Whitelaw made her film debut in "The Sleeping Tiger" (1954), followed by roles in "Carve Her Name with Pride" (1958) and "Hell Is a City" (1960). Whitelaw soon became a regular in British films of the 1950s and early 1960s. In her early film work, she specialised in blousy blondes and secretaries, but her dramatic range began to emerge by the late 1960s. She starred with Albert Finney in "Charlie Bubbles" (1967), a performance which won her a BAFTA award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She would win her second BAFTA as the sensuous mother of college student Hayley Mills in the psychological study "Twisted Nerve" (1969). She continued in film roles including "Leo the Last" (1970), "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970), "Gumshoe" (1971), and the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Frenzy" (1972).