Freda Maud Jackson (29 December 1907 – 20 October 1990) was an English stage actress who also worked in film and television.

Early life and career

Jackson was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in 1907. She made her stage debut on 1 January 1934 at the Northampton Repertory Theatre in '' Sweet Lavender''. During this period, she reputedly had a relationship with

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

, a fellow company member. After two years with the Northampton Rep, she first appeared in London on 13 July 1936 in '' The Sacred Flame'' at the

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, w ...

, afterwards touring with

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...

in Williams' play ''

Night Must Fall ''Night Must Fall'' is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935. There have been three film adaptations, '' Night Must Fall'' (1937); a 1954 adaptation on the television anthology series ''Ponds Theater'' sta ...

''. In 1938 she joined the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

company, touring with them the following year in Europe and Egypt, and in 1940 she became part of the Stratford Memorial Theatre company. Her film debut was in ''

Mountains O'Mourne ''Mountains O'Mourne'' is a 1938 British musical film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Rene Ray, Niall MacGinnis and Jerry Verno. It was shot at Walton Studios near London.Wood p.99 The film's sets were designed by the art director R. Hol ...

'' (1938); other early films included

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

's ''

A Canterbury Tale ''A Canterbury Tale'' is a 1944 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played two small roles. For the post-war American ...

'',

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

's ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

'' (both 1944) and

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

's ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' (1946). In July 1945 she scored a personal success at the Embassy Theatre in London's

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. Th ...

, playing the sadistic landlady Mrs Voray in Joan Temple's ''

No Room at the Inn ''No Room at the Inn'' is a 1945 play by Joan Temple that became a 1948 film directed by Daniel Birt. Both play and film are presented in flashback mode and share the same subject matter – cruelty, neglect and mental and physical abuse meted ...

''. She also featured in the play's West End transfer and in the film adaptation released in 1948. A few years later she played a similar role, Mrs Allistair, in the stage and screen versions of Sylvia Rayman's ''

Women of Twilight ''Women of Twilight'' is a 1951 play by Sylvia Rayman that became a 1952 film directed by Gordon Parry. The latter stars Freda Jackson, Rene Ray and Lois Maxwell, with a screenplay by Anatole de Grunwald. It was the first British film to receiv ...

'' (1952). "I wonder," she wrote in 1954, "if y fellow actorsever dreamed when we were treading the Shakespearean boards together at Stratford 14 years ago that their light-hearted Nerissa, Maria and Mrs Quickly would, in less years than it takes to say Sweeney Todd, be treading so heavily the darkest paths of crime—her name a horrid by-word, a source of cosy shudders ... Seriously though, dear public, you must please believe that I was not always so depraved a character."

Later career

In July 1955, back at Northampton, she played the role she later listed as her favourite in ''

Who's Who in the Theatre ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' is a British reference work, first published in 1912 with sixteen new editions from then until its last issue in 1981. The book was a successor to ''The Green Room Book'', of which four editions were published betw ...

'' - Marguerite Gautier in ''

The Lady of the Camellias ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. Later stage appearances included the Gypsy in '' Camino Real'' (Phoenix Theatre 1957), ''

Duel of Angels '' Duel of Angels '' (1963) is an English-language adaptation by Christopher Fry of the play ''Pour Lucrèce'' (1944) by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux. The play is based on the story of Lucretia, the virtuous Roman housewife who was raped and ...

'' (Apollo Theatre 1958), Mrs Hitchcock in ''

Sergeant Musgrave's Dance ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, An Un-historical Parable'' is a play by English playwright John Arden, written in 1959 and premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on October 22 of that year. In Arden's introductory note to the text, he describes it as ...

'' (Royal Court Theatre 1959), Gunhild in ''

John Gabriel Borkman ''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work. Plot The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to ...

'' (Mermaid Theatre 1961), the title role in ''

Mother Courage Mother Courage (German ''Mutter Courage'') is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel ''Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche'' (''The Runagate Courage'') dating from around 1670. The character had played a cameo r ...

'' (Bristol Old Vic 1961), ''Naked'' (Royal Court Theatre 1963), a 1967 tour of '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', and Maria Helliwell in ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a comedy by the English dramatist, J. B. Priestley, written in 1934. It was first performed in London at the St. Martin's Theatre, London on 11 October 1938, and transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1 ...

'' (Strand Theatre 1970). Her later films included

Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!' ...

's ''

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) as

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

' mother,

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

's ''

Bhowani Junction ''Bhowani Junction'' is a 1954 novel by John Masters, which was the basis of a 1956 film starring Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. It is set amidst the turbulence of the British withdrawal from India. It is notable for its portrayal of the Eu ...

'' (1956),

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film dire ...

' ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...

