Brenda Bruce

Brenda Bruce

Birth : 1918-07-07, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK

Death : 1996-02-19

Profile

Brenda Bruce

Movies

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd
Grandmother
D.H, Lawrence's early play about a married woman who wishes her husband dead after falling in love with another man comes to the screen in this adaptation starring Zoe Wannamaker and Colin Firth. When her wish becomes a horrifying reality, her life begins to change in ways she could have never anticipated.
Harnessing Peacocks
Amy Tremayne
Sir John Mills, Peter Davison and Serena Scott Thomas star in this warm, funny and romantic story of a woman forced to make a new life for herself in a Cornish seaside town. Based on Mary Wesley’s bestselling novel, «Harnessing Peacocks» is adapted by the multi-award-winning Andrew Davies.
Riders
Granny Maxwell
Arrogant aristocrat Rupert Campbell-Black has a high social position, woman at his feet, money and fame in the world of show jumping. But Rupert has a rival - the brooding gypsy Jake Lovell, whose loathing for the Pin Up of Penscombe has driven him to the top of the riding world to match Rupert's skills. A bitter feud festers between the two stars, who have fought and fornicated their way round the show rings of the world, and now come to a showdown at the Lod Angeles Olympics. As rivals in love and sport, the stage is set for what becomes a compulsive blend of sex, romance, and adventure.
Splitting Heirs
Mrs. Bullock
A member of the English upper class dies, leaving his estate and his business to an American, whom he thinks is his son who was lost as a baby and then found again. An Englishman who thinks he is an Indian comes to believe that he is actually the heir. He comes to hate the American who is his boss, his friend, and the man who has stolen the woman after whom he lusts.
December Bride
Martha Gilmartin
At the beginning of the 20th century, a young servant provokes an independent Irish farm community by her relationship with two brothers. Pregnant, she refuses to reveal the name of the father.
Circles Of Deceit
Maisie
Philip, a painter who specialises as a copyist, has always been dominated by strong women with secrets.
Antonia and Jane
Therapist
Plain Jane Hartman hates her life. She's goofy, boring and only has sex if she reads Iris Murdoch novels out loud to her loopy boyfriend. Her oldest friend Antonia McGill knows about everything. She orders the right food; she can complain and get results. She's beautiful and has a brilliant career. Is it any wonder that they hate each other's guts?
The Tenth Man
Madame Mangeot
During World War 2 the Germans arrested people at random off the streets of Paris and in retaliation to sabotage by the resistance announced the execution of one in ten prisoners. Chosen as one of the victims, lawyer Chavel trades his place with another man in return for all his possessions. At the end of the war he returns to his house and tries to integrate himself with the family of the man who traded places with him, all the while hiding his true identity. However matters are complicated when a stranger arrives claiming to be Chavel.
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers
Tilda
The Doctor and Mel visit Paradise Towers, a residential complex that promises a peaceful life to its residents. However, the establishment is far from what its name suggests: A conflict persists among the Kangs, humanesque multicolour beings who gather in opposing gangs based on which colour of the rainbow they bear; killer cleaning robots prowl the halls, and a secret in the complex's basement poses the greatest threat of all.
Time After Time
June Swift
'Oh I was naughty. And I'm still naughty so take care.' And so Leda was, all those years ago when she was the childhood friend of Jasper and his three sisters April, May and June. Now she returns to add a little spice to life in their crumbling Irish country house.
Steaming
Mrs. Meadows
Steaming is the final film directed by Joseph Losey. It was adapted from Nell Dunn's play by Patricia Losey and Nell Dunn. It is about three women who meet regularly in a steam room and decide to fight its closure.
Macbeth
First Witch
Macbeth and his wife murder Duncan in order to gain his crown, but the bloodbath doesn't stop there, and things supernatural combine to bring the Macbeths down.
Henry V
Hostess
The life of King Henry the Fifth.
Henry IV Part 2
Hostess Quickly
The death of King Henry the Fourth and the coronation of King Henry the Fifth.
Henry IV Part 1
Mistress Quickly
Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.
A Touch of the Tiny Hacketts
Mrs Hackett
Three a.m. A crash of breaking glass ... the slow creak of a door opening ... is it a burglar? Raymond Collis finds out the hard way.
The Man in the Iron Mask
Reine Anne d'Autriche
The story of Louis XIV of France and his attempts to keep his identical twin brother Philippe imprisoned away from sight and knowledge of the public, and Philippe's rescue by the aging Musketeers, led by D'Artagnan.
All Creatures Great and Small
Miss Harbottle
James Herriot is a vet in Yorkshire, England, during the 1940's. He is assigned to the practice of Siegfried Farnon, who—together with his mischievous brother Tristan—already have a successful business. James undergoes a variety of adventures during his work, which are just as often caused by the characters of the county, including the Farnon brothers, as the animals in his care.
Swallows and Amazons
Mrs Dixon
On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.
Alice Through the Looking Glass
The White Queen
1973 BBC TV movie adaptation of the book by Lewis Carroll.
Jingle Bells
Madge
Play by Arthur Hopcraft about Christmas in a Northern town, and the relationship within a family.
That'll Be The Day
Doreen
