---
name: "Brenda De Banzie"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/brenda-de-banzie"
fi1m_id: "brenda-de-banzie"
imdb_id: "nm0207219"
tmdb_id: 8238
wikidata_id: "Q514339"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "28 July 1909"
died: "5 March 1981"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T07:55:10.582444+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Brenda De Banzie

## Identity

Brenda De Banzie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/brenda-de-banzie
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** brenda-de-banzie
- **IMDb ID:** nm0207219
- **TMDB ID:** 8238
- **Wikidata ID:** Q514339
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_de_Banzie, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q514339, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0207219/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8238

Actor. Born 28 July 1909 in Manchester, England, UK. Died 5 March 1981.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 28 July 1909, Manchester, England, UK
- **Died:** 5 March 1981
- **Also known as:** Brenda de Banzie, Бренда Де Банзи, Brenda Doreen Mignon de Banzie
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_de_Banzie, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q514339, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0207219/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8238

## Fi1m on Brenda De Banzie

> Brenda De Banzie is most rewarding when her determination has somewhere to go. We prefer the woman taking charge in *Hobson's Choice* to the dependable supporting player her later films too often asked her to be.

Maggie Hobson takes charge of her marriage and her work in *Hobson's Choice* (1954), and De Banzie makes that determination worth watching. David Lean gives her a character whose decisions matter to the whole film. We warmed to Maggie because she wants a say in how she earns her living as well as whom she marries. It is a useful starting point for De Banzie: she is particularly good when a woman has practical things to get done.

*The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956) gives her a smaller place, as Lucy Drayton, in Alfred Hitchcock's family thriller. It is a film we recommend with reservations: the concert sequence sustains its tension, but the pacing elsewhere needs tightening. James Stewart and Doris Day supply the parents' distress that makes those waits worthwhile. De Banzie's reliable supporting work belongs to a film whose strongest feelings sit with its leads. We would not choose it as the fullest introduction to her acting, though her ability to fit into an ensemble is part of what makes her valuable.

In *The Entertainer* (1960), Tony Richardson gives her Phoebe Rice, the unhappy wife of Laurence Olivier's fading music-hall performer. De Banzie had already played Phoebe on stage, and her convincing weariness gives us something different from Maggie's determination. Here is a woman who cannot simply put things right by deciding to do so. De Banzie makes that disappointment count alongside Olivier, giving an unhappy wife enough weight to deserve attention in her own right.

After 1960, her film work was increasingly confined to supporting and matronly parts; Angela Dunning in Blake Edwards' *The Pink Panther* (1963) was one of the lighter assignments. Her usefulness across thrillers and farce is easy to appreciate, but it does not make every part equally rewarding. Those smaller roles give her fewer opportunities to drive a story, which is a pity when we have seen how well she can do it. Start with *Hobson's Choice*; the smaller parts can wait.

## Biography

Brenda De Banzie (28 July 1909 – 5 March 1981) was a British actress of stage and screen. Born in Manchester, she was the daughter of conductor Edward Thomas de Banzie and his wife Dorothy. She made her London stage debut in 1942 and appeared in films from 1951.

Her film roles include Maggie Hobson in *Hobson's Choice* (1954), Lucy Drayton in *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956), Phoebe Rice in *The Entertainer* (1960), and Angela Dunning in *The Pink Panther* (1963). She recreated the role of Phoebe Rice on Broadway, receiving a Tony Award nomination. She was the aunt of actress Lois de Banzie.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956), Fi1m 74, as Lucy Drayton — [page](https://film.one/film/the-man-who-knew-too-much.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Ten Commandments* (1971), series, as Mother
- *W. Somerset Maugham* (1969), series, as Mrs. Albert Forrester
- *Pretty Polly* (1967), as Mrs. Innes-Hook
- *Walk's End* (1966), as Mrs. Dakers
- *Out of the Unknown* (1965), series, as Mrs. Dakers
- *The Pink Panther* (1963), as Angela Dunning
- *I Thank a Fool* (1962), as Nurse Drew
- *A Pair of Briefs* (1962), as Gladys Rose Hanley
- *Come September* (1961), as Margaret Allison
- *Flame in the Streets* (1961), as Nell Palmer
- *Drama 61-67* (1961), series, as Mrs Massingham Fox
- *The Mark* (1961), as Gertrude Cartwright
- *The Entertainer* (1960), as Phoebe Rice
- *You'll Never See Me Again* (1959), as Mrs. Alden
- *The 39 Steps* (1959), as Nellie Lumsden
- *Too Many Crooks* (1959), as Lucy Gordon
- *Passport to Shame* (1958), as Aggie
- *House of Secrets* (1956), as Mme. Isabella Ballu
- *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Mrs. Alden
- *The Man Who Knew Too Much* (1956), as Lucy Drayton — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-man-who-knew-too-much.md)
- *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1955), series, as Lady Geraldine Pomfret
- *A Kid for Two Farthings* (1955), as Lady Ruby
- *Doctor at Sea* (1955), as Miss Muriel Mallet
- *As Long as They're Happy* (1955), as Stella Bentley
- *The Happiness of Three Women* (1954), as Jane Price
- *The Purple Plain* (1954), as Miss McNab
- *What Every Woman Wants* (1954), as Sarah Brown
- *Hobson's Choice* (1954), as Maggie Hobson
- *Don't Blame the Stork* (1954), as Evelyn Steele
- *A Day to Remember* (1953), as Mrs. Collins
- *The Yellow Balloon* (1953), as Fruit and Veg Stall Customer (uncredited)
- *Private Information* (1952), as Dolly Carson
- *I Believe in You* (1952), as Mrs. Hooker
- *Never Look Back* (1952), as Molly Wheeler
- *The Long Dark Hall* (1951), as Mrs Rogers

## Gallery

- ![Brenda De Banzie](https://film.one/media/person/3874965/gallery-6a7d520da5ff.jpg) Brenda De Banzie — Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/BrendaDeBanzie.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Brenda De Banzie](https://film.one/media/person/3874965/gallery-f685f41ec7b6.jpg) Brenda De Banzie — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 1958: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/brenda-de-banzie