Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr

Birth : 1921-09-30, Helensburgh, Scotland, UK

Death : 2007-10-16

History

Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr, was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film The King and I (1956). Her other major and best known films and performances are The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Quo Vadis (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Tea and Sympathy (1956), An Affair to Remember (1957), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Separate Tables (1958), The Sundowners (1960), The Innocents (1961), The Grass Is Greener (1960), and The Night of the Iguana (1964). In 1994, having already received honorary awards from the Cannes Film Festival and BAFTA, Kerr received an Academy Honorary Award with a citation recognizing her as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance". Description above from the Wikipedia article Deborah Kerr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Profile

Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr

Movies

And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Sister Clodagh (archive footage) (uncredited)
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
Self (archive footage)
A film biography with a difference, Sir John Mills' Moving Memories charts the life of one of Britain's most distinguished actors. Compiled from interviews with the man himself and with his family and friends, it traces his career from humble beginnings to all-time great of British cinema. The many film clips reveal an electric screen presence and a willingness to undertake a range of difficult, challenging roles.
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Self
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
Herself
A retrospective on the career of Robert Mitchum through interviews with friends and co-workers, scenes from his films, and the actor himself.
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Self (archive footage)
Biography of risk-taker and raconteur John Huston from his childhood to become one of the most highly respected filmmakers in the world.
Ann and Debbie
Ann
Two friends, Ann and Debbie, meet for drinks to discuss marriage difficulties.
The Assam Garden
Helen
An insecure, aggressive widow of a tea garden manager reluctantly develops an affectionate relationship with an Indian housewife and her family.
Reunion at Fairborough
Sally Wells Grant
World War II vets travel to England for a reunion at their old base. Stars Judi Trott, Barry Morse, Red Buttons, Deborah Kerr, Shane Rimmer, Robert Mitchum
Witness for the Prosecution
Nurse Plimsoll
Sir Wilfred Robarts, a famed barrister is released from the hospital, where he stayed for two months following his heart attack. Returning to the practise of his lawyer skills, he takes the case of Leonard Vole, an unemployed man who is accused of murdering an elderly lady friend of his, Mrs. Emily French. While Leonard Vole claims he's innocent, although all evidence points to him as the killer, his alibi witness, his cold German wife Christine, instead of entering the court as a witness for the defense, she becomes the witness for the prosecution and strongly claims her husband is guilty of the murder.
A Song At Twilight
Carlotta Gray
A writer's past comes to haunt him when his ex-mistress visits.
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers payed up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
The Arrangement
Florence Anderson
An adman attempts to rebuild his shattered life after suffering a nervous breakdown.
The Gypsy Moths
Elizabeth Brandon
Three skydivers and their travelling thrill show barnstorm through a small midwestern town one Fourth of July weekend.
Prudence and the Pill
Prudence Hardcastle
Prudence Hardcastle is on the pill. So is her sister-in-law, but someone has been swapping aspirin for their pills. Is it the teenage niece, the maid, the chauffeur, a lover, Prudence's husband Gerald, or all of the above?
Casino Royale
Agent Mimi / Lady Fiona McTarry
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.
Eye of the Devil
Catherine de Montfaucon
A French nobleman deserts his wife because of an ancient family secret.
Marriage on the Rocks
Valerie Edwards
Ad-agency president Dan Edwards goes to Mexico to celebrate his nineteenth wedding anniversary and winds up getting divorced by mistake, whereupon his wife Valerie marries his best friend Ernie Brewer by mistake.
Verifica incerta - Disperse Exclamatory Phase
(archive footage)
A short film containing a collection of clips from various Hollywood movies.
The Night of the Iguana
Hannah Jelkes
A defrocked Episcopal clergyman leads a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life.
On the Trail of the Iguana
Self
Behind the scenes documentary of the filming of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana.
The Chalk Garden
Miss Madrigal
A grandmother seeks a governess for her 16 year old granddaughter, Laurel, who manages to drive away each and every one so far by exposing their past, with a record of three in one week! When an applicant with a mysterious past manages to get the job, Laurel vows to expose her. Meanwhile, Laurel's married-divorced-married mother tries to get her back.
The Innocents
Miss Giddens
A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
The Naked Edge
Martha Radcliffe
Five years after George Radcliffe was the chief witness in a high profile murder case, his wife receives a blackmailing letter accusing him of the crime.
