Movie Musings: Disney and More

The Sisters of “Sister Suffragette”

Many of these blog posts have references the reasons Mary Poppins (1964) is such a great movie. But one reason for it is the key roles played by actresses you’ve grown to love-without really knowing their names or much about them. They played pivotal roles that were often hallmarks of our childhood memories and bring smiles to our faces. Perhaps the best group of actresses fitting this bill are the women of “Sister Suffragette.” 

“Sister Suffragette,” is the 2nd song performed in “Poppins,” right after Dick Van Dyke’s “East Wind,” song. It is performed as a comic number in the scene of the film by Mrs. Winifred Banks, Mrs. Brill, and Ellen (the cook and maid of the household), where Katie Nanna is trying to get Mrs. Banks’s attention that she is resigning after growing tired of Jane and Michael’s constant rambunctiousness. The 4 actresses in this scene appeared in other Disney films just like David Tomlinson, though none of those other films are as treasured by movie fans as “Poppins.”

Glynis Johns portrayed Mrs. Winifred Banks. Prior to "Poppins," Johnson made The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1954). Walt invited her to the studio to talk to her about being in the film. She was under the impression that Walt was to offer her the title role, but was disappointed to find out that Julie Andrews had already been signed on. When Walt talked her about playing the role of Mrs. Banks, she said she might consider that if she could have a song. Walt said “But Glynis the boys (meaning Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman had already came up with a song for you.” In reality they hadn’t, but as soon as she left the studio they got right to work on a song for her. They had originally written a song in the film for Mary Poppins to sing called “Practically Perfect,” because she is practically perfect in every way, but they decided to alter the lyrics for that song and turn it into a suffragette song for Mrs. Banks. By the time Johns got home, Walt telephoned her and said “Listen to this,” and she heard the first few bars of “Sister Suffragette.” At which point, she agreed to do the movie. Post “Poppins,” Johns continued to act in film, theatre, and television, playing leading and supporting roles, but has retired from films since 2000. Her second-to-last film was Sandra Bullock’s While You Were Sleeping (1995).

Elsa Lanchester played the role of the irascible, uptight Katie Nanna. She is best known throughout the world for her role as the Bride of Frankenstein, opposite Boris Karloff, in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). She was the only character who didn’t actually sing in the “Sister Suffragette,” sequence. There was a song written for her by the Sherman brothers entitled “Lead the Righteous Life,” which was to be sung by Katie Nanna and Jane and Michael, prior to Mary Poppins’ arrival at the Banks’ house. The song was thrown out of the movie, but the melody of the song was recycled for a different song in Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire (1965). Despite not getting to sing in “Poppins,” Lanchester also starred as the nosy next-door neighbor Mrs. MacDougall in That Darn Cat! (1965) and Mrs. Emily Stowecroft in Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968). She also appeared in 2 episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1992).

Reta Shaw played Mrs. Brill, the cook. The trademark of Shaw’s entire career was playing the roles of housekeepers/working wives. She played Tillie Lagerlof, the cook in Pollyanna (1960) and Mrs. Grindley in Escape to Witch Mountain (1975). Outside of Disney, she played the role of Katey the maid in two made-for-television films of Meet Me in St. Louis, which were released in 1959 and 1966. (Both were based on the 1944 film of the same name, where the role of Katey the maid was originated by Marjorie Main.) The same year as the latter, Shaw starred opposite Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). Shaw had previously worked with Knotts in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), where she played escaped convict Big Maude Taylor. (Charles Lane, Hal Smith, and Hope Summers who also appeared in “Andy Griffith,” also appeared in “Ghost/Mr. Chicken.”)

        Hermione Baddeley played Ellen the maid. Baddeley primarily played the roles of rich, snobbish woman throughout her career, though the role of Ellen was one of the few exceptions. Baddeley played Mrs. Worth in The Happiest Millionaire (1965) and voiced Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, the owner of the cats in The AristoCats (1970). She provided the voice of Auntie Shrew in United Artist’s The Secret of NIMH (1982). That film also featured the voice talents of Arthur Malet, who played Mr. Dawes Jr. in “Poppins,” Lucille Bliss who voiced Anastasia in Cinderella (1950), and Edie McClurg who voiced Carlotta in The Little Mermaid (1989) and marked the directorial debut of former Disney animator, Don Bluth. Baddeley, along with Reta Shaw appeared in episodes of Bewitched (1964-1972), though not in the same episodes. She starred as Mrs. Buttercup Grogan, opposite Debby Reynolds, in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), released the same year as “Poppins.”

All 4 of these women had diverse careers in Hollywood. They were 4 of the very few actors at the time who were fortunate enough to act in every medium of entertainment. Prior to “Poppins,” Johns, Lanchester, and Baddeley all garnered Academy-Award nominations for supporting roles, and while Reta Shaw unfortunately never received any Oscar nominations, the “cherry-on-top” of each of their careers while always be “Poppins.” Like David Tomlinson, they too created characters that many of us count as part of our childhood, and they will continue to stay with us for generations.