Denis Shaw

Acting

Denis Shaw

Born 1921-04-07 · Dulwich, London, England, UK

Douglas "Denis" Findlay Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor who specialized in portraying villains. Shaw was born in Dulwich on 7 February 1921. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was frequently cast as villains in films and television shows, most notably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story (1955), as well as a number of British horror films including Jack the Ripper (1959), The Mummy (1959) and The Curse of the Werewolf (1961). He was cast in the leading role of The Great Van Robbery (1959) as the judo-throwing Interpol detective Caesar Smith. Shaw's television credits include The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Avengers, Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, The Prisoner, Sherlock Holmes and Z-Cars. Shaw died from a heart attack in London on 28 February 1971, at the age of 50. A familiar face around the bars of Soho in London, he is mentioned in Keith Waterhouse's play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell.

Acting credits

The Mummy poster
6.7

One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis, high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel, wife of one of the explorers, resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate.

The Mummy

1959

The Curse of the Werewolf poster
6.5

A child conceived by a mute servant girl transforms from an innocent youth to a killer beast at night with uncontrollable urges.

The Curse of the Werewolf

1961

The Man Who Could Cheat Death poster
5.8

Dr. Bonner plans to live forever through periodic gland transplants from younger, healthier human victims. Bonner looks about 40; he's really 104 years old. But people are starting to get suspicious, and he may not make 200.

The Man Who Could Cheat Death

1959

Naked Fury poster
7.0

A gang of thieves led by American Eddy (Reed de Rouen) kill a security guard during a botched safe robbery and flee with his daughter (Leigh Madison) as a hostage. They hide out in a dangerously unstable old warehouse for a couple of days awaiting their getaway ship to sail, but Johnny (Kenneth Cope) falls for the girl - provoking a serious falling-out and a violent conclusion to the disastrous heist.

Naked Fury

1959

Innocent Meeting poster
6.7

The daughter of a textile company owner falls in love with a young illustrator with a secret criminal past.

Innocent Meeting

1959

Carry On Regardless poster
6.2

After a bunch of no-hopers approaches an employment agency, the anarchy mounts as they do a series of odd jobs, including a chimp's tea party, trying to stay sober at a wine tasting… and demolishing a house.

Carry On Regardless

1961

Forbidden Cargo poster
6.9

Kenyon is a narcotics agent who, with the aid of a titled bird-watcher attempts to trap a brother and sister drug smuggling team.

Forbidden Cargo

1954

The Viking Queen poster
4.8

Set in ancient Britain, at a time when much of Europe was ruled with harsh tyranny by Rome, a tribe of Britons led by Selina, set out to defy the invaders and discard their yoke of bondage. The Roman commander, Justinian, is sent to quell the uprising, punishing the dissenters with brute force but when he becomes emotionally attached to Selina, he is torn between his duty to Rome and his love for the Viking Queen.

The Viking Queen

1967

The Colditz Story poster
6.8

The Germans believed that no man could escape from Colditz Castle, set as it was in the heart of the Reich, 400 miles from any neutral frontier. This film, based on Pat Reid's epic novel, tells the story of how the British, French, Dutch and Polish prisoners of war who were incarcerated in Colditz set out to prove their captors wrong.

The Colditz Story

1955

The Pirates of Blood River poster
6.2

A group of ruthless pirates attack a 17th Century Huguenot settlement on the Isle of Devon in search of treasure and will stop at nothing to obtain it.

The Pirates of Blood River

1962

The Deadly Affair poster
6.3

Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.

The Deadly Affair

1967

Let's Be Happy poster
5.4

On receiving an inheritance from her grandfather, Canadian Jeannie MacLean decides to visit the family's Scottish roots. On the plane she meets businessman Stanley Smith, and romance blossoms in Edinburgh. The complications begin when Stanley breaks a date with Jeannie to woo voluptuous redhead Helene, and Jeannie is flattered by the attentions of the impoverished Lord McNairn; he's heard about her good fortune, and gallantly offers to show her the city.

Let's Be Happy

1957

The Criminal poster
6.4

When a robbery at a racetrack goes wrong ex-con Johnny Bannion is caught and sent back to prison. He won't tell the rest of the gang where he has stashed the loot leading to violent consequences.

The Criminal

1960

Jack the Ripper poster
6.2

A serial killer is murdering women in the Whitechapel district of London. An American policeman is brought in to help Scotland Yard solve the case.

Jack the Ripper

1959

The File of the Golden Goose poster
5.7

U.S. Secret Service agent Peter Novak goes undercover with Scotland Yard officer Thompson to halt a murderous gang of counterfeiters known as the Golden Goose. Although Peter is unsure about John's loyalties, the two infiltrate the gang and win the trust of thug Nick "The Owl" Harrison before enduring a series of double-crosses.

The File of the Golden Goose

1969

Port Afrique poster
5.9

An army veteran with a shattered leg returns to his home in Port Afrique after war only to find his wife has been murdered. He's determined to find the killer, even if it means uncovering family secrets he never knew about.

Port Afrique

1956

The Prisoner poster
7.2

A cardinal is arrested for treason against the state. He is a popular hero of his people, for his resistance against the Nazis during the war and his resistance when his country again fell to a totalitarian conqueror. In prison, his interrogator is determined to extract a confession of guilt, and thus destroy his power over his people.

The Prisoner

1955

Who Done It? poster
5.5

This movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists.

Who Done It?

1956

The Hellfire Club poster
5.4

Years after fleeing his ancestral home with his mother, Jason returns home to claim his birthright, only to find his way blocked by his evil cousin Thomas. In order to reclaim his title, Jason must do battle with his cousin, who calls upon the members of the deadly Hellfire Club to stop him.

The Hellfire Club

1961

A Woman Possessed poster
7.0

English doctor John Winthrop (Francis Matthews) must protect his new wife, Ann (Kay Callard), from his wealthy and entirely too overbearing mother, Katherine (Margaretta Scott), who has some strong opinions about her son's new union. But things go too far when John accuses Katherine of trying to kill Ann with medication. Could she do such a thing -- and will these three ever have a good relationship?

A Woman Possessed

1958

Soapbox Derby poster
5.6

The Battersea Bats are a gang of four kids who have their den in an abandoned building near the Thames, and they have a plan of action in mind because in about a week there is a soapbox derby being held, a contest they mean to win.

Soapbox Derby

1958

The Weapon poster
6.1

A boy accidentally shoots a friend with a gun he found in the rubble of a destroyed building. The gun turns out to be a clue in a ten-year-old murder case.

The Weapon

1956

Seven Thunders poster
5.5

Escaping British prisoners of war hide out in German occupied France.

Seven Thunders

1957

Passport to Shame poster
6.1

British melodrama about a cabbie befriending a girl caught up in the white slave trade.

Passport to Shame

1958