Edna Best
Biography
Edna Best was a British actress who worked on the London stage before she began making films in 1921, having first appeared at the Grand Theatre in Southampton in 1917 in Charley's Aunt. Born in Hove and schooled in Brighton, she studied dramatic acting with Kate Rorke. She made her American debut on Broadway in These Charming People in 1925, later appeared in John Van Druten's There's Always Juliet in 1931, and starred in melodramas for Gainsborough Pictures. Her best known part was the mother in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Her later films mixed British and Hollywood productions, among them Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939), Swiss Family Robinson (1940), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and The Iron Curtain (1948). A Ford Star Jubilee production of This Happy Breed brought her an Emmy nomination in 1957, and in 1960 she received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
74years old at death
- Born Hove
- Died Geneva
- Star sign: PiscesThe sign runs February 19 to March 20
- Also credited as Edna Clara Best
Movie Career
- Films
- 5
- Career span
- 14 years1934 to 1948
Every film, newest first
- 1948The Iron CurtainIMDb rating 6.3
- 1947The Ghost and Mrs. MuirIMDb rating 7.8
- 1940Swiss Family RobinsonIMDb rating 6.2
- 1939Intermezzo: A Love StoryIMDb rating 6.6
- 1934The Man Who Knew Too MuchIMDb rating 6.7
Genres
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Early training
Best went to school in Brighton and afterward trained in dramatic acting with Miss Kate Rorke, the first professor of Drama at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
First role
Best first appeared at Southampton's Grand Theatre in Charley's Aunt in 1917. She built a name on the London stage before starting in films in 1921.
A first
Best was on television by 1938, in a live staging of Love from a Stranger. Frank Vosper adapted it from the Agatha Christie short story "Philomel Cottage".
Edna Best movies on Netflix
Worked with
Edna Best shares two films with Gene Tierney, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Gene Tierney's page
Orson Welles's page
George Sanders's page
Peter Lorre's page
Dana Andrews's page
Thomas Mitchell's page
All films by Alfred Hitchcock
All films by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
All films by Gregory Ratoff
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.