'' (1958),

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

's ''

The Brides of Dracula ''The Brides of Dracula'' is a 1960 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, David Peel, Freda Jackson, Yvonne Monlaur, Andrée Melly, and Martita Hunt. The ...

'' (1960),

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film ...

's '' Tom Jones'' (1963), two directed by

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous Action film, action, Thriller films, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and ...

(''

West 11 ''West 11'' is a 1963 British crime film directed by Michael Winner and starring Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on ''The Furnished Room'' (1961), Laura Del-Rivo's debut novel, which ...

'', 1963, and ''

The Jokers ''The Jokers'' is a 1967 British comedy film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Michael Winner. The film stars Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed as brothers who hatch a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. Very much of i ...

'', 1967),

Daniel Haller Daniel Haller (born September 14, 1929) is an American film and television director, production designer, and art director. Life and career Haller was born in Glendale, California on September 14, 1929. He studied at the Chouinard Art Institu ...

's ''

Die, Monster, Die! ''Die, Monster, Die!'' (British title: ''Monster of Terror'') is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed by Daniel Haller, and starring Boris Karloff, Nick Adams, Freda Jackson, and Suzan Farmer. Its plot follows an American man who, while ...

'' (1965) as

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

's wife, and two featuring

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

creature effects: ''

The Valley of Gwangi ''The Valley of Gwangi'' is a 1969 American fantasy Western film produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, directed by Jim O'Connolly, written by William Bast, and starring James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and Gila Golan. Creature ...

'' (1969) and '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981). Summarising her film career, David Quinlan wrote that she "created some memorably grim portraits ... fewer than one would have liked, but she was really too ferocious for supporting roles."

Personal life

Jackson married artist Henry Bird in 1937; they lived at Hardingstone House, Northampton. Their son, Julian, initially a psychiatrist, became an actor in his 60s. Jackson died in 1990 at the age of 82.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1944) - Prudence Honeywood * ''

'' (1944) - Mistress Quickly * ''

Beware of Pity ''Beware of Pity'' is a 1946 British romantic drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven and Cedric Hardwicke. It is based on the novel of the same name by Stefan Zweig. A paraplegic young baroness mistakes co ...

'' (1946) - Gypsy * ''

'' (1946) - Mrs.Joe * ''

'' (1948) - Mrs. Voray * '' Flesh and Blood'' (1951) - Mrs. Hannah * ''

Mr. Denning Drives North ''Mr. Denning Drives North'' is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring John Mills, Phyllis Calvert and Sam Wanamaker. The plot concerns an aircraft manufacturer (Mills) who accidentally kills the boyfriend (Herbert ...

'' (1951) - Ma Smith * ''

'' (1952) - Mrs. Helen 'Nelly' Alistair * ''

'' (1954) - Mrs. Freeman * ''

The Crowded Day ''The Crowded Day'' is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Guillermin and starring John Gregson, Joan Rice, Cyril Raymond and Josephine Griffin. The film follows a group of shopgirls working in Bunting and Hobbs, a London depar ...

'' (1954) - Mrs. Morgan * ''

'' (1956) - The Sandani * ''

The Last Man to Hang ''The Last Man to Hang?'' is a 1956 crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Tom Conway and Elizabeth Sellars. The film was produced by John Gossage for Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians#Act Films Ltd, Act Film ...

'' (1956) - Mrs. Tucker * ''

The Flesh Is Weak ''The Flesh Is Weak'' is a 1957 British film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars John Derek and Milly Vitale. Distributors Corporation of America released the film in the USA as a double feature with ''Blonde in Bondage''. Plot Tony Giani is a S ...

'' (1957) - Trixie * ''

'' (1958) - The Vengeance * ''

'' (1960) - Greta * ''

Shadow of the Cat ''The Shadow of the Cat'' is a 1961 British horror film directed by John Gilling for Hammer Film Productions. It stars André Morell and Barbara Shelley. It was photographed in black-and-white by Arthur Grant. It was released in May 1961 on a ...

'' (1961) - Clara, the Maid * ''

Greyfriars Bobby Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story continu ...

'' (1961) - Old woman caretaker * Boy with a Flute (1964) - Ann Winters - (Short) - (with ''

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

'') * '' Tom Jones'' (1963) - Mrs. Seagrim * ''

'' (1963) - Mrs. Hartley * '' The Third Secret'' (1964) - Mrs. Bales * ''

'' (1965) - Letitia Witley * ''

'' (1967) - Mrs. Pervis * ''

'' (1969) - Tia Zorina * '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981) - Stygian Witch #3 (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Freda 1907 births 1990 deaths People educated at Nottingham High Pavement Grammar School People from Nottingham English stage actresses English film actresses 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Nottinghamshire