---
name: "James Donald"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-donald"
fi1m_id: "james-donald"
imdb_id: "nm0232019"
tmdb_id: 12250
wikidata_id: "Q151567"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "18 May 1917"
died: "3 August 1993"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T00:56:39.486141+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."
---

# James Donald

## Identity

James Donald

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/james-donald
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** james-donald
- **IMDb ID:** nm0232019
- **TMDB ID:** 12250
- **Wikidata ID:** Q151567
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Donald, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q151567, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0232019/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12250

Actor. Born 18 May 1917 in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK. Died 3 August 1993.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 18 May 1917, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
- **Died:** 3 August 1993
- **Active:** 1942–1963
- **Also known as:** Джеймс Дональд
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 74 (1), 1950s 88 (1), 1960s 82 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 81 to 72 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, War 3, Adventure 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $61m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Donald, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q151567, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0232019/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12250

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Great Escape*](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on James Donald

> James Donald makes doctors and officers seem worth listening to, especially when somebody more imposing is in charge. We value his quiet good sense, though his supporting parts do not always ask enough of him.

In *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), James Donald's Major Clipton is the doctor who questions the colonel's actions. David Lean gives Alec Guinness's Colonel Nicholson the central role, but Donald supplies a reason to doubt him. We found Nicholson quietly alarming, and were grateful for Clipton's willingness to question him. Donald makes the sensible supporting part worth attending to beside a much more imposing one.

He had already played Doc in *In Which We Serve* (1942), a Noël Coward and David Lean production. His Theo van Gogh in *Lust for Life* (1956) brought international notice; he also voices the narrative letters. The cultivated figure in a period drama belongs comfortably alongside the military men of conscience. We rate that steadiness, although it can leave him looking like the sensible appointment whenever a film needs a doctor or an officer.

In John Sturges's *The Great Escape* (1963), Donald plays Group Captain Ramsey, the senior British officer in the prisoner-of-war camp. James Clavell and W.R. Burnett's screenplay arranges the ensemble around clearly understood duties: Donald Pleasence's Blythe is the forger, Charles Bronson's Danny a tunnel digger. That clarity makes the practical business of escape absorbing, and Donald's seniority fits neatly into it. The men can become so closely identified with their jobs that we learn little else about them. We warmly recommend it, but its efficient division of labour leaves less room for the supporting actors to surprise us.

He continued in war and action pictures through the 1960s, while *Quatermass and the Pit* (1967) gave him Dr Mathew Roney, a scientist rather than an officer. That is another natural home for the intelligence and good sense he brings to the screen. Leading parts largely eluded him, so there is a limit to what these recurring supporting duties allow us to judge. Begin with *The Bridge on the River Kwai*, and pay attention to the doctor as well as the colonel.

## Biography

James Donald (1917–1993) was a Scottish actor who appeared in British and American films and on stage. He specialised in roles as authority figures, particularly military officers, doctors and scientists.

Born in Aberdeen, he was educated at Rossall School and made his professional stage debut in the late 1930s. During the Second World War he took minor roles in films including *In Which We Serve* (1942). His theatre work included Noël Coward's *Present Laughter* (1943) and productions with Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft.

He is known for playing Maj. Clipton in *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957) and Group Captain Ramsey, the Senior British Officer, in *The Great Escape* (1963). Other film roles include Theo van Gogh in *Lust for Life* (1956), Lord Egbert in *The Vikings* (1958) and Dr. Kennedy in *King Rat* (1965). He received an Emmy nomination for playing Prince Albert in the television production *Victoria Regina* (1961).

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

## On Fi1m (3)

- *The Great Escape* (1963), Fi1m 82, as Ramsey 'The SBO' — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md)
- *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), Fi1m 88, as Maj. Clipton — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai.md)
- *In Which We Serve* (1942), Fi1m 74, as Doc — [page](https://film.one/film/in-which-we-serve.md)

## Complete filmography (41)

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

- *Doc in the Box* (2015), as Crabs Guy
- *Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood* (1987), as Dr. Mathew Roney (archive footage)
- *The Big Sleep* (1978), as Inspector Gregory
- *Conduct Unbecoming* (1975), as The Doctor
- *David Copperfield* (1969), as Mr. Murdstone
- *Destiny of a Spy* (1969), as Sir Martin Rolfe
- *The Royal Hunt of the Sun* (1969), as King Carlos
- *Hannibal Brooks* (1969), as Padre
- *Quatermass and the Pit* (1967), as Dr. Mathew Roney
- *The Jokers* (1967), as Col. Gurney-Simms
- *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966), as Maj. Safir
- *King Rat* (1965), as Dr. Kennedy
- *Thursday Theatre* (1964), series, as Edward Chamberlayne
- *The Great Escape* (1963), as Ramsey 'The SBO' — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md)
- *Pygmalion* (1963), as Henry Higgins
- *Victoria Regina* (1961), as Prince Albert
- *Ben Casey* (1961), series, Actor
- *The Citadel* (1960), as Dr. Andrew Manson
- *Third Man on the Mountain* (1959), as Franz Lerner
- *Play of the Week* (1959), series, as Priest
- *The Vikings* (1958), as Lord Egbert
- *The Bridge on the River Kwai* (1957), as Maj. Clipton — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai.md)
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, as Sydney Carton
- *Lust for Life* (1956), as Theo van Gogh
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Harry Pope, Mark Cavendish
- *Beau Brummell* (1954), as Lord Edwin Mercer
- *The Net* (1953), as Michael Heathley
- *The Pickwick Papers* (1952), as Nathaniel Winkle
- *Gift Horse* (1952), as Lt. Richard Jennings, No. 1
- *Brandy for the Parson* (1952), as Bill Harper
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Prince Albert, Henry Higgins, Warwick
- *White Corridors* (1951), as Neil Marriner
- *Cage of Gold* (1950), as Alan
- *Trottie True* (1949), as Lord Digby Langdon
- *Edward, My Son* (1949), as Bronton
- *The Small Voice* (1948), as Murray Byrne
- *Broken Journey* (1948), as Bill Haverton
- *The Way Ahead* (1944), as Pvt. Evans Lloyd
- *San Demetrio London* (1943), as Gunnery Officer - H.M.S. Jervis Bay
- *In Which We Serve* (1942), as Doc — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/in-which-we-serve.md)
- *One of Our Aircraft Is Missing* (1942), as (uncredited)

---
© 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/james-donald