---
name: "Brian Donlevy"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/brian-donlevy"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 February 1901"
died: "6 April 1972"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T00:49:33.117983+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Brian Donlevy

Actor. Born 9 February 1901 in Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland], UK. Died 6 April 1972.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 February 1901, Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland], UK
- **Died:** 6 April 1972
- **Active:** 1938–1942
- **Also known as:** Waldo Brian Donlevy, McGinty
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 2 acting, 1 other
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 64 (1), 1940s 76 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Donlevy, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q912097, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002046/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/41755

## Fi1m on Brian Donlevy

> Brian Donlevy was Hollywood's quiet heavy: a saloon boss, a Legion sergeant, a Marine commander who barely raised his voice and made everyone around him fall silent. Typecast for menace, he was best when a script gave him more.

In *In Old Chicago* (1938) Brian Donlevy runs the saloon that Tyrone Power's hero wants to take from him, and he does it without ever raising his voice. Power grins, Don Ameche pleads, and the crowd carries on around them. Donlevy speaks at conversational pitch and the saloon goes quiet. That is the trick he had, a boss who does not need to shout, and we will admit that after an hour of O'Leary family quarrelling we were waiting for him to come back, and slightly ashamed of how much the film improved when he did.

He came out of New York theatre and silent films in the mid-1920s, and the break arrived with *Barbary Coast* (1935). The good years followed at Paramount and elsewhere: Sergeant Markoff in *Beau Geste* (1939), still the part people mean when they call him a heavy; the title role in Preston Sturges's first film as director, *The Great McGinty* (1940), a political satire that let him be funny without dropping the threat; Paul Madvig in *The Glass Key* (1942), from Hammett. He and Sturges made two films together, and it says something about Sturges that he saw a comedian in a face other directors used only for menace.

*Wake Island* (1942), made within months of the events it describes, gives him Maj. Geoffrey Caton, a Marine commander sharing an island with a civilian construction crew whose foreman, Albert Dekker, does not care for him. Dekker is loud and wide; Donlevy plays Caton clipped and quiet, a man who has decided not to raise his voice. The film sets them up as opposites so it can bring them together later. It is not subtle, and it works because Donlevy knows exactly what the part is for. It is the same instrument as the saloon boss, turned on a man we are meant to admire rather than fear, and it plays just as well.

The limitation is the other side of the same coin. Hollywood cast him as tough, dangerous or villainous for most of his working life, in noirs and westerns, and once you had seen him do the stillness you had seen him do it. The later career went where such careers went: a television series, *Dangerous Assignment* (1952–53), two turns as Prof. Bernard Quatermass for Hammer in *The Quatermass Xperiment* (1955) and *Quatermass 2* (1957), then B-pictures and guest parts until *Pit Stop* (1969). Nigel Kneale, who created Quatermass, did not care for what Donlevy made of his scientist; we have not reviewed those films, so we note the complaint rather than rule on it.

If you have an evening for him, take *Wake Island* first, then *In Old Chicago* for the saloon and the last twenty minutes. He is rarely the reason a film was made and quite often the reason it holds.

## Biography

Brian Donlevy was an American actor known for playing tough supporting characters in films from the 1930s to the 1960s. Born Waldo Brian Donlevy on 9 February 1901, he appeared in both leading and supporting roles, often as heavies in film noir and other genres.

His notable performances include Sergeant Markoff in *Beau Geste* (1939), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor; the title role in *The Great McGinty* (1940); Paul Madvig in *The Glass Key* (1942); and Professor Bernard Quatermass in *The Quatermass Xperiment* (1955) and *Quatermass 2* (1957). He also starred as Steve Mitchell in the television series *Dangerous Assignment* (1952).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (2) — the average rests on these

- *Wake Island* (1942), Fi1m 73, as Maj. Geoffrey Caton — [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *In Old Chicago* (1938), Fi1m 64, as Gil Warren — [page](https://film.one/film/in-old-chicago.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Hold Back the Dawn* (1941), Fi1m 78, as Movie Actor (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/hold-back-the-dawn.md)

