Judith Anderson - On Experience in Film (1971); Interview with Charles Higham

(****Edit; July 2024: Sorry folks for the dreadful formatting of the clips. I compiled this edit three long years ago and I had no idea how to wrestle the programs I was using. I would gladly have replaced this with a sort of "remastered" edit, if youtube allowed for video updates, but it tragically doesn't.
I have still searched for the completed interview, because the sudden cut off at the end agonizes me, too! No avail, as of yet, but I keep my spirits hopeful. My love.****)
Dame Judith Anderson Interviewed by Charles Higham on the subject of her roles on film, accompanied by footage of each film in discussion.
Often it was the case Anderson had to present herself differently when speaking under certain circumstances. In this interview she was very particularly cautious and inconsistent on discussions of homosexuality and queerness; likely influenced by the nature of the time she lived in, where the Lavender Scare witch hunts had ruined lives in America, even within Hollywood.
The original interview has some strange jumps and cuts in the audio, which cannot be helped. As well, most snippets in the large discussion of Laura (1947) had to be trimmed out due to youtube's policy. I would share the uncut interview with anyone interested, you can find an email to reach me on my channel page.
Films discussed in order they come up:
Rebecca (1940): 00:00
King's Row (1942): 9:05
Edge of Darkness (1943): 10:35
Rebecca (1940): 12:40
Laura (1944): 14:45
A Man Called Horse (1970): 15:45
And Then There Were None (1945): 19:55
The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946): 21:15
Pursued (1947): 21:55
The Furies (1950): 24:15
The Red House (1947): 24:55
Salome (1953): 26:55
The Ten Commandments (1954): 29:35
*Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958): 33:15
Macbeth (1954 & 1960): 37:25

[@desleydeacon6414]

Wonderful! I haven't heard Anderson speaking so fully about the movies. The clips are so well chosen. this is a must-see for fans of Dame Judith.

[@medeajerdana]

​@@Jonathanbegg I agree-- she had many good reasons for keeping much of her life private, but she was beyond fascinating in every facet of her life! Higham gives her a shamefully boring interview here, asking only surface things about roles she mostly didn't care for-- and the topics of interest for her she obviously was uncomfortable about discussing with this particular interviewer. While she had a lifetime's worth of dynamic work-- he seems fixated only on her films, perhaps because of their larger appeal? But you get a sense that Anderson grows quite bored. She went on to say two decades later when interviewed by gay author and journalist, Boze Haleigh, that she had always hated dull interviews-- reading or doing them. Needless to say, that interview is much more interesting and full of marvelous secrets. Still, this interview was a treat to find-- and I wanted to share it with others to enjoy! It's rare to hear or see Anderson in candid situations.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I could not agree more !!

[@randyacuna3248]

it is a surprise and a mystery why this brilliant actress is not mentioned more. she is in the high class with others like Davis and Crawford and Stanwyck.

[@Twentythousandlps]

They were movie stars. Anderson was a great actress but people know more about movie stars.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I agree 100 per cent !

[@manypearls7193]

I'm not a fan of Higham's books but wow this is a great interview with Dame Judith, who is quite gracious with her comments on the movies and the people she worked with and seeming amazingly modest and unpretentious for someone who was such a genius actress.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I agree 100 per cent !

[@lopa2828]

She was a grest actress and very powerful stage personality too. It is very good to hear her interviews and her reviews about her movies.

[@helenalldridge1145]

The best Mrs Danvers from my favourite book Rebecca xxxx

[@floris.927]

What a glorious voice! The only comparable voice I can think of is that of John Gielgud. She made a great Medea, melodious tone with such strength and cunning.

[@JudithAndersonArchives]

Anderson had worked alongside Gielgud in a 1936 production of Hamlet, and even featured his accompaniment in one of her later runs of Medea. She certainly made the greatest Medea of history, in great part with the unparalleled adaptation written for her by Robinson Jeffers. A work of magnificent poetry. Keep an eye on the channel, because next month I will be releasing her greatest work here for everyone to see in full!

[@jubalcalif9100]

Well said and well put !

[@ofruzeshminu6135]

She was always magnificent in all her roles

[@jubalcalif9100]

I certainly have a notion to second THAT emotion !

[@haimbenavraham1502]

A great actress, a very humble person.

[@jubalcalif9100]

As I do when I take off my hat, you make a GOOD point !

[@jubalcalif9100]

THANK YOU very much for posting this wonderfully informative & entertaining interview. I always enjoyed the performances of the late great Judith Anderson. A very intelligent, thoughtful, perceptive but yet humble lady.

[@asmodeus0454]

Dame Judith Anderson was a great Australian actress. We here in Australia have produced very few actors or actresses of Dame Judith's calibre.

