From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later years in films she switched to playing character parts.
Born in London, England, Risdon graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1918 with high honours. She attracted the attention of George Bernard Shaw and was cast as the lead in his biggest plays. Besides her performances for Shaw, she was leading lady for actors including George Arliss, Otis Skinner, and William Faversham. She was also under contract to the Theatre Guild for many years.
In later years, she taught drama to patients at a veterans administration hospital near her Brentwood home. She was married to the prolific silent film director George Loane Tucker who left her a widow in 1921. She later married actor Brandon Evans, who died in April 1958. She was the great-aunt of actress Wendy Barrie-Wilson.
Risdon died in December 1958 in St Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California from a cerebral haemorrhage. Her body was donated to medical science.
Known For
High Sierra
(1941)
Ma
Tall in the Saddle
(1944)
Miss Elizabeth Martin
Dead End
(1937)
Mrs. Connell
Scaramouche
(1952)
Isabelle de Valmorin
The Roaring Twenties
(1939)
Mrs. Sherman
Reap the Wild Wind
(1942)
Mrs. Claiborne
The Egg and I
(1947)
Betty's Mother
Random Harvest
(1942)
Mrs. Lloyd
Make Way for Tomorrow
(1937)
Cora Payne
Life with Father
(1947)
Mrs. Whitehead
Bunco Squad
(1950)
Jessica Royce
Every Girl Should Be Married
(1948)
Mary Nolan
Bodyguard
(1948)
Gene Dysen
Full Filmography
Acting
Maria Marten, or Murder in the Red Barn
(1913)
Maria Marten
Bridegrooms Beware!
(1913)
Bride
Inquisitive Ike
(1914)
Dora
Her Luck in London
(1914)
Nellie Harbourne
The Idol of Paris
(1914)
Flare-Flare
The Cup Final Mystery
(1914)
Black-Eyed Susan
(1914)
Black-Eyed Susan
Beautiful Jim
(1914)
Nancy Earle
The Suicide Club
(1914)
Love in a Wood
(1915)
Rosiland
Florence Nightingale
(1915)
Florence Nightingale
The Mother of Dartmoor
(1916)
Avesa Pomeroy
Guard That Girl
(1935)
Aunt Catherine
Crime and Punishment
(1935)
Mrs. Raskolnikov
Theodora Goes Wild
(1936)
Aunt Mary
The King Steps Out
(1936)
Grand Duchess Sofia
Don't Gamble with Love
(1936)
Grace
Craig's Wife
(1936)
Mrs. Landreth
Lady of Secrets
(1936)
Mrs. Emily Whittaker
The Final Hour
(1936)
Fortune Teller
The Woman I Love
(1937)
Mme. Herbillion
Mountain Justice
(1937)
Mrs. Harkins
Make Way for Tomorrow
(1937)
Cora Payne
They Won't Forget
(1937)
Mrs. Hale (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Dead End
(1937)
Mrs. Connell
Cowboy from Brooklyn
(1938)
Mrs. Jordan
Girls on Probation
(1938)
Kate Heath
My Bill
(1938)
Aunt Caroline
Mannequin
(1938)
Mrs. Cassidy (as Elizabeth Risdon)
The Affairs of Annabel
(1938)
Mrs. Fletcher
Mad About Music
(1938)
Tom Sawyer, Detective
(1938)
Aunt Sally Phelps
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(1939)
Widow Douglass
Five Came Back
(1939)
Martha Spengler
The Roaring Twenties
(1939)
Mrs. Sherman
The Man Who Dared
(1939)
Jessie Carter
Disputed Passage
(1939)
Mrs. Cunningham
The Girl from Mexico
(1939)
Della Lindsay
Full Confession
(1939)
Norah O'Keefe
Sorority House
(1939)
Mrs. Scott
The Forgotten Woman
(1939)
Margaret Burke
The Great Man Votes
(1939)
Phoebe Ainslee
Honeymoon Deferred
(1940)
Sarah Frome
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
(1940)
Jury Member
Saturday's Children
(1940)
Mrs. Myrtle Halevy (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Mexican Spitfire
(1940)
Aunt Della Lindsay
Slightly Tempted
(1940)
Ethelreda Knox
The Howards of Virginia
(1940)
Aunt Clarissa
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
(1940)
Sarah Lincoln
Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me!
