“JOHN HUSTON” (1906-1987): ONE OF THE BEST FILM DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER FROM 20th CENTURY

John Marcellus Huston (August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American-Irish film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), The Misfits (1961), Fat City (1972) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975). During his 46-year career, Huston received 15 Oscar nominations, won twice, and directed both his father, Walter Huston, and daughter, Anjelica Huston, to Oscar wins in different films.

Huston was known to direct with the vision of an artist, having studied and worked as a fine art painter in Paris in his early years. He continued to explore the visual aspects of his films throughout his career: sketching each scene on paper beforehand, then carefully framing his characters during the shooting. While most directors rely on post-production editing to shape their final work, Huston instead created his films while they were being shot, making them both more economical and cerebral, with little editing needed.

Most of Huston's films were adaptations of important novels, often depicting a "heroic quest," as in Moby Dick, or The Red Badge of Courage. In many films, different groups of people, while struggling toward a common goal, would become doomed, forming "destructive alliances," giving the films a dramatic and visual tension. Many of his films involved themes such as religion, meaning, truth, freedom, psychology, colonialism and war.

Before becoming a Hollywood filmmaker, he had been an amateur boxer, reporter, short-story writer, portrait artist in Paris, a cavalry rider in Mexico, and a documentary filmmaker during World War II. Huston has been referred to as "a titan", "a rebel", and a "renaissance man" in the Hollywood film industry. Author Ian Freer describes him as "cinema's Ernest Hemingway"—a filmmaker who was "never afraid to tackle tough issues head on."

Early career as writer

During his stay in Mexico, he wrote a play called "Frankie and Johnny", based on the ballad of the same title. After selling it easily, he decided that writing would be a viable career, and he focused on it. His self-esteem was enhanced when H. L. Mencken, editor of the popular magazine, American Mercury, bought two of his stories, "Fool" and "Figures of Fighting Men." During subsequent years his stories and feature articles were published in Esquire, Theatre Arts, and The New York Times. He also worked for a period on the New York Graphic. In 1931, when he was 25, he moved back to Los Angeles with his hopes aimed at writing for the blossoming film industry, where the silent film industry had given way to "talkies", and writers were in demand.^[8] In addition, his father had earlier moved there where he was already successful in a number of films.

He received a script editing contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions, but after six months of receiving no assignments, quit to work for Universal Studios, where his father was by then a star. At Universal, he got a job in the script department, and began by writing dialogue for a number of films in 1932, including Murders in the Rue Morgue, A House Divided, and Law and Order. The last two also starred his father, Walter Huston. In addition, House Divided was directed by William Wyler, who gave Huston his first real "inside view" of the filmmaking process during all stages of production. Wyler and Huston would also later become close friends and collaborators on a number of leading films.

Huston gained a reputation as a "lusty, hard-drinking libertine" during his first years as a writer in Hollywood. Huston describes those years as a "series of misadventures and disappointments", however. His brief career as a Hollywood writer ended suddenly after a car he was driving struck and killed actress Tosca Roulien, wife of actor Raul Roulien. There is a rumor that it was actually Clark Gable that was actually to blame for the hit and run but MGM General Manager, Eddie Mannix, paid Houston to take the blame. He was absolved of blame by a coroner's jury, but the incident left him "traumatized" nonetheless, and he moved to London and Paris, living as a "drifter."

By 1937, after five years, the 31-year-old Huston returned to Hollywood intent on being a "serious writer." He also married Lesley Black. His first job was as scriptwriter with Warner Brothers Studio, with his personal longterm goal of directing his own scripts. For the next four years, he co-wrote scripts for major films such as Jezebel, The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, Juarez, Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and Sergeant York (1941). He was nominated for an Academy Award for his writing both Ehrlich and Sergeant York. Huston writes that Sergeant York, which was directed by Howard Hawks, has "gone down as one of Howard's best pictures, and Gary Cooper had a triumph playing the young mountaineer.

Huston was becoming a recognized and respected screenwriter. He was able to persuade Warners to give him a chance to direct, under the condition that his next script also became a hit. Huston writes:

They indulged me rather. They liked my work as a writer and they wanted to keep me on. If I wanted to direct, why, they'd give me a shot at it, and if it didn't come off all that well, they wouldn't be too disappointed as it was to be a very small picture.

