---
name: "Walter Huston"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/walter-huston"
fi1m_id: "walter-huston"
imdb_id: "nm0404158"
tmdb_id: 19020
wikidata_id: "Q162621"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "3 April 1883"
died: "7 April 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T00:48:13.268731+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."
---

# Walter Huston

## Identity

Walter Huston

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/walter-huston
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** walter-huston
- **IMDb ID:** nm0404158
- **TMDB ID:** 19020
- **Wikidata ID:** Q162621
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Huston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162621, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0404158/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19020

Actor. Born 3 April 1883 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Died 7 April 1950.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 3 April 1883, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Died:** 7 April 1950
- **Active:** 1936–1948
- **Also known as:** Walter Thomas Houghston, Walter Thomas Huston, Walter Houghston
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 other
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 3 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 87 (1), 1940s 84 (3)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 2 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Adventure 1, Music 1, Romance 1, Western 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $4m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Huston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162621, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0404158/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19020

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Dodsworth*](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md) (87)

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

## Fi1m on Walter Huston

> Walter Huston makes authority sound conversational, and gives experienced men the pleasure of knowing better. We rate him most when that confidence becomes funny: his Howard in *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* is excellent company, even when he talks too much.

Howard knows more about prospecting than his companions, and enjoys telling them so. In *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948), Walter Huston makes that confidence part of the pleasure of spending time with him. His advice is worth hearing, but he is plainly enjoying himself as he gives it. We laughed at his eagerness to explain, because Huston makes the satisfaction of knowing better so recognisable.

Huston entered films with sound in 1929, and became a leading character actor through the 1930s and 1940s. The casual speech and economical gestures help explain why such different parts could feel natural in his hands. As Sam Dodsworth in *Dodsworth* (1936), he conveys emotion by underplaying it. Mr. Scratch, the devil in *All That Money Can Buy* (1941), and Jerry Cohan in *Yankee Doodle Dandy* (1942) offer different uses for that assured manner. Howard allows the same conversational delivery to become exuberant.

John Huston’s writing and direction give Walter room to be conspicuous without making the whole adventure depend on him. Tim Holt, as Bob Curtin, supplies an important steadiness, keeping the exchanges between the prospectors from becoming a contest of emphatic performances. Howard’s experience makes him useful to the others, while his pleasure in displaying it gives them something to put up with. Walter makes the philosophical speeches sound like a habit this particular man would have, rather than something he has been asked to recite.

Even so, Howard can talk too much. John Huston’s screenplay sometimes explains greed after the men have already made its dangers clear, and Walter cannot make every further explanation necessary. Steiner’s music can be similarly insistent, pressing feelings the performances have already conveyed. These are irritations in a film we recommend warmly, rather than reasons to turn it down. Start with *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*, and bring a little patience for the lectures.

## Biography

Walter Huston was a Canadian-born actor and singer. He played Howard in *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948), directed by his son John Huston, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Huston began his career on the stage in Toronto and worked in vaudeville and on Broadway before entering films in the late 1920s. Other notable film roles include Sam Dodsworth in *Dodsworth* (1936), Mr. Scratch in *All That Money Can Buy* (1941), Jerry Cohan in *Yankee Doodle Dandy* (1942), and T. C. Jeffords in *The Furies* (1950). He died in Beverly Hills, California, in 1950.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

### Performed in (3) — the average rests on these

- *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948), Fi1m 88, as Howard — [page](https://film.one/film/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre.md)
- *Yankee Doodle Dandy* (1942), Fi1m 78, as Jerry Cohan — [page](https://film.one/film/yankee-doodle-dandy.md)
- *Dodsworth* (1936), Fi1m 87, as Sam Dodsworth — [page](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md)

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

- *The Maltese Falcon* (1941), Fi1m 87, as Captain Jacoby (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-maltese-falcon.md)

