Duncan Lamont
Encyclopedia
Duncan William Ferguson Lamont (17 June 1918 – 19 December 1978) was a British
actor
. Born in Lisbon
, Portugal
, but brought up in Scotland
, he had a long and successful career in film
and television
, appearing in a variety of high-profile productions.
On film, the best-known of the many productions he appeared in were The 39 Steps
(1959, as Kennedy), Ben-Hur
(1959, uncredited but playing Marius), Mutiny on the Bounty
(1962, as John Williams), Arabesque
(1966) and Battle of Britain
(1969, as Flight Sergeant
Arthur). Lamont is particularly memorable in his role as the wry, urbane Viceroy in Jean Renoir
's The Golden Coach
.
On television, he was a semi-regular in the series The Texan
from 1958 to 1960, and appeared in guest roles in a range of popular British programmes from the 1950s to the 1970s, including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dixon of Dock Green
, Danger Man
, The Avengers
, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
, The Persuaders!
, and Doctor Who
(the story Death to the Daleks
).
In 1953, he appeared in the major role of astronaut Victor Carroon in the ground-breaking science-fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
, and fourteen years later returned to the series when he played the role of Sladden in the Hammer Films version of the third serial, Quatermass and the Pit
.
He died in 1978 in Tunbridge Wells
, Kent
, of a heart attack
at the age of sixty. He was working at the time on "Hostage", an episode of the BBC
science-fiction series Blake's 7
. Although he had completed location work for the episode, he died before the studio scenes had been shot, necessitating a re-mount of the location material in which he appeared and his replacement by the actor John Abineri
, his co-star in the aforementioned Death to the Daleks.
He was married to the Irish actress Patricia Driscoll
.
He should not be confused with Duncan Lamont, the composer for The Adventures of Spot and King Rollo
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Born in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, but brought up in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, he had a long and successful career in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, appearing in a variety of high-profile productions.
On film, the best-known of the many productions he appeared in were The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps (1959 film)
The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. It is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan....
(1959, as Kennedy), Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959, uncredited but playing Marius), Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...
(1962, as John Williams), Arabesque
Arabesque (film)
Arabesque is a 1966 thriller starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The movie is based on Gordon Cotler's novel The Cypher and directed by Stanley Donen.-Plot:Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University...
(1966) and Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969, as Flight Sergeant
Flight Sergeant
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
Arthur). Lamont is particularly memorable in his role as the wry, urbane Viceroy in Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
's The Golden Coach
The Golden Coach
The Golden Coach is a 1952 film directed by Jean Renoir that tells the story of a commedia dell'arte troupe in 18th century Peru. The screenplay was written by Renoir, Jack Kirkland, Renzo Avanzo and Giulio Macchi and is based on the play, Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée...
.
On television, he was a semi-regular in the series The Texan
The Texan (TV series)
The Texan is a Western television series starring popular B movie star Rory Calhoun. It aired on the CBS television network from 1958-1960.-Production notes:...
from 1958 to 1960, and appeared in guest roles in a range of popular British programmes from the 1950s to the 1970s, including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
, The Persuaders!
The Persuaders!
The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
, and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(the story Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks
Death to the Daleks is a four-part serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast from February 23 to March 16, 1974, it comprises four 25-minute episodes. The narrative begins as the TARDIS suffers an energy drain and crash-lands on the planet Exxilon...
).
In 1953, he appeared in the major role of astronaut Victor Carroon in the ground-breaking science-fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
, and fourteen years later returned to the series when he played the role of Sladden in the Hammer Films version of the third serial, Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit (film)
Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions it is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2. Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass and the Pit – written by Nigel Kneale...
.
He died in 1978 in Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of sixty. He was working at the time on "Hostage", an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science-fiction series Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
. Although he had completed location work for the episode, he died before the studio scenes had been shot, necessitating a re-mount of the location material in which he appeared and his replacement by the actor John Abineri
John Abineri
John Abineri was an English actor.Born in London, he attended the Old Vic drama school and described himself as "Well educated from the age of five to eighteen"...
, his co-star in the aforementioned Death to the Daleks.
He was married to the Irish actress Patricia Driscoll
Patricia Driscoll
Patricia Driscoll is an Irish actress, who has appeared on both television and in films. She was born in Cork, Ireland....
.
He should not be confused with Duncan Lamont, the composer for The Adventures of Spot and King Rollo
King Rollo
King Rollo was a children's character created by David McKee in 1979, starring in a series of books, animations , and a comic strip in the magazine Buttons...
.
Filmography
- WaterfrontWaterfront (1950 film)Waterfront is a 1950 British drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Robert Newton, Kathleen Harrison and Avis Scott. A sailor abandons his family, in the Liverpool slums...
(1950) - The Woman in QuestionThe Woman in QuestionThe Woman in Question is 1950 British mystery film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde and John McCallum...