The Grass Is Greener
Hilary Rhyall
Victor and Hillary are down on their luck to the point that they allow tourists to take guided tours of their castle. But Charles Delacro, a millionaire oil tycoon, visits, and takes a liking to more than the house. Soon, Hattie Durant gets involved and they have a good old fashioned love triangle.
The Sundowners
Ida Carmody
In the Australian Outback, the Carmody family--Paddy, Ida, and their teenage son Sean--are sheep drovers, always on the move. Ida and Sean want to settle down and buy a farm. Paddy wants to keep moving. A sheep-shearing contest, the birth of a child, drinking, gambling, and a racehorse will all have a part in the final decision.
Beloved Infidel
Sheilah Graham
Toward the end of his life F. Scott Fitzgerald is writing for Hollywood studios to be able to afford the cost of an asylum for his wife. He is also struggling against alcoholism. Into his life comes the famous gossip columnist.
Count Your Blessings
Grace Allingham
Englishwoman Grace Allingham marries Frenchman Charles Edouard de Valhubert, but their marriage quickly becomes unusual. Because Charles cheats on her and lives away from his family out of professional obligation to his government, Grace ends up raising the couple's son, Sigismond, on her own. Grace and Charles are finally reunited after nearly a decade apart, and, while they seem headed for a permanent split, there's still a spark between them.
The Journey
Diana Ashmore
A Communist officer falls hard for a married woman trying to escape from Hungary.
Separate Tables
Sibyl Railton-Bell
Boarders at an English resort struggle with emotional problems.
Bonjour Tristesse
Anne Larson
Cecile is a decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father, Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.
An Affair to Remember
Terry McKay
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
Sister Angela
A Roman Catholic nun and a hard-bitten US Marine are stranded together on a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific during World War II. Under constant threat of discovery by a ruthless enemy, they hide in a cave and forage for food together. Their forced companionship and the struggle for survival forge a powerful emotional bond between them.
Tea and Sympathy
Laura Reynolds
Tom Lee is more interested in the arts than in sports, something that sits uneasily with both his father and his classmates. Tom's school housemaster Bill Reynolds even gives him a hard time for his "effeminate" interests. However, Bill's wife Laura sympathizes with Tom and tries to help him with her own overtures.
The King and I
Anna Leonowens
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.
The Proud and Profane
Lee Ashley
In this romantic drama, beautiful Red Cross volunteer Lee Ashley arrives on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband, Howard, in the Battle of Guadalcanal. There, Ashley falls for the gruff, seductive Marine Lt. Col. Colin Buck, but struggle and tragedy follow when the widow learns about the reality of Buck's life back home.
The End of the Affair
Sarah Miles
During the 1940s, Maurice Bendrix, a writer recently discharged from the armed service, falls in love with Sarah Miles, whom he interviews for a book. Sarah is married, but she and Maurice eventually give in to their mutual attraction, leading to an affair that lasts several months. Maurice's jealousy, along with the bombing of London by the Germans, seemingly leads to the end of their relationship. However, the reasons are later revealed to be more complex.
From Here to Eternity
Karen Holmes
In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.
Dream Wife
Effie
Clemson Reade, a business tycoon with marriage on his mind, and Effie, a U.S. diplomat, are a modern couple. Unfortunately there seems to be too much business and not enough pleasure on the part of Effie. When Clemson meets Tarji, a princess trained in all the arts of pleasing men, he decides he wants an old fashioned girl. Princess Tarji's father is king of oil-rich Bukistan. Because of the oil situation and to maintain good political relations during the courtship between Clemson & Tarji, the State Department assigns a diplomat to maintain protocol until the wedding - Effie!
Julius Caesar
Portia
The assassination of the would be ruler of Rome at the hands of Brutus and company has tragic consequences for the idealist and the republic.
Young Bess
Catherine Parr
The mother died under the executioner's axe; the daughter rose to become England's greatest monarch -- the brilliant and cunning Queen Elizabeth I. Jean Simmons portrays young Bess in this rich tapestry of a film that traces the tumultuous, danger-fraught years from Elizabeth's birth to her unexpected ascension to the throne at a mere 25. Charles Laughton reprises his Academy Award®-winning* role as her formidable father Henry VIII. Deborah Kerr plays her last stepmother (and Henry's last of six wives), gentle Catherine Parr. And Simmons' then real-life husband, Stewart Granger, adds heroics as Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. In a resplendent world of adventure, romance and court intrigue, Young Bess reigns.
Thunder in the East
Joan Willoughby
During India's first years of independence from Britain, Steve Gibbs lands his armaments loaded plane in Ghandahar province hoping to get rich. Pacifist Prime Minister Singh hopes to reach an agreement with guerilla leader Khan, the maharajah is a fool, and the British residents are living in the past. Steve's love interest is Joan Willoughby, the blind daughter of a parson.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Princess Flavia
