Embedded Files
Turn the Key Softly. Showing at the BFI. May 14th and May 27th 2026. 27th screening will be introduced by professor Melaine Williams.
Demons of the Mind.
Demons of the Mind.
Releaesd 6th April 2026. 'Demons of the Mind'. This special edition includes a 60 page booklet on the film which inculdes an interview with Yvonne Mitchell. The DVD’s bonus audio commentary includes a partial biography of Yvonne’s career, delivered by author and film historian Steve Haberman.
21st Century
21st Century
In the 21st century, we've seen several releases featuring Yvonne Mitchell, both in her leading roles and in the films and television productions she was in, such as 'Woman in a Dressing Gown,' where she won the Silver Bear award for best actress, 'Divided Heart,' or the BBC's 1954 version of George Orwell's 1984. Interest in her work has been consistent throughout the first quarter of this century. This also includes Yvonne’s work as an author. Her debut book, 'Actress,' which recounted her initial experiences in theatre and cinema, has recently joined the consistent interest in her work being revisited.
With a limited general cinema release and a DVD release, 2012 saw Yvonne Mitchell back on the silver screen in her role as Amy, the free-spirited, culturally and societal aware housewife. When watching Lee Thompson's 'Woman in a Dressing Gown' now, it's clear that the critics' interpretation of the main character in 1957, often referred to at the time of the film's release as slatternly, is in fact anything but. In fact, when viewed now, her character comes across as very attuned to the oncoming 1960s cultural change, even slightly ahead of that change.
2012’s 'Woman in a Dressing Gown' would be the precursor to a flurry of screen appearances being released on DVD throughout the modern era, where Yvonne’s character is central to the storyline.
2014 saw the release of the science fiction series ‘Out of the Unknown.’ This four-part series, shown between 1965 and 1971, included an episode titled ‘The Machine Stops.’ Based on a short story by E. M. Forster, Yvonne plays the role of Vashti in a dystopian future where humans live in isolation as individuals underground. ‘The Machine’ caters to all their needs, both physical and mental, making them completely dependent on it. The machine, a soulless entity without emotion. Similar to '1984', this world, though, sees a passive acceptance of the situation. Ideas communicated via a screen to each individual in their living pod.
In 2017, the DVD of 1990 saw a setting that must have felt eerily familiar to Yvonne, as it takes place in a dystopian world under constant surveillance. In the BBC's 1990 series, which spanned two seasons, Yvonne portrays a character in the second series as the Home Secretary. Similar to Thatcher in mannerisms, she operates from within the government to bring a downfall of an overly controlling regime.
Both ‘ The Divided Heart’ and Orwell’s 1984 became available in 2022.
'The Divided Heart', a heartfelt drama inspired by Ivan Pirecnik's true story, features a son taken from his mother under a Nazi program titled Lebensborn during WWII. Released on Vintage Classics, this film is notable for Yvonne speaking only in Slovenian to bring authenticity to her role as a Yugoslavian.
In the same year, the BFI would release the BBC 1954 production 1984. Causing controversy at the time and heated letters being sent to the national newspapers by those in praise of the BBC and not. Yvonne’s performance as Julie opposite her co-star Peter Cushing as Winston Smith in the ending scenes is harrowing. Both Yvonne and Peter are excellent as the main protagonists under the watch of Big Brother. With extras added to this BFI package, we get to see a rare interview with Yvonne, talking about her role as Julie.
One of the true classics in the gothic horror film genre is Thorold Dickinson’s directed ‘Queen of Spades.’ The Imprint Limited release of 2024 is the best version available to buy on DVD. This film also had a limited cinema release in 2022 and a Blue Ray release in 2023. Despite the limited studio space, the film's cinematography beautifully immerses us in Imperial Russia. Getting the look of St Petersburg in Hertfordshire at Welwyn Studios is masterfully done. Director Martin Scorsese has described this film as “one of the true classics of supernatural horror.” Yvonne Mitchell’s role as Lizaveta Ivanovna, the put-upon ward of the elderly Lizaveta Ivanovna, played by Edith Evans, saw both actresses in their first screen roles to a point. Yvonne had an uncredited part in the 1941 film, ‘Love on the Dole’, and Edith had had earlier acting roles in the 1910s silent film era.
