BillyMoon

One of the first places I checked was the IMDb and I couldn't find any listing for the maid, right or wrong. (Just checked again -- not trusting memory -- and there isn't any indication.)

I think the only chance I have is to contact that agency and see if George Cole will (1) answer and (2) remember the actress.

I'd love to find out, there aren't many more years left before it will be completely impossible as everyone connected with the film dies and (apparently) no written record exists.

[ 13. August 2004, 02:59: Message edited by: BillyMoon ]

Steve Crook

When the IMDb says a cast list is complete they really only mean that includes everyone who was identified in the cast list on screen.

The trouble is that for a lot of old films, they only listed the leading players on screen.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

BillyMoon

I think they do a bit better than that. I don't think the end credits of Sim's Christmas Carol have nearly as many actors listed. But still, IMDb is not exhaustive.

Today, of course, it's different. Not only do you get every actor and actress that appeared onscreen even for a moment, but also their hairdressers, their make-up artists, and the name of the cafe where they had their mid-afternoon breaks.

A few years ago I saw a one-frame comic showing a man standing in a movie theatre yelling "To hell with the grips!" I empathised.

Steve Crook

Yes, they can list more than are listed onscreen, but it's only when they have listed all the onscreen credits that they usually mark them as complete.

The ones that aren't listed onscreen should be marked as (uncredited) but people don't always do that.

Remember that the IMDb is only as good as the data supplied by film fans (like us). Although it is then checked by IMDb staff they can't check everything so some mistakes do get through and there are still a lot of omissions.

But I still think it's one of the best sources of information around.

Steve

(IMDb contributor since 1996)

Steve Crook

PaPAS

BillyMoon

IMDb is unquestionably a valuable source of quick info for movies. I hadn't realized, however, that it was completely dependent upon user input. That makes it even more impressive.

Steve Crook

Not completely, for the more recent films the film companies themselves submit the data. But I would say that the vast majority of information for any film more than 5 or so years old, was submitted by ordinary fans.

It started life as a project at Cardiff University. They first put it on the internet with some information they found but that was mainly about American films and not many of them. So they opened it up to the world and effectively said "If you know something that isn't recorded here then tell us and share it with the world." I liked that ethos and I liked the way they cross reference everything and let you do some quite complex searches of the database. They didn't have much about the Powell & Pressburger films I like so I added all of that and then expanded into other information mainly about British films and film people from the 40s & 50s.

Adding data to it becomes a habit :)

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

BillyMoon

Hmmm. And along with that you're posting here at one o'clock in the morning, then again at six -- you do sleep don't you?

Steve Crook

Occasionally, but not often :)

"Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make."

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

BillyMoon

Perhaps you could benefit from the new blood biscuits and yoghurt coming out of Russia's Voronezh State Technological Academy.

Edited: because I screwed up the original post quite badly

[ 14. August 2004, 22:31: Message edited by: BillyMoon ]

Steve Crook

[quote]BillyMoon:
Perhaps you could benefit from the new blood biscuits and yoghurt coming out of Russia's Voronezh State Technological Academy.

Blood that tastes like chocolate? What more could a chocoholic vampire want? :)

They finish it by saying "It is not known how popular food made from blood would be."
Probably very popular - if you didn't tell people what it was made from.

There's a nice restaurant just by Smithfield meat market in London. They specialise in offal dishes. I particularly like their faggots (rich in liver, wrapped in a cawl) and black pudding.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

BillyMoon

Ah, Count Chocula I presume?

JamesM

Actresses Rona Anderson, Carol Marsh and Olga Edwardes (who played the niece) are all still with us. As well as George Cole and Richard Pearson, Patrick Mcnee (who plays young Jacob Marley) is also still alive. Actor Douglas Muir may still be alive.

Legendary b/w cinematographer C.M. Pennington-Richards is still with us, as is editor Clive Donner (still working I believe), first asst director Denis O'Dell and costome designer Doris Lee.

BillyMoon

Wow! That's a lot of people. Although I'm not really surprised -- it was just 1951, two years before I was born and my mother's still alive.

Thanks JamesM for the list of names. I'll see what I can do with them.

DaveJ

I just spotted this old thread from 2004 about the maid in "Scrooge".
Did anyone get any joy by writing to George Cole etc?
I noticed this post (from 27/11/2006) on IMDB:

"My Uncle worked for casting director Maude Spector, and while he wasn't directly involved in this film, he did keep extensive notes on all the projects she worked on. The only thing I could find in the production information was this: Maid (Nephew's House): Frances Arden

I couldn't find any other information about her in the notes or on IMDB, so I'm not sure if this info is correct or not, but thought I'd pass it along".

Has the name Frances Arden been confirmed and do we know anything about her?

Best wishes

DaveJ

wadsy

I had a great book when i was a kid. A Christmas Carol. It had the story &

was full of stills from the film "Scrooge" 1951. I'd give anything to still have

it but alas it vanished somewhere along the way!