Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Donald Houston is a Actor British born on 6 november 1923 at Tonypandy (United-kingdom)

Donald Houston

Donald Houston
If you like this person, let us know!
Birth name Donald Daniel Houston
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 6 november 1923 at Tonypandy (United-kingdom)
Death 13 october 1991 (at 67 years) at Coimbra (Portugal)

Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon (1949) with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money (1949) with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful. Later in his career he was cast in military roles and in comedies such as the Doctor and Carry On series.

Houston was born in Tonypandy, Glamorgan, and was the elder brother of actor Glyn Houston. He would sometimes indulge his Welsh accent as well as conceal it behind an English public school veneer. He had a successful career as a character actor in British film and television, with prominent parts in several well-known films, including Yangtse Incident (1957), 633 Squadron (1964), The Longest Day (1962) (in which he appeared alongside Richard Burton), Where Eagles Dare (1968) (again with Burton) and The Sea Wolves (1981). His forte tended to be authority figures, often military, such as the brilliant but tough David Caulder, the head of Moonbase 3 or as Dr Francis in Thirteen to Centaurus (from the anthology series Out of the Unknown).

He could also handle comedy, as he proved with Doctor in the House (1954) and the later Doctor in Distress (1963), both significant successes in Europe, and Carry On Jack (1963). Though preferring quality parts, he was not above journeyman work in films such as Tales That Witness Madness (1973) and Maniac (1963).

On 13 October 1991, Donald Houston died in Coimbra, Portugal at the age of 67.

Best films

The Red Beret (1953)
(Actor)

