# Glynis Johns filmography and discography

Glynis Johns was a South African-born British actress who appeared in 58 feature films, 3 short films, 32 television shows, and more than 30 plays across eight decades on screen and stage.

## Overview

Johns began her career performing as a child on stage. She was typecast as a stage dancer from early adolescence, making her screen debut in 1938 with the film adaptation of Winifred Holtby's posthumous novel South Riding. She rose to prominence in the 1940s following her role as Anna in the war drama film 49th Parallel (1941), for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Acting, and starring roles in Miranda (1948) and Third Time Lucky (1949).
Following No Highway in the Sky (1951), a joint British-American production, Johns took on increasingly more roles in America and elsewhere. She made her television and Broadway debuts in 1952 and took on starring roles in such films as The Sword and the Rose (1953), The Weak and the Wicked (1954), Mad About Men (1954), The Court Jester (1955), The Sundowners (1960), The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), and Under Milk Wood (1972). On CBS, she starred in her own sitcom Glynis (1963) as the neophyte mystery writer Glynis Granvile with Keith Andes playing Glynis' husband Keith Granville.
In the 1970s and the 1980s, Johns narrated several fairy tales and other children's classics for Caedmon Records, the record label imprints of HarperCollins Publishers. Renowned for the breathy quality of her husky voice, she sang songs written specifically for her both on screen and stage, most notably "Sister Suffragette", written by the Sherman Brothers for Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), in which she played Winifred Banks and for which she won a Laurel Award for Best Female Supporting Performance, and "Send In the Clowns", composed by Stephen Sondheim for Broadway's A Little Night Music (1973), in which she originated the role of Desiree Armfeldt and for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.

