff
and Colin Clive
, taking over the role from Mae Clarke
, who had played it in the original Frankenstein
(1931). Hobson also played opposite Henry Hull
that same year in Werewolf of London
, the first Hollywood werewolf film, predating The Wolf Man by six years.
The latter half of the 1940s saw Hobson in perhaps her two most memorable roles: as the adult Estella in David Lean
's 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations
, and as the refined and virtuous Edith D'Ascoyne in the 1949 black comedy
Kind Hearts and Coronets
.
In 1952 she divorced her first husband, film producer Sir Anthony Havelock-Allan
(1904–2003), and married MP John Profumo
(1915–2006) in 1954, giving up acting shortly afterwards.
Valerie Hobson's last starring role was in the original London production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play The King and I
which opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on October 8, 1953. She played Mrs. Anna Leonowens opposite Herbert Lom's King.
After Profumo's ministerial career ended in disgrace in 1963
, following revelations he had lied to the House of Commons
about his affair with Christine Keeler
, she stood by him, and they worked together for charity for the remainder of her life, though she did miss their more public life.
Hobson's eldest son, Simon Anthony Clerveaux Havelock-Allan was born in May 1944 with Down's Syndrome. Her middle child, Mark Havelock-Allan, was born on 4 April 1951 and became a judge. Her youngest child is author David Profumo
, (b. 16 October 1955) who wrote Bringing the House Down: A Family Memoir (2006) about the scandal. In it he writes his parents told him nothing of the scandal and that he learned of it from another boy at school.
She died of a heart attack in London in 1998 and is buried in Surrey, England.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was born Babette Valerie Louise Hobson in Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
She appeared as Baroness Frankenstein in Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
(1935) with Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
and Colin Clive
Colin Clive
Colin Clive was an English stage and screen actor best remembered for his portrayal of Dr...
, taking over the role from Mae Clarke
Mae Clarke
Mae Clarke was an American actress most noted for playing Frankenstein's bride, chased by Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, and having a grapefruit smashed into her face by James Cagney in The Public Enemy, both released in 1931.-Early life and career:Clarke was born Violet Mary Klotz in...
, who had played it in the original Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
(1931). Hobson also played opposite Henry Hull
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull was an American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's Werewolf of London .-Life and career:Hull was born in Louisville, Kentucky...
that same year in Werewolf of London
Werewolf of London
Werewolf of London is a 1935 Horror/werewolf movie starring Henry Hull and produced by Universal Pictures. Jack Pierce's eerie werewolf make-up was simpler than his version six years later for Lon Chaney, Jr., in The Wolf Man but, according to film historians, remains strikingly effective as worn...
, the first Hollywood werewolf film, predating The Wolf Man by six years.
The latter half of the 1940s saw Hobson in perhaps her two most memorable roles: as the adult Estella in David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations
Great Expectations (1946 film)
Great Expectations is a 1946 British film which won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three others...
, and as the refined and virtuous Edith D'Ascoyne in the 1949 black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
.
In 1952 she divorced her first husband, film producer Sir Anthony Havelock-Allan
Anthony Havelock-Allan
Sir Anthony James Allan Havelock-Allan, 4th Baronet was a prolific and successful British film producer and screenwriter whose credits included This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet and Ryan's Daughter.Havelock-Allan was born at the family home of Blackwell Grange...
(1904–2003), and married MP John Profumo
John Profumo
Brigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE , informally known as Jack Profumo , was a British politician. His title, 5th Baron, which he did not use, was Italian. Although Profumo held an increasingly responsible series of political posts in the 1950s, he is best known today for his...
(1915–2006) in 1954, giving up acting shortly afterwards.
Valerie Hobson's last starring role was in the original London production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
which opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on October 8, 1953. She played Mrs. Anna Leonowens opposite Herbert Lom's King.
After Profumo's ministerial career ended in disgrace in 1963
Profumo Affair
The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of...
, following revelations he had lied to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
about his affair with Christine Keeler
Christine Keeler
Christine Margaret Keeler is an English former model and showgirl. Her involvement with a British government minister discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what is known as the Profumo Affair....
