Wikipedia:
Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (née Cannon) (27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was a diminutive (4 feet 7 inches (1.40 m)) Australian-born character actress and comedian, who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she frequently appeared on television in her latter years, Cannon is best remembered as a film actress, with a lengthy career in British productions from the 1930s to the 1960s.
After early experience at Minnie Everett’s School of Dancing in Sydney, Cannon began acting on the stage at the age of four. She appeared in productions for both the J. C. Williamson and Tait companies – including the early prominent role of Ruth Le Page in Sealed Orders at the Theatre Royal in 1914, and played Baby in an adaptation of Seven Little Australians the same year. She was given children’s parts well into adulthood. In an interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly published in 1963, she claimed it was the theatrical impresario Percy Hutchinson who told her if she visited London he would give her work; her first London role was in the play Misadventure.
She worked not only as an actor in Britain in the 1930s but also in stage management and production.
Her film début was an uncredited part in The Man Behind the Mask (1936). She was first credited, as Polly Shepherd, in The Last Adventurers (1937), and appeared in 64 films over the next 26 years. She had small parts in three early Powell and Pressburger films: The Spy in Black (1939), Contraband (1940) and A Canterbury Tale (1944). Apart from her usual comedy roles, she gave two dramatic performances, the first in Holiday Camp (1947), playing a pathetic spinster who is lured to her death as a murder victim, and the other as a girl struck dumb by terror, alongside Margaret Lockwood in Jassy (also 1947).
Towards the end of her career, she appeared in Inn for Trouble (1960), Doctor in Love (1960), Raising the Wind (1961), What a Carve Up! (1961), Over the Odds (1961), We Joined the Navy (1962), On the Beat (1962), Nurse on Wheels (1963) and Hide and Seek (1964). She was cast as Edie Hornett opposite Peggy Mount in the comedy Sailor Beware! (1956). She played “Brother” Lil in the British television comedy series The Rag Trade (1961–1963), and also appeared in four Carry On films: Carry On Constable (1960), Carry On Regardless(1961), Carry On Cruising (1962) and Carry On Cabby (1963).
Cannon married Ernst Littmann in London in 1945. They remained married until her death in 1972.
Cannon, whose first name sometimes appears incorrectly as “Esme”, retired in 1964 after Hide and Seek. She died in 1972 at the age of 66 and is buried at Saint-Benoît-la-Forêt in France. Her elusiveness was such that her former colleagues and friends discovered she had died only after a “Where are They Now?” feature appeared in Films and Filming a number of years after her death.
She was played by the actress Marcia Warren in the 2011 TV play Hattie, a drama based on the career of Hattie Jacques. The play featured a number of scenes with the two actresses on the set of Carry On Cabby (her antepenultimate role) with Cannon characterised as being disenchanted with acting and proposing leaving show busines
The career of Esme Cannon (1918–1972) is a masterclass in the “unseen” artistry of the character actor. While the Gainsborough stars like Margaret Lockwood or Patricia Roc occupied the center of the frame with their conventional beauty, Cannon lived in the periphery, stealing scenes with a frantic, eccentric, and often bird-like energy that made her one of the most recognizable “faces” of British cinema’s Golden Age.
Career Overview: The Pocket Dynamo
Esme Cannon’s career spanned the transition from pre-war light comedy to the gritty, psychological “New Wave” of the late 1950s.
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The Early Eccentric (1930s–40s): Standing barely five feet tall, Cannon was often cast as the “silly” maid, the star-struck fan, or the over-eager schoolgirl. She made her mark in films like The Way Ahead(1944) and the George Formby comedy Trouble Brewing (1939).
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The Gainsborough “Color”: She provided essential comedic relief in high-drama melodramas like Fanny by Gaslight (1944) and Holiday Camp (1947), often playing characters who were socially awkward but emotionally transparent.
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The Mature Shift (1950s–60s): As she aged, her “silliness” evolved into a more poignant, sometimes tragicomic vulnerability. She delivered standout performances in The Sleeping Tiger (1954), directed by Joseph Losey, and the classic Sailor Beware! (1956).
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Final Credits: Her career concluded with a series of high-profile character turns in the early 1960s, including The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and the epic Cleopatra (1963).
Detailed Critical Analysis: The Art of the “Hyper-Real”
1. The Physicality of Distraction
Cannon possessed a kinetic acting style. She didn’t just deliver lines; she occupied them with her entire body—fidgeting with her hair, adjusting a collar, or darting her eyes.
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Analysis: Critics often referred to her as “the female version of a silent film clown.” She understood that in a 90-minute film, a character actor might only have five minutes to make an impression. She used high-pitched vocal choices and rapid-fire delivery to ensure she was the most memorable person in a room full of taller, more famous leads.
2. The Subversion of the “Wallflower”
In films like Holiday Camp, Cannon played the “plain girl” looking for love.
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Critical Insight: While the script might have treated her as a joke, Cannon played these roles with a devastating sincerity. She tapped into the loneliness of the “surplus woman” in post-war Britain. Critics have noted that she had a “heart-tugging” quality; you laughed at her frantic energy, but you felt the sting of her characters’ rejection. She was the queen of the “comic-pathetic” hybrid.
3. The Losey Collaboration: The Sleeping Tiger
Her work with the blacklisted American director Joseph Losey showed a different side of her range.
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Technical Analysis: Losey pushed Cannon toward a more naturalistic, psychological depth. In this film, her habitual “nervousness” was recontextualized as true anxiety. It proved that her “eccentricity” wasn’t just a collection of tics, but a deeply felt response to the world. Critics praised her for “holding the screen” against the brooding intensity of Dirk Bogarde.
4. The “Invisible” Iconography
Cannon is the quintessential example of an actor whose face is more famous than her name.
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Critical View: Film historians often use Cannon as a case study in the “Stock Company” system. She was part of the “connective tissue” of British cinema. Without her, the worlds of these films would have felt too polished and artificial. She represented the “oddness” of real life—the people who don’t fit into the romantic leads’ neatly organized lives.
Key Filmography & Notable Turns
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1939 | Trouble Brewing | Maid | Early proof of her comedic timing. |
| 1944 | Fanny by Gaslight | Nettie | Provided the “common” foil to Phyllis Calvert’s elegance. |
| 1947 | Holiday Camp | Elsie Dawson | A career-best study in comedic yearning. |
| 1954 | The Sleeping Tiger | Cleaning Lady | Demonstrated her ability to handle darker, noir material. |
| 1963 | Cleopatra | Sosco | Proved she could maintain her presence even in a massive epic. |
Esme Cannon was the “Spark Plug” of the British film industry. She didn’t need a starring role to validate her talent; she proved that an actor can build a legacy by being the most interesting thing in the background. Her work remains a testament to the power of character-driven storytelling, where the “little person” often leaves the biggest mark.