## Complete filmography (74)

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

- *Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood* (2008), as Various Roles (archive footage)
- *Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'* (2003), as Howard (archive footage)
- *Why We Fight: World War II: The Battle of China / War Comes to America* (2000), as Narrator
- *Going Hollywood: The '30s* (1984), as (archive footage)
- *Armored Attack!* (1957), as Dr. Kurin
- *The Furies* (1950), as T. C. Jeffords
- *The Great Sinner* (1949), as General Ostrovsky
- *Summer Holiday* (1948), as Mr. Nat Miller
- *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948), as Howard — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre.md)
- *Duel in the Sun* (1946), as The Sinkiller
- *Let There Be Light* (1946), as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- *Dragonwyck* (1946), as Ephraim Wells
- *And Then There Were None* (1945), as Edward Armstrong
- *Know Your Enemy: Japan* (1945), as Narrator
- *War Comes to America* (1945), as Narrator
- *Why We Fight: The Battle of China* (1944), as Abraham Lincoln
- *Dragon Seed* (1944), as Ling Tan
- *Know Your Ally: Britain* (1944), as Narrator
- *Twenty Years After* (1944), as (archive footage)
- *War Department Report* (1943), as Narrator (voice)
- *The North Star* (1943), as Dr. Kurin
- *The Voice That Thrilled the World* (1943), as Jerry Cohan (archive footage)
- *Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain* (1943), as Narrator
- *Report from the Aleutians* (1943), as Voices of officers (voice)
- *For God and Country* (1943), as Narrator
- *Mission to Moscow* (1943), as Ambassador Joseph E. Davies
- *Edge of Darkness* (1943), as Dr. Martin Stensgard
- *December 7th* (1943), as Uncle Sam 'U.S.'
- *The Outlaw* (1943), as Doc Holliday
- *Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer* (1943), as Narrator
- *Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike* (1943), as Narrator
- *Our Russian Front* (1942), as Narrator
- *Yankee Doodle Dandy* (1942), as Jerry Cohan — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/yankee-doodle-dandy.md)
- *In This Our Life* (1942), as Bartender (uncredited)
- *Always in My Heart* (1942), as MacKenzie Scott
- *Safeguarding Military Information* (1942), as General (uncredited)
- *The Shanghai Gesture* (1941), as Sir Guy Charteris
- *Swamp Water* (1941), as Thursday Ragan
- *The Maltese Falcon* (1941), as Captain Jacoby (uncredited) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/the-maltese-falcon.md)
- *All That Money Can Buy* (1941), as Mr. Scratch
- *The Light That Failed* (1939), as Torpenhow
- *Of Human Hearts* (1938), as Ethan Wilkins
- *Dodsworth* (1936), as Sam Dodsworth — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md)
- *Rhodes of Africa* (1936), as Cecil John Rhodes
- *Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs* (1936), Actor
- *The Tunnel* (1935), as President of the United States
- *Keep 'Em Rolling* (1934), as Sgt. Benjamin E. Walsh
- *The Prizefighter and the Lady* (1933), as Edwin J. Bennett ("The Professor")
- *Ann Vickers* (1933), as Barney Dolphin
- *Storm at Daybreak* (1933), as Mayor Dushan Radovic
- *Hell Below* (1933), as Lieut. Comdr. T.J. Toler USN
- *Gabriel Over the White House* (1933), as Hon. Judson Hammond - The President of the United States
- *Rain* (1932), as Alfred Davidson
- *Kongo* (1932), as Flint
- *American Madness* (1932), as Thomas Dickson
- *Night Court* (1932), as Judge Andrew J. Moffett
- *The Wet Parade* (1932), as Pow Tarleton
- *The Beast of the City* (1932), as Captain James "Jim" Fitzpatrick aka Fighting Fitz
- *Law and Order* (1932), as Frame 'Saint' Johnson
- *The Woman from Monte Carlo* (1932), as Captain Corlaix
- *A House Divided* (1931), as Seth Law
- *The Ruling Voice* (1931), as Jack Bannister
- *The Star Witness* (1931), as District Attorney Whitlock
- *How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 7: 'The Spoon'* (1931), as Judge Walter Huston (uncredited)
- *The Criminal Code* (1931), as Mark Brady
- *Abraham Lincoln* (1930), as Abraham Lincoln
- *The Virtuous Sin* (1930), as Gregory Platoff
- *The Bad Man* (1930), as Pancho Lopez
- *Behind the Make-Up* (1930), as Joe in Clark & White's Office (uncredited)
- *The Virginian* (1929), as Trampas
- *The Lady Lies* (1929), as Robert Rossiter
- *Two Americans* (1929), as Abraham Lincoln
- *Gentlemen of the Press* (1929), as Wickland Snell
- *The Bishop's Candlesticks* (1929), as The Convict

## Gallery

- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-8e9a84fd8664.jpg) Walter Huston — UnknownUnknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Walter_Huston_%281943%29.tif/lossy-page1-1280px-Walter_Huston_%281943%29.tif.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Colonial Theater advertisement for the American drama film Dodsworth (1936) - 8 Oct. 1936 Morning Call, Allentown](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-3b72cda309d2.jpg) Colonial Theater advertisement for the American drama film Dodsworth (1936) - 8 Oct. 1936 Morning Call, Allentown — United Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/1936_-_Colonial_Theater_Ad_-_8_Oct_MC_-_Allentown.jpg/1280px-1936_-_Colonial_Theater_Ad_-_8_Oct_MC_-_Allentown.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Left to right: Louis Hayward, C. Aubrey Smith, Barry Fitzgerald, Richard Haydn, Mischa Auer, and Walter Huston in And Then There Were None (1945)](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-957365c87324.jpg) Left to right: Louis Hayward, C. Aubrey Smith, Barry Fitzgerald, Richard Haydn, Mischa Auer, and Walter Huston in And Then There Were None (1945) — 20th Century Fox, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/And_Then_There_Were_None_1945.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Lobby card for the American western film The Bad Man (1930).](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-263d656c62db.jpg) Lobby card for the American western film The Bad Man (1930). — First National-Vitagraph, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Bad_Man_lobby_card_1930.jpg/1280px-Bad_Man_lobby_card_1930.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-6b72cde80e92.jpg) Walter Huston — Image via TMDB
- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-4d17deee7928.jpg) Walter Huston — Image via TMDB
- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-fee3436dfc4c.jpg) Walter Huston — Image via TMDB
- ![Lobby card for the American western film The Bad Man (1930).](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-c0dd5ce79505.jpg) Lobby card for the American western film The Bad Man (1930). — First National-Vitagraph, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Bad_Man_lobby_card_1930_2.jpg/1280px-Bad_Man_lobby_card_1930_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Promotional photo of Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton in the 1936 film Dodsworth. Photograph by Kenneth Alexander.](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-0ad67dd93738.jpg) Promotional photo of Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton in the 1936 film Dodsworth. Photograph by Kenneth Alexander. — Kenneth Alexander, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Dodson_promotional_photo_-_Walter_Huston_and_Ruth_Chatterton.jpg/1280px-Dodson_promotional_photo_-_Walter_Huston_and_Ruth_Chatterton.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-b0b1d11c8511.jpg) Walter Huston — Image via TMDB
- ![Walter Huston](https://film.one/media/person/105287/gallery-8f4a0febed70.jpg) Walter Huston — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 3 nominated

- 1949: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*
- 1943: Best Supporting Actor (nominated), for *Yankee Doodle Dandy*
- 1942: Best Actor (nominated), for *The Devil and Daniel Webster*
- 1937: Best Actor (nominated), for *Dodsworth*

### Golden Globes — 1 won

- 1949: Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (won), for *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*

*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/walter-huston