Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress.

Career

Also known as Sandra Holt, Dorne was often known in the 1950s as the B-film

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

. As a platinum blonde, she was a regular female lead in B-films in the late 1940s and early 1950s. She trained at the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

's "charm school". Film roles dried up as she grew older, but she still found work and acted mainly in British television, appearing in such series as ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', '' The Avengers'' and ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...

''.

Personal life

Married to the actor

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent ...

from 1954 until her death, Dorne died on Christmas Day 1992 at Paddington Community Hospital, Westminster, London. The cause of death was kidney cancer.

Partial filmography

* ''Eyes That Kill'' (1947) – Joan * ''

Saraband for Dead Lovers ''Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (released in the United States as ''Saraband'') is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood. It is based on the 1935 novel by Helen Simpson. Set i ...

'' (1948) – (uncredited) * '' A Piece of Cake'' (1948) – Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Once a Jolly Swagman ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird and Sid James. It is centred on the sport of motorcycle speedway racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. It was relea ...

'' (1949) – Kay Fox * ''

All Over the Town ''All Over the Town'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Derek N. Twist and starring Norman Wooland, Sarah Churchill (actress), Sarah Churchill and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1947 novel by R. F. Delderfield. Premise After serving ...

'' (1949) – Marlene * '' Marry Me!'' (1949) – Giggly Girl (uncredited) * ''

Don't Ever Leave Me ''Don't Ever Leave Me'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley. Produced by Betty Box during her stint at Gainsborough Pictures, it wa ...

'' (1949) – Ruby Baines * '' Helter Skelter'' (1949) – Receptionist * '' Golden Arrow'' (1949) – 2nd Nightclub hostess * ''

The Miniver Story ''The Miniver Story'' is a 1950 American drama film that is the sequel to the 1942 film '' Mrs. Miniver''. Like its predecessor, the picture, made by MGM, stars Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, but it was filmed on-location in England. The film ...

'' (1950) – Girl in Tartan, VE Day pub (uncredited) * ''

The Clouded Yellow ''The Clouded Yellow'' is a 1950 British mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty E. Box for Carillon Films. A dismissed secret service agent falls in love with a disturbed young woman who is wrongly accused of murder and t ...

'' (1950) – Kyra * ''

Traveller's Joy ''Traveller's Joy'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum and Maurice Denham. Based on a West End play of the same name by Arthur Macrae, it was the last film released by the original ...

'' (1950) – Flower Shop Assistant * ''

Don't Say Die ''Don't Say Die'' is a 1950 British comedy film directed by Vivian Milroy and starring Charles Heslop, Sandra Dorne and Constance Smith.Quinlan p.168 It is also known by the alternative title of ''Never Say Die''. Cast * Charles Heslop as Char ...

'' (1950) – Sandra * ''

Happy Go Lovely ''Happy Go Lovely'' is a 1951 British musical comedy film in Technicolor, directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Vera-Ellen, David Niven, and Cesar Romero. The film was made and first released in the UK, and distributed in the US by R ...

'' (1951) – Betty * '' 13 East Street'' (1952) – Judy * '' Hindle Wakes'' (1952) – Mary Hollins * '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953) – Iris * ''

Alf's Baby ''Alf's Baby'', also known as ''Her Three Bachelors'', is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Jerry Desmonde, Pauline Stroud and Olive Sloane.Chibnall & MacFarlane p.103 It was made by ACT Films, and released as a ...

'' (1953) – Enid * ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' (1953) – Sukey Tawdrey * '' Wheel of Fate'' (1953) – Lucky Price * '' Marilyn'' (1953) – Marilyn Saunders * ''

The Weak and the Wicked ''The Weak and the Wicked'' (called ''Young and Willing'' in the United States) is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the autobiographical novel '' Who Lie in Gaol'' by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and ...

'' (1954) – Stella * ''

The Good Die Young ''The Good Die Young'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay bas ...

