Actress Angela Lansbury passed away overnight at 96 years of age, but remains immortalized with an extensive list of acting credits across both the screen and the stage, including The Manchurian Candidate, Murder, She Wrote, Sweeney Todd, and The King and I.
Having reportedly left the mortal coil peacefully in her sleep, fans on Twitter reminisce and remember her in one of her most iconic roles, in the Disney classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
The enchanting tale followed Miss Eglantine Price, portrayed by Lansbury, and her efforts to aid in the war effort against Nazis in the Battle of Britain in the second world war, using witchcraft. Despite its wartime setting, it turned out to be an enchanting and charming children’s film, one which is still fondly remembered today.
In her travels to master the final few spells she needs to help thwart the fascist invasion, Miss Price encounters three children displaced by the London Blitz, who she takes into her care. She buys the children’s silence about her magical abilities by presenting the youngest child, Paul, with a magical bed knob that allows the children to travel anywhere they’d like.
The film was often compared to Mary Poppins, with a matriarchal magical figure taking a group of children under her wing, but with more direct referencing and confrontation with the second World War.
Angela Lansbury may be gone, but if there is one film she will live on forever, it will probably be the beloved Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Rest easy, Miss Price.