Jameson Clark
Encyclopedia
Jameson Clark was a Scottish
character actor
who appeared in 22 film
s and made many appearances on television
.
production Whisky Galore!
in 1949, playing Constable Macrae, a role he would reprise in the 1957 follow-up, Rockets Galore!
His early roles were all to a Scottish typecast
, and he made 13 films (including The Maggie
in 1954 and X the Unknown
in 1956) portraying Scottish characters, before he was given the part of an English tugboat
captain in 1958's The Key
.
He appeared as McDougal in Ralph Thomas
's 1959 re-make of John Buchan
's The 39 Steps
, which also starred Kenneth More
as Richard Hannay
. The last of his four films in that year was Charles Crichton
's The Battle of the Sexes
, playing Andrew Darling, with Peter Sellers
and Robert Morley
heading the cast.
After playing Sir Alan in the 1960 film Tunes of Glory
, he portrayed the Constable in Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog
, a 1961 film based on the novel by Eleanor Atkinson
, which recounts the tale of the Skye Terrier
who would not leave his master's grave.
Clark briefly appeared on television, playing Jamie Lang in "Whistle and I'll Come", a 1961 episode of the British police series No Hiding Place
. After playing George Lockwood in the 1962 film A Pair of Briefs, Clark returned to TV in 1963 as a Foreman in "Diversion to Danger", an episode of the Suspense anthology
-style series. He would remain on the small screen for the next six years, in such productions as The Troubleshooters and Dr. Finlay's Casebook
, also re-surfacing in No Hiding Place, this time as Harry Armstrong in the 1963 episode "All Dead and Buried".
In 1969, Clark made his final film, Ring of Bright Water, playing the Storekeeper in the film about otters which starred real-life couple Bill Travers
and Virginia McKenna
. From then until his retirement in 1980, he concentrated once more on contributions to various television projects, amongst which were Sutherland's Law
, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Play for Today
and Enemy of the People.
Clark died in 1984 aged 76.
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...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
who appeared in 22 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...
s and made many appearances on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Career
His first appearance in a major film was the BritishUnited 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...
production Whisky Galore!
Whisky Galore! (film)
Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
in 1949, playing Constable Macrae, a role he would reprise in the 1957 follow-up, Rockets Galore!
Rockets Galore! (film)
Rockets Galore! is a 1957 comedy film sequel to Whisky Galore! It was much less successful than its predecessor.It was directed by Michael Relph and based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie...
His early roles were all to a Scottish typecast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
, and he made 13 films (including The Maggie
The Maggie
The Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
in 1954 and X the Unknown
X the Unknown
X the Unknown is a British science-fiction / horror film made by the Hammer Films company and released in 1956.-Production:The film was originally intended by Hammer to be a sequel to the previous year's successful The Quatermass Xperiment, but writer Nigel Kneale refused permission for the...
in 1956) portraying Scottish characters, before he was given the part of an English tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
captain in 1958's The Key
The Key (1958 film)
The Key is a 1958 war film set in 1940 during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the novel Stella by Jan de Hartog.-Plot:...
.
He appeared as McDougal in Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull. He is perhaps best known for directing the Doctor series of films....
's 1959 re-make of John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....
's 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....
, which also starred Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
as Richard Hannay
Richard Hannay
Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist John Buchan. In his autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer...
. The last of his four films in that year was Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton was an English film director and film editor. He became best known for directing comedies produced at Ealing Studios...
's The Battle of the Sexes
The Battle of the Sexes (1959 film)
The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Charles Crichton, based on the short story The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber. The story was adapted by Monja Danischewsky.-Cast:* Peter Sellers as Mr...
, playing Andrew Darling, with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
heading the cast.
After playing Sir Alan in the 1960 film Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory is a 1960 British film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a "dark psychological drama" centring on events in a Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period following World War II...
, he portrayed the Constable in Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog
Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog
Greyfriars Bobby is a 1961 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith in a story about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of a Skye Terrier named Bobby...
, a 1961 film based on the novel by Eleanor Atkinson
Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson
Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson was an American author, journalist and teacher.She was born Eleanor Stackhouse in Rensselaer, Indiana, and later married Francis Blake Atkinson, himself also an author. She taught in schools in both Indianapolis and Chicago...
, which recounts the tale of the Skye Terrier
Skye Terrier
The Skye Terrier is a breed of dog that is a long, low, hardy terrier.-Coat:The Skye is double coated, with a short, soft undercoat and a hard, straight topcoat. The ideal coat length is 5 inches , with no extra credit for a longer coat. The shorter hair of the head veils the forehead and...
who would not leave his master's grave.
