Elspeth Dudgeon

Elspeth Dudgeon was a Scottish character actress who worked for years on the stage before she began appearing in films. Born in 1871, she took to theatrics as a girl and became known for character parts after joining a well known amateur company in Scotland. Her first real break came when the actor-manager Osmond Tearle booked her for Shakespearean plays, and during World War I she entertained troops near the English front with Lena Ashwell's company. After emigrating to America, she made an uncredited film debut in Waterloo Bridge (1931). She acted in 67 films, only 14 of which credited her. Her best remembered part was the centenarian Sir Roderick Femm in The Old Dark House (1932), a role she played in disguise and under the name John Dudgeon. Her other films included Camille (1936), The Prince and the Pauper (1937), Sh! The Octopus (1937) and Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1939). She died in 1955.