Brenda Forbes

Acting

Brenda Forbes

Born January 14, 1909 · Wandsworth, London, England, UK

Died September 11, 1996 · aged 87

Born as Dorothy Brenda Taylor, Brenda adopted the last name Forbes as did her two notable acting relatives: mother Mary (born Ethel Louise) and brother Ralph. Like her relatives, she moved to the United States to further pursue her acting career. While her film roles were limited, she worked on stage for decades. Shortly before her death, she published her memoirs, "Five Minutes, Miss Forbes."

Known For

Mrs. MiniverMrs. Miniver · 1942
Mrs. Miniver
7.11942
MovieDramaRomance
Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.
This Above AllThis Above All · 1942
This Above All
6.81942
MovieDramaRomance
In 1940 England, aristocratic Prudence Cathaway alarms her snobbish parents by joining the WAF service branch. She soon meets and falls in love with the brooding Clive Briggs, despite his prejudice against the upper classes, and agrees to spend a week with him at a Dover hotel. When Clive's soldier friend, Monty, arrives to retrieve him, Prudence learns that Clive went AWOL after Dunkirk, and urges him to recall why England must fight the war.
The White Cliffs of DoverThe White Cliffs of Dover · 1944
The White Cliffs of Dover
6.71944
MovieDramaWar
American Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a society ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, she never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry. At the outbreak of World War I, John is sent to the trenches and never returns. When her son goes off to fight in World War II, Susan fears the same tragic fate may befall him too.
The Jerky BoysThe Jerky Boys · 1995
The Jerky Boys
4.41995
MovieComedyCrime
When two unemployed telephone pranksters decide to use their vocal "talents" to impersonate a Chicago mob boss and curry favor with organized crime in New York, the trouble begins. It isn't long before Johnny and Kamal (the "Jerky Boys" of crank call fame) are wanted by the local mafia, the police, and their neighbor.
Mrs. Delafield Wants to MarryMrs. Delafield Wants to Marry · 1986
Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry
6.81986
MovieComedyRomance
A rich widow shocks her snobbish WASP family when she decides to marry her Jewish, divorced, doctor. His family is equally shocked.
Miss PollyMiss Polly · 1941
Miss Polly
4.91941
MovieComedy
A small-town spinster, who's a born romantic, takes on the strict members of the local "Purity League" by spilling a few of their well-kept secrets. Comedy.
The Man UpstairsThe Man Upstairs · 1992
The Man Upstairs
5.71992
MovieComedyDrama
Hepburn plays an elderly woman whose house becomes a hideaway for an escaped convict (O'Neal), and the pair strike up an unlikely friendship.
Blithe SpiritBlithe Spirit · 1956
Blithe Spirit
8.01956
MovieComedyTV Movie
While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.

Filmography

Sort
Four Star PlayhouseFour Star Playhouse · 1952
Four Star Playhouse
6.81952
SeriesDramaComedy
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.

Edythe Livingstone