The next script he was given to work on was High Sierra (1941), to be directed by Raoul Walsh. The film became the hit Huston wanted. It also made Humphrey Bogart a star with his first major role, as a gunman on the run. Warners kept their end of the bargain, and gave Huston his choice of subject.

SCREENWRITER AND DIRECTOR

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

For his first directing assignment, Huston chose Dashiell Hammett's detective thriller, The Maltese Falcon, a film which had already failed at the box office in two earlier versions by Warners. However, studio head Jack L. Warner approved of Huston's treatment of Hammett's 1930 novel, as he stood by his word to let Huston choose his first subject.

Huston kept the screenplay close to the novel, keeping much of Hammett's dialogue, and directing it in an uncluttered style, much like the book's narrative. He also did the unusual preparation for this, his first directing job, by sketching out each shot beforehand, including camera positions, lighting, and compositional scale, for such things as closeups.

He especially benefited by selecting a superior cast, giving Humphrey Bogart the lead role. Bogart was happy to take the role, as he liked working with Huston. In addition, the supporting cast included other noted actors: Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet (his first film role), and his own father, Walter Huston. The film, however, was given only a small B-movie budget, and received minimal publicity by Warners, as they had low expectations. The entire film was made in eight weeks for only $300,000.

Upon receiving immediate enthusiastic response by the public and critics, Warners was surprised. Critics hailed the film as a "classic", and up until the present day it is claimed by many to be the "best detective melodrama ever made." Herald Tribune critic Howard Barnes called it a "triumph."Huston again received an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay. After this film, Huston would from then on direct all of his screenplays, except for one, Three Strangers (1946).In 1942, he directed two more hits, In This Our Life (1942), starring Bette Davis, and Across the Pacific, another thriller starring Humphrey Bogart.

 

Army years during World War II

In 1942 he served in the United States Army during World War II to make films for the Army Signal Corps. While in uniform with the rank of captain, he directed and produced three films that some critics rank as "among the finest made about World War II: Report from the Aleutians (1943), about soldiers preparing for combat; The Battle of San Pietro (1945), the story (censored by the Army) of a failure by America's intelligence agencies which resulted in many deaths, and Let There Be Light(1946), about psychologically damaged veterans, also censored for 35 years, until 1981.

Years later, after moving to Ireland, his daughter, actress Anjelica Huston, recalled that the "main movies we watched were the war documentaries."

Huston did an uncredited rewrite of Anthony Veiller's screenplay for The Stranger (1946), a film he was to have directed. When Huston became unavailable Orson Welles was offered the opportunity to direct. He had been cast in the role of a high-ranking Nazi fugitive who manages to settle in New England under an assumed name.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

His next picture, which he wrote, directed, and briefly appeared in as an American, asked to "help out a fellow American, down on his luck", was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). It would become one of the films which established his reputation as a leading filmmaker. The film, also starring Humphrey Bogart, was the story of three drifters who band together to prospect for gold. Huston also gave a supporting role to his father, Walter Huston.

Hollywood writer James Agee called it "one of the most beautiful and visually alive movies I have ever seen." Time magazine described it as "one of the best things Hollywood has done since it learned to talk." Huston won Oscars for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay; his father won for Best Supporting Actor. It also won other awards in the U.S. and overseas. Film Comment magazine devoted four pages to the film in its May–June 1980 edition, with author Richard T. Jameson offering his impressions:

This film has impressed itself on the heart and mind and soul of anyone who has seen it, to the extent that filmmakers of great originality and distinctiveness like Robert Altman and Sam Peckinpah can be said to have remade it again and again ... without compromising its uniqueness.

Also in 1948 he directed his next film, Key Largo, again with Humphrey Bogart starring. It was the story about a disillusioned returning veteran clashing with gangsters on a remote Florida key. It co-starred Lauren Bacall, Claire Trevor, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore. The film was an adaptation of the stage play by Maxwell Anderson, and the film itself seemed overly stage-bound for many viewers. However, the "outstanding performances" by all the actors saved the film, and Claire Trevor won an Oscar for best supporting actress. Huston was annoyed that the studio cut several scenes from the final release without his agreement. That, along with some earlier disputes, angered Huston enough that he left the studio when his contract expired.

