The actress from The Invisible Man and Witness for the Prosecution whom you are trying to recall is the wonderful Una O’Connor.

I have written a long piece on Thelma Ritter, found here last year. Thomas Mitchell‘s personal info is unfortunately tough to find, though I’ve been looking for some time. His display of talent in Alias, Nick Beal (1949) was part of the appreciation that was published here last month. And yes, I’d like to do more about him and other character actors when I have as much verifiable info about them that I can find.

I would also recommend HighHurdler‘s delightful piece on Second Tier Character Actors for your perusal, found here.

Thanks so much for taking the time to make such an intriguing suggestion. Your revealing comments and those of others are often a guide to my future topics.

I agree with some of Al’s postings. I would like to see the Morlocks take a week in April, or 2 weeks, and each write about the great character actors we have all seen and enjoyed over the years in classic movies. Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn, Thomas Mitchell, Thelma Ritter:to some extent,she was written about in 2008,Ward Bond, and the screechy, high-pitched tiny actress from Great Britain,usually cast as a maid or cook, and her name obviously escapes me(I believe she was in The Invisible Man and I saw her recently in Witness for the Prosecution.) Those are just a few I’d like to know more about, and I would rather read about them, and many other greats I haven’t mentioned, from the Morlocks than IMDB or wikipedia! Thanks for considering this topic.

Thank you for your reasoned and incisive criticism of my writing. I’ll treasure it forever.

Love,
Knucklehead

P.S. Great post Moira!

Thanks for the correction, Al!

Consider my cyber-knuckles whacked! It was, of course, Katharine Hepburn‘s performance in “The Lake”, produced in 1933, that Dorothy Parker regarded with such funny, if somewhat snide disdain. While Hepburn had achieved her earliest success on screen with Morning Glory and Little Women, according to interviews I’ve seen with the actress, she still regarded this production as a real test of her abilities as a theatrical animal.

The mixed critical reception of the play (I think and Kate’s later self-criticism) caused her to reassess her gifts and took a bit of the shine off her new-found stardom, (if not her astounding self-assurance). More significantly , producer Jed Harris (and major con artist, from all accounts), appears to have persuaded Hepburn to invest money as well as emotions in the show, which closed after 55 performances. Given the fact that she kept returning to the theater throughout her career, this very early stumble in Kate’s film and theatrical career might be seen as a noble failure and a learning experience for her.

Btw, Dorothy Parker‘s “A to B” remark was reported in the press as one of the evaluations of the celebrity-packed opening night audience. Parker was not a paid theatrical reviewer for any publication at that moment in her life, but had become a literary celebrity in her own right by then–a status that she was ambivalent about, but which she fed by dropping glib verbal bon mots like well-aimed time bombs in interviews.

Hi Christy,
I would love it if The Ten Year Lunch could be unearthed soon too. I remember viewing it years ago and being astounded by the number of Algonquin era “survivors” interviewed in it. The film, which reportedly took over 10 years to compile, captured the interviewees just before their generation was silenced forever.

Thanks for all your kind comments and welcome corrections.

I recently watched “Woman on the Run” from 1950 with a screenplay by Alan Campbell. A suspenseful crime drama with an on the rocks marriage at its core. The husband is imaginative, kind and an artist. The wife refuses to support him and harps all the time. H’mm.