Dame Margaret Rutherford - ProfilesArchive

About Me

"Margaret Rutherford - In Her Own Little World" is devoted to the life and work of Dame Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972), a British actress of the 'old school' and a true character.Following a tragic, parentless childhood, she clung doggedly to her ambition of becoming an actress. She was accepted by Lilian Baylis into the Old Vic in 1925. She was 'let go' after one season! She found what work she could in rep and finally made it to the West End stage at the age of 41.
From 1935 she won bit parts in movies, while working her way into the West End's bigtime: in 1939-40 she was cast by John Gielgud in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and then as Mrs Danvers in 'Rebecca'. In 1941 Noel Coward wrote 'Blithe Spirit', with Margaret in mind as the eccentric medium Madame Arcati. Eventually the play was filmed (directed by David Lean) and Margaret became a star all over the cinema-going world (see trailer below).

My Interests

Margaret was a life-long poetry devotee and often gave readings.

I'd like to meet:

Fans of classic comedy.

Music:

A former piano teacher, Margaret loved classical music and Ivor Novello.
Ron Goodwin's MISS MARPLE THEME is on the video compilation below, thanks to Dural on Youtube:

Movies:

Her own classics include Blithe Spirit and The Importance of Being Earnest(see clips below), Passport to Pimlico and I'm All Right Jack. She won 1963's Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Television:

She appeared on BBC TV as early as the 1930s, but was not a big fan of the medium.

Books:

Poetry and whimsy: she provided the Foreword for an anthology of Edward Lear and made repeated attempts to dramatise Frank Baker's ghost story, Miss Hargreaves.

Heroes:

Her devoted husband, Stringer Davis. The doctors who helped her through more than one severe nervous breakdown. The prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. Many theatrical 'greats' of her time from theatre director Tyrone Guthrie to film director Charlie Chaplin.

My Blog

Tyrone Guthrie comes through with a part

In 1935 the ambitious impresario Binkie Beaumont intended to put on a very special play in celebration of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. Like other managers, he hoped that the i...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:48:00 PST

Enter Mr Beaumont

An Employer is Born With Margaret edging ever closer to the big time in London theatre, it was inevitable that she would cross the path of a young man making his own meteoric rise in the theatre worl...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:11:00 PST

No escaping 'The Master Builder'

In the telephone book for 1933, Miss Margaret Rutherford is listed at her first inner London address, 57 Parkhurst Road, in the Holloway district of London. At last she was living an independent life...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Tue, 03 Apr 2007 07:01:00 PST

A Ramble through some Rep

"It's all very well to say try, try, try again - but it hurts to keep hitting your head against a wall." MARGARET RUTHERFORD So, at the end of her first and last season at the Old Vic, in 1926 Peggy...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:57:00 PST

MR Starts Work

Margaret's teenage years were spent at a boarding school which frowned on acting but taught her to play the piano: "When I finally left school I resigned myself to teaching music. It was the...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:18:00 PST

A tragic beginning

Extracts from Margaret Rutherford - In Her Own Little World: Margaret's Unfortunate Parents In the late Victorian age, the dissenting minister, Reverend Julius Benn was a highly-regarded figure in t...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:14:00 PST

Dame Margaret's story - Introduction

MARGARET RUTHERFORD - in her own little world by Beverley Davies Introduction "If I had a choice, I think I would like to have been Jane Russell. She has that elemental, savage quality which I...
Posted by Dame Margaret Rutherford on Thu, 01 Mar 2007 08:26:00 PST