Rosalie Crutchley
Encyclopedia
Rosalie Crutchley was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

, Crutchley was best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in the theatre and in films, making her stage debut at least as early as 1932 and her screen debut in 1947. She continued acting up until her death in 1997.

She had dark piercing eyes, and often played foreign characters, or rather sinister characters. She played many classical roles, including Juliet in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

, Hermione in The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...

and Goneril in King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

.

Her screen debut was as a violinist who is murdered in Take My Life
Take My Life
Take My Life is a 1947 British thriller film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt and Marius Goring.-Cast:* Hugh Williams as Nicholas Talbot* Greta Gynt as Philippa Shelley* Marius Goring as Sidney Flemming...

(1947). She played Madame Defarge
Madame Defarge
Madame Thérèse Defarge is a fictional character in the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. She is a tricoteuse, a tireless worker for the French Revolution and the wife of Ernest Defarge....

 in both A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)
A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British film of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. It starred Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin, and was directed by Ralph Thomas.-Cast:*Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton*Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette...

, the 1958 film, and in the 1965 television serialisation of the same story.

She played Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...

 in the 1970 TV series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and played the same character its sequel, Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...

(1971).

Other roles included Mrs Sparsit in Hard Times
Hard Times
Hard Times - For These Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times....

(ITV, 1977), and Electra
Electra
In Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...

(1974). She is probably remembered best for her performances in the classic movies Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis (1951 film)
Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...

(1951) as Acte
Claudia Acte
Claudia Acte was a freedwoman of ancient Rome who became a mistress of the emperor Nero. She came from Asia Minor and might have become a slave of the Emperor Claudius, following his expansion of the Roman Empire into Lycia and Pamphylia; or she might have been purchased later, by Octavia,...

, Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

's confidante, and The Haunting
The Haunting (1963 film)
The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...

(1963) as the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Dudley.

Crutchley also appeared in adaptations of two A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...

 novels, The Spanish Gardener
The Spanish Gardener (film)
The Spanish Gardener is a 1956 film based on the novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1950. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley, and was directed by Philip Leacock. The adaptation was filmed both at Pinewood Studios, situated outside of London, and in S'Agaro, on the Costa Brava...

(1956) and Beyond This Place
Web of Evidence
Web of Evidence is a 1959 British film based on the novel, Beyond This Place, by A. J. Cronin. It was directed by Jack Cardiff and stars Van Johnson and Vera Miles. The original title was kept for the film's European release, though it was given an alternate title for the American release...

(1959), and played the flinty maiden aunt in the TV adaptation of Brendon Chase
Brendon Chase
Brendon Chase is a children's novel by Denys Watkins-Pitchford, writing as "BB". It was published in 1944, but is set at an earlier, unspecified date...

(1980–81). She had two guest roles in Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...

, in 1992 and 1995. She also had a short, but memorable, appearance in Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...

(1994).

She appeared in only one film musical, Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha (film)
Man of La Mancha is a 1972 film adaptation of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion...

(1972), based on the hit stage production
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...

, as Don Quixote's housekeeper. In the role, her less-than-good singing voice was used for intentionally comic effect in the song "I'm Only Thinking of Him".

Her last appearance was in an episode of the TV detective series, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...

, in the episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift
The Killings at Badger's Drift
The Killings at Badger's Drift is a mystery novel by English writer Caroline Graham, the first in her Chief Inspector Barnaby series. In 1997, it was adapted as the pilot of Midsomer Murders, a popular ITV television series based on Graham's books...

, playing Lucy Bellringer. This was shown in 1997, shortly before her death.

She was married to, and divorced from, actor Peter Ashmore. Her son is Jonathan Ashmore.

Selected filmography

  • Give Us This Day
    Give Us This Day
    Give Us This Day is a 1949 British film, directed by Edward Dmytryk. It was released in the United States as Christ in Concrete. Another alternate title was Salt and the Devil....

    (1949)
  • Quo Vadis
    Quo Vadis (1951 film)
    Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...

