Editing Margaret Rutherford

{{Short description|English actor (1892–1972)}}
{{for|the English cricketer|Margaret Rutherford (cricketer)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name = Margaret Rutherford
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}}
| image = Dame Margaret Rutherford 1960 publicity photo.jpg
| caption = Rutherford {{circa|1960}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|5|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Balham]], [[County of London|London]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age |1972|5|22|1892|5|11|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Chalfont St. Peter]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| birth_name = Margaret Taylor Rutherford
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1925–1967
| resting_place = St. James's Church, [[Gerrards Cross]], Buckinghamshire, England
| parents = [[William Rutherford Benn]]<br>Florence Nicholson
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Stringer Davis]]|1945}}
| relatives = [[Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet]] (uncle)
}}

'''Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford''' (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, film and television.

Rutherford came to national attention following [[World War II]] in the film adaptations of [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Blithe Spirit (1945 film)|Blithe Spirit]]'', and [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)|The Importance of Being Earnest]]''. In 1948, she was awarded with [[Special Tony Award]] for Outstanding Foreign Company as a ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' cast member and later won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] and a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]] for her role as the Duchess of Brighton in ''[[The V.I.P.s (film)|The V.I.P.s]]'' (1963). In the early 1960s, she starred as [[Agatha Christie|Agatha Christie's]] character [[Miss Marple]] in a series of four [[George Pollock (director)|George Pollock]] films. She was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 1961 and a Dame Commander (DBE) in 1967.
[[File:Dame MARGARET RUTHERFORD - 4 Berkeley Place Wimbledon London SW19 4NN.jpg|thumb|right|Rutherford's early home, her aunt Bessie's house in [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]], 1895–1920]]

==Early life==
Rutherford's early life was overshadowed by tragedies involving both of her parents. Her father, journalist and poet [[William Rutherford Benn]], married Florence Nicholson on 16 December 1882 in [[Wandsworth]], south London. One month after the marriage, he suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] and was admitted to [[Bethnal House Asylum|Bethnal House Lunatic Asylum]]. Released to travel under his family's supervision, he [[murder]]ed his father, the Reverend Julius Benn, a [[Congregational church|Congregational Church]] minister, by bludgeoning him to death with a [[chamber pot]], before slashing his own throat with a pocket knife at an inn in [[Matlock, Derbyshire]] on 4 March 1883.<ref name="Ind">{{cite news |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20040307/ai_n12751110/pg_3 |title=A life in films: Murder she hid |newspaper=The Independent on Sunday |first=Matthew |last=Sweet |place=London |date=7 March 2004 |access-date=30 November 2007}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref name="Aurum">{{cite book|last1=Merriman|first1=Andy|title=Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners |date=2009 |publisher=Aurum |place=London}}</ref>

Following the [[inquest]], William Benn was certified insane and removed to [[Broadmoor Hospital|Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum]]. Seven years later, on 26 July 1890, he was discharged from Broadmoor and reunited with his wife. He legally dropped his surname.

Margaret Taylor Rutherford, the only child of William and Florence, was born in 1892 in [[Balham]], south London. Margaret's uncle, [[Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet]], was a politician, and her first cousin once removed was the Labour politician [[Tony Benn]]. Hoping to start a new life far from the scene of their recent troubles, the Rutherfords emigrated to [[Madras]], [[British India|India]], but Margaret was sent back to Britain when she was three years old to live with her aunt Bessie Nicholson in [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]], south London, after her [[pregnant]] mother hanged herself from a tree.

Young Margaret had been told that her father died of a broken heart soon afterward. When she was 12 years old, she was shocked to learn that her father had actually been readmitted to Broadmoor Hospital in 1903, where he remained until his death on 4 August 1921. Her parents' mental afflictions gave rise to a fear that she might succumb to similar maladies, a fear that haunted her for the rest of her life. She suffered intermittent bouts of depression and anxiety.<ref name="Screen Lives 2001. P 291">{{cite book |title=Stage and Screen Lives |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |page=291 |first=Michael |last=Billington |isbn=978-0-19-860407-5}}; Andy Merriman in ''Radio Times'', 4–10 June 2011</ref>

