--- name: "George Brent" canonical: "https://film.one/person/george-brent" roles: ["Actor"] born: "15 March 1904" died: "26 May 1979" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 80 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-19T23:52:51.714281+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." --- # George Brent Actor. Born 15 March 1904 in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. Died 26 May 1979. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 15 March 1904, Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland - **Died:** 26 May 1979 - **Active:** 1933–1939 - **Also known as:** George Brendan Nolan, George B. Nolan, George Nolan, George Patrick Nolan - **Frequently works with:** [Bette Davis](https://film.one/person/bette-davis.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 3, Romance 3, Comedy 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $2m across 1 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brent, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1124735, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107575/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/20364 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*42nd Street*](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) (82) - **Tubi:** [*Dark Victory*](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) (79) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on George Brent > George Brent's job at Warner Bros was to stand next to the biggest female stars on the lot and stay out of their light. He did it eleven times with Bette Davis, did it well, and it is the reason hardly anyone remembers him. There is a moment in *42nd Street* (1933) where Bebe Daniels's Dorothy Brock, who is being kept in bracelets by the show's backer, slips out to see the man she actually likes. That man is Pat Denning, and George Brent plays him with a raincoat, a shrug and the good sense to let Daniels do the deciding. The part is written as somewhere for her to go rather than as a person, and Brent does not fight it. He stands where he is put, looks worth the risk, and gets out of the way. He would go on doing that for the rest of his time at Warners. He had come to films in 1930 at Fox, and Warner Bros signed him in 1932. The studio made pictures around its women, and it needed a man the audience would accept as the cause of their trouble without wanting to watch him instead. Brent was that man. He made eleven films with Bette Davis, among them *Jezebel* (1938), *Dark Victory* (1939) and *The Great Lie* (1941); six with Kay Francis; five with Barbara Stanwyck, starting with *Baby Face* (1933); four with Ruth Chatterton. The word that follows him around is dependable, and it is meant as praise and as a complaint, and both are fair. He is never bad. He is also rarely the reason to watch. We will admit we enjoyed him in *42nd Street* more than the film needs us to. He gives Daniels something to be foolish about, and because he asks for so little the picture never slows down when he is in it, which at that speed is a skill. What he lacks is the thing Davis and Stanwyck had to spare: the flicker that makes you look at a face when nothing is happening on it. Put him beside them and the eye goes to them, every time. The studio knew this, and it was the point. There were departures, *The Spiral Staircase* (1946) among them, where a script asked him for something other than patience, but they were the exception. After the war the budgets got smaller, then the roles did, and by the 1950s he was on television, in guest parts and a series, until 1960. There was one more film in 1978. Asked about Davis, he said: "Bette was a professional. She always knew her lines, her blocking, and how to play a scene. It’s a pleasure to work with someone like that." It is the compliment of a man who valued exactly those things in himself, and it is, near enough, the review he gets. Start with *42nd Street*, where he is good company for ten minutes. Then watch a Davis picture and time how long it takes you to notice him. That was the job. ## Biography George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American actor. He was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. Brent appeared in his first film in 1930 and signed with Warner Bros. in 1932. He is known for roles including Pat Denning in *42nd Street* (1933), Buck Cantrell in *Jezebel* (1938), Dr. Frederick Steele in *Dark Victory* (1939) and Professor Warren in *The Spiral Staircase* (1946). He appeared in eleven films with Bette Davis. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Dark Victory* (1939), Fi1m 79, as Dr. Frederick Steele — [page](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) - *Jezebel* (1938), Fi1m 78, as Buck Cantrell — [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md) - *42nd Street* (1933), Fi1m 82, as Pat Denning — [page](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) ## Complete filmography (97) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Born Again* (1978), as Judge Gerhard Gesell - *The Chevy Mystery Show* (1960), series, as Fred Girard - *Rawhide* (1959), series, as Jefferson Devereaux - *Death of a Scoundrel* (1956), as Man with Balloon at Party - *Wire Service* (1956), series, as Dean Evans - *Crossroads* (1955), series, as Father Raymond - *Climax!* (1954), series, Actor - *Mexican Manhunt* (1953), as David L. 