 

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

In 1950 he wrote and directed The Asphalt Jungle, a film which broke new ground by depicting criminals as somewhat sympathetic characters, simply doing their professional work, "an occupation like any other", or what Huston calls "a left-handed form of human endeavor." Huston achieved that effect by giving "deep attention" to the plot, involving a large jewelry theft, by examining the minute, step by step details and difficulties each of the characters had of carrying it out. In doing so, some critics felt that Huston had achieved an almost "documentary" style. His assistant director Albert Band explains further:

I'll never forget it. We got on that set and he composed a shot in which ten elements were working all at the same time. Took half a day to do it, but it was fantastic. He knew exactly how to shoot a picture. His shots were all painted on the spot... He had a great eye and he never lost his sense of composition.

It starred Sterling Hayden and Huston's personal friend, Sam Jaffe. It also became the first serious role for Marilyn Monroe, according to Huston: "it was, of course, where Marilyn Monroe got her start." Monroe said Huston was the first genius she had ever met; and he made her feel that she finally had a chance of becoming a professional actress:

The film succeeded at the box office and Huston was again nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay and best director, along with winning the Screen Directors Guild Award. It would subsequently become a model for many similar movies by other filmmakers.

 

The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

After completing The Asphalt Jungle, Huston's next film, The Red Badge of Courage (1951), was of a completely different subject: war and its effect on soldiers. While in the army during World War II, he became interested in Stephen Crane's classic American Civil War novel of the same title. For the starring role, Huston chose World War II hero Audie Murphy to play the young Union soldier who deserts his company out of fear, but later returns to fight alongside them. 

 

The African Queen (1951)

Before the Asphalt Jungle opened in theaters, Huston was already in Africa shooting The African Queen (1951), a story based on C. S. Forester's popular novel. It starred Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in a combination of romance, comedy and adventure. Barson calls it "one of the most popular Hollywood movies of all time." The film's producer, Sam Spiegel, urged Huston to change the ending to allow the protagonists to survive, instead of dying. Huston agreed, and the ending was rewritten. It became Huston's most successful film financially, and "it remains one of his finest works." Huston was nominated for two Academy Awards—Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Bogart, meanwhile, won his only Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Charlie Allnut. Hepburn wrote about her experiences shooting the film in her memoir, The Making of the African Queen: Or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall, and Huston and almost lost my mind.

Moby Dick (1956)

Huston took producing, writing, and directing credits for his next two films: Moulin Rouge (1952); and Beat the Devil (1953). Moby Dick (1956), however, was written by Ray Bradbury, although Huston had his name added to the screenplay credit after the completion of the project. Although Huston had personally hired Bradbury to adapt Herman Melville's novel into a screenplay, Bradbury and Huston did not get along during pre-production, and Bradbury later dramatized their relationship in the short story "Banshee"; Peter O'Toole would later play the role based on John Huston when "Banshee" was adapted into an episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater. Bradbury wrote more poems, essays, and stories on his time in Ireland, but was reluctant to write a book because he did not want to gossip about Huston. It was not until after he read Katharine Hepburn's memoir The Making of the African Queen: Or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall, and Huston and almost lost my mind that he decided that he could write "a book which is fair, which presents the Huston that I loved along with the one that I began to fear on occasion." He published Green Shadows, White Whale, a novelization of his time in Ireland with Huston, almost 40 years after he wrote the screenplay for Moby Dick.

Huston had been planning to film Herman Melville's Moby-Dick for the previous ten years, and originally saw it as an excellent part for his father, Walter Huston. However, his father died in 1950, and he chose Gregory Peck to play the starring role of Captain Ahab. The movie was filmed over a three-year period on location in Ireland, where Huston was then living. The fishing village of New Bedford, Massachusetts was recreated along the waterfront; the sailing ship in the film was fully constructed to be seaworthy; and three 100-foot whales were built out of steel, wood, and plastic. However, the film failed at the box office, with some critics, like David Robinson, suggesting that the movie lacked the "mysticism of the book" and thereby "loses its significance."