'' (1954) – Pretty Girl * '' Police Dog'' (1955) – Blonde * ''

Alias John Preston ''Alias John Preston'' is a 1955 British thriller film directed by David MacDonald and starring Betta St. John, Alexander Knox and Christopher Lee. Its plot is about a mysterious and wealthy man who moves to a small village where he outwardly ...

'' (1955) – Sylvia – In Dream / Maria * ''

The Gelignite Gang ''The Gelignite Gang'' is a black and white 1956 British crime film directed by Terence Fisher and Francis Searle, starring Wayne Morris and Sandra Dorne. The film was released in the U.S. as ''The Dynamiters''. Plot American insurance invest ...

'' (1956) – Sally Morton * ''

The Iron Petticoat ''The Iron Petticoat'' (aka ''Not for Money'') is a 1956 British Cold War comedy film starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, and directed by Ralph Thomas. The screenplay by Ben Hecht became the focus of a contentious history behind the produ ...

'' (1956) – Tityana * ''

Operation Murder ''Operation Murder'' is a 1957 British crime film. It was described by Allmovie as "another of the multitude of inexpensive Danzinger Brothers productions, released throughout the English-speaking world by United Artists." Premise A scheme by t ...

'' (1957) – Pat Wayne * ''

Three Sundays to Live ''Three Sundays to Live'' is a low budget 1957 film noir British film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Kieron Moore and Jane Griffiths. The title refers to the law of the period, which required that after a death sentence had been passed, ...

'' (1957) – Ruth Chapman * ''

Orders to Kill ''Orders to Kill'' is a 1958 British wartime drama film. It starred Paul Massie, Eddie Albert and Irene Worth and was directed by Anthony Asquith. The film is based on a story by Donald Chase Downes, a former American intelligence operative who ...

'' (1958) – Blonde with German Officer * ''

The Bank Raiders ''The Bank Raiders'' is a 1958 British crime film directed by Maxwell Munden and starring Peter Reynolds, Sandra Dorne and Lloyd Lamble. Plot Terry, a small-time hoodlum, is the driver in a successful bank robbery. He gets his share of the l ...

'' (1958) – Della Byrne * ''Not a Hope in Hell'' (1960) – Diana Melton * ''

The House in Marsh Road ''The House in Marsh Road'', known on American television as ''Invisible Creature'', is a 1960 British horror suspense film produced by Maurice J. Wilson, directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Tony Wright, Patricia Dainton and Sandra Dorne. ...

'' (1960) – Valerie Stockley * ''

The Amorous Prawn ''The Amorous Prawn'' or ''The Amorous Mr. Prawn'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. The film was based on a 1959 farcical play by Kimmins. In the United St ...

'' (1962) – Busty Babs * ''The Secret Door'' (1964) – Sonia * '' Devil Doll'' (1964) – Magda * '' All Coppers Are...'' (1972) – Sue's mother * ''

Joseph Andrews ''The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams'', was the first full-length novel by the English author Henry Fielding to be published and among the early novels in the English language. Appearing in 1742 ...

'' (1977) – Whore in Traffic Jam * ''

The Playbirds ''The Playbirds'' is a 1978 British sexploitation film, made by Irish-born director Willy Roe and starring 1970s pin-up Mary Millington alongside Glynn Edwards, Suzy Mandel and Windsor Davies. It was the official follow-up to '' Come Play with ...

'' (1978) – Dougan's Secretary * ''

Five Go Mad in Dorset ''Five Go Mad in Dorset'' was the first of three ''Five Go Mad'' specials from the long-running series of '' The Comic Strip Presents...'' television comedy films. It first aired on the launch night of Channel 4 (2 November 1982), and was writ ...

'' (1982, TV Series) – Aunt Fanny * ''

Eat the Rich "Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with class conflict and anti-capitalism. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote first popularized during the French Revolution: "When the pe ...

'' (1987) – Sandra (final film role)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorne, Sandra English film actresses English television actresses 1924 births 1992 deaths People from Keighley Actresses from Yorkshire 20th-century English actresses Deaths from kidney cancer Deaths from cancer in England