Edith Barrett
Encyclopedia
Edith Barrett was an American
film actress.
. She entered the entertainment industry at age 16 in a staging of Walter Hampden
's production of Cyrano de Bergerac
. At 19 in 1926 she appeared with Hampden in the play Caponsacchi. During the 1930s, Edith performed with Orson Welles
's Mercury Theatre
troupe.
While appearing in the Mercury Theatre 1937 production of The Shoemaker's Holiday
, she married leading man Vincent Price
, a union that lasted until 1948. She and Price had one son, Vincent Barrett Price, born in 1940. Edith's biggest Broadway success was as star of the now-obscure production Mrs. Moonlight.
Barrett made her first film in 1941, playing the homicidal, half-witted half-sister of Ida Lupino
in Ladies in Retirement
. Edith's most famous movie role was that of the mother-in-law of the unfortunate Mrs. Holland in I Walked With a Zombie
(1943), producer Val Lewton
's voodoo version of Jane Eyre
; ironically, she was seen as Mrs. Fairfax in 20th Century-Fox's adaptation of the real Jane Eyre
(1944).
Edith Barrett retired from films after essaying a minor role in The Swan
(1956).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film actress.
Biography
Edith Barrett was a granddaughter of 19th-century American actor Lawrence BarrettLawrence Barrett
Lawrence Barrett was an American stage actor.-Biography:He was born Lawrence Brannigan to Irish emigrant parents in Paterson, New Jersey. He made his first stage appearance at Detroit as Murad in The French Spy in 1853...
. She entered the entertainment industry at age 16 in a staging of Walter Hampden
Walter Hampden
Walter Hampden is the artist name of Walter Hampden Dougherty was a U.S. actor and theatre manager. He was the younger brother of the American painter Paul Dougherty ....
's production of Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
. At 19 in 1926 she appeared with Hampden in the play Caponsacchi. During the 1930s, Edith performed with Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
's Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
troupe.
While appearing in the Mercury Theatre 1937 production of The Shoemaker's Holiday
The Shoemaker's Holiday
The Shoemakers' Holiday, or the Gentle Craft is an Elizabethan play written by Thomas Dekker. It was first performed in 1599 by the Admiral's Men. It falls into the sub-genre of city comedy.The play was first published in 1600 by the printer Valentine Simmes...
, she married leading man Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, a union that lasted until 1948. She and Price had one son, Vincent Barrett Price, born in 1940. Edith's biggest Broadway success was as star of the now-obscure production Mrs. Moonlight.
Barrett made her first film in 1941, playing the homicidal, half-witted half-sister of Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
in Ladies in Retirement
Ladies in Retirement
Ladies in Retirement is a 1941 film starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward. It is based on a 1940 Broadway play of the same title by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy which starred Flora Robson in the lead role....
. Edith's most famous movie role was that of the mother-in-law of the unfortunate Mrs. Holland in I Walked With a Zombie
I Walked with a Zombie
I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures; the first was the very successful Cat People, also directed by Tourneur...
(1943), producer Val Lewton
Val Lewton
Val Lewton was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s.-Early life:...
's voodoo version of Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
; ironically, she was seen as Mrs. Fairfax in 20th Century-Fox's adaptation of the real Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre (1944 film)
Jane Eyre is a classic film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name, made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by William Goetz, Kenneth Macgowan, and Orson Welles . The screenplay was by John Houseman, Aldous Huxley, Henry Koster, and Robert...
(1944).
Edith Barrett retired from films after essaying a minor role in The Swan
The Swan (film)
The Swan is a 1956 remake by MGM of a 1925 Paramount film with the same title. . The film is a romantic comedy directed by Charles Vidor, produced by Dore Schary from a screenplay by John Dighton based on the play by Ferenc Molnár...
(1956).
Selected filmography
- Lady for a NightLady for a Night-Cast:* Joan Blondell - Jenny 'Jen' Blake Alderson* John Wayne - Jackson Morgan* Ray Middleton - Alan Alderson* Philip Merivale - Stephen Alderson* Blanche Yurka - Julia Anderson* Edith Barrett - Katherine Alderson* Leonid Kinskey - Boris, Jack's Bodyguard...
(1942) - I Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a ZombieI Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. It was the second horror film from producer Val Lewton for RKO Pictures; the first was the very successful Cat People, also directed by Tourneur...
(1943) - The Ghost ShipThe Ghost ShipThe Ghost Ship is a black-and-white horror and crime film starring Richard Dix, Russell Wade, and Skelton Knaggs. The film is about a young merchant marine officer who begins to suspect that his ship's captain is mentally unbalanced and endangering the lives of the ship's crew...
(1943) - The Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (film)The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
(1943) - Jane Eyre (1943)
- The Keys of the KingdomThe Keys of the Kingdom (film)The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1944 American film based on the 1941 novel, The Keys of the Kingdom, by A. J. Cronin. The movie was adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John M. Stahl and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Rose Stradner, Edmund...
(1944) - The SwanThe Swan (film)The Swan is a 1956 remake by MGM of a 1925 Paramount film with the same title. . The film is a romantic comedy directed by Charles Vidor, produced by Dore Schary from a screenplay by John Dighton based on the play by Ferenc Molnár...
(1956)