## Filmography
### Features

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Leading man | Studio | Notes |
| 1938 | South Riding | Midge Carne | Victor Saville | Ralph Richardson | Victor Saville Productions London Film Productions | Film debut |
| 1938 | Murder in the Family | Marjorie Osborne | Albert Parker | Barry Jones | 20th Century Fox | |
| 1938 | Prison Without Bars | Nina | Brian Desmond Hurst | Barry K. Barnes | London Film Productions | |
| 1939 | On the Night of the Fire | Mary Carr | Brian Desmond Hurst | Ralph Richardson | Greenspan & Seligman Enterprises Ltd. | U.S. title: The Fugitive |
| 1940 | Under Your Hat | Winnie | Maurice Elvey | Jack Hulbert | Grand National Pictures | |
| 1940 | The Briggs Family | Sheila Briggs | Herbert Mason | Edward Chapman | Warner Bros. | |
| 1940 | The Thief of Bagdad | Princess' Maid | Michael Powell Ludwig Berger Tim Whelan | Conrad Veidt | London Films | Uncredited |
| 1940 | The Prime Minister | Miss Sheridan | Thorold Dickinson | John Gielgud | Warner Bros. First National Pictures | Uncredited |
| 1941 | 49th Parallel | Anna | Michael Powell | Leslie Howard | Ortus Films | Won National Board of Review Awards 1942 for Best Acting |
| 1943 | The Adventures of Tartu | Paula Palacek | Harold S. Bucquet | Robert Donat | MGM-British Studios | U.S. title: Sabotage Agent |
| 1944 | The Halfway House | Gwyneth | Basil Dearden | Mervyn Johns | Ealing Studios | |
| 1945 | Perfect Strangers | Dizzy Clayton | Alexander Korda | Robert Donat | London Films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | U.S. title: Vacation from Marriage |
| 1946 | This Man Is Mine | Millie | Marcel Varnel | Tom Walls | Columbia British Productions | |
| 1947 | Frieda | Judy | David Farrar | Basil Dearden | Ealing Studios | |
| 1947 | An Ideal Husband | Miss Mabel Chiltern | Alexander Korda | Michael Wilding | London Film Productions | |
| 1948 | Miranda | Miranda Trewella | Ken Annakin | Griffith Jones | Gainsborough Pictures | |
| 1949 | Third Time Lucky | Joan Burns | Gordon Parry | Dermot Walsh | Gainsborough Pictures | |
| 1949 | Helter Skelter | Miranda Trewella | Ralph Thomas | David Tomlinson | Gainsborough Pictures | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Dear Mr. Prohack | Mimi Warburton | Cecil Parker | Thornton Freeland | Wessex Film Productions | |
| 1950 | State Secret | Lisa Robinson | Sidney Gilliat | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. | London Films | U.S. title: The Great Manhunt |
| 1950 | The Blue Lamp | — | Basil Dearden | Jack Warner | Ealing Studios | |
| 1951 | Flesh and Blood | Katherine | Anthony Kimmins | Richard Todd | London Films | |
| 1951 | No Highway in the Sky | Marjorie Corder | Henry Koster | James Stewart | 20th Century Fox | Overseas title: No Highway in the Sky |
| 1951 | Appointment with Venus | Nicola Fallaize | Ralph Thomas | David Niven | British Film Makers Ltd | U.S. title: Island Rescue |
| 1951 | Encore | Stella Cotman | Pat Jackson Anthony Pelissier Harold French | Nigel Patrick | Two Cities Films | Segment: Gigolo and Gigolette |
| 1951 | The Magic Box | May Jones | John Boulting | Robert Donat | Festival Film Productions | |
| 1952 | The Card | Ruth Earp | Ronald Neame | Alec Guinness | British Film-Makers | U.S. title: The Promoter |
| 1953 | The Sword and the Rose | Princess Mary Tudor | Ken Annakin | James Robertson Justice | Walt Disney Pictures | |
| 1953 | Personal Affair | Barbara Vining | Anthony Pelissier | Leo Genn | Two Cities Films | |
| 1953 | Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue | Helen Mary MacPherson MacGregor | Harold French | Richard Todd | Walt Disney Pictures | |
| 1954 | The Weak and the Wicked | Jean Raymond | J. Lee Thompson | John Gregson | Associated British Picture Corporation | U.S. title: Young and Willing |
| 1954 | The Seekers | Marion Southey | Ken Annakin | Jack Hawkins | Fanfare Productions | U.S. title: Land of Fury |
| 1954 | The Beachcomber | Martha Jones | Muriel Box | Donald Sinden | London Independent Producers | |
| 1954 | Mad About Men | Caroline Trewella Miranda Trewella | Ralph Thomas | Donald Sinden | Group Film Productions | |
| 1955 | Josephine and Men | Josephine Luton | Roy Boulting | Jack Buchanan | Charter Film Productions | |
| 1955 | The Court Jester | Maid Jean | Melvin Frank Norman Panama | Danny Kaye | Dena Enterprises | |
| 1956 | Loser Takes All | Cary | Ken Annakin | Rossano Brazzi | Independent Film Producers John Stafford Productions | |
| 1956 | Around the World in 80 Days | Sporting lady's companion | Michael Anderson | Cantinflas | Michael Todd Company | |
| 1957 | All Mine to Give | Jo Eunson | Allen Reisner | Cameron Mitchell | RKO Radio Pictures | |
| 1958 | Another Time, Another Place | Kay Trevor | Lewis Allen | Barry Sullivan | Lanturn Productions Kaydor Productions Ltd. | |
| 1959 | Shake Hands with the Devil | Kitty Brady | Michael Anderson | James Cagney | Pennebaker Productions | |
| 1960 | Last of the Few | Narrator | David Millin | Leon Gluckman | Davold Enterprises | |
| 1960 | The Spider's Web | Clarissa Hailsham-Brown | Godfrey Grayson | John Justin | Danziger Productions | |
| 1960 | The Sundowners | Mrs. Firth | Fred Zinnemann | Robert Mitchum | Warner Bros. | Nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1962 | The Cabinet of Caligari | Jane Lindstrom | Roger Kay | Dan O'Herlihy | Twentieth Century Fox Associated Producers (API) Robert L. Lippert Productions | |
| 1962 | The Chapman Report | Teresa Harnish | George Cukor | Efrem Zimbalist Jr | Darryl F. Zanuck Productions | Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama |
| 1963 | Papa's Delicate Condition | Amberlyn Griffith | George Marshall | Jackie Gleason | Amro Productions | |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Winifred Banks | Robert Stevenson | Dick Van Dyke | Walt Disney Productions | |
| 1965 | Dear Brigitte | Vina Leaf | Henry Koster | James Stewart | A Fred Kohlmar Production 20th Century Fox | |
| 1968 | Don't Just Stand There! | Sabine Manning | Ron Winston | Robert Wagner | Universal Pictures | |
| 1969 | Lock Up Your Daughters! | Mrs. Squeezum | Peter Coe | Christopher Plummer | Domino Films | |
| 1972 | Under Milk Wood | Myfanwy Price | Andrew Sinclair | Richard Burton | Timon Films | |
| 1973 | The Vault of Horror | Eleanor | Roy Ward Baker | Terry-Thomas | Amicus Productions Metromedia Producers Corporation | Segment: The Neat Job |
| 1987 | Nukie | Sister Anne | Sias Odendaal Michael Pakleppa | Anthony Morrison | Lars International Pictures | |
| 1988 | Zelly and Me | Co-Co | Tina Rathborne | David Lynch | Columbia Pictures Cypress Films (II) Mark/Jett Productions | |
| 1994 | The Ref | Rose | Ted Demme | Denis Leary | Touchstone Pictures Don Simpson Jerry Bruckheimer Films | |
| 1995 | While You Were Sleeping | Elsie | Jon Turteltaub | Bill Pullman | Hollywood Pictures Caravan Pictures | |
| 1999 | Superstar | Grandma | Bruce McCulloch | Will Ferrell | SNL Studios | Final film role |