Rutherford was educated at [[Wimbledon High School]] (now a theatre space, the Rutherford Centre, named after her) and, from the age of 13, at Raven's Croft School, a boarding school in Sutton Avenue, Seaford.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=31642|title=Rutherford [married name Stringer Davis], Dame Margaret Taylor (1892–1972)|first=John|last=Gielgud}}</ref> While she was there, she developed an interest in the theatre and performed in amateur dramatics. After she left school, her aunt paid for her to have private acting lessons. When her aunt died, she left a legacy that allowed Rutherford to secure entry to the [[The Old Vic|Old Vic School]]. In her autobiography, Rutherford called her Aunt Bessie her "adoptive mother and one of the saints of the world".<ref name="W. H. Allen">{{cite book |last1=Rutherford |first1=Margaret |first2=Gwen |last2=Robyns |title=Margaret Rutherford: An autobiography |publisher=W. H. Allen |place=London |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-491-00379-7}}</ref>

==Stage career==
Rutherford, a talented pianist, first found work as a piano teacher and a teacher of [[elocution]]. She developed an acting career relatively late, making her stage debut only in 1925, aged 33, at the Old Vic. As her "spaniel jowls" and bulky frame made being cast in romantic heroine roles impossible, she established her name in comedy, appearing in many of the most successful British plays and films. "I never intended to play for laughs. I am always surprised that the audience thinks me funny at all", Rutherford wrote in her autobiography.<ref name="W. H. Allen"/> Rutherford made her first appearance in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1933, but her talent was not recognised by the critics until her performance as Miss Prism in [[John Gielgud]]'s production of ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]] in 1939.

In 1941 [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]]'' opened on the London stage at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]], with Coward directing. Rutherford received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike for her lusty portrayal of the bumbling medium [[Madame Arcati]], a role for which Coward had envisioned her. Theatre critic [[Kenneth Tynan]] once said of her performances: "The unique thing about Margaret Rutherford is that she can act with her chin alone."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tynan |first1=Kenneth |title=Acting and the Theatre |url=http://www.mscore.net/Quotes/tabid/79/ctl/quoteview/mid/439/ID/11404/AuthorID/5658/Default.aspx |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811212704/http://www.mscore.net/Quotes/tabid/79/ctl/quoteview/mid/439/ID/11404/AuthorID/5658/Default.aspx |archive-date=11 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Another theatrical success during the war years included her part as the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers in [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]] in 1940. Her post-war theatre credits included Miss Prism in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' again at the [[Haymarket Theatre]] in 1946 and Lady Bracknell when the same play transferred to New York City in 1947. She played an officious headmistress in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (play)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' at the [[Apollo Theatre]] in 1948 and classical roles such as Madame Desmortes in ''[[Ring Round the Moon]]'' at the Globe Theatre, 1950, Lady Wishfort in ''[[The Way of the World]]'' at [[Lyric Hammersmith]], 1953 and [[Saville Theatre]]s, in 1956, and Mrs. Candour in ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' at the Haymarket Theatre in 1962. Her final stage performance came in 1966 when she played Mrs. Malaprop in ''[[The Rivals]]'' at the Haymarket Theatre, alongside Sir [[Ralph Richardson]]. Her declining health meant she had to give up the role.<ref>Merriman, Andy ''Margaret Rutherford- Dreadnought with Good Manners'', London: Aurum, 2011</ref>

==Film career==
Although she made her film debut in 1936, it was Rutherford's turn as Madame Arcati in [[David Lean]]'s film of ''[[Blithe Spirit (1945 film)|Blithe Spirit]]'' (1945) that established her in films. Her jaunty performance, cycling about the [[Kent]] countryside, head held high, back straight, and cape fluttering behind her, established the model for portraying that role thereafter. She was Nurse Carey in ''[[Miranda (1948 film)|Miranda]]'' (1948) and the sprightly Medieval expert Professor Hatton-Jones in ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]'' (1949), one of the [[Ealing Comedies]]. She reprised her stage roles of the headmistress alongside [[Alastair Sim]] in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' (1950) and Miss Prism in [[Anthony Asquith]]'s film adaptation of ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)|The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' (1952).

