Who is currently the best british actress?

[cornershop15]

name='Mark O']Though I wouldn't want to incure the wrath of 'Molly Brown' if she ever read that.......LOL

With all that earlier talk of "dissecting" and "burying" (a little too grisly for me), we do at least know of one thing that can never be done to this unknown actress!:



The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

[ShirlGirl]

name='cornershop15']With all that earlier talk of "dissecting" and "burying" (a little too grisly for me), we do at least know of one thing that can never be done to this unknown actress!:



The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

Huh? Are you calling Debbie Reynolds an unknown actress? I must be misunderstanding you.

[cornershop15]

name='ShirlGirl']Huh? Are you calling Debbie Reynolds an unknown actress? I must be misunderstanding you.

I'm afraid it's ME who misundertood the earlier post! I thought the earlier picture, provided by MarkO, was of some obscure actress called Molly Brown. I didn't realise that the photo was of Kathy Bates, who I at least know was in the 'recent' picture Misery. This IMDB page explains that Debbie's character is connected with the Titanic (apparently ):



Molly Brown (Character)



That's how I found out Kathy Bates played the role (when I typed Molly Brown). Apologies. By the way, did you know Debbie Reynolds was 77 a few days ago? And Doris Day has just turned 85. How depressing.

[ShirlGirl]

Yes, Debbie is an April Fool (so also is Jane Powell).



I can't agree with your comment about it being depressing that she is 77 and that Doris Day is 85. I'm thrilled that they are still with us! We all have our turn at being young and must accept that time doesn't stand still. Life is for the living, whatever age you are. Of course, I look back at their youthfulness with a certain amount of wistfulness and nostalgia - but weren't they lucky to have been so pretty and talented and have such successful careers?



What I do find depressing is when people don't live long enough to reach old age. The way I see it, anyone who dies of anything other than old age has died prematurely. So if you get to it.... don't grumble, enjoy it!

[ShirlGirl]

Molly Brown was a real person, a passenger on the Titanic and was referred to after the disaster as the 'heroine' of the Titanic. Here's a website all about her:

http://www.mollybrownsummerhousehist...aret_brown.htm



and an extract from that site...



Rowing for two hours in the darkened waters, Molly handed pairs of stockings to other women, wrapped her stole around a freezing raft-mate and shared her blanket. She kept her pioneer spirit blazed on a positive conquest from a deathly entrapment. . .knowing there was a fighting chance because the sea was calm. She kept those able to row doing so, knowing they’d freeze to death without moving. Those unable to row, she kept in song or conversation.



Prayers were heard and a miracle was found in a ship called Carpathia, a mighty vessel that saved over seven hundred people from thirteen lifeboats. As chaos found order, and passengers were able to make plans to board other vessels, Molly remained on the Carpathia, helping the downtrodden find financial assistance or provide interpretation with her ability speak five languages to help foreign passengers continue their pilgrimage toward safety.

[cornershop15]

name='cornershop15']Molly Brown (Character)

name='ShirlGirl']Yes, Debbie is an April Fool (so also is Jane Powell).

Don't forget Carol White was born on April 1st too! As Doris Day's only child, record producer Terry Melcher, died not long ago, this is surely a sad time for her, but at least she knows she has millions of fans.



We're going well off-topic here but it can be depressing suddenly being confronted with images of once-attractive stars looking much older than we're used to seeing them (Carol Lynley ). I can't believe how much David Hemmings changed in a short period of time and Euryale recently posted a picture of an older Peter Blythe that was unrecogniseable. I do agree with you about stars dying prematurely, however - Natasha Richardson being the latest obvious example. A tragedy that seems to have been forgotten far too quickly. Cruelly ironic that the thread title can no longer apply to her. Alethea Charlton and Barbara Mitchell also sadly died (big understatement) when they were in their 40s. I recently turned Alethea's age, 44.



Thanks for the Molly Brown link. Must check out that musical. What an odd subject to sing songs to!

[ShirlGirl]

name='cornershop15']Thanks for the Molly Brown link. Must check out that musical. What an odd subject to sing songs to!

No it's not like that - it's not "Titanic - the Musical"! (Heaven forbid that there should be one!)

The story is about Molly Brown and in the movie she is a saloon dancer. Hence the musical side of it. In reality - and in the movie - after the Titanic sank and she was in a lifeboat, she tried to keep everyone's spirits up by encouraging them and leading them into a sing-along.



P.S. We might not still be talking about the Natasha Richardson tragedy but I'm sure it's not "forgotten", not at all.

[cornershop15]

name='ShirlGirl']No it's not like that - it's not "Titanic - the Musical"! (Heaven forbid that there should be one!)

The story is about Molly Brown and in the movie she is a saloon dancer. Hence the musical side of it. In reality - and in the movie - after the Titanic sank and she was in a lifeboat, she tried to keep everyone's spirits up by encouraging them and leading them into a sing-along.



P.S. We might not still be talking about the Natasha Richardson tragedy but I'm sure it's not "forgotten", not at all.

Thanks for putting me right on both counts. I seem to have got everything wrong on this thread today (which isn't even about the Titanic), earlier mistaking Kathy Bates for an actress called Molly Brown! My new subject, on bit-part actresses - to which you've also contributed a lot - has left me more than a bit shattered, bearing in mind all the screencapping I do.



Sincere apologies for going wildly off-topic, folks, but I do have that 'sour grapes' attitude to those who are young and doing well now when the ones I like have been and gone . The only current actress I like, as mentioned before, is Nicola Wheeler. Totally unique!

[stuart.scot]

Carole White gave a great performance as Dover, the Scottish girlfriend of loveable outlaw Dean Martin in Andrew V McGlaglen's underrated western Something Big. She more than held her own with Honor Blackman, who was also in the movie

[Mark O]

name='cornershop15']Thanks for putting me right on both counts. I seem to have got everything wrong on this thread today (which isn't even about the Titanic), earlier mistaking Kathy Bates for an actress called Molly Brown!

My fault Cornershop, I should have put Kathy's name in brackets next to her character name, thing is with some thespians I tend to see them as one of their characters, such as Rachel Gurney for example, I only see her as 'Lady Marjorie' in whatever she's been in !



Back on track now, Julie Walters is another actress who is her part, here she is as 'Clean-up TV campaigner' Mary Whitehouse.........

[narabdela]

name='Mark O']My fault Cornershop, I should have put Kathy's name in brackets next to her character name, thing is with some thespians I tend to see them as one of their characters.......

I'd heard rumours that she was a thespian.

[cornershop15]

name='Mark O']My fault Cornershop, I should have put Kathy's name in brackets next to her character name, thing is with some thespians I tend to see them as one of their characters, such as Rachel Gurney for example, I only see her as 'Lady Marjorie' in whatever she's been in !

No problem, Mark. Here is Rachel Gurney, who qualifies for this thread as I'm currently viewing (well later tonight hopefully) Upstairs, Downstairs - on DVD! From the first episode, On Trial (1971) ...







Astonishing to think this lovely actress was 51 at that time. She was more attractive than daughter Sharon, also an actress. Any relation to Britmovie's Jack Gurney?

[batman]

name='cornershop15']

Astonishing to think this lovely actress was 51 at that time. She was more attractive than daughter Sharon, also an actress. Any relation to Britmovie's Jack Gurney?

Jack's not really Jack ... Jack Gurney was Peter O'Toole's character in The Ruling Class.

[cornershop15]

name='batman']Jack's not really Jack ... Jack Gurney was Peter O'Toole's character in The Ruling Class.

I had no idea, never having seen it. Thanks for telling me.