, she stood by him, and they worked together for charity for the remainder of her life, though she did miss their more public life.
Hobson's eldest son, Simon Anthony Clerveaux Havelock-Allan was born in May 1944 with Down's Syndrome. Her middle child, Mark Havelock-Allan, was born on 4 April 1951 and became a judge. Her youngest child is author David Profumo
David Profumo
David John Profumo FRSL is an English novelist.He is the son of former British government minister John Profumo and actress Valerie Hobson. He succeeded his father as the 6th Baron Profumo, but like his father does not use the title, which is of Italian origin.He was educated at Eton College and...
, (b. 16 October 1955) who wrote Bringing the House Down: A Family Memoir (2006) about the scandal. In it he writes his parents told him nothing of the scandal and that he learned of it from another boy at school.
She died of a heart attack in London in 1998 and is buried in Surrey, England.
Filmography
- His LordshipHis LordshipHis Lordship is a 1932 British musical comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie.-Plot:Cheerful Cockney Bert Gibbs inherits a title from his father and becomes Lord Thornton Heath. But then he meets up with movie star Ilya Myona and when his mother asks about her,...
(1932) - For Love of You (1933)
- Eyes of Fate (1933)
- The Path of GloryThe Path of GloryThe Path of Glory is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Dallas Bower and starring Maurice Evans, Valerie Hobson, Felix Aylmer, Henry Daniell and Athole Stewart...
(1934) - Two Hearts in Waltz TimeTwo Hearts in Waltz Time (1934 film)Two Hearts in Waltz Time is a 1934 British musical romance film directed by Carmine Gallone and Joe May. It starred Carl Brisson, Frances Day, Bert Coote and Roland Culver. A composer falls in love with the star of an opera company.-Cast:...
(1934) - Badger's GreenBadger's Green (1934 film)Badger's Green is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Valerie Hobson, Bruce Lester, David Horne and Wally Patch. It was adapted from the 1930 play Badger's Green by R.C. Sheriff. A picturesque village is threatened with redevelopment by a speculative builder, leading...
(1934) - Strange Wives (1934)
- The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934)
- Life Returns (1935)
- Rendezvous at Midnight (1935)
- Oh, What a Night (1935)
- The Mystery of Edwin DroodThe Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935 film)The Mystery of Edwin Drood was the third film adaptation and first sound film version of Charles Dickens's unfinished novel of the same name. It starred Claude Rains in the role of the villainous John Jasper...
(1935) - Bride of FrankensteinBride of FrankensteinBride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
(1935) - Werewolf of LondonWerewolf of LondonWerewolf of London is a 1935 Horror/werewolf movie starring Henry Hull and produced by Universal Pictures. Jack Pierce's eerie werewolf make-up was simpler than his version six years later for Lon Chaney, Jr., in The Wolf Man but, according to film historians, remains strikingly effective as worn...
(1935) - Chinatown Squad (1935)
- The Great Impersonation (1935)
- Secret of StamboulSecret of StamboulSecret of Stamboul is a 1936 British thriller film, taken from the novel The Eunuch of Stamboul by Dennis Wheatley, directed by Andrew Marton and starring Valerie Hobson, James Mason and Frank Vosper...
(1936) - August Weekend (1936)
- Tugboat Princess (1936)
- No EscapeNo Escape (1936 film)No Escape is a 1936 British thriller film directed by Norman Lee and starring Valerie Hobson, Leslie Perrins and Robert Cochran. For a bet a man attempts to hide his friend for a month, but the police soon believe he has murdered him.-Cast:...
(1936) - Jump for Glory (1937)
- The DrumThe Drum (1938 film)The Drum is a 1938 British Technicolor film from the book by A. E. W. Mason. The film was directed by Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda...
(1938) - This Man Is NewsThis Man Is NewsThis Man is News is a 1938 British comedy mystery film directed by David MacDonald and starring Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson, Alastair Sim and Edward Lexy. A journalist solves a crime of which he himself is suspected....
