Acting
Jun 8, 1914
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Barbara Mullen
Acting
Biography
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.
Feature Films (15)
A man falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begins to suspect that he may have also loved her in a previous life.
Corridor of Mirrors
An elderly couple move into an old, supposedly haunted abandoned house. A young girl comes to live with the pair as a companion for the wife. However, soon the girl is possessed by the spirit of another girl, a wealthy woman who had once lived in the house but who had been murdered there.
A Place of One's Own
Jailed for his role in a gang heist and ditched by its female leader (Jayne Mansfield), a widower (Anthony Quayle) decides to keep the loot.
The Challenge
The relationship between brothers Terry and Matt, both active in the IRA, comes under strain when Terry begins to question the use of violence.
The Gentle Gunman
David Charleston, once a world renowned journalist, now lives alone maintaining the Thunder Rock lighthouse in Lake Michigan. He doesn't cash his paychecks and has no contact other than the monthly inspector's visit. When alone, he imagines conversations with those who died when a 19th century packet ship with some 60 passengers sank. He imagines their lives, their problems, their fears and their hopes. In one of these conversations, he recalls his own efforts in the 1930s when he desperately tried to convince first his editors, and later the public, of the dangers of fascism and the inevitability of war. Few would listen. One of the passengers, a spinster, tells her story of seeking independence from a world dominated by men. There's also the case of a doctor who is banished for using unacceptable methods. David has given up on life, but the imaginary passengers give him hope for the future.
Thunder Rock
Television & Series (5)
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
The Saint
Dr Finlay's Casebook is a BBC television series that was broadcast from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series that dramatized purportedly real-life supernatural and paranormal experiences. The series was hosted by John Newland and ran for three seasons on ABC from January 1959 to July 1961.
One Step Beyond
The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.