 

The Misfits (1961)

Of his next five films, only The Misfits (1961), found critical approval. However, critics have noted the "retrospective atmosphere of doom" which now hangs over the film. Clark Gable, the star, died of a heart attack a few days after the filming was completed; Marilyn Monroe never did another film and died a year later; and costars Montgomery Clift and Thelma Ritter also died over the next few years. During the filming itself, Monroe was often on drugs of various kinds, which led to her arriving late on the set and often forgetting her lines. Monroe's problems also led to the breakup of her marriage to the film's scriptwriter, Arthur Miller, "virtually on set." Miller dramatized the making of The Misfits in his final play, Finishing the Picture, where Huston is represented as the director. 

 

The Night of the Iguana (1964)[edit]

For his next film, Huston once again traveled down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after meeting an architect by the name of Guillermo Wulff who owned property and businesses in the town. The filming would take place in a beach cove called Mismaloya, about thirty minutes south of town. Huston adapted the stage play by Tennessee Williams. The film stars Richard Burton and Ava Gardner, and was nominated for several Academy Awards. Production attracted intense worldwide media attention, due to Burton bringing his celebrity mistress Elizabeth Taylor  to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Huston liked the town where filming took place so much that he bought a house near there.

The Bible: In the Beginning (1966)

Producer Dino De Laurentis traveled to Ireland to ask Huston to direct The Bible: In the Beginning. Although De Laurentis had ambitions for a broader story, he realized that the subject could not be adequately covered and limited the story to the first half of the Book of Genesis. Huston enjoyed directing the film, as it gave him a chance to indulge his love of animals. Besides directing he also played the role of Noah and the voice of God. The film did poorly at the box office, however, and at a cost of 18 million dollars, it was the most expensive movie in his career. Huston likes describing details about the filming:

Every morning before beginning work, I visited the animals. One of the elephants, Candy, loved to be scratched on the belly behind her foreleg. I'd scratch her and she would lean farther and farther toward me until there was some danger of her toppling over on me. One time I started to walk away from her, and she reached out and took my wrist with her trunk and pulled me back to her side. It was a command: "Don't stop!" I used it in the picture. Noah scratches the elephant's belly and walks away, and the elephant pulls him back to her time after time.

 

Fat City (1972)

After several films that were not well received, Huston returned to critical acclaim with Fat City. Based on Leonard Gardner's 1969 novel of the same name, it was about an aging, washed-up alcoholic boxer in Stockton, California trying to get his name back on the map, while having a new relationship with a world weary alcoholic, and an amateur boxer trying to find success in boxing. The film was nominated for several awards upon its release. It starred Stacy Keach, a young Jeff Bridges, and Susan Tyrrell, in which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Roger Ebert stated Fat City as one of Huston's best films, giving it four out of four stars.

 

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Perhaps Huston's most highly regarded film of the 1970s, The Man Who Would Be King was both a critical and commercial success. Huston had been planning to make this film since the '50s, originally with his friends Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable. Eventually the lead roles went to Sean Connery and Michael Caine. The movie was filmed on location in North Africa. The film was praised for its use of old fashioned escapism and entertainment. Steven Spielberg has cited the film as one of his inspirations for his film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

Wise Blood (1979)

After filming The Man Who Would Be King, Huston took his longest break between directing films. He returned with an offbeat and somewhat controversial film based on the novel Wise Blood. Here, Huston showed his skills as a storyteller, and boldness when it came to difficult subjects such as religion.

Under the Volcano (1984)

Huston's last film set in Mexico stars Albert Finney as an alcoholic ambassador during the beginnings of World War II. The film gained a strong critical reception, most notably for Finney's portrayal of a desperate and depressed alcoholic. The film was also a success on the independent circuit.

The Dead (1987)

John Huston's final film is an adaptation of the classic short story by James Joyce. This may have been one of Huston's most personal films, due to his citizenship in Ireland and his passion for classic literature. Huston directed most of the film from a wheelchair, as he needed an oxygen tank to breathe during the last few months of his life. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, and was praised by critics. Roger Ebert eventually placed it in his Great Movies list; a section of movies he claims to be some of the best ever made. Huston died nearly four months before the film's release date. In the 1996 RTE documentary John Huston: An t-Éireannach, Anjelica said that "it was very important for my father to make that film." She contends that Huston did not think that it was going to be his last film, but that it was his love letter to Ireland and the Irish.

