Adrienne Corri, Actress Known for ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ Dies at 84
She was not on the list.
Adrienne Corri, an actress whose movie career lasted nearly five decades and encompassed a wide range of roles, but who was probably best known as the victim in an infamous rape scene in Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” died on March 13 at her home in London. She was 84.
The cause was a massive coronary, her son, Patrick Filmer-Sankey, wrote in an email.
Ms. Corri appeared in horror movies like “Vampire Circus” (1972) and in more prestigious fare like David Lean and Robert Bolt’s Academy Award-winning “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) and her breakthrough film, “The River,” a 1951 drama set in India and directed by Jean Renoir. She was also seen on Broadway in “Jane” (1952) and “The Rehearsal” (1963), and on television shows like “Doctor Who.”
A 1950 profile of Ms. Corri in The New York Herald Tribune said that her impetuousness made an impression on the set of “The River” and described her as “afraid of nothing.”
Her fearlessness stood her in good stead two decades later when Kubrick cast her in a harrowing scene in “A Clockwork Orange” (released in the United States in 1971), his adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s dystopian novel of the same name.
In the scene, the movie’s antihero, a thug played by Malcolm McDowell, barges into her home with three of his cronies before they assault her husband and trash their house as Mr. McDowell belts “Singin’ in the Rain.” Mr. McDowell cuts off Ms. Corri’s clothes, then tells her helpless husband to watch before he rapes her. Kubrick insisted that Ms. Corri appear naked for multiple takes.
That scene and other violent and sexually explicit material initially earned the film an X rating in the United States. It remained controversial for years after its limited British release, drawing protests and news reports of alleged copycat crimes.
Nevertheless, “A Clockwork Orange” was nominated for four Oscars, including best picture, director and screenplay, in 1972.
Adrienne Riccoboni was born in Glasgow on Nov. 13, 1931, and raised in Edinburgh. Her son said she left home as a teenager and performed with traveling theater groups before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
She had two children, Patrick and a daughter, Sarah Filmer-Sankey, with the film producer Patrick Filmer-Sankey in the 1950s. They both survive her, as do a sister, Brenda Simonetti, and a granddaughter.
Ms. Corri’s marriage to the actor Daniel Massey ended in divorce.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1949 The Romantic Age Norah
1951 The River Valerie
Quo Vadis Young Christian Girl uncredited
1953 The Kidnappers Kirsty US: The Little Kidnappers
1954 Devil Girl from Mars Doris
Meet Mr. Callaghan Mayola Verville
Lease of Life Susan Thorne
Make Me an Offer Nicky
1956 The Anatomist Mary Paterson British TV movie, released theatrically in U.S. in 1961
The Feminine Touch Maureen
Behind the Headlines Pam Barnes
The Shield of Faith
Three Men in a Boat Clara Willis
1957 Second Fiddle Deborah
The Big Chance Diana Maxwell
The Surgeon's Knife Laura Shelton
1958 Corridors of Blood Rachel
1959 The Rough and the Smooth Jane Buller
1960 The Tell-Tale Heart Betty Clare
The Hellfire Club Lady Isobel
1961 Dynamite Jack Pegeen O'Brien
1963 Lancelot and Guinevere Lady Vivian
1965 Bunny Lake Is Missing Dorothy
A Study in Terror Angela
Doctor Zhivago Amelia
1967 The Viking Queen Beatrice
Africa: Texas Style Fay Carter
Woman Times Seven Mme. Lisiere Segment: At the Opera
1968 Journey into Darkness Terry Lawrence Segment: The New People
1969 The File of the Golden Goose Angela Richmond
Moon Zero Two Liz
Cry Wolf Mrs. Quinn – woman in tobacconist's shop
1970 Twelfth Night Olivia
1971 A Clockwork Orange Mrs. Alexander
1972 Vampire Circus Gypsy Woman
1974 Madhouse Faye Carstairs Flay
The Three Musketeers Milady Voice
1975 Rosebud Lady Carter
1978 Revenge of the Pink Panther Therese Douvier
1979 The Human Factor Sylvia
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