Usually with

Don Chaffey
Don Chaffey
(7 films)
John Bramall
John Bramall
(2 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Donald Houston (40 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Clash of the Titans, 1h58
Directed by Desmond Davis
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Horror, Peplum, Romance
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Films based on mythology, Giant monster films, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology, Dans la Grèce mythologique, Children's films, Robot films, Disaster films, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology
Actors Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Judi Bowker, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith
Roles Acrisius
Rating68% 3.449833.449833.449833.449833.44983
King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) imprisons his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor), jealous of her beauty. When the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her, Acrisius sends his daughter and his newborn grandson Perseus to sea in a wooden coffin. In retribution, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders Poseidon (Jack Gwillim) to release the last of the Titans, a gigantic sea monster called the Kraken, to destroy Argos. Meanwhile, Danaë and Perseus safely float to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.
The Sea Wolves, 2h
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films
Actors Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, David Niven, Trevor Howard, Barbara Kellerman, Patrick Macnee
Roles Hilliard
Rating62% 3.146783.146783.146783.146783.14678
During World War II, German submarines are sinking thousands of tons of British merchant shipping. British intelligence, based in India, believes that information is being passed to the U-Boats by a radio transmitter hidden on board one of three German merchant ships interned in Portuguese Goa. Since Portugal is neutral, the ships cannot be attacked by conventional forces.
Voyage of the Damned, 2h35
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War
Themes Seafaring films, Films about religion, Transport films, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, Malcolm McDowell
Roles Dr. Glauner
Rating63% 3.196113.196113.196113.196113.19611
Based on actual events, this film tells the story of the 1939 voyage of the MS St. Louis, which departed from Hamburg carrying 937 Jews from Germany, ostensibly to Havana, Cuba. The passengers, having seen and suffered rising anti-Semitism in Germany, realised this might be their only chance to escape. The film details the emotional journey of the passengers who gradually become aware that their passage was planned as an exercise in propaganda, and that it had never been intended that they disembark in Cuba. Rather, they were to be set up as Pariahs, to set an example before the world. As a Nazi official states in the film, when the whole world has refused to accept them as refugees, no country can blame Germany for the fate of the Jews.
Tales That Witness Madness, 1h30
Directed by Freddie Francis
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror
Themes Comedy horror films
Actors Donald Pleasence, Joan Collins, Kim Novak, Jack Hawkins, Georgia Brown, Donald Houston
Roles Sam Patterson (segment "Mr. Tiger")
Rating56% 2.8010052.8010052.8010052.8010052.801005
In the Framing Story, Dr. Tremayne (Donald Pleasence), a psychiatrist in a modern mental asylum, reveals a bold new psychiatric theory to colleague Dr. Nicholas (Jack Hawkins). Tremayne uses four patients who went insane - Paul, Timothy, Brian, and Auriol - to illustrate the theory, presenting each in turn to Nicholas:
Sunstruck
Sunstruck (1972)
, 1h32
Themes Films about education
Actors Harry Secombe, John Meillon, Donald Houston, Bobby Limb, Derek Nimmo, Stuart Wagstaff
Rating59% 2.9572952.9572952.9572952.9572952.957295
Stanley Evans, a Welsh schoolteacher, decides to emigrate to Australia for a better life but ends up working in a school in the dead-end town of Kookaburra Springs. He forms a school choir and decides to compete in a singing competition in Sydney. It is also known by the alternative title of Education of Stanley Evans.
My Lover, My Son, 1h36
Directed by John Newland
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about families, Films about sexuality
Actors Romy Schneider, Dennis Waterman, Donald Houston, Peter Sallis, Patricia Brake, Janet Brown
Roles Robert
Rating51% 2.566882.566882.566882.566882.56688
Francesca Anderson leads an unhappy marriage with her husband Robert. Her real attention is dedicated to her son James, who reminds her of her late lover Macer. Francesca is the only one who knows that James is not Robert's, but Macer's son. So Francesca reacts jealously when James falls in love with a girl friend, Julie.
The Bushbaby, 1h40
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Historical
Themes Children's films
Actors Louis Gossett Jr., Donald Houston, Laurence Naismith, Marne Maitland, Geoffrey Bayldon, Jack Gwillim
Roles John Leeds
Rating63% 3.1778353.1778353.1778353.1778353.177835
One night in the Kenyan grasslands, Jackie Leeds and her family's native friend and servant, Tembo Murumbi, chase a young galago about its preferred habitat, a baobab tree. Tembo catches the small animal and offers it to Jackie as a gift; she names the small bushbaby 'Komba'. A year or so passes since this first encounter, and one day at church, Komba's playfulness causes commotion, disrupting the daily hymn. Feeling defeated, the pastor yields the podium to Professor Crankshaw, who takes the opportunity to bid farewell to a number of church members. Jackie notices that Crankshaw, 'Cranky' as she calls him, looks firmly into her father's eyes as he speaks, and she becomes alarmed. After church, Jackie's suspicions are confirmed when her father explains that, due to the new powers in Kenya's government, his employment as a game warden is likely to be terminated. They'll leave for London where he'll fill an opening at the zoo. Jackie is upset at the news, specially when she learns that Komba will have to be left behind. For Jackie, leaving Africa means leaving the home she's known all of her life: her school, her friends, and the grave of her mother, Penelope Leeds, who had been killed in the uprising of 1961.
