# Rosalie Crutchley

Rosalie Sylvia Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was a British actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was perhaps best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in theatre and films, making her stage debut as early as 1932, and her screen debut in 1947.
She had dark piercing eyes and often played foreign or rather sinister characters. She also played many classical roles, including Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hermione in The Winter's Tale, and Goneril in King Lear.
Crutchley died at The Harley Street Hospital in London in 1997.

## Career

Crutchley was born in London on 4 January 1920. She trained at the Royal Academy of Music.
Her screen debut was as a violinist who is murdered in Take My Life (1947). She played Madame Defarge twice in adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities, in both the 1958 film, and in the 1965 television serialisation of the same story.
She played Catherine Parr in the 1970 TV series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and played the same character in its sequel, Elizabeth R (1971). She had previously portrayed Henry's first wife Catherine of Aragon in the 1953 film The Sword and the Rose.
Other roles included Mrs Sparsit in Hard Times (ITV, 1977), and Electra (1974). She also starred in the 1979 BBC TV production of Testament of Youth, playing the role of the Principal of Somerville College, Oxford. She was in the films Quo Vadis (1951), as Acte, the former mistress of the Emperor Nero (Peter Ustinov), and The Haunting (1963), as the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Dudley.
Crutchley also appeared in film adaptations of two A.J. Cronin novels, The Spanish Gardener (1956) and Beyond This Place (1959), and played the flinty maiden aunt in the TV adaptation of Brendon Chase (1980–81). She had two guest roles in Casualty, in 1992 and 1995. She also had a short, but memorable, appearance in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).
She appeared in only one film musical, Man of La Mancha (1972), based on the successful stage production, as Don Quixote's housekeeper. In the role, her less-than-good singing voice was used for intentionally comic effect in the song "I'm Only Thinking of Him".
Her last appearance was in the pilot episode of the TV detective series, Midsomer Murders, playing Lucy Bellringer. This was shown in 1997, shortly before her death.
Crutchley died in London on 28 July 1997.

