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Irene Handl
Acting
Biography
Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels.
Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austrian-born father—Friedrich (later Frederick) Handl (1874–1961) and German mother, Marie (née Schiepp or Schuepp; 1875 – before 1924). Both of Handl's parents became naturalised British citizens. Her father came to England via Switzerland and started as a bank clerk, before becoming a stockbroker, then became a private banker. The Handls lived a comfortable middle-class life, with a German cook and housekeeper living in the family home. From 1907 to 1915, Handl a…
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Irene Handl (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Austrian-born father—Friedrich (later Frederick) Handl (1874–1961) and German mother, Marie (née Schiepp or Schuepp; 1875 – before 1924). Both of Handl's parents became naturalised British citizens. Her father came to England via Switzerland and started as a bank clerk, before becoming a stockbroker, then became a private banker. The Handls lived a comfortable middle-class life, with a German cook and housekeeper living in the family home. From 1907 to 1915, Handl attended the Paddington and Maida Vale High School. In the 1920s Handl travelled several times to New York with her father, with the ship's log listing her on each occasion as having no occupation and residing in the family home. Handl studied at an acting school run by a sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike, and then made her stage debut in London in February 1937, at the relatively advanced age of 36. In 1939, and by now an actress, she was living with her widower father in London. She continued to live with her father until his death in 1961. Her elder sister Liane (1898–1977) had married Russian electrical engineer and photographer Victor Kraminsky (born Viktor Azar'evich Kraminskii; later known as Victor Kennett; 1894–1980) in 1920 in Marylebone, Middlesex (now London). They had at least one child, a son, Charles Kennett. Handl appeared in supporting roles in more than 100 British films, mostly comedy character parts such as slightly eccentric mothers, grannies, landladies and servants. She was a passionate lover of rock and roll, especially the work of Elvis Presley, and was president of the Lewisham branch of the Elvis Presley fan club. She was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and one of Britain's most avid champions of Chihuahuas, being inseparable from the pair that she owned. Handl had minor roles in such landmark films as Night Train to Munich and Brief Encounter. Her other notable roles included the wife of the union activist Fred Kite (played by Peter Sellers) in I'm All Right Jack (1959); Mrs Gammon, the formidable cook, opposite Gordon Harker in Small Hotel (1957); Tony Hancock's landlady in The Rebel (1961); Sherlock Holmes's housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970); and Morgan's Communist mother, Mrs Delt, in Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966). She also had small roles in two of the Carry On films, Carry On Nurse and Carry On Constable), and played Miss Peach in the original version of The Italian Job. She worked until 1987, the year of her death. Her last role was released posthumously the following year. Handl died in her flat in Kensington, West London, on 29 November 1987, aged 85, reportedly from cancer. She never married. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, North London.
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BODY OF WORK
Irene Handl's Filmography
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Absolute Beginners
as Mrs Larkin
Hotel du Lac
as Madame de Bonneuil
It's Your Move
as Grand Old Lady
Riding High
as Gran
The Best of the Adventures
as Miss Friggin (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
as Cinema Usherette
The Light Princess
as Nanny
The Hound of the Baskervilles
as Mrs. Barrymore
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
as Miss Wormwood
Come Play with Me
as Lady Bovington
Stand up, Virgin Soldiers
as Mrs. Phillimore
Adventures of a Private Eye
as Miss Friggin
Confessions of a Driving Instructor
as Miss Slenderparts
No Poster
Room to Let
as Lady on Crossing
For the Love of Ada
as Ada Bingley
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
as Mrs. Hudson
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
as Winnie Wainwhisle
Doctor in Trouble
as Mrs. Dailey
The Italian Job
as Miss Peach
Wonderwall
as Mrs. Peurofoy
Look at Life: Saturday Special
as Self
Lionheart
as Lil
Smashing Time
as Mrs Gimble
The Mini-Affair
as Cook
The Wrong Box
as Mrs. Hackett
Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment
as Mrs. Delt
You Must Be Joking
as Elderly Woman
No Poster
The Importance of Being Earnest
Heavens Above!