More comedies followed, including ''[[Castle in the Air (film)|Castle in the Air]]'' (1952) with [[David Tomlinson]], ''[[Trouble in Store]]'' (1953), with [[Norman Wisdom]], ''[[The Runaway Bus]]'' (1954) with [[Frankie Howerd]] and ''[[An Alligator Named Daisy]]'' (1955) with [[Donald Sinden]] and [[Diana Dors]]. Rutherford worked with Norman Wisdom again in ''[[Just My Luck (1957 film)|Just My Luck]]'' (1957) and co-starred in ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]'' with [[Virginia McKenna]], [[Peter Sellers]] and [[Leslie Phillips]] (both 1957). She starred alongside [[Ian Carmichael]] and Peter Sellers, in the [[Boulting Brothers]] satire ''[[I'm All Right Jack]]'' (1959).

In the early 1960s, she appeared as [[Miss Jane Marple]] in a series of four [[George Pollock (director)|George Pollock]] films loosely based on  novels by [[Agatha Christie]]. The films depicted Marple as a colourful character, respectable but bossy and eccentric. Authors Marion Shaw and Sabine Vanacker in their book ''Reflecting on Miss Marple'' (1991) complained that the emphasis on the "dotty element in the character" missed entirely "the quietness and sharpness" so admired in the novels.<ref name="Aurum"/> The actress, then aged in her 70s, insisted on wearing her own clothes for the parts and having her husband appear alongside her. In 1963 Christie dedicated her novel ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' "To Margaret Rutherford in admiration", though the novelist was critical of the films for diverging from her original plots and playing dramatic scenes for laughs.<ref name="Aurum"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Clymer |first1=Phil |title=Filling Miss Marple's shoes |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple2/shoes.html |website=PBS.org |access-date=3 August 2014}}</ref> Rutherford reprised the role of Miss Marple in a very brief, uncredited cameo in the 1965 film ''[[The Alphabet Murders]]''.

Rutherford played the absent-minded, impoverished, pill-popping Duchess of Brighton – the only comedy relief – in ''[[The V.I.P.s (film)|The V.I.P.s]]'' (1963) from a screenplay by [[Terence Rattigan]]. The film features a star-studded cast led by <!-- Not a DBE until 1990 -->[[Maggie Smith]], <!-- Not a Dame Commander until 2000 -->[[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Richard Burton]]. For her performance, she won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Academy Award]] and [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Golden Globe Awards]] for Best Supporting Actress. At the time she set a record for the oldest woman and last born in the nineteenth century to win an Oscar.

She appeared as Mistress Quickly in [[Orson Welles]]' film ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]'' (1965) and was directed by [[Charlie Chaplin]] in ''[[A Countess from Hong Kong]]'' (1967), starring [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Sophia Loren]], which was one of her final films. She started work on ''[[The Virgin and the Gypsy (film)|The Virgin and the Gypsy]]'' (1970), but illness caused her to be replaced by [[Fay Compton]].

==Personal life, illness and death==
In 1945, Rutherford, 53, married character actor [[Stringer Davis]], 46, after a courtship that lasted 15 years. Davis' mother reportedly considered Rutherford an unsuitable match for her son, and their wedding was postponed until after Mrs. Davis had died.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Norman |first1=Neil |title=Miss. Marple's torment |url= http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/129763/Miss-Marple-s-torment |website=Express: Home of the Daily and Sunday Express |access-date=25 September 2009|date=24 September 2009 }}</ref> Subsequently, the couple appeared in many productions together. Davis adored Rutherford, with one friend noting: "For him she was not only a great talent but, above all, a beauty."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Merriman|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oS_BAgAAQBAJ&q=%22For+him+she+was+not+only+a+great+talent+but%2C+above+all%2C+a+beauty.%22&pg=PT97|title=Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners|date=15 August 2011|publisher=Aurum Press|isbn=978-1-84513-758-8|language=en}}</ref> The actor and former serviceman rarely left his wife's side, serving Rutherford as private secretary. He also nursed and comforted her through periodic debilitating depression. These illnesses, sometimes involving stays in [[mental hospital]]s and [[Electro-convulsive therapy|electric shock treatment]], were kept hidden from the press during Rutherford's lifetime.<ref>Merriman, Andy ''Margaret Rutherford- Dreadnought with Good Manners'', London: Aurum, 2011</ref>

In the 1950s, Rutherford and Davis unofficially adopted writer Gordon Langley Hall (later [[Dawn Langley Simmons]]), then in her twenties, who later wrote a biography of Rutherford in 1983. <ref>Merriman, Andy ''Margaret Rutherford- Dreadnought with Good Manners'', London: Aurum, 2011</ref>

