 Pillar of Britishness as she was in several dozen Hollywood films between 1915 and 1948, notably as the harridan Mrs Bramson in Night Must Fall (US, d. Richard Thorpe, 1937) and Lady Beldon pushed into democracy in Mrs Miniver (US, d. William Wyler, 1942), Dame May Whitty scarcely ever filmed in Britain. There were three silents, an unbilled dowager with George Formby in Keep Your Seats Please (d. Monty Banks, 1936), a warm-hearted theatrical in Return to Yesterday (d. Robert Stevenson, 1940) - and the role that made her famous in films. This is Miss Froy in The Lady Vanishes (d. Alfred Hitchcock, 1938) and, short, dumpy and authoritative, she is exactly cosy and sharp enough to make this key role unforgettable. She was married to Ben Webster and was made DBE in 1918 for wartime services. Brian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of British Film
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