(1940)
Minerva
Mexican Spitfire Out West
(1940)
Aunt Della Lindsay
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
(1941)
Aunt Della
Footlight Fever
(1941)
Aunt Hattie Drake
Let's Make Music
(1941)
Malvina Adams
Mr. Dynamite
(1941)
Limping Woman (aka "Achilles")
Paris Calling
(1941)
Madame Jennetier
Nice Girl?
(1941)
Marrtha Peasley
High Sierra
(1941)
Ma
At the Stroke of Twelve
(1941)
Abigail Osley, aka The Old Doll
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
(1942)
Aunt Della Lindsay
Jail House Blues
(1942)
Mrs. Alyosius McGonigle McGann
Are Husbands Necessary?
(1942)
Mrs. Westwood
The Man Who Returned to Life
(1942)
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
(1942)
Aunt Della Lindsay
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
(1942)
Aunt Della Lindsay
I Live on Danger
(1942)
Mrs. Morrell
Reap the Wild Wind
(1942)
Mrs. Claiborne
Random Harvest
(1942)
Mrs. Lloyd
The Lady Is Willing
(1942)
Mrs. Cummings
Journey for Margaret
(1942)
Mrs. Bailey
Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event
(1943)
Aunt Della Lindsay
Lost Angel
(1943)
Mrs. Pringle
Higher and Higher
(1943)
Georgia Keating
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
(1943)
Never a Dull Moment
(1943)
Mrs. Schuyler Manning III
Tall in the Saddle
(1944)
Miss Elizabeth Martin
In the Meantime, Darling
(1944)
Helen Corkery
Weird Woman
(1944)
Dean Grace Gunnison
The Canterville Ghost
(1944)
Mrs. Polverdine
Blonde Fever
(1944)
Mrs. Talford
A Song for Miss Julie
(1945)
Mrs. Ambrose Charteris
Grissly's Millions
(1945)
Leona Palmor
The Unseen
(1945)
Mrs. Norris
Mama Loves Papa
(1945)
Jessie Todd
The Fighting Guardsman
(1946)
Mme. de Montrevel
Lover Come Back
(1946)
Ma Williams
The Walls Came Tumbling Down
(1946)
Catherine Walsh
Roll on Texas Moon
(1946)
Cactus Kate Taylor
They Made Me a Killer
(1946)
'Ma' Conley
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
(1947)
Mrs. Amanda Pritchard
Life with Father
(1947)
Mrs. Whitehead
High Wall
(1947)
Mrs. Kenet
The Egg and I
(1947)
Betty's Mother
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
(1947)
Emily Baggett
Every Girl Should Be Married
(1948)
Mary Nolan
Bodyguard
(1948)
Gene Dysen
Sealed Verdict
(1948)
Mrs. Hockland
The Bride Goes Wild
(1948)
rs. Carruthers
Down Dakota Way
(1949)
Dolly Paxton
Hills of Oklahoma
(1950)
Kate Carney
Sierra
(1950)
Aunt Susan
Bunco Squad
(1950)
Jessica Royce
The Secret Fury
(1950)
Dr. R.W. Roberts
The Milkman
(1950)
Mrs. Carter
Bannerline
(1951)
Margaret Trimble
My True Story
(1951)
Mme. Rousseau
It's a Big Country
(1951)
Diner on Train (uncredited)
In Old Amarillo
(1951)
Granny Adams
Scaramouche
(1952)
Isabelle de Valmorin
Crossroads - U.S.A.
(1952)
Martha Farnum