CHARACTER ACTORS PART 15: IRENE HANDL.

Reasons why I love her:

• LIONHEART (1968)
• I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK (1959)
• THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)
• SMASHING TIME (1967)
• ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (1970)
• BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
• THE TERROR (1938)

OK, so it's been a very long time since Part 14. In fact, if you're too new to this blog and don't remember my celebration of character actors, you would probably do well to go over there on the right hand side and find February 2007 because in there you'll find the first 14 character actors I just lovey dove dove.

But here we have the spectacular Irene Handl. My personal experience with Irene Handl is fairly limited since I haven't seen the vast majority of her movies. However, once you see Irene Handl ONCE, she rockets out of the screen at you and you'll never forget her. Hell, I even lapse into Irene Handl impressions at the drop of a hat. Because that's one hell of a voice she had. The epitome of "cockney landladies", Irene Handl could literally prove that old (usually untrue) cliche about being able to read the telephone book and make it funny. Irene caught the acting bug and enrolled in her sister Dame Sybil Thorndyke's acting school; after which she made her London stage debut in February 1937.

I'm not sure when I first became aware of her. Handl often appeared uncredited in movies; she was an uncredited "customer" in Benny Hill's 1956 comedy WHO DONE IT?, and uncredited "cellist/organist" in the classic BRIEF ENCOUNTER and even an uncredited "maid" in the very early (and very boring) 1938 Edgar Wallace programmer THE TERROR. Hell, she was even in the punk rock Sex Pistols movie THE GREAT ROCK 'N' ROLL SWINDLE! But however small her role she ALWAYS garnered the viewer's attention. Handl also appeared in such varied films as Hitchcock's STAGE FRIGHT (1950), the rather unfunny comedy THE WRONG BOX (1966), CARRY ON NURSE (1959), SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (1960), the caper film MAKE MINE MINK (1960), THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970) and the from-all-accounts abyssmal Peter Cook & Dudley Moore version of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1978). She was definitely in the right movie when she appeared in the "swinging London ultra-mod" comedy SMASHING TIME with a young and dotty Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham. And I adore her as communist union leader Peter Sellers' bedraggled wife in the classic British comedy I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK. Then there's her sidesplitting brief turn in the classic Michael Caine caper movie THE ITALIAN JOB as the unflappable Miss Peach.

However, there is one appearance which I think I fell in love with her. And I don't own the movie. Or even have the slightest chance of getting it since it appears to be unavailable ANYWHERE!!! In fact, I'm not even sure it's the right movie I'm thinking of since I saw it back in the dim mists of my childhood. However, I'm pretty sure the movie was LIONHEART (1968) in which a lion (named Simba, of course) escapes from the zoo and is befriended by a couple kids. It's a kids movie, obviously. No tearing apart civilians here. The lion turns out to be a real pussycat. There is nothing funnier than seeing Irene Handl, using THAT VOICE of hers, to gently scold a huge lion as if it were a dachshund!!! I saw this film so long ago it was before VCRs -- but somewhere I have an audio tape of some of the movie. All Irene Handl's scenes, of course. Naturally, I'd kill to find this movie but I've yet to have any luck. Irene Handl literally lit up the screen any time she was on it and caused a genuine smile of recognition in the viewer. Especially every time she opened her mouth.