(1938) - Q PlanesQ PlanesQ Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...
(1939) - The Silent BattleThe Silent BattleThe Silent Battle is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Rex Harrison, Valerie Hobson and John Loder. It is also known by the alternative titles Continental Express and Peace in our Time. It was inspired by the novel Le Poisson Chinois by Jean Bommart...
(1939) - The Spy in BlackThe Spy in BlackThe Spy in Black is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thriller by Joseph Storer Clouston into a film...
(1939) - This Man in ParisThis Man in ParisThis Man in Paris is a 1939 British comedy mystery film directed by David MacDonald and starring Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson and Alastair Sim. A British journalist and his wife travel to France to investigate a counterfeiting rang involving a British aristocrat.It was a sequel to the 1938 film...
(1939) - Contraband (1940)
- Atlantic FerryAtlantic FerryAtlantic Ferry is a 1941 British film starring Michael Redgrave and Valerie Hobson. It was made at Teddington Studios...
(1941) - Unpublished StoryUnpublished StoryUnpublished Story is a 1942, British, black-and-white, drama, war film, directed by Harold French and starring Ronald Shiner as the agitating, Pamphleteer or Leaflet Distributor, Richard Greene, Valerie Hobson, Basil Radford and Roland Culver...
(1942) - The Adventures of TartuThe Adventures of TartuThe Adventures of Tartu is a 1943 British Second World War spy film starring Robert Donat.-Plot:...
(1943) - 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) - Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations (1946 film)Great Expectations is a 1946 British film which won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three others...
(1946). Hobson also acted in the 1934 version, in the role of Biddy, but her scenes were cut. - The Small Voice (1947)
- Blanche FuryBlanche FuryBlanche Fury is a 1948 drama film starring Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger and Michael Gough. It was adapted from a novel by Joseph Shearing. In Victorian era England, two schemers will stop at nothing to acquire the Fury estate, even murder.-Plot:...
(1948) - Kind Hearts and CoronetsKind Hearts and CoronetsKind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
(1949) - Train of EventsTrain of EventsTrain of Events is a 1949 British film made by Ealing Studios directed by Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden.A portmanteau work, it tells the various stories of the passengers who are on a train which crashes into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing.-Plot:The film opens with a...
(1949) - The Interrupted JourneyThe Interrupted JourneyThe Interrupted Journey is a 1949 British thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, Christine Norden and Tom Walls. A man fleeing with his mistress narrowly escapes a train crash after he pulls the emergency chord and is wracked with guilt...
(1949) - The Rocking Horse WinnerThe Rocking Horse Winner (film)The Rocking Horse Winner is a 1949 fantasy film about a young boy who can pick winners in horse races with complete accuracy. It is an adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" and starred Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies and Ronald Squire...
(1950) - The Card (1952)
- Who Goes There!Who Goes There!Who Goes There! is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Nigel Patrick, Valerie Hobson and George Cole. The film depicts the farcical activities of the various inhabitants of a Grace and Favour house near St. James Palace in Central London...
(1952) - Meet Me TonightMeet Me TonightMeet me Tonight is a 1952 omnibus British comedy film adapted from three one act plays by Noel Coward that are part of his Tonight at 8:30 play cycle...
(1952) - The Voice of MerrillThe Voice of MerrillThe Voice of Merrill is a 1952 British mystery film, directed by John Gilling and starring Valerie Hobson and James Robertson Justice. The Voice of Merrill was made by Tempean Films, the company owned by the film's producers Monty Berman and Robert S...
(1952) - BackgroundBackground (1953 film)Background is a 1953 British domestic drama film dealing with the effects of divorce, directed by Daniel Birt and starring Valerie Hobson, Philip Friend and Norman Wooland...
(1953) - Knave of HeartsKnave of Hearts (film)Knave of Hearts is a 1954 film about the adventures of a French philanderer in Paris and London. In France, it was released as Monsieur Ripois . In the United States, it was originally released as Lovers, Happy Lovers!, then later re-released as Lover Boy...
(1954)