Rutherford suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] at the end of her life and was unable to work. Davis cared for his wife at their [[Buckinghamshire]] home until her death on 22 May 1972, aged 80.<ref name="WVobit">{{cite news |title=Obituary |work=Variety |place=Los Angeles |date=24 May 1972 |page=71}}</ref> Many of Britain's top actors, including [[John Gielgud]], [[Ralph Richardson]], [[Flora Robson]], and [[Joyce Grenfell]], attended a memorial Service of Thanksgiving at the Actors' Church, [[St. Paul's, Covent Garden]], on 21 July 1972, where 90-year-old [[Sybil Thorndike]] praised her friend's enormous talent and recalled that Rutherford had "never said anything horrid about anyone".<ref>Merriman, Andy ''Margaret Rutherford- Dreadnought with Good Manners'', London: Aurum, 2011</ref>

Rutherford and Davis (who died in 1973) are interred at the graveyard of St. James's Church, [[Gerrards Cross]], Buckinghamshire. "A Blithe Spirit" is inscribed on the base of Margaret Rutherford's memorial stone, a reference to the Noël Coward play that helped to make her name.
[[File:Margaret Rutherford plaque.jpg|thumb|right|English Heritage [[Blue plaque]] at former home, Wimbledon]]

==Theatre performances==
*A student at the [[Old Vic]] Theatre School, playing walk-ons and small parts in various shows, 1925–26
*Understudy for [[Mabel Terry-Lewis]] at the [[Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith]], 1928
*A season with the English Repertory Players at the Grand Theatre, [[Fulham]], 1929
*Little Theatre, [[Epsom]], 1930
*A season in rep at the [[Oxford Playhouse]], 1930–31
*A season in rep in [[Croydon]], 1931
*A season with the Greater London Players, 1932
*Mrs. Read in ''Wild Justice'' at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 1933
*''Birthday'' (understudy to [[Jean Cadell]] and [[Muriel Aked]]), at the [[Cambridge Theatre]], 1934
*Aline Solness in ''[[The Master Builder]]'' at the [[Embassy Theatre (London)|Embassy Theatre]], Swiss Cottage, 1934
*Lady Nancy in ''Hervey House'' at [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]], 1935
*Miss Flower in ''Short Story'' at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], 1935
*Mrs. Palmai in ''Farewell Performance'' at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 1936
*Aunt Bella in ''Tavern in the Town'' at the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage, 1937
*Emily Deveral in ''Up the Garden Path'' at the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage, 1937
*The Mother in ''The Melody That Got Lost'' at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]], 1938
*Bijou Furze in ''[[Spring Meeting (play)|Spring Meeting]]'' at the [[Ambassadors Theatre (London)|Ambassadors Theatre]], 1938
*Miss Prism in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]], 1939
*Mrs. Danvers in ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], 1940
*Madame Arcati in ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]]'' at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]], 1941
*[[ENSA]] tour of France and Belgium, 1944
*Queen of Hearts and White Queen in ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]], 1944
*Lady Charlotte Fayre in ''Perchance to Dream'' at the [[London Hippodrome]], 1945
*Miss Prism in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' at the [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]], 1946
*Lady Bracknell in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' at the [[Royale Theatre]], New York, 1947
*Evelyn Whitchurch in ''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (play)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' at the [[Apollo Theatre]], 1948
*Madame Desmortes in ''[[Ring Round the Moon]]'' at the Globe Theatre, 1950
*The title role in ''Miss Hargreaves'' at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] and [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]], 1952
*Lady Wishfort in ''[[The Way of the World]]'' at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 1953
*White Queen in ''[[Alice Through the Looking-Glass]]'' at the [[Shaftesbury Theatre|Prince's Theatre]], 1954
*Duchess of Pont-au-Bronc in ''Time Remembered'' at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and New Theatre, 1954
*Mirabelle Petersham in ''A Likely Tale'' at the Globe Theatre, 1956
*Lady Wishfort in ''The Way of the World'' at the [[Saville Theatre]], 1956
*Lady Bracknell in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' on Ireland and UK tour (Dublin, Limerick, Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Eastbourne and Bournemouth), 1957
*''[[The Happiest Days of Your Life (play)|The Happiest Days of Your Life]]'' and ''Time Remembered'' on tour of Australia, 1957
*Minerva Goody (Povis) in ''Farewell, Farewell Eugene'' at the [[Garrick Theatre]], 1959
*Minerva Goody (Povis) in ''Farewell, Farewell Eugene'' at the [[Fulton Theatre|Helen Hayes Theatre]], New York, 1960
*Bijou Furze in ''Dazzling Prospect'' at the Globe Theatre, 1961
*The Marquise in ''Our Little Life'' at the [[Manoel Theatre]] in Valletta, [[Malta]] and the Pembroke Theatre, Croydon, 1961
*Mrs. Candour in ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1962
*Mrs. Laura Partridge in ''[[The Solid Gold Cadillac]]'' at the Saville Theatre, 1965
*Mrs. Heidelberg in ''[[The Clandestine Marriage]]'' at the [[Chichester Festival Theatre]], 1966
*Mrs. Malaprop in ''[[The Rivals]]'' at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1966

