Rachel Thomas

Birth : 1905-02-10, Alltwen, Pontardawe, Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Death : 1995-02-08

History

Rachel Thomas was a Welsh character actress, who almost always played the stereotypical Welsh mother or grandmother, and appeared regularly on both Welsh and English language television. She appeared in such classic films as "The Proud Valley "(1940) with Paul Robeson, "Blue Scar" (1949) and "Tiger Bay" (1959). In 1954 she was part of the original BBC Radio cast of Dylan Thomas' radio play "Under Milk Wood", playing the roles of Rosie Probert, Mary Ann Sailors and Mrs. Willy Nilly and went on to play Mary Ann Sailors again in the 1972 film version.

Profile

Movies

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

Mrs Richard Owen

The Life and Times of David Lloyd George charts the life of the controversial Liberal politician with Philip Madoc in the titular role. The title theme, Chi Mai, was by Ennio Morricone

Sea Song

Lil Carter

Millionaire recluse Ray Carter takes part in a single handed race across the Atlantic - but soon discovers a stowaway.

Catacombs

Christine

A rich woman who uses meditation to deal with pain is visited by her niece who returns from Paris. The woman can be a handful and one of her employees suggests to her husband that he kill her freeing them both. When an affair starts between the husband and the niece murder becomes a real possibility. However some people won't stay dead.

Tiger Bay

Mrs. Parry

In Tiger Bay, the docklands of Cardiff, rough-and-tumble street urchin Gillie witnesses the brutal killing of a young woman at the hands of visiting Polish sailor Korchinsky. Instead of reporting the crime to the authorities, Gillie merely pockets a prize for herself — Korchinsky's shiny black revolver — and flees the scene. When Detective Graham discovers that Gillie has the murder weapon, the fiery young girl weaves a web of lies to throw him off course.

David

Mrs. Morgan

Told with authenticity and perception, David looks back on the life of a school caretaker in a Welsh mining town, from the marriage and birth of his son to the trauma of a pit accident. David was the first film produced by the BFI, in 1951, and the Welsh selection for the same year’s Festival of Britain screenings in London.

Blue Scar

Gwyneth Williams

1940s British realist film about the life and struggles of a family in a Welsh mining town.

The Captive Heart

Mrs. Evans

A series of stories about the lives and loves of nine men in a Prisoner of War Camp over five years. Location shooting in the British occupied part of Germany adds believability. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier who needs to keep his identity a secret from the Nazis, to do this he poses as a dead English Officer and corresponds with the man's wife. Upon liberation they meet and decide to continue their lives together. The other inmates' stories are revealed episodically.

The Proud Valley

Mrs. Parry

In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.