'Dave' Brady - *Tangier Incident* (1953), as Steve Gordon - *Montana Belle* (1952), as Tom Bradfield - *The Last Page* (1952), as John Harman - *FBI Girl* (1951), as Jeff Donley - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Sam Bentley - *Bride for Sale* (1949), as Paul Martin - *The Kid from Cleveland* (1949), as Mike Jackson - *Illegal Entry* (1949), as Chief Agent Dan Collins - *Red Canyon* (1949), as Matthew Bostel - *Luxury Liner* (1948), as Captain Jeremy Bradford - *Angel on the Amazon* (1948), as Jim Warburton - *Christmas Eve* (1947), as Michael Brooks - *Slave Girl* (1947), as Matt Claibourne - *The Corpse Came C.O.D.* (1947), as Joe Medford - *Out of the Blue* (1947), as Arthur Earthleigh - *Temptation* (1946), as Nigel Armine - *Lover Come Back* (1946), as Bill Williams - *Tomorrow Is Forever* (1946), as Lawrence Hamilton - *The Spiral Staircase* (1946), as Professor Warren - *My Reputation* (1946), as Major Scott Landis - *The Affairs of Susan* (1945), as Roger Berton - *Experiment Perilous* (1944), as Dr. Huntington Bailey - *Silver Queen* (1942), as James Kincaid - *You Can't Escape Forever* (1942), as Steve Mitchell - *The Gay Sisters* (1942), as Charles Barclay - *In This Our Life* (1942), as Craig Fleming - *Twin Beds* (1942), as Mike Abbott - *International Lady* (1941), as Tim Hanley - *They Dare Not Love* (1941), as Prince Kurt von Rotenberg - *The Great Lie* (1941), as Peter 'Pete' Van Allen - *Honeymoon for Three* (1941), as Kenneth Bixby - *South of Suez* (1940), as John Gamble - *The Man Who Talked Too Much* (1940), as Stephen Forbes - *'Til We Meet Again* (1940), as Dan Hardesty - *Adventure in Diamonds* (1940), as Capt. Stephen Dennett - *The Fighting 69th* (1940), as Wild Bill Donovan - *The Rains Came* (1939), as Tom Ransome - *The Old Maid* (1939), as Clem Spender - *Land of Liberty* (1939), as Buck Cantrell (edited from 'Jezebel') - *Dark Victory* (1939), as Dr. Frederick Steele — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/dark-victory.md) - *Wings of the Navy* (1939), as Cass Harrington - *Breakdowns of 1938* (1938), as Buck Cantrell (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Secrets of an Actress* (1938), as Richard 'Dick' Orr - *Racket Busters* (1938), as Denny Jordan - *Out Where the Stars Begin* (1938), as Jared Whitney (archive footage) - *Jezebel* (1938), as Buck Cantrell — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md) - *Gold Is Where You Find It* (1938), as Jared Whitney - *Submarine D-1* (1937), as Lt. Commander Dan Matthews - *The Go-Getter* (1937), as Bill Austin - *Mountain Justice* (1937), as Paul Cameron - *God's Country and the Woman* (1937), as Steve Russett - *More Than a Secretary* (1936), as Fred Gilbert - *Give Me Your Heart* (1936), as James 'Jim' Baker - *The Golden Arrow* (1936), as Johnny Jones - *The Case Against Mrs. Ames* (1936), as Matt Logan - *Snowed Under* (1936), as Alan Tanner - *In Person* (1935), as Emory Muir - *The Goose and the Gander* (1935), as Bob McNear - *Special Agent* (1935), as Bill Bradford - *Front Page Woman* (1935), as Curt Devlin - *Stranded* (1935), as Mack Hale - *Living on Velvet* (1935), as Terry Parker - *The Right to Live* (1935), as Colin Trent - *The Painted Veil* (1934), as Jack Townsend - *Desirable* (1934), as McAllister - *Housewife* (1934), as William H. Reynolds - *Stamboul Quest* (1934), as Douglas Beall - *From Headquarters* (1933), as Lt. Jim Stevens - *Female* (1933), as Jim Thorne - *Baby Face* (1933), as Courtland Trenholm - *Lilly Turner* (1933), as Bob Chandler - *The Keyhole* (1933), as Neil Davis - *42nd Street* (1933), as Pat Denning — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) - *Luxury Liner* (1933), as Dr. Karl Bernhard - *They Call It Sin* (1932), as Dr. Tony Travers - *The Crash* (1932), as Geoffrey Gault - *The Purchase Price* (1932), as Jim Gilson - *Week-End Marriage* (1932), as Peter Acton - *Miss Pinkerton* (1932), as Police Inspector Patten - *The Rich Are Always with Us* (1932), as Julian Tierney - *So Big!* (1932), as Adult Roelf Pool - *The Lightning Warrior* (1931), as Alan Scott - *Homicide Squad* (1931), as Jimmy - *Ex-Bad Boy* (1931), as Donald Swift - *Charlie Chan Carries On* (1931), as Capt. Ronald Keane - *Fair Warning* (1931), as Les Haines - *Once a Sinner* (1931), as James Brent - *Under Suspicion* (1930), as Inspector Turner - *The Iron Horse* (1925), as Worker (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![George Brent](https://film.one/media/person/1225895/gallery-7fdf212dda4b.jpg) George Brent — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/George_Brent_1-M-2004.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photograph of Myrna Loy and George Brent in The Rains Came (1939)](https://film.one/media/person/1225895/gallery-08d70f262d16.jpg) Photograph of Myrna Loy and George Brent in The Rains Came (1939) — McFadden Publications; 20th Century Fox, no photographer credited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Rains-Came-Loy-Brent.jpg/1280px-Rains-Came-Loy-Brent.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![George Brent](https://film.one/media/person/1225895/gallery-77ffab015c23.jpg) George Brent — Image via TMDB - ![George Brent](https://film.one/media/person/1225895/gallery-a4e42cf922ff.jpg) George Brent — Image via TMDB - ![George Brent](https://film.one/media/person/1225895/gallery-0c714655daf8.jpg) George Brent — Image via TMDB --- © 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/george-brent