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1936
| ''[[Troubled Waters (1936 film)|Troubled Waters]]''
| Bit role
| film debut, uncredited
|-
| ''[[Dusty Ermine]]''
| Evelyn Summers aka Miss Butterby
| 
|-
| ''[[Talk of the Devil]]''
| Housekeeper
|
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1937
| ''[[Beauty and the Barge (1937 film)|Beauty and the Barge]]''
| Mrs. Baldwin
|
|-
| ''[[Big Fella]]''
| Nanny
| uncredited
|-
| ''[[Catch as Catch Can (1937 film)|Catch as Catch Can]]''
| Maggie Carberry
|
|-
| ''[[Missing, Believed Married]]''
| Lady Parke
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1941
| ''[[Spring Meeting]]''
| Aunt Bijou
|
|-
| ''[[Quiet Wedding]]''
| Magistrate
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1943
| ''[[Yellow Canary (film)|Yellow Canary]]''
| Mrs. Towcester
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Demi-Paradise}}''
| Rowena Ventnor
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[English Without Tears]]''
| Lady Christabel Beauclerk
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Blithe Spirit (1945 film)|Blithe Spirit]]''
| Madame Arcati
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1947
| ''[[While the Sun Shines]]''
| Dr Winifred Frye
|
|-
| ''[[Meet Me at Dawn]]''
| Madame Vernore
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Miranda (1948 film)|Miranda]]''
| Nurse Carey
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]''
| Professor Hatton-Jones
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1950
| ''{{sortname|The|Happiest Days of Your Life|The Happiest Days of Your Life (film)}}''
| Muriel Whitchurch
|
|-
| ''[[Her Favourite Husband]]'' 
| Mrs. Dotherington
| 
|-
| 1951
| ''{{sortname|The|Magic Box}}''
| Lady Pond
|
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1952
| ''[[Curtain Up]]''
| Catherine Beckwith / Jeremy St. Claire
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Importance of Being Earnest|The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)}}''
| Miss Letitia Prism
|
|-
| ''[[Castle in the Air (film)|Castle in the Air]]''
| Miss Nicholson
|
|-
| ''[[Miss Robin Hood]]''
| Miss Honey
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1953
| ''[[Innocents in Paris]]''
| Gwladys Inglott
|
|-
| ''[[Trouble in Store]]''
| Miss Bacon
|
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1954
| ''{{sortname|The|Runaway Bus}}''
| Miss Cynthia Beeston
|
|-
| ''[[Mad About Men]]''
| Nurse Carey
|
|-
| ''[[Aunt Clara (film)|Aunt Clara]]''
| Clara Hilton
|
|-
| 1955
| ''{{sortname|An|Alligator Named Daisy}}''
| Prudence Croquet
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1957
| ''{{sortname|The|Smallest Show on Earth}}''
| Mrs. Fazackalee
|
|-
| ''[[Just My Luck (1957 film)|Just My Luck]]''
| Mrs. Dooley
|
|-
| 1959
| ''[[I'm All Right Jack]]''
| Aunt Dolly
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1961
| ''[[On the Double (film)|On the Double]]''
| Lady Vivian
|
|-
| ''[[Murder She Said]]''
| [[Miss Marple]]
|
|-
|1962
| ''[[Zero One (TV series)|Zero One]]'' (TV)
| Mrs Pendenny
| episode "The Liar"<ref>{{cite book|last=Merriman|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oS_BAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT198|title=Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners|location=London|publisher=Aurum Press|year=2009|page=198|isbn=9781845137588 }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1963
| ''{{sortname|The|Mouse on the Moon}}''
| Grand Duchess Gloriana XIII
|
|-
| ''[[Murder at the Gallop]]''
| [[Miss Marple]]
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|V.I.P.s|dab=film}}''
| The Duchess of Brighton
| {{unbulleted list|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]]|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]|[[Laurel Award]] for Top Female Supporting Performance|[[National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress]]}}
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1964
| ''[[Murder Most Foul (film)|Murder Most Foul]]''
| rowspan="2"|[[Miss Marple]]
|
|-
| ''[[Murder Ahoy!]]''
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1965
| ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]''
| Mistress Quickly
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Alphabet Murders}}''
| [[Miss Marple]]
| uncredited cameo
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1967
| ''{{sortname|A|Countess from Hong Kong}}''
| Miss Gaulswallow
|
|-
| ''[[Arabella (1967 film)|Arabella]]''
| Princess Ilaria
|
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Wacky World of Mother Goose}}''
| Mother Goose
| voice
|}