    (1951)
  • Flame and the Flesh
    Flame and the Flesh
    Flame and the Flesh is a 1954 drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Joe Pasternak from a screenplay by Helen Deutsch based on the novel by Auguste Bailly...

    (1954)
  • The Spanish Gardener
    The Spanish Gardener (film)
    The Spanish Gardener is a 1956 film based on the novel by A. J. Cronin, first published in 1950. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley, and was directed by Philip Leacock. The adaptation was filmed both at Pinewood Studios, situated outside of London, and in S'Agaro, on the Costa Brava...

    (1956)
  • The Gamma People
    The Gamma People
    The Gamma People is a 1956 British science fiction film directed by John Gilling and starring Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok and Leslie Phillips.-Plot:...

    (1956)
  • Miracle in Soho
    Miracle in Soho
    Miracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance betweena local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.-Main cast:* John...

    (1957)
  • No Time for Tears
    No Time for Tears (film)
    No Time for Tears is a 1957 British drama film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Anna Neagle, George Baker and Sylvia Syms. The staff at a children's hospital struggle with their workload.-Cast:* Anna Neagle ... Matron Eleanor Hammond...

    (1957)
  • Seven Thunders
    Seven Thunders (film)
    Seven Thunders is a 1957 World War II film about two British escaped prisoners of war.-Plot:...

    (1957)
  • A Tale of Two Cities
    A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)
    A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British film of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. It starred Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin, and was directed by Ralph Thomas.-Cast:*Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton*Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette...

    (1958)
  • Web of Evidence
    Web of Evidence
    Web of Evidence is a 1959 British film based on the novel, Beyond This Place, by A. J. Cronin. It was directed by Jack Cardiff and stars Van Johnson and Vera Miles. The original title was kept for the film's European release, though it was given an alternate title for the American release...

    (1959)
  • The Nun's Story
    The Nun's Story (film)
    The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...

    (1959)
  • Sons and Lovers
    Sons and Lovers (1960 film)
    Sons and Lovers is a British 1960 film adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. It was adapted by T. E. B. Clarke and Gavin Lambert and directed by Jack Cardiff...

    (1960)
  • No Love for Johnnie
    No Love for Johnnie
    No Love for Johnnie is a 1961 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was based on the book of the same title by the Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh and stars Peter Finch....

    (1961)
  • Greyfriars Bobby (1961)
  • The Haunting
    The Haunting (1963 film)
    The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...

    (1963)
  • Girl in the Headlines
    Girl in the Headlines
    Girl in the Headlines is a 1963 British detective film directed by Michael Truman and starring Ian Hendry, Ronald Fraser, Jeremy Brett and Jane Asher.-Cast:* Ian Hendry - Inspector Birkett* Ronald Fraser - Sergeant Saunders* Margaret Johnston - Mrs Gray...

    (1963)
  • Behold a Pale Horse
    Behold a Pale Horse (film)
    Behold a Pale Horse is a 1964 film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn. The film is based on the novel Killing a Mouse on Sunday by Emeric Pressburger, which loosely details the life of the Spanish anarchist guerrilla, Francisco Sabaté Llopart‎. The...

    (1964)
  • Wuthering Heights
    Wuthering Heights (1970 film)
    Wuthering Heights is a 1970 film directed by Robert Fuest. It is based on the classic Emily Bronte novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, this film depicts only the first sixteen chapters concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son,...

    (1970)
  • Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
    Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
    Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? is a 1971 British horror-thriller film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Ralph Richardson, Shelley Winters and Mark Lester...

    (1971)
  • Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
    Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
    Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, and James Villiers. This was director Seth Holt's final film, and was adapted from Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr...

    (1971)
  • Mohammad, Messenger of God (1976)
  • Smiley's People
    Smiley's People
    Smiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy...

    (1982)
  • A World Apart
    A World Apart (film)
    A World Apart is a 1988 anti-Apartheid drama, written by Shawn Slovo and directed by Chris Menges. It is based on the lives of Slovo's parents, Ruth First and Joe Slovo. The film was a co-production between companies from the UK and Zimbabwe, where the movie was filmed...

    (1988)
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