Despite appearing in over seventy films, Martita Hunt's cinema career is dominated by one role: that of Miss Haversham in Great Expectations.
She was born in Buenos Aires to British parents, and was sent to England to boarding school at the age of ten. She trained for the stage and joined Liverpool Rep. She made her London debut in 1923. In 1929 she joined the Old Vic for a season, playing several leading roles including Rosalind in As You Like It and Gertrude in Hamlet opposite John Gielgud.
Although she made a short film in 1920, her film career started in earnest in 1932. Like many actors at the time, she combined filming with theatre. She built up a large portfolio of scene-stealing cameos which contrasted with the major roles she played on stage. In 1939 she played Miss Haversham in a production of Great Expectations which inspired David Lean to film the novel. When he finally did, she naturally reprised her role.
She made her Broadway debut in 1948 as The Madwoman of Chaillot and won a Tony award for her performance. By now she was firmly typecast as eccentric and posh, a role she appears to have played in real life too. Her last stage role was in 1956 opposite Alec Guinness to whom she had given voice lessons at the start of his career.
| 1920 | The Rank Outsider |
| 1932 | Love on Wheels |
| 1932 | Service for Ladies |
| 1933 | I Was a Spy |
| 1933 | Friday the Thirteenth |
| 1934 | Too Many Millions |
| 1935 | Mr. What's-His-name |
| 1935 | The Case of Gabriel Perry |
| 1935 | First a Girl |
| 1935 | King of the Damned |
| 1936 | Pot Luck |
| 1936 | The Interrupted Honeymoon |
| 1936 | When Knights Were Bold |
| 1936 | Tudor Rose |
| 1926 | Sabotage |
| 1937 | The Mill on the Floss |
| 1937 | Good Morning, Boys |
| 1937 | Farewell Again |
| 1937 | Paradise for Two |
| 1938 | Second Best Bed |
| 1938 | Everything Happens to Me |
| 1938 | Strange Boarders |
| 1938 | Prison Without Bars |
| 1939 | The Nursemaid Who Disappeared |
| 1939 | A Girl Must Live |
| 1939 | Trouble Brewing |
| 1939 | Goodbye Mr Chips |
| 1939 | Young Man's Fancy |
| 1940 | Old Mother Riley Joins Up |
| 1940 | At the Villa Rose |
| 1940 | The Middle Watch |
| 1940 | The Good Old Days |
| 1940 | Tilly of Bloomsbury |
| 1941 | The Seventh Survivor |
| 1941 | Freedom Radio |
| 1941 | Quiet Wedding |
| 1941 | East of Piccadilly |
| 1942 | Lady from Lisbon |
| 1942 | They Flew Alone |
| 1942 | Sabotage at Sea |
| 1942 | Talk About Jacqueline |
| 1943 | The Man in Grey |
| 1944 | Welcome Mr Washington |
| 1945 | The Wicked Lady |
| 1946 | Great Expectations |
| 1947 | The Ghosts of Berkeley Square |
| 1948 | My Sister and I |
| 1948 | Anna Karenina |
| 1948 | So Evil My Love |
| 1948 | The Little Ballerina |
| 1949 | The Fan (US) |
| 1952 | Treasure Hunt |
| 1952 | It Started in Paradise |
| 1952 | The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men |
| 1952 | Meet Me Tonight |
| 1953 | Folly to Be Wise |
| 1953 | Melba |
| 1955 | March Hare |
| 1955 | King's Rhapsody |
| 1956 | Three Men in a Boat |
| 1956 | Anastasia |
| 1957 | Dangerous Exile |
| 1957 | Les Espions (Fr.) |
| 1957 | The Admirable Crichton |
| 1958 | Bonjour Tristesse |
| 1958 | Me and the Colonel |
| 1959 | La Prima Notte |
| 1960 | Bottoms Up |
| 1960 | The Brides of Dracula |
| 1960 | Song Without End (US) |
| 1961 | Mr Topaze |
| 1962 | The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (US) |
| 1964 | Becket |
| 1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown (US) |
| 1965 | Bunny Lake is Missing |
| 1969 | The Best House in London |