Filmography:

Director

Year	Film	Notes
1941	The Maltese Falcon	Nominated-Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay
1942	In This Our Life
	Across the Pacific
1946	Let There Be Light	Documentary
1948	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Golden Globe Award for Best Director New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Nominated—Venice Film Festival Grand International Award
	Key Largo
1949	We Were Strangers
1950	The Asphalt Jungle	National Board of Review Award for Best Director Nominated—Academy Award for Best Director Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Director Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Nominated—Venice Film Festival Golden Lion
1951	The Red Badge of Courage
	The African Queen	Nominated—Academy Award for Best Director Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director
1952	Moulin Rouge	Venice Film Festival Silver Lion Nominated—Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated—Academy Award for Best Director Nominated—Venice Film Festival Golden Lion
1953	Beat the Devil
1956	Moby Dick	Silver Ribbon for Best Foreign Film National Board of Review Award for Best Director New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
1957	Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison	Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
1958	The Barbarian and the Geisha
	The Roots of Heaven
1960	The Unforgiven
	The Misfits	Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
1962	Freud	Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Director Nominated—Golden Bear for Best Motion Picture
1963	The List of Adrian Messenger
1964	The Night of the Iguana	Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Director
1966	The Bible	Nominated—David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director
1967	Reflections in a Golden Eye
	Casino Royale
1969	Sinful Davey
	A Walk with Love and Death
1970	The Kremlin Letter
1972	Fat City
	The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
1973	The Mackintosh Man
1975	The Man Who Would Be King
1976	Independence	Documentary
1979	Wise Blood	Nominated—Gold Hugo for Best Feature Nominated— San Sebastián International Film Festival for Best Film
1980	Phobia
1981	Victory	Nominated—Moscow International Film Festival Golden Prize
1982	Annie
1984	Under the Volcano	Nominated—Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or
1985	Prizzi's Honor	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director Golden Globe Award for Best Director National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Venice Film Festival Golden Ciak for Best Film Nominated—Academy Award for Best Director Nominated—David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated—Silver Ribbon for Best Foreign Director Nominated—Venice Film Festival Golden Lion
1987	The Dead	Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film French Syndicate of Cinema Critics for Best Foreign Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Director London Film Critics Circle Award for Director of the Year Silver Guild Film Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated—David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film Nominated—David di Donatello for Best Foreign Director Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director Nominated—Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix

 

Screenwriter

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1930	The Storm	William Wyler	(written with Charles Logue, Langdon McCormick, Tom Reed, and Wells Root)
1931	A House Divided	William Wyler	(written with John B. Clymer, Olive Edens, and Dale Van Every)
1932	Murders in the Rue Morgue	Robert Florey	(written with Tom Reed, and Dale Van Every)
1935	Death Drives Through	Edward L. Cahn	(written with Katherine Strueby, and Gordon Wellesley)
	It Happened in Paris	Robert Wyler Carol Reed	(written with Katherine Strueby, H. F. Maltby)
1938	The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse	Anatole Litvak	(written with John Wexley)
	Jezebel	William Wyler	(written with Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, and Robert Buckner)
1940	Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet	William Dieterle	(written with Norman Burnstine and Heinz Herald) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
1941	High Sierra	Raoul Walsh	(written with W. R. Burnett)
	The Maltese Falcon	Himself	Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
	Sergeant York	Howard Hawks	(written with Abem Finkel, Harry Chandler, and Howard Koch) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
1946	The Killers	Robert Siodmak	(written with Anthony Veiller) (uncredited)
	The Three Strangers	Jean Negulesco	(written with Howard Koch)
1948	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	Himself	Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay National Board of Review Award for Best Screenplay Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Western Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
	Key Largo	Himself	(written with Richard Brooks) Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
1949	We Were Strangers	Himself	(written with Peter Viertel)
1950	The Asphalt Jungle	Himself	(written with Ben Maddow) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene) Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
1951	The African Queen	Himself	(written with James Agee) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
1952	Moulin Rouge	Himself	(written with Anthony Veiller) Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
1953	Beat the Devil	Himself	(written with Truman Capote)
1956	Moby Dick	Himself	(written with Ray Bradbury) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay (2nd place)
1957	Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison	Himself	(written with John Lee Mahin) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
1961	The Asphalt Jungle	Herman Hoffman	(written with Ben Maddow; teleplay by George Bellak) Television; episode "The Professor"
1964	The Night of the Iguana	Himself	(written with Anthony Veiller) Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama
1970	The Kremlin Letter	Himself	(written with Gladys Hill)
1975	The Man Who Would Be King	Himself	(written with Gladys Hill) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium
1988	Mr. North	Danny Huston	(written with Janet Roach and James Costigan)