Clark briefly appeared on television, playing Jamie Lang in "Whistle and I'll Come", a 1961 episode of the British police series No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
. After playing George Lockwood in the 1962 film A Pair of Briefs, Clark returned to TV in 1963 as a Foreman in "Diversion to Danger", an episode of the Suspense anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
-style series. He would remain on the small screen for the next six years, in such productions as The Troubleshooters and Dr. Finlay's Casebook
Dr. Finlay
Dr. Finlay is a fictional character, the hero of a series of stories by Scottish author A. J. Cronin.-History:The stories were used as the basis for the long-running BBC television programme, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, screened from 1962 to 1971, and radio series . Based on Cronin's novella entitled...
, also re-surfacing in No Hiding Place, this time as Harry Armstrong in the 1963 episode "All Dead and Buried".
In 1969, Clark made his final film, Ring of Bright Water, playing the Storekeeper in the film about otters which starred real-life couple Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
and Virginia McKenna
Virginia McKenna
Virginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
. From then until his retirement in 1980, he concentrated once more on contributions to various television projects, amongst which were Sutherland's Law
Sutherland's Law
Sutherland's Law is a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976.The series had originated as a stand alone edition of the portmanteau programme Drama Playhouse in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and was then commissioned as an ongoing series.Sutherland's Law dealt...
, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
and Enemy of the People.
Clark died in 1984 aged 76.
Selected filmography
- Whisky Galore!Whisky Galore! (film)Whisky Galore! was a 1949 Ealing comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Compton MacKenzie. Both the movie and the novel are based on the real-life 1941 shipwreck of the S.S. Politician near the island of Eriskay and the unauthorized taking of its cargo of whisky...
(1949) - The Brave Don't CryThe Brave Don't CryThe Brave Don't Cry is a 1952 British drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring John Gregson, Meg Buchanan and John Rae. The film depitcts the events of September 1950 at the Knockshinnoch Castle colliery in Scotland, where 129 men were trapped by a landslide...
(1952) - Laxdale HallLaxdale HallLaxdale Hall is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Elridge and starring Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan, Raymond Huntley, Prunella Scales, Fulton Mackay, and Jean Colin....
(1953) - The Kidnappers (aka The Little KidnappersThe Little Kidnappers (1953 film)The Little Kidnappers, billed as The Kidnappers in the UK, is a 1953 British film, directed by Philip Leacock and written by Neil Paterson. It was remade as a TV movie in 1990.-Plot:...
) (1953) - The MaggieThe MaggieThe Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
(1954) - GeordieGeordie (film)Geordie is a 1955 British film based on David Walker's novel of the same title, with Bill Travers in the title role as a Scotsman who becomes an athlete at the Olympic Games...
(1955) - X the UnknownX the UnknownX the Unknown is a British science-fiction / horror film made by the Hammer Films company and released in 1956.-Production:The film was originally intended by Hammer to be a sequel to the previous year's successful The Quatermass Xperiment, but writer Nigel Kneale refused permission for the...
(1956) - Rockets Galore!Rockets Galore! (film)Rockets Galore! is a 1957 comedy film sequel to Whisky Galore! It was much less successful than its predecessor.It was directed by Michael Relph and based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie...
(1957) - The Long HaulThe Long Haul (1957 film)The Long Haul is a 1957 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Victor Mature, Gene Anderson, Patrick Allen and Diana Dors. An American ex-servicemen settles in Britain with his English wife and becomes a lorry driver in Liverpool where he begins a relationship with the girlfriend of...
(1957) - The KeyThe Key (1958 film)The Key is a 1958 war film set in 1940 during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the novel Stella by Jan de Hartog.-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) - Beyond This Place (aka Web of EvidenceWeb of EvidenceWeb of Evidence is a 1959 British film based on the novel, Beyond This Place, by A. J. Cronin. It was directed by Jack Cardiff and stars Van Johnson and Vera Miles. The original title was kept for the film's European release, though it was given an alternate title for the American release...
) (1959) - The Bridal PathThe Bridal Path (film)The Bridal Path is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Bill Travers, George Cole and Bernadette O'Farrell. It is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Nigel Tranter...
(1959) - The Battle of the SexesThe Battle of the Sexes (1959 film)The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Charles Crichton, based on the short story The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber. The story was adapted by Monja Danischewsky.-Cast:* Peter Sellers as Mr...
(1959) - Tunes of GloryTunes of GloryTunes of Glory is a 1960 British film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a "dark psychological drama" centring on events in a Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period following World War II...
(1960) - Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a DogGreyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a DogGreyfriars Bobby is a 1961 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Donald Crisp and Laurence Naismith in a story about two Scottish men who compete for the affection of a Skye Terrier named Bobby...
(1961) - A Pair of BriefsA Pair of BriefsA Pair of Briefs is a 1962 British legal comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Mary Peach, Brenda De Banzie and James Robertson Justice...
(1962) - Ring of Bright Water (1969)