MovieChat Forums > Cast a Dark Shadow (1957) Discussion > Inspiration for Sybil Fawlty?

Inspiration for Sybil Fawlty?

posted 14 years ago by awaywithwords
3 replies | jump to latest

Did Margaret Lockwood's performance here remind anyone else of Prunella Scales in FAWLTY TOWERS?

It didn't occur to me while I was watching this, but now that you mention it, the resemblance is remarkable.

I grant you the resemblance, and would add my praise for the dialogue given to la Lockwood and the splendid way she delivers it.

But isn't it a stock character she is playing so well, the pub landlady, who can be found in Shakespeare and in Chaucer?

[–] greenbudgie (2355) a year ago

I think Freda is the sort of merry widow Sybil would have become had Basil Fawlty died. BTW the real-life inspiration for Sybil was a woman called Beatrice Sinclair who died in 2010.