Mary Merrall

Mary Merrall was an English actress whose stage, film and television career lasted more than sixty years. Born in Liverpool in 1890, she began on stage as a teenager and made her first stage appearance in 1907. She became a respected stage actress, taking roles including Lady Macbeth in Barry Jackson's 1928 modern-dress production and Mrs. Danvers in the 1940 Strand Theatre production of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. After a 1932 appearance in Men of Steel, she began film work in the 1940s with leading roles in Dr. O'Dowd and Love on the Dole. Her best-remembered film parts were Mrs. Foley in Dead of Night (1945) and Mrs. Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby (1947). Later films included Encore (1951), The Weak and the Wicked (1954), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) and The Camp on Blood Island (1958). As film work declined, she moved into television, appearing in Play of the Week, ITV Playhouse and guest roles in several series.