James Donald

James Donald Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: May 18, 1917

Death Date: August 3, 1993

Birth Place: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

The film career of Scotsman James Donald began in earnest with the role of Theo Van Gogh, opposite Kirk Douglas as Vincent, in the 1956 biopic "Lust for Life." Two years later, he had another one of his more famous film opportunities alongside Douglas once again, this time as a manly rather than a sensitive sibling in the 1958 adventure "The Vikings." But it was the movie that Donald made in between, David Lean's timeless wartime drama "Bridge on the River Kwai," that forever stamped the Scot in the cinematic consciousness. At the end of epic battle between the characters played by Alec Guinness and William Holden, it was Donald as Major Clipton who got to utter the famous final line of dialogue, "Madness. Madness!"

In 1963, Donald was part of another one of the great World War II movies of all-time, "The Great Escape," starring as Group Captain Ramsey, the senior British officer interned in the German POW camp at the center of the fact-inspired Steve McQueen classic. Some of the actor's other performances of note include yet another World War II POW film, 1965's "King Rat," set in Singapore, and the co-starring role of Nathaniel Winkle in a 1952 version of Charles Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers."

Credits

The Big Sleep

Actor
Inspector Gregory
Movie
1978

Conduct Unbecoming

Actor
The Doctor
Movie
1975

The Royal Hunt of the Sun

Actor
King Carlos
Movie
1969

David Copperfield

Actor
Mr. Murdstone
Movie
1969

Destiny of a Spy

Actor
Sir Martin Rolfe
Movie
1969

Five Million Years to Earth

Actor
Dr. Mathew Roney
Movie
1967
88%

Cast a Giant ShadowStream

Actor
Maj. Safir
Movie
1966

The Enemy on the Beach

Actor
Commander John McAuliffe
Movie
1965

Pygmalion

Actor
Henry Higgins
Show
1963

The Great EscapeStream

Actor
Group Capt. Ramsey 'The SBO'
Movie
1963
94%

Ben Casey

Guest Star
Dr. Alvin MacKenzie
Series
1961

Victoria Regina

Actor
Prince Albert
Movie
1961

Third Man on the Mountain

Actor
Franz Lerner
Movie
1959

Walt Disney Presents

Actor
Show
1958

The Vikings

Actor
Egbert
Movie
1958

The DuPont Show of the Month

Actor
Sydney Carton
Show
1957

The Bridge on the River KwaiStream

Actor
Major Clipton
Movie
1957
96%

Lust for LifeStream

Actor
Theo Van Gogh
Movie
1956
86%

Alfred Hitchcock PresentsStream

Actor
Mark Cavendish
Series
1955

Beau BrummellStream

Actor
Lord Edwin Mercer
Movie
1954

The Net

Actor
Prof. Michael Heathley
Movie
1953

Project M-7

Actor
Prof. Michael Heathley
Movie
1953

The Pickwick Papers

Actor
Nathaniel Winkle
Movie
1952

Pickwick Papers

Actor
Nathaniel Winkle
Movie
1952

The Gift Horse

Actor
Lt. Richard Jennings
Movie
1952

The Hideout

Actor
Murray Byrne
Movie
1951

White Corridors

Actor
Neil Marriner
Movie
1951

Cage of Gold

Actor
Dr Alan Keam
Movie
1950

Brandy for the Parson

Actor
Bill Harper
Movie
1950

Trottie True

Actor
Lord Digby Landon
Movie
1949

Edward, My SonStream

Actor
Bronton
Movie
1949

The Small Voice

Actor
Murray Byrne
Movie
1948

Broken Journey

Actor
Bill Haverton
Movie
1948

The Way Ahead

Actor
Pvt. Evans Lloyd
Movie
1944

The Immortal Battalion

Actor
Pvt. Evans Lloyd
Movie
1944

In Which We Serve

Actor
Doc
Movie
1942