## Complete filmography (115)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker* (2021), as Archival Footage
- *Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood* (1987), as Professor Bernard Quatermass (archive footage)
- *Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid* (1982), as (in "The Glass Key") (archive footage)
- *Pit Stop* (1969), as Grant Willard
- *Arizona Bushwhackers* (1968), as Mayor Joe Smith
- *Rogue's Gallery* (1968), as Detective Lee
- *Five Golden Dragons* (1967), as Dragon #3
- *Hostile Guns* (1967), as Marshal Willett
- *Gammera the Invincible* (1966), as Gen. Terry Arnold
- *Family Affair* (1966), series, Actor
- *Waco* (1966), as Ace Ross
- *The Fat Spy* (1966), as George Wellington
- *How to Stuff a Wild Bikini* (1965), as B.D. 'Big Deal' MacPherson
- *Curse of the Fly* (1965), as Henri Delambre
- *The Big Parade of Comedy* (1964), as Kurt Devlynne in 'A Southern Yankee' (arch. foot.) (uncredited)
- *The Pigeon That Took Rome* (1962), as Col. Sherman Harrington
- *The Errand Boy* (1961), as Tom 'T.P.' Paramutual
- *Target: The Corruptors!* (1961), series, Actor
- *Girl In Room 13* (1960), as Steve Marshall
- *Never So Few* (1959), as Gen. Sloan
- *The DuPont Show with June Allyson* (1959), series, as John Ridges
- *Juke Box Rhythm* (1959), as George Manton
- *Rawhide* (1959), series, as Jed Reston
- *The Texan* (1958), series, Actor
- *Cowboy* (1958), as Doc Bender, Trailhand
- *Escape from Red Rock* (1957), as Bronc Grierson
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, as Constable Dale
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as General Roger Brandon
- *Quatermass 2* (1957), as Prof. Bernard Quatermass
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Fred Childress
- *A Cry in the Night* (1956), as Ed Bates
- *Crossroads* (1955), series, as Dr. Roy Bell
- *The Quatermass Xperiment* (1955), as Prof. Bernard Quatermass
- *The Big Combo* (1955), as Joe McClure
- *Climax!* (1954), series, as Sam Marvin
- *Woman They Almost Lynched* (1953), as Charles Quantrill
- *Ride the Man Down* (1952), as Bide Marriner
- *Hoodlum Empire* (1952), as Sen. William J. 'Bill' Stephens
- *Dangerous Assignment* (1952), series, Actor
- *Slaughter Trail* (1951), as Capt. Dempster
- *Fighting Coast Guard* (1951), as Cmdr. McFarland
- *Kansas Raiders* (1950), as Quantrill
- *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Dan Carmody, Walter Williams, Daniel J. McGinty
- *Shakedown* (1950), as Nick Palmer
- *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, Actor
- *The Lucky Stiff* (1949), as John J. Malone
- *Impact* (1949), as Walter Williams
- *Command Decision* (1948), as Brigadier General Clifton I. Garnet
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Jim
- *A Southern Yankee* (1948), as Kurt Devlynn
- *Killer McCoy* (1947), as Jim Caighn
- *Heaven Only Knows* (1947), as Adam 'Duke' Byron
- *Kiss of Death* (1947), as Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
- *The Trouble with Women* (1947), as Joe McBride
- *Song of Scheherazade* (1947), as Capt. Vladimir Gregorovitch
- *The Beginning or the End* (1947), as Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves
- *Two Years Before the Mast* (1946), as Richard Henry Dana
- *Canyon Passage* (1946), as George Camrose
- *Our Hearts Were Growing Up* (1946), as Tony Minnetti
- *The Virginian* (1946), as Trampas
- *Duffy's Tavern* (1945), as Brian Donlevy
- *The Miracle of Morgan's Creek* (1944), as Governor McGinty
- *An American Romance* (1944), as Stefan Dubechek aka Steve Dangos
- *Twenty Years After* (1944), as (archive footage)
- *Stalingrad* (1943), as Narrator (English version)
- *Hangmen Also Die!* (1943), as Dr. Franticek Svoboda
- *Stand by for Action* (1942), as Lieut. Cmdr. Martin Roberts
- *Nightmare* (1942), as Daniel Shane
- *The Glass Key* (1942), as Paul Madvig
- *Wake Island* (1942), as Maj. Geoffrey Caton — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *A Gentleman After Dark* (1942), as Harry Melton
- *Two Yanks in Trinidad* (1942), as Vince Barrows
- *The Remarkable Andrew* (1942), as General Andrew Jackson
- *Birth of the Blues* (1941), as Memphis
- *The Great Man's Lady* (1941), as Steely Edwards
- *South of Tahiti* (1941), as Bob
- *Hold Back the Dawn* (1941), as Movie Actor (uncredited) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/hold-back-the-dawn.md)
- *Billy the Kid* (1941), as Jim Sherwood
- *I Wanted Wings* (1941), as Capt. Mercer
- *Brigham Young* (1940), as Angus Duncan
- *When the Daltons Rode* (1940), as Grat Dalton
- *The Great McGinty* (1940), as Daniel 'Dan' McGinty
- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), as Kent