## Personal life

She was married twice, first to actor Dan Cunningham in 1939 and secondly to actor Peter Ashmore in 1946. Both marriages ended in divorce. She had two children, the physicist Jonathan Ashmore and Catherine Ashmore, the theatrical photographer.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1947 | Take My Life | Elizabeth Rusman |
| 1950 | Prelude to Fame | Carlotta Ferugia |
| 1951 | The Lady with a Lamp | Mrs. Sidney Herbert |
| 1951 | Quo Vadis | Claudia Acte |
| 1953 | Malta Story | Carmella Gonzar |
| 1953 | The Sword and the Rose | Queen Katherine |
| 1954 | Flame and the Flesh | Francesca |
| 1955 | Make Me an Offer | Bella |
| 1956 | The Gamma People | Frau Bikstein |
| 1956 | The Spanish Gardener | Magdalena |
| 1957 | Miracle in Soho | Mafalda Gozzi |
| 1957 | Seven Thunders | Therese Blanchard |
| 1958 | A Tale of Two Cities | Madame Defarge |
| 1959 | Beyond This Place | Ella Mathry |
| 1959 | The Nun's Story | Sister Eleanor |
| 1960 | Sons and Lovers | Mrs. Leivers |
| 1961 | No Love for Johnnie | Alice Byrne |
| 1962 | Freud: The Secret Passion | Amalia Freud |
| 1963 | The Haunting | Mrs. Dudley |
| 1963 | The Model Girl Murder Case | Maude Klein |
| 1964 | Behold a Pale Horse | Teresa Viñolas |
| 1970 | Wuthering Heights | Mrs. Earnshaw |
| 1971 | Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? | Miss Henley |
| 1971 | Creatures the World Forgot | The Old Crone |
| 1971 | Blood from the Mummy's Tomb | Helen Dickerson |
| 1972 | Au Pair Girls | Lady Tryke |
| 1973 | The House in Nightmare Park | Jessica Henderson |
| 1973 | And Now the Screaming Starts! | Mrs. Luke |
| 1974 | Mahler | Marie Mahler |
| 1976 | The Message | Somaya |
| 1983 | The Keep | Josefa |
| 1988 | A World Apart | Mrs. Harris |
| 1990 | The Fool | Mrs. Harris |
| 1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Mrs. Beaumont |
| 1994 | A Pin for the Butterfly | Anna |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1947 | The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet | Juliet Capulet | TV film |
| 1947 | The Infernal Machine | The Sphinx | TV film |
| 1948 | The Tragedy of King Lear | Goneril | TV film |
| 1949 | Crime Passionel | Olga | TV film |
| 1949 | Ladies in Waiting | Janet Garner | TV film |
| 1955 | The Messenger | Mary | TV film |
| 1955 | Madeleine | Madeleine | TV film |
| 1955 | London Playhouse | Tina Bordereau | Episode: "A Garden in the Sea" |
| 1956 | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | Annette | Episode: "Death in Inner Space" |
| 1956 | Romney | Margaret Vaughn | TV film |
| 1956 | The Gambler | Polina Alexandrovna | TV film |
| 1956 | Nom-de-Plume | Elisa | Episode: "The Ten Strangers" |
| 1956 | Assignment Foreign Legion | Lucette | Episode: "The Outcast" |
| 1956, 1964 | Armchair Theatre | Mary Charrington, Miriam | Episodes: "Black Limelight", "Cradle Song" |
| 1957 | Eye Witness | Ruth | TV film |
| 1958 | Television World Theatre | Andromache | Episode: "Women of Troy" |
| 1959 | The Hill | Mary Magdalene | TV film |
| 1959 | The Flying Doctors | Jean Dawson | Episode: "The Shock" |
| 1959 | Play of the Week | Elsa | Episode: "The Last Hours" |
| 1960 | The Soldier and the Woman | Rachel | TV film |
| 1961 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez | Episode: "Charley's Aunt" |
| 1961 | The Complaisant Lover | Mary Rhodes | TV film |
| 1961 | The Pursuers | Vi Webber | Episode: "The George Webber Story" |
| 1962 | The Winter's Tale | Hermione | TV film |
| 1962 | The Franchise Affair | Marion Sharpe | 6 |
| 1962 | Maigret | Aimee Malik | Episode: "The Dirty House" |
| 1963 | Suspense | Anna Blake | Episode: "Thunder on Sycamore Street" |
| 1963 | The Human Jungle | Naomi Leigh Brooke | Episode: "A Woman with Scars" |
| 1963 | Sergeant Cork | Victoria Melrose | Episode: "The Case of the Sleeping Coachman" |
| 1964 | The Full Man | Lady MacBeth | Episode: "Tragedy" |
| 1964 | Festival | Mrs. Sarti | Episode: "The Life of Galileo" |
| 1964 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Hermine Danglars | Regular role |
| 1965 | Hit and Run | Georgina Prestley | Episodes: "Accident", "Enquiry", "Arrest", "Trial" |
| 1965 | A Tale of Two Cities | Madame Defarge | TV series |
| 1965 | Armchair Mystery Theatre | Anna | Episode: "The Madam" |
| 1965 | The Mask of Janus | Madame Navachine | Episode: "Rendezvous" |
| 1965–1966 | The Wednesday Play | Mrs. Liddel, Pauline Tenterden, Caridad Mercader | Episodes: "Alice", "The Connoisseur", "The Executioner" |
| 1967 | The Paradise Makers | Inga Swynnerton | Episodes: "1.1", "1.2", "1.4", "1.6" |
| 1967 | Sanctuary | Sister Euphrasia | Episode: "The Face of Hunger" |