(1950) - She Shall Have MurderShe Shall Have MurderShe Shall Have Murder is a 1950 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rosamund John, Derrick De Marney and Felix Aylmer. A law office clerk who aspires to be a crime writer, turns into a detective when someone at her work is murdered....
(1950) - The Galloping MajorThe Galloping Major (film)The Galloping Major is a 1951 British comedy film starring Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley and Janette Scott. It also featured Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Joyce Grenfell in supporting roles. It was directed by Henry Cornelius...
(1951) - The Man in the White SuitThe Man in the White SuitThe Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment...
(1951) - Emergency CallEmergency CallEmergency Call is a British film released in 1952 by Nettlefold Films. The film was directed by Lewis Gilbert and stars Jack Warner in a familiar role playing a policeman, Anthony Steel, Joy Shelton and Sid James as a dubious boxing promoter....
(1952) - Song of ParisSong of ParisSong of Paris is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Guillermin and starring Dennis Price, Anne Vernon and Hermione Baddeley. It is also known as Bachelor in Paris.-Cast:* Dennis Price as Matthew Ibbetson* Anne Vernon as Clementine...
(1952) - The Lost HoursThe Lost HoursThe Lost Hours is a 1952 British drama film directed by David MacDonald and starring Mark Stevens, Jean Kent and Garry Marsh. An American returns for a reunion in the United Kingdom, where he served as a pilot during the Second World War, but finds himself framed for a murder he didn't...
(1952) - The Night Won't Talk (1952)
- The Golden CoachThe Golden CoachThe Golden Coach is a 1952 film directed by Jean Renoir that tells the story of a commedia dell'arte troupe in 18th century Peru. The screenplay was written by Renoir, Jack Kirkland, Renzo Avanzo and Giulio Macchi and is based on the play, Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée...
(1952) - The IntruderThe Intruder (1953 film)The Intruder is a 1953 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Jack Hawkins, George Cole, Dennis Price, George Baker and Hugh Williams.-External links:*...
(1953) - Meet Mr. Malcolm (1954)
- The Teckman MysteryThe Teckman MysteryThe Teckman Mystery is a 1954 British mystery film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Margaret Leighton, John Justin, Roland Culver and Michael Medwin.-Cast:* Margaret Leighton - Helen Teckman* John Justin - Philip Chance...
(1954) - Burnt EvidenceBurnt EvidenceBurnt Evidence is a 1954 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Duncan Lamont and Donald Gray. A man accidentally kills another and is hunted down by the police.-Cast:* Jane Hylton - Diana Taylor...
(1954) - Passing StrangerPassing Stranger (film)Passing Stranger is a 1954 British crime film directed by John Arnold and starring Lee Patterson, Diane Cilento and Duncan Lamont. Various criminals descend on a small British town.-Cast:* Lee Patterson - Chick* Diane Cilento - Jill...
(1954) - Time Is My EnemyTime Is My EnemyTime Is My Enemy is a 1954 British crime film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Dennis Price and Renée Asherson.It is also notable that the initials spell T.I.M.E.-Cast:*Dennis Price as Martin Radley*Renée Asherson as Barbara Everton...
(1954) - The Final TestThe Final TestThe Final Test is a 1953 British sports film written by Terence Rattigan, directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Jack Warner, Robert Morley, George Relph and Ray Jackson. A number of leading cricketers also appear including Denis Compton, Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook.-Plot:The film is a comedy...
(1954) - Passage HomePassage Home-Cast:* Anthony Steel as First Mate Vosper* Peter Finch as Captain Lucky Ryland* Diane Cilento as Ruth Elton* Cyril Cusack as Bohannon the steward* Geoffrey Keen as Ike the bosun* Hugh Griffith as Pettigrew* Duncan Lamont as 1st Mate Llewellyn...
(1955) - Strike (1955, TV film)
- The Adventures of Quentin DurwardThe Adventures of Quentin DurwardThe Adventures of Quentin Durward, known also as Quentin Durward, is a 1955 historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(1955) - The Baby and the BattleshipThe Baby and the BattleshipThe Baby and the Battleship is a colour 1956 British comedy film directed by Jay Lewis and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and André Morell. It is based on the 1956 novel by Anthony Thorne with a screenplay by Richard De Roy, Gilbert Hackforth-Jones and Bryan Forbes...
(1956) - The End of the Road (1957)
- High FlightHigh Flight (film)High Flight is a CinemaScope 1957 British coldwar drama film directed by John Gilling and featuring Ray Milland, Bernard Lee and Leslie Phillips filmed at RAF Cranwell.-Plot:...
(1957) - A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British film of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. It starred Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin, and was directed by Ralph Thomas.-Cast:*Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton*Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette...
(1958) - I Was Monty's DoubleI Was Monty's Double (film)I Was Monty's Double is a 1958 film made by Associated British Picture Corporation . It was directed by John Guillermin, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes.- Plot :...
