Skip to content
Brian Donlevy

Brian Donlevy

Acting·1901–1972·100 films

Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 5, 1972) was an Ulster-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste (1939) and The Great McGinty (1940). For his role as Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His obituary in The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom stated that "any consideration of the American 'film noir' of the 1940s would be incomplete without him".

Filmography

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)(in "The Glass Key") (archive footage)
The Quatermass Xperiment
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again (1939)Kent
The Big Combo
The Big Combo (1955)Joe McClure
Kiss of Death
Kiss of Death (1947)Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
Quatermass 2
Quatermass 2 (1957)Prof. Bernard Quatermass
Hangmen Also Die!
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)Dr. Franticek Svoboda
The Glass Key
The Glass Key (1942)Paul Madvig
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)Governor McGinty
Jesse James
Jesse James (1939)Barshee
Beau Geste
Beau Geste (1939)Sergeant Markoff
Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Fly (1965)Henri Delambre
Union Pacific
Union Pacific (1939)Sid Campeau
The Great McGinty
The Great McGinty (1940)Daniel 'Dan' McGinty
Cowboy
Cowboy (1958)Doc Bender, Trailhand
Canyon Passage
Canyon Passage (1946)George Camrose
Never So Few
Never So Few (1959)Gen. Sloan
Impact
Impact (1949)Walter Williams
The Errand Boy
The Errand Boy (1961)Tom 'T.P.' Paramutual
Hold Back the Dawn
Hold Back the Dawn (1941)Movie Actor (uncredited)
In Old Chicago
In Old Chicago (1938)Gil Warren
Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast (1935)Knuckles Jacoby
Gammera the Invincible
Gammera the Invincible (1966)Gen. Terry Arnold
Allegheny Uprising
Allegheny Uprising (1939)Ralph Callendar
Wake Island
Wake Island (1942)Maj. Geoffrey Caton
Pit Stop
Pit Stop (1969)Grant Willard
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)B.D. 'Big Deal' MacPherson
The Virginian
The Virginian (1946)Trampas
Command Decision
Command Decision (1948)Brigadier General Clifton I. Garnet
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (1941)Jim Sherwood
Shakedown
Shakedown (1950)Nick Palmer
Woman They Almost Lynched
Woman They Almost Lynched (1953)Charles Quantrill
Kansas Raiders
Kansas Raiders (1950)Quantrill
When the Daltons Rode
When the Daltons Rode (1940)Grat Dalton
Five Golden Dragons
Five Golden Dragons (1967)Dragon #3
A Cry in the Night
A Cry in the Night (1956)Ed Bates
This Is My Affair
This Is My Affair (1937)Batiste Duryea
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (1940)Angus Duncan
The Fat Spy
The Fat Spy (1966)George Wellington
The Beginning or the End
The Beginning or the End (1947)Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves
Hoodlum Empire
Hoodlum Empire (1952)Sen. William J. 'Bill' Stephens
Crack-Up
Crack-Up (1936)Ace Martin
Stand by for Action
Stand by for Action (1942)Lieut. Cmdr. Martin Roberts
The Great Man's Lady
The Great Man's Lady (1941)Steely Edwards
Birth of the Blues
Birth of the Blues (1941)Memphis
An American Romance
An American Romance (1944)Stefan Dubechek aka Steve Dangos
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast (1946)Richard Henry Dana
I Wanted Wings
I Wanted Wings (1941)Capt. Mercer
Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern (1945)Brian Donlevy
Waco
Waco (1966)Ace Ross
Hostile Guns
Hostile Guns (1967)Marshal Willett
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood (1987)Professor Bernard Quatermass (archive footage)
13 Hours by Air
13 Hours by Air (1936)James Evarts
Strike Me Pink
Strike Me Pink (1936)Vance
Monsieur Beaucaire
Monsieur Beaucaire (1924)unknown
Born Reckless
Born Reckless (1937)Bob Kane
Stalingrad
Stalingrad (1943)Narrator (English version)
The Pigeon That Took Rome
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)Col. Sherman Harrington
The Big Parade of Comedy
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)Kurt Devlynne in 'A Southern Yankee' (arch. foot.) (uncredited)
A Southern Yankee
A Southern Yankee (1948)Kurt Devlynn
Arizona Bushwhackers
Arizona Bushwhackers (1968)Mayor Joe Smith
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (2021)Archival Footage
Slaughter Trail
Slaughter Trail (1951)Capt. Dempster
36 Hours to Kill
36 Hours to Kill (1936)Frank Evers
Heaven Only Knows
Heaven Only Knows (1947)Adam 'Duke' Byron
Killer McCoy
Killer McCoy (1947)Jim Caighn
Battle of Broadway
Battle of Broadway (1938)Chesty Webb
High Tension
High Tension (1936)Steve Reardon
The Lucky Stiff
The Lucky Stiff (1949)John J. Malone
Two Yanks in Trinidad
Two Yanks in Trinidad (1942)Vince Barrows
Another Face
Another Face (1935)Broken Nose Dawson / Spencer Dutro III
We're Going to Be Rich
We're Going to Be Rich (1938)Yankee Gordon
A Gentleman After Dark
A Gentleman After Dark (1942)Harry Melton
Song of Scheherazade
Song of Scheherazade (1947)Capt. Vladimir Gregorovitch
Midnight Taxi
Midnight Taxi (1937)Charles 'Chick' Gardner
The Remarkable Andrew
The Remarkable Andrew (1942)General Andrew Jackson
Girl In Room 13
Girl In Room 13 (1960)Steve Marshall
A Modern Cinderella
A Modern Cinderella (1932)Charlie the Chauffeur
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line (1997)Self (archive footage)
Ride the Man Down
Ride the Man Down (1952)Bide Marriner
Fighting Coast Guard
Fighting Coast Guard (1951)Cmdr. McFarland
Our Hearts Were Growing Up
Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946)Tony Minnetti
Juke Box Rhythm
Juke Box Rhythm (1959)George Manton
Nightmare
Nightmare (1942)Daniel Shane
Gentlemen of the Press
Gentlemen of the Press (1929)Kelly - Reporter (uncredited)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987)Self (archive footage)
Half Angel
Half Angel (1936)Duffy Giles
Human Cargo
Human Cargo (1936)Packy Campbell
Twenty Years After
Twenty Years After (1944)(archive footage)
South of Tahiti
South of Tahiti (1941)Bob
The Trouble with Women
The Trouble with Women (1947)Joe McBride
Rogue's Gallery
Rogue's Gallery (1968)Detective Lee
Mary Burns, Fugitive
Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935)Spike
Escape from Red Rock
Escape from Red Rock (1957)Bronc Grierson
Sharpshooters
Sharpshooters (1938)Steve Mitchell
Behind Prison Gates
Behind Prison Gates (1939)Agent Norman Craig / Red Murray
School for Wives
School for Wives (1925)Ralph
Damaged Hearts
Damaged Hearts (1924)Jim Porter
Jamestown
Jamestown (1923)Minor Role (Uncredited)
Mother's Boy
Mother's Boy (1929)Harry O'Day