as Rene Smith
Just for Fun
as Housewife
Nothing Barred
as Elsie
Watch It, Sailor!
as Edie Hornett
Double Bunk
as Mrs. Harper
A Weekend with Lulu
as Florence Bell
The Rebel
as Mrs. Crevatte
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's
as Miss Harker-Parker
Two-Way Stretch
as Mrs. Price
The Night We Got the Bird
as Ma
No Kidding
as Mrs. Spicer
A French Mistress
as Staff Sergeant Hodges
Make Mine Mink
as Madame Spolinski
Doctor in Love
as Professor MacRitchie
School for Scoundrels
as Mrs Stringer
Carry On Constable
as Willie's Mother
Inn for Trouble
as Lily
Upstairs and Downstairs
as Large Woman
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
as Mrs Billingsgate
I'm All Right Jack
as Mrs. Kite
Left Right and Centre
as Mrs. Maggs
No Poster
The Crowning Touch
as Bebe
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
as Mrs. Carter
Carry On Nurse
as Marge Hickson
Desert Mice
as Miss Maud Patch
Next to No Time
as Mrs. Crowley, Greengrocer
Law and Disorder
as Woman in Train
The Key
as Clerk
Happy Is the Bride
as Madame Edna
Small Hotel
as Mrs. Gammon
Brothers in Law
as Mrs. Potter
The Silken Affair
as Receptionist
It's Never Too Late
as Neighbour
Who Done It?
as Customer (uncredited)
A Kid for Two Farthings
as Mrs. Abramowitz
Mad About Men
as Mme. Blanche
The Belles of St Trinian's
as Miss Gale
Burnt Evidence
as Mrs. Raymond
The Weak and the Wicked
as Waitress
Meet Mr. Lucifer
as Lady with the Dog
The Wedding of Lilli Marlene
as Rosie
Top Secret
as Mrs. Tidmarsh
Treasure Hunt
as Nanny
Young Wives' Tale
as Nanny (uncredited)
One Wild Oat
as Emily Pepys
Stage Fright
as Mrs. Mason (uncredited)
Dark Secret
as 'Woody' Woodman
Adam and Evelyne
as Mrs. Crouch, Manageress (uncredited)
The Perfect Woman
as Mrs. Butters
For Them That Trespass
as Inn Proprietress
Cardboard Cavalier
as Lady Agnes
Silent Dust
as Cook
Woman Hater
as Mrs. Fletcher
The Hills of Donegal
as Mrs. Mactavish
The Shop at Sly Corner
as Ruby Towser
Temptation Harbour
as Ethel Gowshall
No Poster
I'll Turn to You
as Mrs. Gammon
Brief Encounter
as The Cellist and Organist (uncredited)
Great Day
as Lady serving Tea in Tea Stall.
For You Alone
as Miss Trotter
Kiss the Bride Goodbye
as Mrs. Victory
Medal for the General
as Mrs. Farnsworth
Mr. Emmanuel
as Trude
Give Us the Moon
as Miss Haddock
English Without Tears
as (uncredited)
No Poster
It's in the Bag
as Mrs. Beam
Rhythm Serenade
The Flemish Farm
as Frau
I'll Walk Beside You
as Ma Perkins
Millions Like Us
as Landlady
Get Cracking
as Maggie Turner
Uncensored
as Frau Von Koerner
No Poster
Partners in Crime
as Mrs. Wilson
No Poster
Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light
as Councillor
"Pimpernel" Smith
as Bit Part
The Spell of Amy Nugent
as Mrs. Nugent
Gasbags
as Burgomaster's wife
George and Margaret
as Beer
Night Train to Munich
as Stationmaster (uncredited)
Girl in the News
as Gertrude Mary Blaker
Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard
as Miss Bell
On the Night of the Fire
as Neighbour
No Poster
The Terror
as Kitchen Maid
Strange Boarders
as Mrs. Dewar