[@theartist124]

She was amazing 3:50 it was years before I realized she did other roles other than Rebecca, I just hadn't seen here in them, this is a really nice interview, thanks!

[@j.w.2391]

One of my favourite character actresses. I know Dame Judith was great tragedienne on Broadway, I so regret her I wasnt born to see her as Lady Macbeth, Medea or Elizabeth I. But Im so grateful Dame Judith "condescended" to make films, leaving us a nice legacy of her artistry and majesty. She's unforgettable as "Mrs. Danvers" and "Memnet" in Ten Commandments. I own several beautiful portraits of her from "The Dove" and " As you Desire Me".

[@WolfyGreen]

In what she doesn’t say, resides everything. My grandmother was from the same generation - there is a tone of voice that says quite elegantly - “I’ve said enough - and so have you.”

[@fritula6200]

What an intelligent woman. Humble! The interviewer sounds muffled, his questions aren't clear.

[@danielstanwyck2812]

3rd and final note. I hope. It ended so abruptly, mid-sentence and thought. She was in the middle of a sentence. Higham is renowned in his field. The microphone sounded as if it were positioned on The Great Dame's lap while he sounded as if he were sitting across the street and down the lane. His assistants, if not himself, should have caught that mistaken calculation and righted it. I never imagined that she, of the fierce raised eyebrow, permanently scornful mouth (not so in the excerpt from the Williams Cat/Roof), and her acerbic words was such a dear. Love her all the more.

[@GrantTarredus]

Thank you very much for some valuable information!

[@jubalcalif9100]

You speak the truth, Kemo Sabe !!

[@danielstanwyck2812]

wish the interviewer projected with volume. she is brilliant

[@MarcusAndre85]

Thanks for posting the interview here and making a channel dedicated to Judith Anderson. I loved the interview and was surprised that Mrs Danvers' lesbianism was mentioned, not expecting it as the interview is from over 50 years ago. Where can I see the uncut version you mentioned in the video description?

[@medeajerdana]

You're welcome, I am happy to share. There will be lots of exciting things this month, so I hope you'll look forward to those and stick around! Higham was only interested in her film roles, many of her old films in particular. Rebecca especially was a film that followed her everywhere, given it's tremendous popularity, and distinct portrayal of women's homosexuality (and sexual "deviance", in the case of Rebecca herself). Daphne du Maurier's novel is unabashed about Danvers' lesbianism. It is no surprise therefore that the role was constantly brought up to Anderson, who was a very private woman, and who (was in her right to) remain closeted to the public all her life, despite her open gay identity to those close to her. As for the full version of the interview, all that is missing is a few minutes of talk about the film Laura, where you might notice a sudden skip in the footage. The end cuts abruptly but that's unfortunately all that I've found of the interview. If you'd like access to the full version for the extra discussion about Laura, you can send me an email at the address listed on the channel About page!

[@MarcusAndre85]

@@medeajerdana Thank you for answer! I can't wait for new Judith Anderson's videos!

[@gracenurse3365]

@@medeajerdana Re: “Daphne du Maurier’s novel is unabashed about Mrs. Danvers’ lesbianism.” I don’t remember there being more emphasis on this. Mrs. Danvers appears more often in the book, as all the characters do, but there aren’t explorations of her love life or anything (?)

[@medeajerdana]

@@gracenurse3365 Putting aside the countless subtle nods, Beatrice in conversation with Mrs De Winter emphasizes not only Mrs Danvers' affection for Rebecca, but also specifies Mrs Danvers' disinterest in Maxim. It's a significant point to make, which was not made in a vacuum. Du Maurier's effort to emphasize her lack of interest in male figures really draws out the extent of her interest towards women. To one with a thorough understanding of queer theory and homosexuality in history, the language and context of Du Maurier herself paints a pretty shocking picture of lesbian (if socially "deviant") women across the narrative. There is no literal explicit mention of any physicality between the women, but in the novel's subtext not a scene goes by with Danvers which does not allude to her extraordinary affections. Hope that answers your question!

[@gracenurse3365]

@@medeajerdana Thank you. I would not describe what you’re detailing as “unabashed,” however. That is the word choice I originally questioned.

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

Que desempenho incrível de Judith nesse belo filme de suspense de. Hitchcock, onde o papel de GOVERNANTA mostra todo o seu talento dramático no teatro. Ela me lembra um pouco outra talentosa atriz, a Angelica Huston.

[@danielstanwyck2812]

she apologizes about being such a fool in response to some of his questions. HE was the fool. poor questions and not very adept at it. She was very warm, and smart, and generous.

