Nora Cecil
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 24, 1878
- Died
- May 1, 1951
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nora Cecil (September 20, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was a British-American character actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras. Cecil's career began on the stage, where she appeared in a single Broadway production, The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, which ran for more than 240 performances at the Broadway Theatre in 1901-02. (A 1930 newspaper article says that Cecil "made her debut, three decades ago, on the London stage.") Cecil appeared in well over 100 feature films and film shorts. In 1915, she moved from the stage into films, her first appearance being in a starring role in The Arrival of Perpetua, directed by Émile Chautard. She often played "thin-lipped, stern-visaged dowagers and forbidding mothers-in-law" and "welfare workers, landladies, schoolmistresses and maiden aunts". One of the most significant roles was in the W.C. Fields vehicle, The Old Fashioned Way in 1934. Some of the other notable films in which Cecil appeared include: Ernst Lubitsch's historical romance, The Merry Widow, starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald; the 1939 version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, starring Mickey Rooney; the John Ford classic, Stagecoach, with John Wayne. Her final acting performance was in a featured role in Mourning Becomes Electra in 1947, starring Rosalind Russell.
Filmography
The Big Parade of Comedy 1964
as Actress in 'Hollywood Party' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mourning Becomes Electra 1947
as Louisa Ames
The Sea of Grass 1947
as Mrs. Ryan - Nurse (uncredited)
Big Town 1946
as Miss Lovelace (uncredited)
The Missing Lady 1946
as Miss Millie
Two Sisters from Boston 1946
as Mrs. Mulberry - Recital Guest (uncredited)
Lady on a Train 1945
Actor
The Thin Man Goes Home 1944
as Miss Peavy
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek 1944
as Hospital Nurse (uncredited)
Hail the Conquering Hero 1944
as Train Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
The Unknown Guest 1943
as Martha Williams
I Married a Witch 1942
as Harriet Wooley (uncredited)
Apache Trail 1942
as Passenger (uncredited)
The Wife Takes a Flyer 1942
as Miss Updike
Obliging Young Lady 1942
as Miss Hollyrod - Bird Lover (uncredited)
Three Girls About Town 1941
as Casket Customer
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob 1941
as Charwoman
Little Men 1940
as Head of Orphanage
The Bank Dick 1940
as Lompoc Ladies Auxiliary (uncredited)
Young People 1940
as Righteous Old Lady (uncredited)
Lucky Partners 1940
as Women's Club President (uncredited)
Those Were the Days! 1940
as Mrs. Moffett
What a Life 1939
as Miss Eggleston
Some Like It Hot 1939
as Mrs. Beckett (uncredited)
Union Pacific 1939
as Snoring Woman on Train (uncredited)
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell 1939
as Miss Jenkins
Stagecoach 1939
as Boone's Landlady (uncredited)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1939
as Mrs. Shackleford (uncredited)
Mr. Boggs Steps Out 1938
as Widow Peddie
International Settlement 1938
as English Woman
Borrowing Trouble 1937
as Dressmaker
Nothing Sacred 1937
as Schoolteacher (uncredited)
Blossoms On Broadway 1937
as Leader of Committee (uncredited)
Partners in Crime 1937
as Housekeeper
She Asked for It 1937
as Elderly lady (uncredited)
Easy Living 1937
as Miss Swerf
Night of Mystery 1937
Actor
Three Smart Boys 1937
as Miss Witherspoon, Superintendent
Night Must Fall 1937
Actor
Champagne Waltz 1937
as Train Passenger
The Mighty Treve 1937
as Old Maid at Dog Show
College Holiday 1936
as Miss Elkins (uncredited)
Laughing at Trouble 1936
as Mrs. Wigby - Townswoman
Under Your Spell 1936
as School Teacher (uncredited)
The Big Broadcast of 1937 1936
as Home Economics Woman
Let's Make a Million 1936
Actor
Girl of the Ozarks 1936
as Miss Trent
Fury 1936
as Albert's Mother (uncredited)
Little Miss Nobody 1936
as Mrs. Robinson
Dancing Pirate 1936
as Landlady (uncredited)
Two in the Dark 1936
as Mrs. Potter, Landlady (uncredited)
Collegiate 1935
as Miss Curtiss
Way Down East 1935