In 2026, we have news of another film release where we can see Yvonne in one of her later 1969 films. In a series of films released under the Hammer label, the menacing suburban drama and disturbing film ‘The Corpse’, often titled ‘Crucible of Horror’, is to be released as part of the Hammer series. This 1969 film features a mother, Yvonne Mitchell as Edith Eastwood, and her daughter, Sharon Gurney, as Jane Eastwood, fearing an overcontrolling husband and father, Walter Eastwood, played by Michael Gough. The film has an odd feel, where we are never sure if Yvonne’s character is slowly spiraling into a place where her mind becomes ever more dreamy, or a guilt lives with her after the final confrontational scene. His presence skews the daughter and mother’s plans to bring about their release from an authoritarian figure.
2026 also sees the release of Yvonne’s work in film centered on the themes of horror where imagination, ambiguity and the uncertain are at use: ‘Demons of the Mind’ first released in 1972 and ‘Crucible of Horror,’ 1971 both see special edition releases this year.
In 1972, Yvonne and Frank Godwin reunited. She initially worked with him on her lead role as Amy in the acclaimed 1957 film 'Woman in a Dressing Gown.' Later, she portrayed Hilda in Godwin and Christopher Wicking's original story 'Demons of the Mind.' Frank discussed the film's realism in a press release.
“To make a true horror in a world filled with daily horrors probably imposes a greater challenge now than ever before. Certainly, it calls for greater realism in subject and treatment.” David Sykes, the then 32-year-old director of the film, stated, “It gets at the grass roots of the basis of life; the fear of the dark and death. Everyone is basically scared of the same things. “
The story itself is based on themes of fear and superstition, around what awaits those who venture into the forest. A belief in a legendary demon is in reality a demon of our own mind, one's own creation. Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ‘dagger of the mind’ being that of imagination or reality in his grasp, is in this case, a truth. Our own thoughts manifest our demons. The film explores this thin line between what we tell ourselves to bring an understanding of why things are as they are, and in this we can lie, deceive ourselves. Are our beliefs based on a lie of our own making? Here we play into Macbeth’s curse also, that of a name not to be mentioned. ‘The Scottish Play,’ if you please.
Photograph,Loomis Dean, Life Magazine.
1946-2026 Macbeth, Equivocation, Bristol, Yvonne Mitchell and two new film releases.
1946-2026 Macbeth, Equivocation, Bristol, Yvonne Mitchell and two new film releases.
19th February 2026 marked the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the first state-assisted provincial theatre company in the UK. Formed in 1946, ‘The Bristol Old Vic Company’ had set a precedent in UK theatre history.
The regional newspaper featured a critique of the new theatre company's debut production.
The Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror, Wednesday, February 20th, 1946.
OLD VIC'S GREAT SUCCESS "Beaux Stratagem" a Triumph
“A new chapter in provincial theatre history opened last night when Hugh Hunt, producer of the Bristol Old Vic Company, took the final curtain call after clamorous applause had welcomed the new resident Old Vic Company's brilliant production of a 239-year-old comedy in an 180-year-old playhouse. George Farquhar's " Beaux Stratagem."
Yvonne Mitchell was a member of this first Bristol acting ensemble on opening night and remained with the company throughout spring's productions. The third play staged in that season, Shakespeare's Macbeth, saw Yvonne cast as the second witch. This play has at its core some similarities to the folklore horror genre, one being the use of equivocation. Double-speak, half-truths and riddles are all employed by Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the Witches.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”, chanted by the witches (Weird Sisters) sets the theme of equivocation in the play's opening scene.
Macbeth, seeing a dagger before him, is at odds with what is reality or of the mind, imagined.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but.
A dagger of the mind, a false creation.”
Two film re-releases this year feature Yvonne as a central character, where equivocation and ambiguity exist within their plotlines. Her role as the second witch in Macbeth in 1946, “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” echoes into 2026.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of 'The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School' in 1946, a special fundraising gala dinner will take place in London. Is there in these celebrations also a celebration of the formation of the Bristol Old Vic Company? Unsure.
This year, ‘The Bristol Old Vic’ theatre is also observing its 260th anniversary, which dates back to its 1766 opening. Among this year's productions to celebrate the theatre's anniversary is the world premiere stage adaptation of Max Porter's folk-horror novel ‘Lanny,’ where reality, imagination and folklore are all fused together. A family moves to a village in Southwest England, a place inhabited by villagers and the mythical figure Dead Papa Toothwort.