[@fritula6200]

TRIVIA:- JUDITH ANDERSON:- Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, AC, DBE: 10 February 1897 - 3 January 1992, known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award. She is considered one of the 20th century's greatest classical stage actors. Dame Judith Anderson Born: Frances Margaret Anderson 10 February 1897: Adelaide. South Australia: Died 3 Jan 1992 - aged 94 In Santa Barbara, California, U.S. Actress: Years active1915-1987 Spouses:- Benjamin Harrison Lehmann m. 1937; div. 1939 and second husband Luther Greene m. 1946; div. 1951: Early life:- Frances Margaret Anderson was born in 1897 in Adelaide, South Australia, the youngest of four children born to Jessie Margaret (née Saltmarsh; 19 October 1862 - 24 November 1950), a former nurse, and Scottish-born father James Anderson, a sharebroker and pioneering prospector. Career and Early acting:- She made her professional debut (as Francee Anderson) in 1915, playing Stephanie at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, in A Royal Divorce. Leading the company was the Scottish actor Julius Knight whom she later credited with laying the foundations of her acting skills. She appeared alongside him in adaptations of The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Three Musketeers, Monsieur Beacauire and David Garrick. In 1917 she toured New Zealand. Early years in America:- Anderson was ambitious and wanted to leave Australia. Most local actors went to London but the war made this difficult so she decided on the US. She travelled to California but was unsuccessful, then moved to New York, with an equal lack of success. After a period of poverty and illness, she found work with the Emma Bunting Stock Company at the Fourteenth Street Theatre in 1918-19. Broadway and film:- She made her Broadway debut in Up the Stairs (1922) followed by The Crooked Square (1923) and she went to Chicago with Patches (1923). She appeared in Peter Weston (1923). One year later, to Judith and had her first triumph with the play Cobra (1924) co-starring Louis Calhern, which ran for 35 performances. Judith then went on to The Dove (1925) which went for 101 performances and really established her on Broadway. She toured Australia in 1927 with three plays: Tea for Three, The Green Hat and Cobra. Back home to America she made progress with film and plays on Broadway: Rebecca:- Judith then received a career boost when she was cast in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940).As the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, she was required to mentally torment the young bride, the "second Mrs. de Winter" (Joan Fontaine), even encouraging her to commit suicide; and to taunt her husband (Laurence Olivier) with the memory of his first wife, the never-seen "Rebecca". The film was a huge critical and commercial success, and Anderson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 13th Academy Awards. 1950's She was in playing Memnet the servant in Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1956). Also played the memorable role of Big Mama, alongside Burl Ives as Big Daddy, in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). She followed it with a return to Broadway. 1960's: She travelled to England and performed plays at the Old Vic in London: Towards her latter years she commenced a three-year stint as matriarch Minx Lockridge on the NBC serial Santa Barbara. Death:- Anderson spent much of her life in Santa Barbara, California, where she died of pneumonia in 1992, aged 94. Judith was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1960 and thereafter was billed as "Dame Judith Anderson". On 10 June in the 1991 Australian Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), "in recognition of service to the performing arts".

[@marcellodantedealmeidanune9445]

Ela está tão extraordinária em Rebecca, que chega em certos momentos a ofuscar os outros "monstros", Lawrence Olivier e Joan Fontaine.

[@HolgerRuneFan]

Very interesting, I just wish she would have been asked about how she felt working with Burl Ives and Vincent Price.

[@medeajerdana]

You might like to know that Anderson got on very well with Vincent Price-- and in fact she and Price both had such a matching sense of humour that they would laugh together at their own jokes to such a disruption of everyone else that the two of them were kicked out of the room whenever they weren't directly on set!

[@RichardHannay]

She sounds so much like Tallulah Bankhead.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Yes she does, dahling.... 🤣

[@j.w.2391]

Yes, she does at times sound like Tallu...a lot of actresses of her generation have this deep throaty tone----Lynne Fontanne, Pauline Frederick..

[@4Rivers-gd]

Such an excellent actress, Lucky to play in excellent movies. Then, sexual agendas weren't as important as having a good plot. Times have really changed.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Indubitably !

[@HajimeIshii-dn6mz]

I just hope Judith Anderson just played the role of Mrs. Danvers. I mean that I hope her real nature was different from that of Mrs. Danvers.

[@medeajerdana]

I have to wonder what you mean by that!-- Of Course Anderson was her own person, very warm, very expressive, good-humoured, and as dimensional as a person could be. There is rarely any use to conflate an actress or actor with their roles. Let alone one role they played in a medium they don't prefer, barely a third of the way through their sixty-year career! (She identified very strongly with her own Medea, though, in all her ups and downs!)

[@mp2040]

The interviewer was very pushy at points

[@pphedup]

CLICK BAIT. NOT MUCH JUDITH.

[@bertiemarshall3391]

Nothing homophobic about her remarks, she was saying his characters are ugly, for want of a better word…they’re dark fully human etc…and indeed Tennesse was surrounded by ugly hangers on, both gay , straight and Bi