as Townswoman at Party
Slightly Static 1935
as Beauty Products Announcer (uncredited)
Vagabond Lady 1935
as Miss Perkins (uncredited)
Gold Diggers of 1935 1935
as Housekeeper (uncredited)
Car 99 1935
as Granny Adams
Memories and Melodies 1935
as Customer (uncredited)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl 1935
as Ship's Matron (uncredited)
The Merry Widow 1934
as Animal Woman (uncredited)
- Opened by Mistake
Opened by Mistake 1934
as Head Nurse
The Spectacle Maker 1934
as Duchess
Chained 1934
as Edith (uncredited)
- One-Horse Farmers
One-Horse Farmers 1934
as Subway Passenger (uncredited)
Bachelor Bait 1934
as Mrs. Trutmanner (uncredited)
The Old-Fashioned Way 1934
as Mrs. Wendelschaffer
Upperworld 1934
as Stream's Housekeeper (uncredited)
Laughing Boy 1934
as Schoolteacher
You're Telling Me! 1934
as Mrs. Price
Once to Every Woman 1934
as Miss Baxter’s Sister (uncredited)
Mixed Nuts 1934
as Mrs. Twitchett
Search for Beauty 1934
as Miss Pettigrew
Design for Living 1933
as Tom's Secretary (uncredited)
Going Hollywood 1933
as Briarcroft's Teacher
Meet the Baron 1933
as Professor Winterbottom (uncredited)
Stage Mother 1933
as Miss Gilford, Kitty's Music Store Boss (uncredited)
Doctor Bull 1933
as Aunt Emily Banning
Hold Your Man 1933
as Miss Campbell (uncredited)
Peg o' My Heart 1933
as Smythe (maid)
Nature in the Wrong 1933
as Muriel's mother
Fast Workers 1933
as Tall Window-Shopper (Uncredited)
King of the Jungle 1933
as Spinster in park (uncredited)
- Wreckety Wrecks
Wreckety Wrecks 1933
as Miss Winterbottom
Asleep in the Feet 1933
as Female Police Officer
Mr. Bride 1932
as Mrs. Cecil
Hot Saturday 1932
as Gossip on Telephone (Uncredited)
- The Millionaire Cat
The Millionaire Cat 1932
as Aunt Mathilda
Girl Grief 1932
as Miss Tuttle, Principal
Pack Up Your Troubles 1932
as Welfare Association Officer (uncredited)
Amateur Daddy 1932
as Saleslady
Young Bride 1932
as Landlady (uncredited)
Arrowsmith 1931
as Nurse (uncredited)
The Ruling Voice 1931
as Malcom's Nurse (uncredited)
Street Scene 1931
as Alice Simpson - Welfare Worker
Everything’s Rosie 1931
as Hotel Proprietress
East Lynne 1931
as Charity Bazaar Committee
Millie 1931
as Helen and Angie's Landlady (uncredited)
Only Saps Work 1930
as Mrs. Partridge (uncredited)
Hell's Angels 1930
as Helen's Maid (uncredited)
Little Accident 1930
as Dr. Zernecke
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu 1930
Actor
Seven Days Leave 1930
as Amelia Twymley
Footlights and Fools 1929
as (uncredited)
Seven Footprints to Satan 1929
as Old Witch
The Cavalier 1928
as Lucia's Aunt
Driftwood 1928
as Mrs. Prouty
The Baby Cyclone 1928
as Mrs. Crandall
A Trick of Hearts 1928
as The Mayor
The Devil Dancer 1927
as Julia
Born to Battle 1927
as Ma Cowan
Too Many Crooks 1927
as (uncredited)
Girls 1927
as Matron Helen Hunt
Sensation Seekers 1927
as Mrs. Lodge
The Demi-Bride 1927
as School Teacher
The Fortune Hunter 1927
as Betty Carpenter
The Silent Rider 1927
as Mrs. Randall
Midnight Faces 1926
as Mrs. Hart
Chip of the Flying U 1926
as Dr. Cecil Grantham
Three Weeks in Paris 1925
Actor
His Majesty, Bunker Bean 1925
as Countess Casanova
The Deadwood Coach 1924
as Matilda Shields - in play
Darwin Was Right 1924
as Aunt Priscilla
The Town That Forgot God 1922
as (uncredited)
Manslaughter 1922
as Lydia's Chaperone (uncredited)
Timothy's Quest 1922
as Townswoman
Footfalls 1921
Actor
The Daughter Pays 1920
Actor
Red Foam 1920
Actor
Woman, Woman! 1919
as Mrs. Lindsay
Miss Crusoe 1919
as Miss Meeker (uncredited)
- An Amateur Widow
An Amateur Widow 1919
Actor
Love Net 1918
as Miss Prudence Tilly
The Zero Hour 1918
as Mrs. Winslow (uncredited)
Appearance of Evil 1918
as Miss Spurgeon
By Hook or Crook 1918
as Aunt Marie
American Buds 1918
as Emily
Prunella 1918
Actor
The Wild Girl 1917
as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
A Royal Romance 1917
as Miss McPherson
The Poor Little Rich Girl 1917
as One of Gwendolyn's Teachers (uncredited)
Tillie Wakes Up 1917
as Gossip in Ice Cream Parlor / Woman Having Picture Taken
The Social Secretary 1916
as Spinster (uncredited)
- A Model Husband
A Model Husband 1916
as Mrs Gossip
- The Arrival of Perpetua
The Arrival of Perpetua 1915
as Abigail Majendrie
Credits from TMDB.