| 1967 | The Prisoner | Queen | Episode: "Checkmate" |
| 1967–1968 | Theatre 625 | Maria, Madame Calas | Episodes: "The Single Passion", "The Fanatics" |
| 1968 | City '68 | Enid Somerset | Episode: "The Visitors" |
| 1968 | Cold Comfort Farm | Judith Starkadder | TV miniseries |
| 1969 | The Possessed | Varvara Stavrogin | TV miniseries |
| 1969 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Hannah Pritchard | Episode: "The Wicked Stage" |
| 1969 | Parkin's Patch | Miss Craig | Episode: "The Deserter" |
| 1970 | Manhunt | Hortense | Episode: "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?" |
| 1970 | The Six Wives of Henry VIII | Catherine Parr | Episode: "Catherine Parr" |
| 1970 | Crime of Passion | Helene Jeygu | Episode: "Helene" |
| 1970–1971 | Jackanory | Storyteller | TV series |
| 1971 | Elizabeth R | Catherine Parr | Episode: "The Lion's Cub" |
| 1973 | Country Matters | Mrs. Sadgrove | Episode: "The Higgler" |
| 1973 | Hadleigh | Kate | Episode: "The Goddaughter" |
| 1973 | The Return | Mrs. Park | TV series |
| 1974 | Carrie's War | Hepzibah Green | Main role |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Miehen | Episode: "Tell the King the Sky Is Falling" |
| 1974, 1976 | Play of the Month | Clytaemnestra, Mrs. Bagot | Episodes: "Electra", "Trilby" |
| 1975 | Churchill's People | Hildis | Episode: "The Conquerors" |
| 1975 | Affairs of the Heart | Mrs. Costello | Episode: "Daisy" |
| 1975 | North & South | Mrs. Thornton | TV miniseries |
| 1976 | Bill Brand | Mrs. Martin | Episode: "Tranquility of the Realm" |
| 1977 | Drama | Jocasta | Episode: "Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles" |
| 1977 | The Peppermint Pig | Aunt Sarah | TV series |
| 1977 | Hard Times | Mrs. Sparsit | TV miniseries |
| 1978, 1984 | Play for Today | Mrs. Howard, Laura | Episodes: "Destiny", "Moving on the Edge" |
| 1979 | Horse in the House | Gwen Davis | Episodes: "Right of Way: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1979 | Testament of Youth | Miss Penrose | TV miniseries |
| 1980, 1982 | BBC2 Playhouse | Miss Snell, Beth | Episodes: "Gentle Folk", "Passing Through" |
| 1980–1981 | Brendon Chase | Aunt Ellen | TV series |
| 1981 | Cribb | Mrs. Innocent | Episode: "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" |
| 1982 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Simone | TV film |
| 1982 | Smiley's People | Mother Felicity | Episodes: "1.5", "1.6" |
| 1982 | The Agatha Christie Hour | Mrs. Thompson | Episode: "The Red Signal" |
| 1983 | Chessgame | Mary Jenkins | Episodes: "Enter Hassan", "The Alamut Ambush" |
| 1983–1985 | By the Sword Divided | Margaret | Main role |
| 1983–1984 | Crown Court | Eloise Hunter | Episodes: "Mother's Boy: Part 1", "The Son of His Father: Part 1" |
| 1984 | The Testament of John | Mary | TV film |
| 1985 | Sherlock Holmes | Mrs. Lexington | Episode: "The Norwood Builder" |
| 1986 | The Theban Plays by Sophocles | Eurydice | Episode: "Theban Plays: Antigone" |
| 1986 | Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage | Mrs. Price-Ridley | TV film |
| 1986 | The Alamut Ambush | Mary Jenkins | TV film |
| 1987 | Worlds Beyond | Mrs. Pringle | Episode: "The Black Tomb" |
| 1987 | Great Performers | Teresa | Episode: "Monsignor Quixote" |
| 1987 | Dramarama | Miss Brady | Episode: "Badger on the Barge" |
| 1988 | Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun | Mrs. Markham | TV film |
| 1988 | The Franchise Affair | Mrs. Sharpe | TV series |
| 1989 | Campion | Lisa | Episodes: "Death of a Ghost: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1989 | Screen One | Gladys | Episode: "She's Been Away" |
| 1990 | God on the Rocks | Rosalie Frayling | TV film |
| 1991 | Dark Season | Mrs. Polzinski | Episodes: "1.1", "1.2", "1.3" |
| 1992 | Anglo Saxon Attitudes | Stephanie Houdet | TV miniseries |
| 1992, 1995 | Casualty | Dodie Mitchell, Frances Newton | Episodes: "Cascade", "Sacrifice" |
| 1993 | Screen Two | Mrs. Birt | Episode: "Femme Fatale" |
| 1993 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Madame Deroulard | Episode: "The Chocolate Box" |
| 1993 | Lovejoy | Evie Smyton | Episode: "Taking the Pledge" |
| 1993 | Heartbeat | Florence Stockwell | Episode: "Endangered Species" |
| 1994 | Under the Hammer | Olga Krupenskya | Episode: "The Virgin of Vitebsk" |
| 1994 | A Skirt Through History | Florence Nightingale | Episode: "An Experiment" |
| 1994 | Cadfael | Juliana Aurifaber | Episode: "The Sanctuary Sparrow" |
| 1995 | A Village Affair | Lettice Deverel | TV film |
| 1995 | Wycliffe | Agnes Currow | Episode: "Wild Oats" |
| 1997 | Midsomer Murders | Lucy Bellringer | Episode: "The Killings at Badger's Drift" |