Barbara Mullen

Born: 1914-06-09

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Barbara Mullen (9 June 1914, Boston, Massachusetts – 9 March 1979, London, England) was an American actress well known in the UK for playing the part of Janet the housekeeper in Dr Finlay's Casebook. Although the role of Janet brought her fame in later years, she had already made her mark in the theatre. Mullen's parents, Pat and Bridget, were from a fishing family on Inishmore island off the coast of Co. Clare, Ireland. The family had emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, where Mullen was born. She made her stage debut at the age of three as a dancer. When her father returned to Aran, becoming famous as the 'Man of Aran', in the classic documentary film by Robert Flaherty, her mother stayed in America to bring up the ten children. Mullen sang and danced in various theatres all over America, before crossing the Atlantic in 1934 and training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. At the age of 24, she wrote her autobiography, Life is my Adventure. A year later she made her London debut, acting the title role in the London West End production of Jeannie, a comedy about a Scottish girl taking a European holiday after coming into money. She became an overnight star. She later succeeded Celia Johnson as Mrs De Winter in the Daphne Du Maurier classic Rebecca and played Maggie in a revival of What Every Woman Knows by J M Barrie and as the aged sleuth Miss Marple in The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. Mullen repeated the role of 'Jeannie' on television and in the 1941 British film, which was her cinema debut, alongside Michael Redgrave, and she followed this with appearances in 20 further films, including A Place of One's Own, Corridor of Mirrors and Innocent Sinners. She also played a notable role in the 1942 film version of Robert Ardrey's Thunder Rock, as Ellen Kirby, the feminist who is jailed for her "subversive" ideas. She was the daughter of Pat Mullen, star of Robert Flaherty's Man of Aran. She was married to the film's cameraman, documentary film-maker John Taylor. and they had two daughters - Briged and Susannah. She appeared on television in America and Britain, in programmes such as Juno and the Paycock and The Danny Thomas Show before being offered the role in Dr Finlay's Casebook, which began on the BBC in 1962. Her character, Janet, was the ever efficient housekeeper to Doctors Finlay and Cameron at Arden House, in the fictional Scottish village of Tannochbrae. When the series finished on television nine years later, it transferred to radio, running until 1978. Barbara Mullen died of a heart attack in London, England on 9 March 1979. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barbara Mullen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Corridor of Mirrors

as Veronica
Released: 1948-02-23

A man falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begins to suspect that he may have also...

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The Gentle Gunman

as Molly Fagan
Released: 1952-10-23

The relationship between brothers Terry and Matt, both active in the IRA, comes under strain...

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A Place of One's Own

as Emilie Smedhurst
Released: 1945-03-20

An elderly couple move into an old, supposedly haunted abandoned house. A young girl comes to...

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The Siege of Pinchgut

as Mrs. Fulton
Released: 1959-08-01

An escaped prisoner is trying to clear his name.

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Thunder Rock

as Ellen Kirby
Released: 1942-12-04

David Charleston, once a world renowned journalist, now lives alone maintaining the Thunder Rock...

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The Challenge

as Ma Piper
Released: 1960-05-17

Jailed for his role in a gang heist and ditched by its female leader (Jayne Mansfield), a...

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Innocent Sinners

as Mrs. Vincent
Released: 1958-03-25

A neglected girl in post-World War II London befriends street urchins who help her build a tiny...

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So Little Time

as Anna
Released: 1952-04-18

During World War II, German soldiers occupy the home of a beautiful Belgian girl and her mother.

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A Journal of the Outdoors No. 11

as Narrator
Released: 1953-03-01

Wildfowl and wallabies in the wild, exotic animals in the office.

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My Sister and I

as Hypatia Foley
Released: 1948-08-02

A family is in need of a new house help so they employ a mysterious young woman. They soon...

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Jeannie

as Jeannie McLean
Released: 1941-09-06

Based on Aimee Stuart's play. Little Scots girl decides to use her inheritance for a "grand...

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Welcome, Mr Washington

as Jane Willoughby
Released: 1944-05-18

Based on a story by author Noel Streatfeild, the film trells the story of two sisters who are...

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Talk of a Million

as Bessie Murnahan
Released: 1951-03-12

A family reduced to imminent poverty by the father's disinclination to work; an American lawyer...

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The Saint

as Violet Warshed
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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One Step Beyond

as Mrs. Jones
First aired: 1959-01-20

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The...

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The Adventures of Robin Hood

as Elsbeth
First aired: 1955-09-26

The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the...

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Dr. Finlay's Casebook

as Janet MacPherson
First aired: 1962-08-16

Dr Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971....

TV Show page