==In popular culture==
''For One Night Only: Margaret Rutherford''. Margaret Rutherford ([[Timothy Spall]] in drag) tells her life story in cabaret form before an audience. ''Without Walls'' TV Series (UK) 5 October 1993.

==Recordings==
The English [[PEN International]] Centre included several readings of poems by Rutherford on a list entitled [http://www.englishpen.org/legacy/images/Events/recordings/Library%20of%20Recordings,%20only%20the%20ones%20we%20have..pdf Library of Recordings.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808051305/http://www.englishpen.org/legacy/images/Events/recordings/Library%20of%20Recordings,%20only%20the%20ones%20we%20have..pdf |date=8 August 2014 }} (1953). The works listed were:
* "A Charm Against the Toothache" by [[John Heath-Stubbs]]
* "O Country People" by [[John Hewitt (poet)|John Hewett]]
* "Sedge-Warblers", "Women He Liked", "Haymaking", "Adlestrop", "Will You Come?" and "Lights Out" by [[Edward Thomas (poet)|Edward Thomas]]

===78s and singles===
* "All's Going Well" / "Nymphs and Shepherds" (1953) (with [[Frankie Howerd]]): [[Philips Records]] PB214

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
<!-- Books are listed below in reverse chronological order. -->
*{{cite book |last= Alistair |first= Rupert |title= The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age |chapter= Margaret Rutherford |pages= 229–233 |date= 2018 |edition= First |type= softcover |publisher= Independently published |location= Great Britain |isbn = 978-1-7200-3837-5}}
*{{cite book |last= Merriman |first= Andy |title= Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners |date= 2009 |edition= First |type= hardcover |publisher= Aurum Press |location= London |isbn = 978-1-84513-445-7}}
*{{cite book |last= Simmons |first= Dawn Langley |title= Margaret Rutherford: A Blithe Spirit |date= 1983 |edition= First |type= hardcover |publisher= McGraw-Hill |location= New York, NY |isbn = 978-0-07-057479-3}}
*{{cite book |last= Rutherford |first= Margaret |others= As told to Gwen Robyns |title= Margaret Rutherford: An Autobiography |date= 1972 |edition= First |type= hardcover |publisher= W. H. Allen |location= London |isbn = <!-- None -->}}
*{{cite book |last= Keown |first= Eric |title= Margaret Rutherford |date= 1956 |edition= First |type= hardcover |publisher= Rockliff |location= London |series= Theatre World Monograph No. 7 |isbn = <!-- None -->}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{IMDb name|0751983}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160525225258/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f7670b5 Margaret Rutherford] at the [[British Film Institute]]
*{{Screenonline name|id=462004}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays_all?forename=Margaret&amp;surname=RUTHERFORD&amp;job=Actor&amp;pid=1875&image_view=Yesamp;x=19amp;y=17 Performances in Theatre Archive, University of Bristol]
*[http://donnarutherford.com/dame-margaret-taylor-rutherford-1892-1972/ "Famous Rutherfords"]
* {{NPG name|id=03922}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Margaret Rutherford
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActress 1961-1980}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestSuppActressMotionPicture 1961-1980}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Margaret}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English voice actresses]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England]]
[[Category:Actresses awarded damehoods]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth]]
[[Category:Actresses from Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:People educated at Wimbledon High School]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:Benn family|Margaret]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
[[Category:People from Balham]]