 

Actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	The Shakedown	Extra	Directed by William Wyler Uncredited
	Hell's Heroes	Bit part	Directed by William Wyler Uncredited
1930	The Storm	Extra	Directed by William Wyler Uncredited
1948	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	American in Tampico in White Suit	Also director Uncredited
1949	We Were Strangers	Señor Muñoz	Also director Uncredited
1951	The Red Badge of Courage	Grizzled union veteran	Also director Uncredited
1956	Moby Dick	Barman / ship's lookout (voice)	Also director Uncredited
1961	The Misfits	Extra in Blackjack scene	Also director Uncredited
1962	Freud: The Secret Passion	Narrator	Also director Uncredited
	The List of Adrian Messenger	Lord Ashton	Also director Uncredited
1963	The Cardinal	Glennon	Directed by Otto Preminger Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance
1966	The Bible	Noah	Also director
	The Legend of Marilyn Monroe	Narrator	Directed by Terry Sanders
1967	Casino Royale	M / General McTarry	Also co-director
1968	Candy	Dr. Arnold Dunlap	Directed by Christian Marquand
1969	De Sade	The Abbe	Directed by Cy Endfield
	A Walk with Love and Death	Robert the Elder	Also director
1970	The Kremlin Letter	Admiral	Also director
	Myra Breckinridge	Buck Loner	Directed by Michael Sarne
1971	The Bridge in the Jungle	Sleigh	Directed by Pancho Kohner
	The Deserter	General Miles	Directed by Burt Kennedy
	Man in the Wilderness	Captain Henry	Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
1972	Appointment with Destiny	Narrator	Episode: "The Crucifixion of Jesus"
	The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean	Grizzly Adams	Also director
1973	Battle for the Planet of the Apes	The Lawgiver	Directed by J. Lee Thompson
1974	Chinatown	Noah Cross	Directed by Roman Polanski Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1975	Breakout	Harris Wagner	Directed by Tom Gries
	The Wind and the Lion	John Hay	Directed by John Milius
1976	Sherlock Holmes in New York	Professor Moriarty	Directed by Boris Sagal
1977	The Rhinemann Exchange	Ambassador Henderson Granville
	Tentacles	Ned Turner	Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis
	Angela	Hogan	Directed by Boris Sagal
	The Hobbit	Gandalf	Directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
1978	The Greatest Battle	Sean O'Hara	Directed by Umberto Lenzi
	The Bermuda Triangle	Edward	Directed by René Cardona, Jr.
	The Word	Nathan Randall	TV miniseries
1979	The Visitor	Jerzy Colsowicz	Directed by Giulio Paradisi
	Winter Kills	Pa Kegan	Directed by William Richert
	Wise Blood	Grandfather	Also director
	Jaguar Lives!	Ralph Richards	Directed by Ernest Pintoff
1980	The Return of the King	Gandalf	Directed by Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr.
	Head On	Clarke Hill	Directed by Michael Grant
1982	Cannery Row	Narrator	Directed by David S. Ward
	Annie	Actor on radio	Also director Uncredited
1983	Lovesick	Larry Geller, M.D.	Directed by Marshall Brickman
	A Minor Miracle	Father Cardenas	Directed by Raoul Lomas
1985	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Carlos Narrator	Episode: "Pilot" Segment: "Man from the South"
	Epic	Narrator	Directed by Yoram Gross
	The Black Cauldron	Narrator
1986	Momo	Meister Hora	Directed by Johannes Schaaf
1987	Mister Corbett's Ghost	Soul collector	Directed by Danny Huston
2018	The Other Side of the Wind	Jake Hannaford	Directed Orson Welles