Britain, 1958. Restless at school and bored with his life, Jim leaves home to take a series of low-level jobs at a seaside amusement park, where he discovers a world of cheap sex and petty crime. But when that world comes to a shockingly brutal end, Jim returns home. As the local music scene explodes, Jim must decide between a life of adult responsibility or a new phenomenon called rock & roll.
Not Counting the Savages
Directed by Mike Newell.
The Virgin Soldiers
Nursing Sister
The core of the plot is the romantic triangle formed by the protagonist, a conscripted soldier named Private Brigg; a worldly professional soldier named Sergeant Driscoll, and Phillipa Raskin, the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major. The location is a British army base in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency.
The Uncle
Addie Morton
Gus is a seven-year-old uncle who struggles with the responsibility placed upon him when his nephew Tom comes to spend the summer holidays with his family.
Nightmare
Mary Lewis
A young student is haunted by recurring dreams of her mother murdering her father, but her nightmare is just beginning as she tries to prove to her loved ones that she is not insane.
Peeping Tom
Dora
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Behind the Mask
Elizabeth Fallon
A newly qualified surgeon takes the blame for his drug addict colleague after the death their patient through neglect.
Law and Disorder
Blacky
When Percy Brand, a habitual confidence trickster, keeps being sent down, he goes to great lengths to ensure that his son Colin, does not find out about his criminal past. But when Colin becomes an assistant to the Judge, who is about to try Percy for his latest escapade, Percy and his gang have to come up with a plan, to stop them meeting in court.
Law and Disorder
Mary Cooper
When Percy Brand, a habitual confidence trickster, keeps being sent down, he goes to great lengths to ensure that his son Colin, does not find out about his criminal past. But when Colin becomes an assistant to the Judge, who is about to try Percy for his latest escapade, Percy and his gang have to come up with a plan, to stop them meeting in court.
The Final Test
Cora
Legendary England cricketer Sam Palmer (Jack Warner) is due to bat in his final test match against Australia. He is desperate for his son Reggie (Ray Jackson) to see his final innings. But Reggie prefers poetry to cricket and when he is offered the opportunity to read his poetry to England's greatest playwright Alexander Whitehead (Robert Morley) on the last day of the test, the relationship between father and son is tested to the limit. As Sam prepares for his final knock, the conflict with his son weighs heavily on his mind, but he is also upset over England's young batsman and ladies-man, Syd Thompson (George Relph), dating the woman whom he hopes to marry.
Two on the Tiles
Janet Lawson
A married couple both face temptations while separated for a few days. The husband meets an attractive female fellow traveler in Paris while the wife accidentally spends a night aboard a Royal Navy ship with a male friend after she is stranded following a party. Despite knowing the essential innocence of both husband and wife, their sinister new butler uses information about their discretions to demand blackmail payments.
Don't Ever Leave Me
Miss Smith
Elderly crook Harry Denton, when challenged to prove he is "not past it," decides to kidnap Sheila Farlane, the 16 year old daughter of a famous actor. When Harry loses his nerve, Sheila won't let him give up.
Marry Me
Brenda Delamere
The stories of several individuals who consult a marriage bureau, including a peer of the realm, his butler, a lonely school teacher, a French girl on the run from a violent boyfriend, a country vicar, and a newspaper reporter, sent by his editor, to do an undercover story.
My Brother's Keeper
Winnie Foreman
War hero turned villain George Martin escapes from the police, but he is handcuffed to a naive young crook Willie Stannard. After using a clever plan to obtain railway tickets, and with the police and the press in hot pursuit, George has to find a way of breaking loose from Willie, and to make his escape.
When The Bough Breaks
Ruby Chapman
The bewildered wife of a bigamist allows her child to be adopted and then regrets it.
While the Sun Shines
Mabel Crum
Lady Elisabeth Randall is an English Air Force corporal during World War II. She is on her way to marry her fiancé when she finds herself being romanced by two different men.
Piccadilly Incident
Sally Benton
A newly married WREN, presumed drowned when her ship is torpedoed, spends three years on a tropical island before returning to England to find her husband remarried with a baby son.
I See a Dark Stranger
American Waitress (uncredited)
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.
Night Boat to Dublin
Lily Leggett
British intelligence officers (Robert Newton, Guy Middleton) head off a Nazi plot to kidnap an atomic scientist.
I Live in Grosvenor Square
Girl in Guard's Van
The WW II romance set in Grosvenor square aka Eisenhower's home where the GIs stayed in London. Neagle loves Harrison. There arrives patriot GI Dean Jagger to rouse things up in the square. Snotty British Neagle and Jagger clash and fall for each other. What will Harrison have to say or do about these? What will the consequences be? Will the three finally become two and which two in this extremely patriotic love and war story.
What's the Next Job?
Helen
Ministry of Information dramatized vocational film on assistance in finding jobs after the Second World War.
Millions Like Us
Brenda
Millions Like Us is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It stars Patricia Roc, Eric Portman, Megs Jenkins, and Anne Crawford, was written by Sidney Gilliat, and directed by Gilliat and Frank Launder. It was filmed at Gainsborough Studios. When Celia Crowson (Roc) is called up for war service, she hopes for a glamorous job in one of the services, but as a single girl she is directed into a factory making aircraft parts. Here she meets other girls from all different walks of life, and begins a relationship with a young airman.