Judith Furse

Judith Furse (4 March 1912 – 29 August 1974) was an English actress.

Career

A member of the noted Furse family, her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a stage designer and painter who also worked in films.

She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School and studied theatre at the Old Vic in the early 1930s. By the end of that decade, she became a stage actress. One of Judith Furse's earliest film successes was as Sister Briony in Black Narcissus (1947). She was known for her heavy-set, somewhat masculine looks, and was often cast as overbearing types such as the villainous Doctor Crow in Carry On Spying (1964). Other films included The Man in the White Suit (1951), Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952), Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957), Carry On Regardless (1961), Live Now, Pay Later (1962) and Carry On Cabby (1963). One of her more sympathetic roles was as Flora, Greer Garson's concerned travelling companion, in the original Goodbye, Mr Chips (1939). In 1972 she made her last film appearance in the Australian film The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.

Selected filmography

• Goodbye, Mr Chips (1939)
• Johnny Frenchman (1945)
• Black Narcissus (1947)
• The Man in the White Suit (1951)
• The Browning Version (1951)
• Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952)
• The Heart of the Matter (1953)
• Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957)
• Sands of the Desert (1960)
• A Weekend with Lulu (1961)
• Carry On Regardless (1961)
• In the Doghouse (1961)
• Live Now, Pay Later (1962)
• The Iron Maiden (1962)
• Carry On Cabby (1963)
• Carry On Spying (1964)
• A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964)
• Sky West and Crooked (1965)
• Sinful Davey (1969)
• Twinky (1969)
• Man in the Wilderness (1971)
• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)