An Englishman vacationing in Ruritania is recruited to impersonate his cousin, the soon-to-be-crowned king after the monarch is drugged and kidnapped.
Quo Vadis
Lygia
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Rome, the Eternal City
A Traveltalk style documentary look at Rome.
King Solomon's Mines
Elizabeth Curtis
Adventurer Allan Quartermain leads an expedition into uncharted African territory in an attempt to locate an explorer who went missing during his search for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon.
Please Believe Me
Alison Kirbe
A woman in London unexpectedly inherits a Texas ranching fortune, and takes a transatlantic voyage to collect her fortune, not suspecting two men aboard both plan on winning her hand before she reaches America. One is a gambler interested in her money, and the other, a rich man looking for a wife. The rich man's friend, meanwhile, believes the heiress is actually a gold-digger.
Edward, My Son
Evelyn Boult
Following the death of his only son, a ruthless businessman reflects on his life, his unhappy marriage and his questionable parenting skills.
If Winter Comes
Nona Tybar
It's 1939 in the small English town of Penny Green and events in Poland are about to change lives. Mark Sabre, a writer of school textbooks, has married Mabel "on the rebound", after his real love Nona marries someone else. Just as war is about to break out, Nona returns home with her husband Tony. Mabel is sure she can hold onto Mark, though. But misunderstood good deeds on Mark's part turn life for him upside down when his relationship with a young girl starts tongues wagging. Soon, wartime casualties take their toll in Penny Green as well as on the front, as the death of fighting men affects lives back home.
The Hucksters
Kay Dorrance
A World War II veteran wants to return to advertising on his own terms, but finds it difficult to be successful and maintain his integrity.
Black Narcissus
Sister Clodagh
A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.
I See a Dark Stranger
Bridie Quilty
Determined, independent Bridie Quilty comes of age in 1944 Ireland thinking all Englishmen are devils. Her desire to join the IRA meets no encouragement, but a German spy finds her easy to recruit. We next find her working in a pub near a British military prison, using her sex appeal in the service of the enemy. But chance puts a really vital secret into her hands, leading to a chase involving Bridie, a British officer who's fallen for her, a German agent unknown to them both, and the police...paralleled by Bridie's own internal conflicts.
Perfect Strangers
Catherine Wilson
After World War II service changes them, a married couple dread their postwar reunion.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Edith Hunter / Barbara Wynne / Angela "Johnny" Cannon
General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.
The Day Will Dawn
Kari Alstad
Sports journalist Colin Metcalfe is picked for the job of foreign correspondent in Norway when Hitler invades Poland. On the way to Langedal his boat is attacked by a German U-Boat, however when he tells the navy about it they do not believe him and, to make matters worse, he is removed from his job. When German forces invade Norway, Metcalfe returns determined to uncover what is going on and stop the Germans in their tracks.
Hatter's Castle
Mary Brodie
The year is 1880. On the outskirts of the fictional small Scottish town of Levenford there stands a strange building, half cottage, half castle, embraced with thick stone walls. The townsfolk nickname the fortress "Hatter's Castle", for James Brodie, the man who built it. Brodie is a hatter who keeps the members of the family in fear and submission; he is brutal, arrogant, selfish and cruel. His wife, who has long been ailing, and his daughter Mary, are in awe of him. His son Angus, aged 15, alone dear to his heart, suffers under his love as the others suffer under his sternness.
Penn of Pennsylvania
Gulielma Maria Springett
Penn of Pennsylvania is a 1941 British historical drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, Dennis Arundell, Henry Oscar, Herbet Lomas and Edward Rigby. The film depicts the life of the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn. It portrays his struggle to be granted a colonial charter in London and attracting settlers to his new colony as well as his adoption a radical new approach with regard to the treatment of the Native Americans. It is also known by the alternative title Courageous Mr. Penn.
Love on the Dole
Sally
Depressing and realistic family drama about the struggles of unemployment and poverty in 1930s Lancashire. The 20-year-old Kerr gives an emotionally charged performance as Hardcastle, one of the cotton workers trying to make life better. Interlaced with humour that brings a ray of sunshine to the pervasive bleakness, this remains a powerful social study of life between the wars, and was a rare problem picture to come out of Britain at the time.
Major Barbara
Jenny Hill
Idealistic young Barbara is the daughter of rich weapons manufacturer Andrew Undershaft. She rebels against her estranged father by joining the Salvation Army. Wooed by professor-turned-preacher Adolphus Cusins, Barbara eventually grows disillusioned with her causes and begins to see things from her father's perspective.