### Short subjects

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Leading man | Studio | Notes |
| 1974 | The Happy Prince | Swallow | Michael Mills | Christopher Plummer | Potterton Productions Reader's Digest | Voice |
| 1977 | Three Dangerous Ladies | Mrs. Amworth | Alvin Rakoff Don Thompson Robert Fuest | John Phillips | Highgate Pictures | Segment: Mrs. Amworth |
| 1978 | Mrs. Amworth | Mrs. Amworth | Alvin Rakoff | Derek Francis | HTV West Highgate Associates Ontario Educational Communications Authority (OECA) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Leading man | Network | Notes |
| 1952 | Little Women | Lily Snape | Franklin J. Schaffner | Paul Branson | CBS Television Network | Original title: Studio One |
| 1953 | Lux Video Theatre | — | Fielder Cook | Brian Aherne | J. Walter Thompson Agency | |
| 1956 | The Errol Flynn Theatre | Lou McNamara Susan Tracey | Lawrence Huntington | Errol Flynn | Motley Films Official Films | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | — | Jules Bricken | William Bishop | Revue Studios | Episode: The Dead Are Silent |
| 1958 | The Frank Sinatra Show | Christine Nolan | — | Frank Sinatra | Hobart Productions | Episode: Face of Fear |
| 1961 | Adventures in Paradise | Esther Holmes | Felix E. Feist | Gardner McKay | Martin Manulis Productions Jaymar Productions 20th Century Fox Television | |
| 1961 | The Roaring 20's | Kitty O'Moyne | Charles R. Rondeau | Donald May | Warner Bros. Television | |
| 1961 | General Electric Theater | Alma | — | Shelley Berman | Revue Studios | |
| 1961 | The Naked City | Miss Arlington | Paul Wendkos | Paul Burke | Shelle Productions Screen Gems | |
| 1962 | The Dick Powell Show | Rosie Sayer | David Friedkin | James Coburn | Four Star Productions | |
| 1962 | Dr. Kildare | Sister Brigid Marie | Robert Butler | Richard Chamberlain | Arena Productions MGM Television | |
| 1962 | The Beachcomber | Rosalind Metcalf | Tay Garnett | Cameron Mitchell | Everglade Productions | Episode: The Search for Robert Herrick |
| 1962 | Saints and Sinners | Lois Hawley | Richard Benedict | Nick Adams | Four Star Productions Hondo | |
| 1963 | The DuPont Show of the Week | Emily Foster | Franklin J. Schaffner | Eddie Albert | — | |
| 1963 | The Lloyd Bridges Show | Leah Marquand | Don Siegel | Lloyd Bridges | Four Star Productions Loring-Caron | |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse | Glynis Granville | Sherman Marks | Keith Andes | Desilu Productions | |
| 1963 | Glynis | Glynis Granville | E. W. Swackhamer | Keith Andes | Desilu Productions Esco Productions | 13 episodes |
| 1964 | Burke's Law | Steffi Bernard | Don Taylor | Gene Barry | Four Star Productions Barbety Production | |
| 1964 | The Defenders | Catherine Collins | David Greene | E. G. Marshall | Plautus Productions Defender Productions CBS Television Network | |
| 1964 | 12 O'clock High | Jennifer Heath | Don Medford | Robert Lansing | 20th Century Fox Television Quinn Martin Productions (QM) | |
| 1967 | Batman | Lady Penelope Peasoup | Oscar Rudolph | Adam West | Greenway Productions 20th Century Fox Television | 4 episodes |
| 1968 | ITV Playhouse | Lorraine Barrie | Guy Verney | Robert Hardy | Associated-Rediffusion Television Thames Television | Episode: Star Quality |
| 1982 | Little Gloria... Happy at Last | Laura Fitzpatrick Morgan | Waris Hussein | Christopher Plummer | — | Television mini series |
| 1983 | Cheers | Mrs. Helen Chambers | James Burrows | Ted Danson | Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions Paramount Television | |
| 1984 | The Love Boat | Edna Miles | Richard Kinon | Gavin MacLeod | Aaron Spelling Productions Douglas S. Cramer Company The Love Boat Company | |
| 1984 | Spraggue | Aunt Mary | Larry Elikann | Michael Nouri | Lorimar Productions MF Productions | Television film |
| 1984 | The Crime of Ovide Plouffe | — | Denys Arcand Gilles Carle | Donald Pilon | — | Television mini series |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Bridget O'Hara | John Llewellyn Moxey | Barrie Ingham | Universal Television | Episode: Sing a Song of Murder |
| 1987 | The Cavanaughs | Maureen | Andrew D. Weyman | Barnard Hughes | Paramount Television | Episode: The Eyes Have Had It |
| 1988 | Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School | Mrs. Grimwood | Charles Nichols Ray Patterson | Remy Auberjonois | Hanna-Barbera Productions Taft Broadcasting | Voice Television film |
| 1988–89 | Coming of Age | Trudie Pepper | Tony Mordente | Paul Dooley | — | 15 episodes |
| 1994 | ABC Weekend Specials | Darjeeling | Dave Edwards | Derek Jacobi | Mike Young Productions Greengrass Productions DIC Entertainment | Television short |

