Elsa Lanchester (Universal Filmlexikon — 1932) 🇩🇪 🇬🇧

Elsa Lanchester, wife of the famous actor Charles Laughton, started her stage career as a dancer. In 1918 she founded the Children’s Theatre, in Charlotte Street, London, and, later, the Cave of Harmony, in Gower Street, London, where she produced several plays, including Pirandello’s The Man with a Flower in his Mouth’, Houseman’s The Queen, God Bless Her, Anatole France’s The King of the Jews, etc. Since 1922 Elsa Lanchester has played principal rôles in a large number of plays of various types, including, among others, Larva in The Insect Play, Peggy in The Way of the World, Sancho in The Duenna, Sophie Binner in Cobra, the Kid in Cautious Campbell, Rosie Betts in The Pool, Mimi Winstock in Mr. Prohack and Anna in The Outskirts. Has also appeared in Gate Theatre productions, including Little Lord Fauntleroy and Ten Nights in a Bar Room.

Played principal parts in several films, making her screen debut with Ideal Films. Apart from three silent films specially written for her by H. G. Wells, Elsa Lanchester scored personal hits in the Gainsborough productions “The Constant Nymph”, “The Stronger Sex” and “One of the Best”, the British International films “The Love Habit” and “Potiphar’s Wife”, the Paramount picture “The Officers’ Mess”, etc. etc. From the very first, Elsa Lanchester was taken seriously by press and public alike and she has never failed to live up to the terrifically high standard which she appears to have set herself.

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Elsa Lanchester, die Gattin des berühmten Schauspielers Charles Laughton, begann ihre Bühnenlaufbahn als Tänzerin. Im Jahre 1918 gründete sie das „Children”-Theater in der Charlotte-Street in London, dann den „Cave of Harmony” in der Gower Street, wo sie eine Reihe von Stücken, unter anderen Pirandellos The Man with a Flower in his Mouth, Housemans The Queen, God Bless Her, Anatole Frances The King of the Jews, zur Aufführung brachte. Seit dem Jahre 1922 spielte Elsa Lanchester Hauptrollen in den verschiedenartigsten Stücken, so die Larva in The Insect Play, die Peggy in The Way of the World, Sancho in The Duenna, Sophie Binner in Cobra, Kid in Cautious Campbell, Rosie Betts in The Pool, Mimi Winstock in Mr. Prohack und die Anna in The Outskirts. Die Künstlerin trat auch im Gate-Theater auf, und zwar in Little Lord Fauntleroy und Ten Nights in a Bar-Room.

Ihr Verhältnis zum Film begann schon frühzeitig, und zwar bei Ideal-Film. Nach drei stummen Filmen, die H. G. Wells speziell für sie schrieb, spielte Elsa Lanchester in den Gainsborough-Filmen „The Contant Nymph”, „The Stronger Sex” und „One of the Best”; außerdem filmte sie für die British International Company in „The Love Habit” und „Potiphar’s Wife”, und für die Paramount in „The Officer’s Mess”. Von ihrem ersten Auftreten an wurde Elsa Lanchester von Publikum und Presse in gleicher Weise ernst genommen.

Stapledown, East Clandon, Surrey | T: Clandon 259 | X: GL

AA • FL • BC • BA • CB • EH • ED • EV • GK

Elsa Lanchester (1902–1986)

Collection: Universal Filmlexikon — 1932