Sarah Edwards
Acting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sarah Edwards (October 11, 1881 – January 7, 1965) was a Welsh-born American film and stage actress. She often played dowagers or spinsters in numerous Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly in minor roles. Edwards started her acting career as a stage actress, she was described in 1916 by a newspaper article as a leading actress "very popular with West End theatre-goers".[1] She eventually settled in the United States and appeared in six Broadway plays between 1919 and 1931, primarily in comedies like The Merry Malones by George M. Cohan. Among her first movies was the New York-filmed 1929 musical Glorifying the American Girl (1929), where she portrayed the mercenary mother of leading actress Mary Eaton. She came to Hollywood in the mid-1930s where she appeared in about 190 films until her retirement 1951, mostly in uncredited, small character roles. Sarah Edwards died in Hollywood in 1965, aged 83. Edwards seemed older than she was and often portrayed a "kindly grandmother, imperious dowager, hardy pioneer wife, ill-tempered teacher and strict governess". She remains perhaps best-known to modern audiences as the imperious mother of Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) in Frank Capra's film classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946) who tries to keep her daughter away from George Bailey. Edwards also played a customer in Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner (1940) with James Stewart. She also appeared in another Christmas classic, The Bishop's Wife (1947) with Cary Grant, and as the wife of a doctor on the train in Hitchcock's thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Edwards sometimes also portrayed more substantial roles, for instance in the Charlie Chan movie Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944).
Known for
Acting112
movieCarson City
1952
Spinster on Stagecoach (uncredited)
movieThe Fuller Brush Girl
1950
Mrs. East (uncredited)
movieAir Hostess
1949
Bertha Hallum
movieFamily Honeymoon
1948
Mrs. Carp (uncredited)
movieCalifornia Firebrand
1948
Granny Hortense Mason
movieThe Main Street Kid
1948
Mrs. Clauson
movieThe Bishop's Wife
1947
Mrs. Duffy
movieGood News
1947
Miss Pritchard (uncredited)
movieThe Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947
Mrs. Dessark (uncredited)
movieIt's a Wonderful Life
1946
Mrs. Hatch
movieUndercurrent
1946
Cora (uncredited)
movieSong of Arizona
1946
Dolly Finnuccin
movieGirl on the Spot
1946
Mrs. Richards (uncredited)
movieSaratoga Trunk
1945
Miss Diggs (uncredited)
movieGirls of the Big House
1945
Dormitory Matron
movieTwo O'Clock Courage
1945
Mrs. Tuttle (Patty's Landlady) (uncredited)
movieThe Corn Is Green
1945
Mrs. Watty's Friend (uncredited)
movieStorm Over Lisbon
1944
Maude Perry-Tonides
movieBathing Beauty
1944
Faculty Member (uncredited)
movieHenry Aldrich's Little Secret
1944
Mrs. Bradley
movieHenry Aldrich Plays Cupid
1944
Mrs. Bradley
movieCharlie Chan in the Secret Service
1944
Mrs. Hargue
movieNearly Eighteen
1943
Miss Perkins
movieAll by Myself
1943
Mrs. Vincent
movieDixie Dugan
1943
Mrs. Kelly
movieShadow of a Doubt
1943
Doctor's Wife on Train (uncredited)
movieCalling All Pa's
1942
Grandma Vanderscnooze (uncredited)
movieThe Forest Rangers
1942
Mrs. Hansen (uncredited)
movieScattergood Survives a Murder
1942
Selma Quentin
movieApache Trail
1942
Stagecoach Passenger (uncredited)
movieThe Sons of the Pioneers
1942
Housekeeper
movieMy Favorite Blonde
1942
Mrs. Weatherwax (uncredited)
movieDudes Are Pretty People
1942
Miss Priddle
movieH.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
Mrs. Motford - Kay's Mother (uncredited)
movieMiss Polly
1941
Angie Turner
movieOne Foot in Heaven
1941
Mrs. Spicer (uncredited)
movieI Wake Up Screaming
1941
Customer (uncredited)
movieThree Girls About Town
1941
Clubwoman
movieSunset in Wyoming
1941
Susanna Hawkins Peabody
movieTom, Dick and Harry
1941
Mrs. Burton (uncredited)
movieMr. District Attorney
1941
Miss Petherby
movieThe Face Behind the Mask
1941
Mrs. Perkins (uncredited)
movieThe Invisible Woman
1940
Showroom Buyer (uncredited)
movieLittle Men
1940
Landlady
movieArise, My Love
1940
Spinster (uncredited)
movieStrike Up the Band
1940
Miss Hodges
movieThe Howards of Virginia
1940
Neighbor Girl
movieYoung People
1940
Mrs. Stinchfield
movieLucky Cisco Kid
1940
Spinster
movieNew Moon
1940
Marquise della Rosa
movieOpened by Mistake
1940
Mrs. Karff (uncredited)
movieCurtain Call
1940
Literary Committee Member
movieFree, Blonde and 21
1940
Undetermined Role
movieThe Shop Around the Corner
1940
Woman Customer
movieRemember?