(1958) - The 39 StepsThe 39 Steps (1959 film)The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. It is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan....
(1959) - Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959) - A Touch of LarcenyA Touch of LarcenyA Touch of Larceny is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring James Mason, George Sanders, Vera Miles, Harry Andrews, Rachel Gurney, and John Le Mesurier. It is based on a diverting and mildly cynical novel, The Megstone Plot , by Paul Winterton under the pseudonym Andrew...
(1959) - A Circle of DeceptionA Circle of DeceptionA Circle of Deception is a 1960 British war film directed by Jack Lee and starring Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker and Harry Andrews.-Plot:A Canadian officer is sent on a secret and dangerous mission during the Second World War in an attempt to feed the Germans false information about the Normandy...
(1960) - The Queen's GuardsThe Queen's GuardsThe Queen's Guards is a 1961 military drama film directed by Michael Powell from a script by Simon Harcourt-Smith and Roger Milner. It stars Daniel Massey, Raymond Massey, Robert Stephens, and Ursula Jeans.-Plot:...
(1961) - Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)
- Mutiny on the BountyMutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...
(1962) - Murder at the GallopMurder at the GallopMurder at the Gallop is the second of four films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the novel After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer. The film changes the action...
(1963) - PanicPanic (1963 film)Panic is a 1963 British crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Dyson Lovell, Janine Gray and Glyn Houston. A young Swiss woman becomes mixed up with a gang planning a diamond heist.-Cast:* Janine Gray - Janine Heining* Glyn Houston - Mike...
(1963) - The Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 British horror film made by Hammer Studio. Directed by Freddie Francis, the film stars Peter Cushing and New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston....
(1964) - The Scarlet BladeThe Scarlet BladeThe Scarlet Blade is a 1963 British adventure film directed by John Gilling for Hammer Film Productions.It is a period drama set during the English Civil War. It stars Oliver Reed and Lionel Jeffries....
(1964) - The Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship Pirates is a 1964 pirate adventure film made in the UK by Hammer Films. It concerned pirates from a vessel from the defeated Spanish Armada terrorizing citizens on the English coast. All goes well until the villagers realize the Spaniards have been defeated and revolt...
(1964) - The Brigand of KandaharThe Brigand of KandaharThe Brigand of Kandahar is a 1965 British action film directed by John Gilling and starring Ronald Lewis, Oliver Reed and Duncan Lamont. A mixed-race British officer is thrown out of his regiment when he is accused of cowardice in action. He then joins some tribesmen rebelling against the British...
(1965) - The Murder GameThe Murder Game (1965 film)The Murder Game is a 1965 British crime film starring Ken Scott, Marla Landi, Trader Faulkner, Dyan Cannon, John Dunbar and directed by Sidney Salkow...
(1965) - ArabesqueArabesque (film)Arabesque is a 1966 thriller starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The movie is based on Gordon Cotler's novel The Cypher and directed by Stanley Donen.-Plot:Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University...
(1966) - The WitchesThe Witches (1966 film)The Witches is a 1966 British horror film made by Hammer Films. It was adapted by Nigel Kneale from the novel The Devil's Own by Norah Lofts, under the pseudonym Peter Curtis...
(1966) - Frankenstein Created WomanFrankenstein Created WomanFrankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer Horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein and Susan Denberg as his new creation...
(1967) - Quatermass and the PitQuatermass and the Pit (film)Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions it is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2. Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass and the Pit – written by Nigel Kneale...
(1967) - Decline and Fall... of a BirdwatcherDecline and Fall... of a BirdwatcherDecline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher is a 1968 British comedy film directed by John Krish and starring Robin Phillips, Geneviève Page and Donald Wolfit...
(1968) - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968, TV film)
- Battle of BritainBattle of Britain (film)Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969) - Burke & HareBurke & Hare (film)Burk & Hare, sometimes called Burke and Hare or The Horrors of Burke and Hare, is a 1971 horror film, directed by Vernon Sewell, and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Vernon Sewell...
(1971) - Pope JoanPope Joan (1972 film)Pope Joan is a 1972 British drama film based on the story of Pope Joan.. It was directed by Michael Anderson and has a cast which includes Liv Ullmann , Olivia de Havilland, Lesley-Anne Down, Franco Nero and Maximillian Schell....
(1972) - Nothing But the Night (1973)
- The Creeping FleshThe Creeping FleshThe Creeping Flesh is a 1973 British horror film. The film was directed by Freddie Francis, and stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Lorna Heilbron.-Plot:...
(1973) - Escape from the DarkEscape from the DarkEscape from the Dark is a 1976 British drama film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Alastair Sim and Peter Barkworth.-Cast:* Alastair Sim as Lord Harrogate* Peter Barkworth as Richard Sandman* Maurice Colbourne as Luke Armstrong...
(1976)