Joan Kemp-Welch (23 September 19065 July 1999) was a British stage and film actress, who later went on to become a television director. After making her stage debut in 1926 at the Q Theatre, Kemp-Welch made her film debut in 1933 and appeared in fifteen films over the next decade largely in supporting or minor roles. Occasionally she played more substantial parts as in Hard Steel and They Flew Alone (both 1942).
Post-Second World War, she moved into television working as both a producer and director of television plays and episodes of television series. In 1959 she was one of the winners at the Society of Film and Television Arts Television Awards. She also won the Prix Italia for her TV version of Harold Pinter's The Lover in 1963; and in the same year was the first woman to receive the Desmond Davis BAFTA for creative work in television. In 1964 she directed A Midsummer Night's Dream for ITV's Play of the Week.Rothwell p.104 The same year she directed four Noël Coward adaptations for A Choice of Coward. In the early 1980s, she directed two episodes of the Granada Television series Lady Killers. Other work included directing episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs and Armchair Theatre.
Selected filmography
Actress Year Title Role Notes1933 The Veteran of Waterloo Norah Brewster 1935 Once a Thief Alice 1936 The Avenging Hand Madame Ambrosia 1936 All In 1937 London Melody Maid 1937 School for Husbands Maid 1937 The Girl in the Taxi Suzanne Dupont 1938 The Citadel Nurse Assisting at Childbirth Uncredited1938 Busman's Honeymoon Aggie Twitterton 1941 'Pimpernel' Smith School-Teacher 1941 Jeannie Jeannie's sister 1942 Hard Steel Janet Mortimer 1942 They Flew Alone Mrs. Johnson 1942 Talk About Jacqueline Uncredited1943 Rhythm Serenade Minor Role (final film role)
Films Laudes Evangelii, 1952 ballet by Léonide Massine to the music by Valentino Bucchi (1961). All God's Chillun Got Wings, 1958 film featuring Lloyd Reckord, Connie Smith and Ida Shepley.
References
Bibliography Rotherwell, Kenneth S. A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
External links