Florence Bates
Known for Acting · 63 credits
- Born
- 1888-04-13
- Died
- 1954-01-31
- Place of birth
- San Antonio, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Florence Rabe
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florence Bates (born Florence Rabe, April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles.
Her path to becoming an actress had many turns. She had a degree in Mathematics, taught school until married, then became the first Texas female lawyer. Then she became a bilingual radio commentator. After her husband lost her fortune, she and her husband opened a bakery in Los Angeles.
In the mid-1930s, Bates auditioned for and won the role of Miss Bates in a Pasadena Playhouse adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. When she decided to continue working with the theatre group, she changed her professional name to that of the first character she played on stage. In 1939, she was introduced to Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in her first major screen role, the vain dowager Mrs. Van Hopper, in Rebecca (1940).
Bates appeared in more than sixty films over the course of the next thirteen years. Among her cinema credits are Kitty Foyle, Love Crazy, The Moon and Sixpence, Mr. Lucky, Heaven Can Wait, Lullaby of Broadway, Mister Big, Since You Went Away, Kismet, Saratoga Trunk, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Winter Meeting, I Remember Mama, Portrait of Jennie, A Letter to Three Wives, On the Town, and Les Misérables. In television, Bates had a regular role on The Hank McCune Show and made guest appearances on I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, I Married Joan and Our Miss Brooks.
Known For
TV Shows (3)
Movies (60)
Rebecca
1940
as Edythe Van Hopper
Mr. Lucky
1943
as Mrs. Van Every
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1947
as Mrs. Griswold
Cluny Brown
1946
as Dowager at Ames's Party
Les Miserables
1952
as Madame Bonnet
Heaven Can Wait
1943
as Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)
On the Town
1949
as Madame Dilyovska
Kitty Foyle
1940
as Customer
Kismet
1944
as Karsha
The Diary of a Chambermaid
1946
as Rose
Portrait of Jennie
1948
as Mrs. Jekes
The Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as Store Shopper
Mister Big
1943
as Mrs. Mary Davis
Road Show
1941
as Mrs. Newton
Love Crazy
1941
as Mrs. Cooper
The Man I Love
1946
as Mrs. Thorpe (uncredited)
San Antonio
1945
as Henrietta
The Tall Target
1951
as Mrs. Charlotte Alsop
Calling All Husbands
1940
as Emmie Trippe
Tahiti Nights
1944
as Queen Liliha
A Letter to Three Wives
1949
as Mrs. Manleigh
Saratoga Trunk
1945
as Sophie Bellop
Slightly Dangerous
1943
as Mrs. Amanda Roanoke-Brooke
My Dear Secretary
1948
as Horrible Hannah Reeve (the landlady)
Lullaby of Broadway
1951
as Mrs. Anna Hubbell
Whistle Stop
1946
as Molly Veech
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
as Mandy
Paris Model
1953
as Nora Sullivan
River Lady
1948
as Ma Dunnegan
Main Street to Broadway
1953
as Mrs. Bessmer in Fantasy Sequence
The Mask of Dimitrios
1944
as Madame Elise Chavez
The Time, The Place and The Girl
1946
as Mme. Lucia Cassel
They Got Me Covered
1943
as Gypsy Woman
The Judge Steps Out
1947
as Chita
The Son of Monte Cristo
1940
as Countess Mathilde Von Braun
The Brasher Doubloon
1947
as Mrs. Murdock
Havana Rose
1951
as Mrs. Fillmore
The Tuttles of Tahiti
1942
as Emily
Strange Alibi
1941
as Katie
The Girl from Jones Beach
1949
as Miss Emma Shoemaker
I Remember Mama
1948
as Florence Dana Moorhead
The Second Woman
1950
as Amelia Foster
Tonight and Every Night
1945
as May Tolliver
Claudia and David
1946
as Nancy Riddle
The San Francisco Story
1952
as Sadie
Hudson's Bay
1940
as Duchess (scenes deleted)
Out of This World
1945
as Harriet Pringle
We Were Dancing
1942
as Mrs. Elsa Vanderlip
Winter Meeting
1948
as Mrs. Castle
His Butler's Sister
1943
as Lady Sloughberry
Belle of the Yukon
1944
as Viola Chase
The Inside Story
1948
as Geraldine Atherton
Belle of Old Mexico
1950
as Nellie Chatfield
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
1942
as Mrs. Saunders
The Moon and Sixpence
1942
as Tiare Johnson
Love and Learn
1947
as Mrs. Bella Davis - Landlady
The Chocolate Soldier
1941
as Madame Helene
County Fair
1950
as Nora 'Ma' Ryan
Father Takes the Air
1951
as Minerva Bobbin
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
1942
as Mrs. Baldwin
About Florence Bates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Florence Bates (born Florence Rabe, April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Her path to becoming an actress had many turns. She had a degree in Mathematics, taught school until married, then became the first Texas female lawyer. Then she became a bilingual radio commentator. After her husband lost her fortune, she and her husband opened a bakery in Los Angeles. In the mid-1930s, Bates auditioned for and… With 63 credits spanning from 1940 to 1953, Florence Bates has appeared in 60 films and 3 TV shows.
Fans searching for Florence Bates movies, Florence Bates filmography, or the latest projects starring Florence Bates can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Florence Bates Movies
- Rebecca (1940) — as Edythe Van Hopper
- Mr. Lucky (1943) — as Mrs. Van Every
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) — as Mrs. Griswold
- Cluny Brown (1946) — as Dowager at Ames's Party
- Les Miserables (1952) — as Madame Bonnet
Where to Watch Florence Bates Films
Most Florence Bates movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Florence Bates, check our movies catalogue and browse page.