Where Eagles Dare, 2h38
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical
Themes Spy films, Political films
Actors Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Patrick Wymark, Michael Hordern, William Squire
Roles Christiansen
Rating75% 3.79943.79943.79943.79943.7994
In the winter of 1943–44, U.S. Army Brigadier General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty), a chief planner of the second front, is captured by the Germans when his aircraft is shot down en route to Crete. He is taken for interrogation to the Schloss Adler, a fortress high in the Alps of southern Bavaria. A team of Allied commandos, led by British Major John Smith (Richard Burton) and U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood), is briefed by Colonel Turner (Patrick Wymark) and Admiral Rolland (Michael Hordern) of MI6. Their mission is to parachute in, infiltrate the castle, and rescue General Carnaby before the Germans can interrogate him. MI6 Agent Mary Elison (Mary Ure) accompanies the mission in secret, her presence known only to Major Smith.
The Viking Queen, 1h31
Directed by Don Chaffey
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Action, Adventure, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa
Actors Don Murray, Denis Shaw, Donald Houston, Andrew Keir, Adrienne Corri, Niall MacGinnis
Roles Maelgan
Rating51% 2.55752.55752.55752.55752.5575
According to her father's wishes, Queen Salinas agrees to share the rule of Icena with Justinian, a Roman. This decision angers both the bloodthirsty Druids and Romans less just than Justinian. As the two rulers fall in love, the Druids and the Romans begin to plot their downfall. It's not long before the hills of Britain are stained with the lovers blood.
A Study in Terror, 1h35
Directed by James Hill (réalisateur britannique), James Hill
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror, Crime
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Sherlock Holmes films, Serial killer films, Erotic thriller films, Buddy films
Actors John Neville, Donald Houston, John Fraser, Barry Jones, Anthony Quayle, Robert Morley
Roles Doctor Watson
Rating64% 3.2455753.2455753.2455753.2455753.245575
Although it is based on Conan Doyle's characters, the story is an original one, which has the famous detective on the trail of Jack the Ripper. In the dark alleys of nineteenth century London, the notorious Jack the Ripper committed a series of gruesome murders. The story of A Study in Terror challenges Sherlock Holmes to solve these horrific crimes. This leads Holmes through a trail of aristocracy, blackmail, and family insanity. Unlike Scotland Yard, and the real-life story, Holmes exposes the identity of the Ripper.
Carry On Jack, 1h31
Directed by Gerald Thomas
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy
Themes Seafaring films, Films about sexuality, Transport films, Erotic films, Political films, Napoleonic Wars films, French Revolution films
Actors Kenneth Williams, Bernard Cribbins, Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey, Donald Houston, Cecil Parker
Roles First Officer Jonathan Howett
Rating58% 2.902712.902712.902712.902712.90271
Carry On Jack starts with the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson (Jimmy Thompson) whose last words are that Britain needs a bigger navy with more men, followed by his famous request for a kiss to Hardy (Anton Rodgers), upon which he meets his demise. In the main story, Albert Poop-Decker (Bernard Cribbins) has taken 8⁄2 years and still not qualified as midshipman, but is promoted by the First Sea Lord (Cecil Parker) as England needs officers. He is to join the frigate Venus at Plymouth. Arriving to find the crew all celebrating as they are sailing tomorrow, he takes a sedan chair with no bottom (so he has to run), carried by a young man and his father (Jim Dale and Ian Wilson, respectively) to Dirty Dick's Tavern.
633 Squadron, 1h41
Directed by Walter Grauman
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Historical
Themes Transport films, Aviation films, Political films
Actors Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy, Harry Andrews, Donald Houston, Michael Goodliffe
Roles Group Captain Don Barrett
Rating63% 3.1976853.1976853.1976853.1976853.197685
When Norwegian resistance leader Lieutenant Erik Bergman travels to Great Britain to report the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's No. 633 Squadron is assigned to destroy it. The squadron is led by Wing Commander Roy Grant, an ex-Eagle Squadron pilot (U.S. fighter pilots serving in the RAF before America entered the war).
Doctor in Distress, 1h42
Directed by Ralph Thomas
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy
Themes Medical-themed films
Actors Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, Samantha Eggar, Barbara Murray, Mylène Demongeot, Leo McKern
Roles Major Tommy French
Rating56% 2.8078152.8078152.8078152.8078152.807815
Simon Sparrow, now a senior doctor at Hampden Cross Hospital, falls in love with Delia, a model and aspiring actress. They eventually move in together, but then she goes to Italy to try out for a film.
Maniac
Maniac (1963)
, 1h26
Directed by Michael Carreras
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Horror, Crime, Romance
Actors Kerwin Mathews, Donald Houston, Nadia Gray, Liliane Brousse, George Pastell, Norman Bird
Roles Georges
Rating59% 2.953682.953682.953682.953682.95368
The story tells of vacationing American artist Jeff Farrell who becomes romantically involved with an older woman named Eve Beynat, in southern France, while harboring some attraction for her teenage stepdaughter Annette. Eve's husband/Annette's father Georges is in an asylum for, four years ago, using a blowtorch to kill a man who had raped Annette. Believing it will help make Eve his for life, Jeff agrees to assist her in springing Georges from the asylum. Of course, Eve has a completely different agenda in mind . . .