Angela Allen: The Woman Who Saw Everything

What do such classic films as The Third Man, The African Queen, The Misfits and Labyrinth have in common? Present during the filming of all of them was continuity girl (a film crew member who acts as a live "memory bank”) Angela Allen. She is one of the last witnesses to a truly golden age of cinema. Angela – who celebrated her 97th birthday in February 2026 – began her career as a 19-year-old on several British films, and then in 1948 was assigned to the second unit in Vienna for Carol Reed’s The Third Man. She subsequently became a regular aide to John Huston (with whom she made 14 films) as well as working with such diverse filmmakers as Tony Richardson, Ken Russell, Roman Polanski and Sidney Lumet. In a career spanning over a hundred films, Angela was brought into close contact with many famous stars, among them Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Sean Connery. This documentary gives vivid insight into her remarkable story. We are delighted to welcome Angela Allen to introduce the screening followed by an in conversation with Film Historian Ian Christie. The African Queen Sat 12 Dec 15:30 In German-occupied East Africa, 1914, gin-soaked riverboat captain Charlie Allnut and prim English missionary Rose Sayer escape down a treacherous river in a rickety old boat, along the way they become the most unlikely of allies. Find out more