## Stage appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Leading man | Theatre | Notes | Ref |
| 1931 | Judgement Day | Sonia Kuman | Ronald Adam | Lewis Casson | Phoenix Theatre | | |
| 1935 | Buckie's Bears | Ursula | — | Harold Reese | Garrick Theatre | | [55] [56] |
| 1936 | St Helena | Hortense | Henry Cass | Eric Wynn Owen | The Old Vic | | |
| 1936 | The Children's Hour | Mary Tilford | Norman Marshall Reginald Beekwith | Leo Genn | Gate Theatre | | |
| 1936 | The Melody That Got Lost | Elf | — | — | Embassy Theatre | | |
| 1937 | Judgement Day | Sonia Kuman | — | Douglas Jefferies | Strand Theatre | | |
| 1937 | A Kiss for Cinderella | Cinderella | — | Sebastian Shaw | Phoenix Theatre | | [61] [62] |
| 1938 | Quiet Wedding | Miranda Bute | Marjorie Morris | George Thorpe | Wyndham's Theatre | | |
| 1941 | Quiet Weekend | Miranda Bute | Richard Bird | Frank Cellier | Wyndham's Theatre | | |
| 1943 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan | — | Baliol Holloway | Cambridge Theatre | | [63] [64] |
| 1944 | I'll See You Again | Corinne | Joyce Carey | Hugh Sinclair | Manchester Opera House | | |
| 1946 | Fools Rush In | Pam | — | Derek Farr | Fortune Theatre | | |
| 1950 | The Way Things Go | Mary Flemin | Anthony Pelissier | Ronald Squire | Phoenix Theatre | | |
| 1952 | Gertie | Gertie | Herman Shumlin | Albert Dekker | Plymouth Theatre | | |
| 1956 | Major Barbara | Barbara Undershaft | Charles Laughton | Charles Laughton | Martin Beck Theatre | | |
| 1963 | Too True to Be Good | Miss Mopply | Albert Marre | Cedric Hardwicke | 54th Street Theatre | | |
| 1966 | The King's Mare | Anne of Cleves | Peter Coe | Blake Butler | Garrick Theatre | | |
| 1969 | A Talent to Amuse | — | Nigel Patrick Douglas Squires Wendy Toye | Patrick Allen | Phoenix Theatre | | |
| 1969–70 | Come As You Are | Queen Elizabeth I | Allan Davis | Denholm Elliott | New Theatre | | [57] [69] |
| 1972 | The Marquise | Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla | Roger Redfarn | Brian Badcoe | Bristol Hippodrome | | [57] [70] |
| 1973 | A Little Night Music | Desiree Armfeldt | Harold Prince | Len Cariou | Sam S. Shubert Theatre Majestic Theatre | Won Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical | |
| 1973 | Sondheim: A Musical Tribute | — | Burt Shevelove | George Lee Andrews | Sam S. Shubert Theatre | | |
| 1975 | Ring Round the Moon | Madame Desmortes | Joseph Hardy | Michael York | Ahmanson Theatre | | |
| 1976 | 13 Rue de l'Amour | Leontine | Peter Dews | Robert Vowles | Phoenix Theatre | | |
| 1978 | Cause célèbre | Alma Rattenbury | Robin Midgley | — | Her Majesty's Theatre | Won Best Actress Award, Variety Club and nominated for Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play | |
| 1980–81 | Hay Fever | Judith Bliss | Michael Blakemore | John Le Mesurier | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre | | |
| 1984 | The Boy Friend | Madame Dubonnet | Sandy Wilson | John Griffiths | Churchill Theatre | | |
| 1989–90 | The Circle | Lady Catherine Champion-Cheney | Brian Murray | Robin Chadwick | Ambassador Theatre | | |
| 1991 | A Little Night Music | Madame Armfeldt | Gordon Davidson | Franc D'Ambrosio | Ricardo Montalbán Theatre | | |
| 1998 | A Coffin in Egypt | Myrtle Bledsoe | Leonard Foglia | — | Bay Street Theatre | | [74] [75] |