1939
Lady in Revolving Door
movieThe Amazing Mr. Williams
1939
Citizens Committee Woman (uncredited)
movieMeet Dr. Christian
1939
Mrs. Minnows
movieDrunk Driving
1939
Driver (uncredited)
movieSabotage
1939
(uncredited)
movieEspionage Agent
1939
Militant American Tourist
movieHere I Am a Stranger
1939
Chaperone at Dance
movieCoast Guard
1939
Florence (uncredited)
movieUnmarried
1939
Mrs. Jones
movieBlondie Meets the Boss
1939
Saleswoman (uncredited)
moviePersons in Hiding
1939
Beauty Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
movieThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939
Annie Rucker (uncredited)
movieBoy Trouble
1939
Mrs. Moots
movieThe Shining Hour
1938
Chairwoman of Morals Society (uncredited)
movieThe Cowboy and the Lady
1938
Dinner Party Guest (uncredited)
movieA Man to Remember
1938
Clerk (uncredited)
movieThree Loves Has Nancy
1938
Autograph Session Chairwoman (uncredited)
movieWoman Against Woman
1938
Party Guest
movieThe Beloved Brat
1938
School Board Member Miss Brundage
movieWomen Are Like That
1938
Mrs. Snell
movieJudge Hardy's Children
1938
Miss Adams (uncredited)
movieMerrily We Live
1938
Mrs. Fleming
movieGold Is Where You Find It
1938
Party Guest (uncredited)
movieLove Is a Headache
1938
Mrs. Warden, Fan from New Jersey (uncredited)
movieThe Awful Truth
1937
Lucy's Attorney's Wife (uncredited)
movieIt's Love I'm After
1937
Mrs. Hinkle
movieVarsity Show
1937
Mrs. Biddle
moviePublic Wedding
1937
Mrs. Van Drexel
movieBig Business
1937
Miss Collins - School Principal
movieWe're on the Jury
1937
Evelyn Bottomley
movieThe General Died at Dawn
1936
Companion of American without Matches (uncredited)
movieTheodora Goes Wild
1936
Mrs. Moffat (uncredited)
movieTwo-Fisted Gentleman
1936
Mrs. O'Shea
moviePalm Springs
1936
Miss Pinchon
movieEarly to Bed
1936
Miss Barton
movieThe Golden Arrow
1936
Mrs. Lizzie Burke-Meyers
movieColleen
1936
First Society Woman (uncredited)
movieStars Over Broadway
1935
Woman Dancing with Fat Man
movieIt's in the Air
1935
Old Maid (uncredited)
movieI Live My Life
1935
Professor Douglas (Uncredited)
movieTwo-Fisted
1935
Abigail Adams
moviePeople Will Talk
1935
Martie Beemish
movieRuggles of Red Gap
1935
Mrs. Myron Carey
movieShadow of Doubt
1935
Dowager in Taxi
Sweepstake Annie
1935
Friend of Mrs. Foster (uncredited)
movieThe World Accuses
1934
Lucille Weymouth
My Grandfather's Clock
1934
Housekeeper (uncredited)
movieAmerican Madness
1932
Gossip on Phone (uncredited)
movieWayward
1932
Nurse (uncredited)
movieGlorifying the American Girl
1929
Mrs. Hughes