English actress Dame Julie Walters has been a star since the 1980s, and she’s performed in many frock flicks over the years!
Mrs. Peachum in Mack the Knife (1989)
A comedy musical adaptation of “Three Penny Opera,” set in the 19th century — a young girl marries a womanizing criminal.
Madame Danzard in Sister My Sister (1994)
Based on a true story: two sisters work as housemaids in 1930s France, Walters plays the lady of the house.
Little Red Riding Hood/Grandma in Little Red Riding Hood (1995)
All I’ve got is it’s a British TV movie.
Marjorie in Intimate Relations (1996)
A lodger becomes intimately involved with his hostess… and her daughter.
Mrs. Mann in Oliver Twist (1999)
Walters plays the lady in charge of the orphanage where Oliver begins life in this British TV miniseries adaptation of the Dickens novel.
Princess Zasyekin in Lover’s Prayer (2001)
An adaptation of a Chekhov play, in which “A younger boy falls in love with a tragic girl who flirts with, and manipulates, her older suitors in 1800s Russia,” per IMDB.
Mrs. Holland in The Ruby in the Smoke (2006)
A TV adaptation of a “Sally Lockhart mystery” novel. It’s been too long, but I believe Mrs. Holland is lower class and shady?
Mrs. Austen in Becoming Jane (2007)
She plays Jane Austen’s mother in this sort-of-biopic about Austen’s possible first love affair.
Mistress Quickly in The Hollow Crown (2012)
She plays an innkeeper in several Shakespeare adaptations: Henry IV pt. 1, Henry IV pt. 2, and Henry V.
Mrs. Ruskin in Effie Gray (2014)
She plays the real-life, overly-involved mother of art critic John Ruskin, who had one fucked up marriage in the 1840s.
Mrs. Kehoe in Brooklyn (2015)
A young girl falls in love and is torn between her new home in the US and her Irish immigrant past in the 1950s; Walters plays her mother.
Cynthia Coffin in Indian Summers (2015-16)
She’s the originally-lower-class doyenne of a summer resort for colonial Brits in 1920s India.
Ellen in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Haven’t seen it, but I’m guessing she’s the housekeeper? in this 1930s-set sequel.
Mrs. Medlock in The Secret Garden (2020)
She’s the housekeeper/enforcer of the homeowner’s weird rules in this 1930s-set adaptation of the famous novel about a young girl who discovers a magical space.
Which is your favorite of Julie Walters’ frock flick roles?
My favorite Julie Walters performance is still the one based on Madame Cyn (Cynthia Payne), the cuddly suburban brothel keeper who catered to older and/or disabled males. She is hilarious and sometimes kind of touching. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Services
Julie Walters plays the owner of the boarding house that Saoirse Ronan lives in, not her mother in BROOKLYN>
There was only so much I could take of Indian Summers, so I didn’t watch all episodes. That said, Julie Walters was EXCELLENT in her role! She’s usually excellent in everything, though. I saw both Becoming Jane and Mary Poppins Returns and had completely forgotten that she was in those movies. She’s the second actor that you have featured recently in which I had completely that they had played roles in certain Frock Flicks. (I think the other one was Michael Gambon.) In both their cases, I would put that down to their overall excellence as performers that they completely blended in with the overall story. Great WCW choice!
In The Hollow Crown, she has just married Pistol, which explains the flowers. She’s one of those excellent character actresses who light up so many productions with her acting ability.
My absolute favorite Julie walters is not really a frock flick, but Finding Rita. It’s one of my top ten
Not a frock flick, but Educating Rita is one of my favorites. “Put it on the radio!”
I must admit that my personal favourite is MAMMA MIA – and I remain deeply, deeply amused that the younger version of Dame Julie Walter’s character is played by ‘Meg’ from DEAD PIXELS (A show about nerds whose enthusiasm for online gaming terrorises … well, just about everyone).
That being said, Dame Julie is a treasure and well worth watching in just about everything.