## Radio appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Presenter | Leading man | Station | Episode | Ref |
| 1976 | Desert Island Discs | — | Roy Plomley | — | BBC Radio 4 | Glynis Johns | |

## Discography

| Year | Album | Role | Producer | Label | Song | Notes |
| 1950 | State Secret | Lisa Robinson | Sidney Gilliat Frank Launder | — | "Paper Doll" | |
| 1954 | Mad About Men | Miranda Trewella | Betty E. Box Earl St. John | Columbia | "Always You" "I Can't Resist Men" | |
| 1960 | The Sundowners | Mrs. Firth | Gerry Blattner | — | "Botany Bay" | |
| 1973 | Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack | Winifred Banks | Evelyn Kennedy Jimmy Johnson | His Master's Voice | "Sister Suffragette" "Let's Go Fly a Kite" | |
| 1972 | The Story Of Peter Pan | Narrator & Reader | — | Caedmon Records | — | |
| 1973 | Snow-White And Rose-Red And Other Andrew Lang Fairy Tales | Narrator & Reader | — | Caedmon Records | — | |
| 1973 | Bambi | Narrator & Reader | — | Caedmon Records | — | |
| 1973 | A Little Night Music (Original Broadway Cast Album) | Desiree Armfeldt | Thomas Z. Shepard Goddard Lieberson Ruth Mitchell | Columbia Masterworks | "The Glamorous Life" "You Must Meet My Wife" "Send in the Clowns" | |
| 1973 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Desiree Armfeldt | Frederick De Cordova | — | "Send in the Clowns" | Episode: 10 May 1973 |
| 1981 | The Light Princess | Narrator & Reader | — | Caedmon Records | — | |
| 1984 | Bargain for Frances and Other Frances Stories | Narrator & Reader | — | Caedmon Records | — | |
| 1985 | Great Performances | Desiree Armfeldt | Iris Merlis Deborah Oppenheimer | — | "Send in the Clowns" | Episode: The Best of Broadway |
| 2000 | Broadway Super Hits, Vol. 2 | Desiree Armfeldt | — | — | "Send in the Clowns" | |
| 2008 | The Story So Far... | Desiree Armfeldt | — | — | "Send in the Clowns" | |
| 2018 | Diminishing returns | Winifred Banks | Sol Harris Allen Turing | | "Sister Suffragette" | Episode: Mary Poppins |