Thelma Ritter was a short but hugely talented Hollywood support actress. She made one think, as a film went on, that she was the star.

Born in Brooklyn with a delightful accent to match. She had a care-worn face, but a ready wit made one be on her side right from the start of a film.

Not the luckiest of actresses though, she was nominated for an Academy Award six times but never won one.

Her performance in Pick-up On South Street (TC Fox, 1953) neared genius when depicting her murder. A radio comedienne for a while, when George Seaton asked her to appear in Miracle On 34th Street (TC Fox, 1947) she had truly arrived. In All About Eve (TC Fox, 1950) she received another Oscar nomination.

They did, however, give her a wonderful line: "What a story.

Everything but the bloodhounds snapping at her rear end."

In only around 50 or so movies, she still left an indelible mark even as the lady who comes to scratch James Stewart's back in Rear Window (US Studios, 1954).

I still see that care-worn face but when she smiles it turns to a ray of happiness.

Thelma Ritter died in 1969, aged 64.

  • Gordon Dean, Lancing