- *Allegheny Uprising* (1939), as Ralph Callendar
- *Behind Prison Gates* (1939), as Agent Norman Craig / Red Murray
- *Beau Geste* (1939), as Sergeant Markoff
- *Union Pacific* (1939), as Sid Campeau
- *Jesse James* (1939), as Barshee
- *Sharpshooters* (1938), as Steve Mitchell
- *We're Going to Be Rich* (1938), as Yankee Gordon
- *Battle of Broadway* (1938), as Chesty Webb
- *In Old Chicago* (1938), as Gil Warren — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/in-old-chicago.md)
- *Born Reckless* (1937), as Bob Kane
- *This Is My Affair* (1937), as Batiste Duryea
- *Midnight Taxi* (1937), as Charles 'Chick' Gardner
- *Crack-Up* (1936), as Ace Martin
- *36 Hours to Kill* (1936), as Frank Evers
- *High Tension* (1936), as Steve Reardon
- *Half Angel* (1936), as Duffy Giles
- *Human Cargo* (1936), as Packy Campbell
- *13 Hours by Air* (1936), as James Evarts
- *Strike Me Pink* (1936), as Vance
- *Another Face* (1935), as Broken Nose Dawson / Spencer Dutro III
- *Mary Burns, Fugitive* (1935), as Spike
- *Barbary Coast* (1935), as Knuckles Jacoby
- *A Modern Cinderella* (1932), as Charlie the Chauffeur
- *Ireno* (1932), as Drunk (uncredited)
- *Mother's Boy* (1929), as Harry O'Day
- *Two Americans* (1929), as Unknown
- *Gentlemen of the Press* (1929), as Kelly - Reporter (uncredited)
- *A Man of Quality* (1926), as Richard Courtney
- *School for Wives* (1925), as Ralph
- *Monsieur Beaucaire* (1924), as unknown
- *Damaged Hearts* (1924), as Jim Porter
- *Jamestown* (1923), as Minor Role (Uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Photo of Brian Donlevy from an appearance on the television program Star Stage. (1955)](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-9390d72d113f.jpg) Photo of Brian Donlevy from an appearance on the television program Star Stage. (1955) — Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn-ad agency for Campbell's Soup, the show's sponsor., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Brian_Donlevy_1955.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Brian Donlevy](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-d63a07b7dd99.jpg) Brian Donlevy — Macfadden Publications-page 2., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Brian_Donlevy_1943.jpg/1280px-Brian_Donlevy_1943.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Screenshot from the trailer for the film Union Pacific (1939).](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-e98e35fe525a.jpg) Screenshot from the trailer for the film Union Pacific (1939). — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Brian_Donlevy_in_Union_Pacific_trailer.jpg/1280px-Brian_Donlevy_in_Union_Pacific_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Screenshot from the original theatrical trailer of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-75336b03b10f.png) Screenshot from the original theatrical trailer of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) — Hammer Film Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/The_Quatermass_Xperiment_%281955%29_trailer_-_Brian_Donlevy_%26_Margia_Dean.png/1280px-The_Quatermass_Xperiment_%281955%29_trailer_-_Brian_Donlevy_%26_Margia_Dean.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Brian Donlevy](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-aea6e3149e77.jpg) Brian Donlevy — Image via TMDB
- ![Brian Donlevy](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-e67316875faf.jpg) Brian Donlevy — Image via TMDB
- ![Brian Donlevy](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-2817b1b97520.jpg) Brian Donlevy — Image via TMDB
- ![Screenshot from the trailer of Quatermass 2 (1957)](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-6016da5a0d47.png) Screenshot from the trailer of Quatermass 2 (1957) — Hammer Film Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Quatermass_2_%281957%29_trailer_-_Brian_Donlevy_%26_John_Longden.png/1280px-Quatermass_2_%281957%29_trailer_-_Brian_Donlevy_%26_John_Longden.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Promotional photo for the American film The Glass Key (1942).](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-b211fcb6fa33.jpg) Promotional photo for the American film The Glass Key (1942). — Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/The-Glass-Key-1942.jpg/1280px-The-Glass-Key-1942.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Brian Donlevy](https://film.one/media/person/1229992/gallery-c400dfb3ba8e.jpg) Brian Donlevy — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1940: Best Supporting Actor (nominated), for *Beau Geste*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/brian-donlevy