Brenda De Banzie

Acting

Brenda De Banzie

Born 1909-07-28 · Manchester, England, UK

Brenda D. M. De Banzie was a British actress of stage and screen. She was the daughter of Edward De Banzie and his second wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908. In 1911, the family lived in Salford. She appeared as Maggie Hobson in the David Lean film version of Hobson's Choice (1954) with John Mills and Charles Laughton. Her most notable film role was as Phoebe Rice, the hapless wife of comedian Archie Rice (played by Laurence Olivier), in the 1960 film version of The Entertainer. She had also appeared on Broadway in John Osborne's original play, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Other memorable film roles were in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and The Pink Panther (1963) directed by Blake Edwards.

Acting credits

The Pink Panther poster
6.8

The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for the Tyrolean Alps, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is...

The Pink Panther

1963

Come September poster
6.8

Robert Talbot, an American millionaire, arrives early for his annual vacation at his luxurious Italian villa. His long-time girlfriend Lisa has given up waiting for him and has decided to marry another man. Meanwhile, his sneaky business associate Maurice secretly misappropriates the villa as a hotel while Talbot is away. The current guests of the "hotel" are a group of young American girls.

Come September

1961

The Man Who Knew Too Much poster
7.4

An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

1956

Hobson's Choice poster
7.4

A widower refuses to let his three daughters marry in order to avoid paying settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.

Hobson's Choice

1954

The Purple Plain poster
6.5

An RAF airfield in Burma in 1945, during World War II. Canadian bomber pilot Bill Forrester is a bitter man who lives haunted by a tragic past. He has became a reckless warrior, and is feared by his comrades, who consider him a madman. Dr. Harris, the squadron physician, is determined to help him heal his tormented soul.

The Purple Plain

1954

The 39 Steps poster
6.3

In London, a diplomat accidentally becomes involved in the death of a British agent who's after a spy ring that covets British military secrets.

The 39 Steps

1959

Pretty Polly poster
4.2

Miss Polly decides to spend a few months with her wealthy spinster aunt as a traveling companion. While in Singapore her aunt's demise leaves her alone to pursue her freedom and explore an arm's length romance with a local boy.

Pretty Polly

1967

The Long Dark Hall poster
6.7

A devoted family man tries to help a beautiful alcoholic showgirl with her life, and becomes the the only suspect when someone else murders her.

The Long Dark Hall

1951

The Mark poster
6.3

A man who served prison time for intent to molest a child tries to build a new life with the help of a sympathetic psychiatrist.

The Mark

1961

Doctor at Sea poster
5.8

A youthful doctor tires of general practice and signs up to be a ship's doctor in an effort to bring some excitement into his life. Unfortunately, the cargo boat he joins is skippered by a formidable martinet captain and, worse still, there are only two women on board. Luckily for the fun-loving medic, one of them, a beautiful French girl, is more than impressed with his bedside manner.

Doctor at Sea

1955

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life poster
6.5

Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

1987

A Kid for Two Farthings poster
6.7

Joe is a young boy who lives with his mother, Joanna, in working-class London. The two reside above the tailor shop of Mr. Kandinsky, who likes to tell Joe stories. When Kandinsky informs Joe that a unicorn can grant wishes, the hopeful lad ends up buying a baby goat with one tiny horn, believing it to be a real unicorn. Undaunted by his rough surroundings, Joe sets about to prove that wishes can come true.

A Kid for Two Farthings

1955

Flame in the Streets poster
6.3

Domestic difficulties develop in a working-class family when their daughter falls in love with a Jamaican man.

Flame in the Streets

1961

As Long as They're Happy poster
7.5

The suburban peace of the Bentley household is shattered when John Bentley is informed by his wife Stella that their two married daughters, Pat and Corrine, are in trouble and need funds to come home and bring their husbands, Peter, a penniless Parisian artist, and Barnaby, a Texas cowboy, with them. And the youngest daughter, Gwen, has tricked an American singer, Bobby Denver, into visiting them on the pretext that it is the home of a noted British film magnate. When all the women in the household – including the maid – fall for the singer's charms, Bentley consults a crackpot psychiatrist, Dr. Schneider, who almost succeeds in ousting not the singer but Bentley's wife, with his advice to Bentley to make her jealous by living it up with Pearl, a showgirl recruited for the purpose.

As Long as They're Happy

1955

The Entertainer poster
6.2

Archie Rice, an old-time British vaudeville performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business.

The Entertainer

1960

A Day to Remember poster
7.4

A group of men from a London pub are going on a darts team outing to Boulogne. Various members of the party have different reasons for going and get involved in various adventures.

A Day to Remember

1953

I Thank a Fool poster
6.1

After mercifully killing her terminally ill lover, Dr. Christine Allison loses her medical license and spends two years in prison. Once she has completed her sentence, the lawyer who prosecuted Christine, Stephen Dane, hires her to care for his emotionally unstable wife, Liane. Christine takes the job, but when Liane's allegedly dead father reappears, Christine sets out to reveal the family's dark secrets.

I Thank a Fool

1962

Passport to Shame poster
6.1

British melodrama about a cabbie befriending a girl caught up in the white slave trade.

Passport to Shame

1958

House of Secrets poster
6.4

Police in Paris recruit an English ship's officer (Michael Craig) to help trap counterfeiters by joining them.

House of Secrets

1956

Too Many Crooks poster
7.4

Accident-prone Fingers runs a pretty unsuccessful gang. They try and rob wealthy but tricky Billy Gordon - who distrusts banks and fears the Inland Revenue - but he sees Fingers and the boys off. So they decide to kidnap his daughter, only to end up with his wife Lucy. Gordon makes out he couldn't be more pleased, spuring Lucy to take charge of the hopeless bunch of villains.

Too Many Crooks

1959

Walk's End poster
NR

Dr Saint's offer of a free place in his comfortable old-folks' home appears entirely philanthropic to Miss Claythorpe. However, he is suspiciously vague about the treatment that goes with it.

Walk's End

1966

Private Information poster
6.5

A woman suspects that the local council is corrupt and building defective drains that could cause public health issues.

Private Information

1952

A Pair of Briefs poster
6.3

She's new in chambers, and he's a troublemaker. But what 'is' the true status of the old lady's wartime marriage, and can the two young legal minds find the answer?

A Pair of Briefs

1962

I Believe in You poster
6.8

A drama about parole officers to follow the successful Ealing police story of "The Blue Lamp"(1950) . Various sub-plots follow the parole officers and their charges.

I Believe in You

1952