The Bristol Old Vic's 80th anniversary performance of ‘Lanny’, Yvonne's 1946 role 80 years ago on the Bristol Old Vic’s stage as the second witch in Macbeth, and equivocation in description are all examples that extend beyond the realm of the stage in 2026.
2026 also sees the release of Yvonne’s work in film centered on the themes of horror where imagination, ambiguity and the uncertain are at use: ‘Demons of the Mind’ first released in 1972 and ‘Crucible of Horror,’ 1971 both see special edition releases this year.
In 1972, Yvonne and Frank Godwin reunited. She initially worked with him on her lead role as Amy in the acclaimed 1957 film 'Woman in a Dressing Gown.' Later, she portrayed Hilda in Godwin and Christopher Wicking's original story 'Demons of the Mind.' Frank discussed the film's realism in a press release.
“To make a true horror in a world filled with daily horrors probably imposes a greater challenge now than ever before. Certainly, it calls for greater realism in subject and treatment.” David Sykes, the then 32-year-old director of the film, stated, “It gets at the grass roots of the basis of life; the fear of the dark and death. Everyone is basically scared of the same things. “
The story itself is based on themes of fear and superstition, around what awaits those who venture into the forest. A belief in a legendary demon is in reality a demon of our own mind, one's own creation. Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ‘dagger of the mind’ being that of imagination or reality in his grasp, is in this case, a truth. Our own thoughts manifest our demons. The film explores this thin line between what we tell ourselves to bring an understanding of why things are as they are, and in this we can lie, deceive ourselves. Are our beliefs based on a lie of our own making? Here we play into Macbeth’s curse also, that of a name not to be mentioned. ‘The Scottish Play,’ if you please.
This new 2026 film release coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the formation of ‘The Bristol Old Vic Company’ and Yvonne’s involvement with that company may be by coincidence, but the timing coinciding with the theatre’s choice of productions for 2026, such as ‘Lanny’ cannot go unnoticed. Here we have a “Green Man-esque" presence, who is predatory and protective of the natural world entwined in the villagers' lives, beliefs.
In Viktors Ritelis's film "Crucible of Horror," the second release for this year, we have absolute uncertainty and belief coexisting. Yvonne's dual role as Edith, the mother and wife's self-deceiving solutions to one's own circumstances, is extreme in finding recourse.
Coming out, as mentioned, as a special edition in 2026, this film is never what it appears to be. An abusive father and husband instills fear in his daughter, Jane, played by Sharon Gurney, and Edith. The plot primarily takes place in the family's dwelling and a getaway cottage. As the daughter and mother become ever more brutalised, they make plans to kill Eastwood, the father and husband, played by Michael Gough.
As the film progresses, we become uncertain whether what we are witnessing is reality or in Edith's imagination.
Is she slowly losing her sanity, trapped in a cycle of subservience and powerless to deal with the cruelty of her marriage, where her imagination creates a release? The film disturbs the viewer by bringing domestic violence and misogyny to the forefront. For we see, with the son Rupert played by Michael’s son Simon Gough, combined with the father, a male hierarchical structure also exists in the family structure.
These films, released in 2026, labelled in the horror and psychological category genre of filmmaking, see Yvonne Mitchell being brought to an audience that may be unfamiliar with her work. These films are a significant departure from her stage career, especially considering 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of her time at The Bristol Old Vic and her pioneering role as part of the first provincial state-assisted theatre company. But as we see when looked at as a continuation of a theme, that of equivocation, what may seem unrelated is in fact related, and not as a thin thread but at a fundamental core.
Those who discover Yvonne’s film career through these two remastered releases would do well to explore her earlier work with film directors J. Lee Thompson, Basil Dearden and Charles Crichton. ‘Woman in a Dressing Gown',’ ‘Yield to the Night,’ ‘Sapphire’ and ‘The Divided Heart’ are all defining films in the topics they shine a spotlight on. Her work also as a novelist, playwright, and actress spans from the 1930s to the 1970s. ‘Demons of the Mind’ and ‘Crucible of Horror’ are a welcome addition to her already substantial catalogue of work.
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