
Florence Bates
Known for Acting · 63 credits
- Born
- 1888-04-13
- Died
- 1954-01-31
- Place of birth
- San Antonio, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Florence Rabe
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florence Bates (born Florence Rabe, April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles.
Her path to becoming an actress had many turns. She had a degree in Mathematics, taught school until married, then became the first Texas female lawyer. Then she became a bilingual radio commentator. After her husband lost her fortune, she and her husband opened a bakery in Los Angeles.
In the mid-1930s, Bates auditioned for and won the role of Miss Bates in a Pasadena Playhouse adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. When she decided to continue working with the theatre group, she changed her professional name to that of the first character she played on stage. In 1939, she was introduced to Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in her first major screen role, the vain dowager Mrs. Van Hopper, in Rebecca (1940).
Bates appeared in more than sixty films over the course of the next thirteen years. Among her cinema credits are Kitty Foyle, Love Crazy, The Moon and Sixpence, Mr. Lucky, Heaven Can Wait, Lullaby of Broadway, Mister Big, Since You Went Away, Kismet, Saratoga Trunk, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Winter Meeting, I Remember Mama, Portrait of Jennie, A Letter to Three Wives, On the Town, and Les Misérables. In television, Bates had a regular role on The Hank McCune Show and made guest appearances on I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, I Married Joan and Our Miss Brooks.
Known For
TV Shows (3)
Movies (60)

Rebecca
1940
as Edythe Van Hopper

Kitty Foyle
1940
as Customer

Heaven Can Wait
1943
as Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)

Mr. Lucky
1943
as Mrs. Van Every

Cluny Brown
1946
as Dowager at Ames's Party

Les Miserables
1952
as Madame Bonnet

Kismet
1944
as Karsha

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1947
as Mrs. Griswold

On the Town
1949
as Madame Dilyovska

Mister Big
1943
as Mrs. Mary Davis

The Diary of a Chambermaid
1946
as Rose

Tahiti Nights
1944
as Queen Liliha

Portrait of Jennie
1948
as Mrs. Jekes

The Tall Target
1951
as Mrs. Charlotte Alsop

Lullaby of Broadway
1951
as Mrs. Anna Hubbell

The Devil and Miss Jones
1941
as Store Shopper

A Letter to Three Wives
1949
as Mrs. Manleigh

Road Show
1941
as Mrs. Newton

San Antonio
1945
as Henrietta

Calling All Husbands
1940
as Emmie Trippe

Love Crazy
1941
as Mrs. Cooper

The Mask of Dimitrios
1944
as Madame Elise Chavez

Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948
as Mandy

Paris Model
1953
as Nora Sullivan

Tonight and Every Night
1945
as May Tolliver

Slightly Dangerous
1943
as Mrs. Amanda Roanoke-Brooke

The Son of Monte Cristo
1940
as Countess Mathilde Von Braun

Saratoga Trunk
1945
as Sophie Bellop

Main Street to Broadway
1953
as Mrs. Bessmer in Fantasy Sequence

The Time, The Place and The Girl
1946
as Mme. Lucia Cassel

The Girl from Jones Beach
1949
as Miss Emma Shoemaker

My Dear Secretary
1948
as Horrible Hannah Reeve (the landlady)

The Judge Steps Out
1947
as Chita

Love and Learn
1947
as Mrs. Bella Davis - Landlady

The Man I Love
1946
as Mrs. Thorpe (uncredited)

The Second Woman
1950
as Amelia Foster

Havana Rose
1951
as Mrs. Fillmore

They Got Me Covered
1943
as Gypsy Woman

We Were Dancing
1942
as Mrs. Elsa Vanderlip

Strange Alibi
1941
as Katie

Whistle Stop
1946
as Molly Veech

Claudia and David
1946
as Nancy Riddle

I Remember Mama
1948
as Florence Dana Moorhead

River Lady
1948
as Ma Dunnegan

The Tuttles of Tahiti
1942
as Emily

The Brasher Doubloon
1947
as Mrs. Murdock

Winter Meeting
1948
as Mrs. Castle

The San Francisco Story
1952
as Sadie

The Chocolate Soldier
1941
as Madame Helene

Out of This World
1945
as Harriet Pringle

The Inside Story
1948
as Geraldine Atherton

His Butler's Sister
1943
as Lady Sloughberry

Belle of the Yukon
1944
as Viola Chase

My Heart Belongs to Daddy
1942
as Mrs. Saunders

Belle of Old Mexico
1950
as Nellie Chatfield

Hudson's Bay
1940
as Duchess (scenes deleted)

The Moon and Sixpence
1942
as Tiare Johnson

Mexican Spitfire at Sea
1942
as Mrs. Baldwin
County Fair
1950
as Nora 'Ma' Ryan

Father Takes the Air
1951
as Minerva Bobbin
About Florence Bates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Florence Bates (born Florence Rabe, April 15, 1888 – January 31, 1954) was an American film and stage character actress who often played grande dame characters in supporting roles. Her path to becoming an actress had many turns. She had a degree in Mathematics, taught school until married, then became the first Texas female lawyer. Then she became a bilingual radio commentator. After her husband lost her fortune, she and her husband opened a bakery in Los Angeles. In the mid-1930s, Bates auditioned for and… With 63 credits spanning from 1940 to 1953, Florence Bates has appeared in 60 films and 3 TV shows.
Fans searching for Florence Bates movies, Florence Bates filmography, or the latest projects starring Florence Bates can stream many of these titles on CineFlixo, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Florence Bates Movies
- Rebecca (1940) — as Edythe Van Hopper
- Kitty Foyle (1940) — as Customer
- Heaven Can Wait (1943) — as Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)
- Mr. Lucky (1943) — as Mrs. Van Every
- Cluny Brown (1946) — as Dowager at Ames's Party
Where to Watch Florence Bates Films
Most Florence Bates movies and series are available to stream on CineFlixo in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Florence Bates, check our movies catalogue and browse page.

