Known for Acting
John Albert Chamberlain Kefford was an English character actor professionally known as John Abbott. His memorable roles include the invalid Frederick Fairlie in the 1948 film The Woman in White and the pacifist Ayelborne in the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy". as well as a Shakespearean actor. In 1934, he began his career in show business when he made his professional stage debut in a revival of Dryden's Aureng-zebe with Sybil Thorndike. He then joined the Old Vic Company and appeared in Shakespearean roles, including Claudius in a production of Hamlet at Elsinore Castle in Denmark with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Alec Guinness. His first Broadway role was that of Count Mancini in He Who Gets Slapped in 1946. He also appeared on Broadway in Monserrat and The Waltz of the Toreadors. He made his film debut in Mademoiselle Docteur in 1937 and went on to act in scores of films in the next 30 years. Among his film credits are Mission to Moscow, Jane Eyre, A Thousand and One Nights, Humoresque, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. His television appearances in that time were even more numerous, beginning with pioneering broadcasts by the BBC before the Second World War. In the early days of the Second World War, Abbott worked at the British Embassy in Stockholm. When the time came to leave, he had to by way of the United States. While in the U.S., he was offered a part in Hollywood in 1941 and ended up living there for the rest of his life. On American television between the 1950s and 1970s, Abbott had roles on a wide variety of series such as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio 57, Gunsmoke, Matinee Theatre, Bonanza, Thriller, Star Trek, Mannix, Iron Horse, and Bewitched. Although he was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s, a producer who wanted to hire him eventually succeeded in getting the actor removed from the list.In his final years, Abbott taught acting to students free of charge. Abbott died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from natural causes on 24 May 1996 at the age of 90.
Born
June 5, 1905
Died
May 24, 1996 (age 90)
Birthplace
Stepney, London, England, UK
Filmography
81 films, 47 shows


The Commissioner
1998 · 1h 48m · BE
John Hurt stars as a scandal-hit member of parliament, dispatched to the political backwaters of the European Commission in Brussels as penance for his failures. However, once there he stumbles upon a chemical weapons outrage that points to a sinister political-industrial conspiracy.


A Hazard of Hearts
1987 · 1h 30m · UK
In a desperate bid to cover his debts, compulsive gambler Sir Giles Staverley stakes his estate and his daughter's hand on a game of chance. Serena Staverley soon finds herself bound to a mysterious victor and trapped in a cliff-top manor.


Quest
1984 · 30m · US
On a distant planet, descendants of a crashed spaceship are subjected to mysterious forces that cause them to age and die in just eight days. They must also live in caves to escape the bitter cold of night and the killing heat of day. One young boy is determined to find his way back to the ship that brought them there. But how will he accomplish this in the short time left to him?


Smorgasbord
1983 · 1h 29m · US
Warren Nefron is a hopeless klutz who has some of the worst luck in the world: when he tries to end it all with a foolproof suicide plan, he still manages to mess it up. In desperation, he goes to a psychiatrist to see if there is some way for him to end his troubles.


Slapstick of Another Kind
1982 · 1h 24m · US
A rich, beautiful couple give birth to deformed alien twins who, when their heads are together, are the smartest kids on the planet.
Blunt Instrument
Blunt Instrument
1981 · 1h 44m · UK
A former journalist begins to experience distressing flashbacks, to the alarm of people close to him.
Outside Chance
Outside Chance
1978 · 2h · US
An advertising executive finds herself in a small-town jail after being terrorized on a drive from Los Angeles to New York by two hitchhikers who steal her car and leave her unconscious by the roadside. She becomes a fugitive after killing her jailer during a rape attempt and breaking out with one of the hitchhikers who could prove her innocence.


Sherlock Holmes in New York
1976 · 1h 40m · US
An affectionate bow to the master sleuth in this lavishly produced original that has Holmes rushing to New York City after discovering that his old nemesis, Moriarty, has kidnapped the son of the detective's long-time love, actress Irene Adler.


The Black Bird
1975 · 1h 50m · US
The son of famous detective Sam Spade carries on the family tradition of getting involved with the Maltese Falcon - and with the people who will stop at nothing, including murder, to get it.


The Cat Creature
1973 · 1h 12m · US
When a rich man dies, some items from a collection of his are stolen- an ancient Egyptian gold amulet and the mummy that was wearing it. The police consult scholars from the local University to help with the investigation, which is taking a more serious turn as people connected with the case are killed by wounds that seem to be from a housecat.


The Epic That Never Was
1969 · 1h 14m · UK
The story of the aborted 1937 filming of "I, Claudius", starring Charles Laughton, with all of its surviving footage.


2000 Years Later
1969 · 1h 20m · US
A satirical film on fads in the US. A TV host on a late night show tries to convince his viewers that they should return to Rome and Roman ways.


Three Guns for Texas
1968 · 1h 29m · US
A man searching for a stolen army payroll is joined by several men after the reward money. Feature film edited together from three first-season episodes of the NBC western series LAREDO


The Jungle Book
1967 · 1h 18m · US
The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and the lovable, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli "The Bare Necessities" of life and the true meaning of friendship.


Gambit
1966 · 1h 49m · US
Harry Dean is a career burglar set on stealing a piece of priceless art from the world's wealthiest man, Mr. Shahbandar. With the help of exotic showgirl Nicole Chang, he concocts the perfect scheme for how the robbery should go and lays it out point by point. However, when the team tries to execute the plan, perfection and reality don't quite match up, and Harry's vision begins to unravel in this twisty tale of a heist gone wrong.


The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965 · 3h 19m · US
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.


Who's Minding the Store?
1963 · 1h 30m · US
Norman Phiffer, a proud man in a humble life, doesn't know that his girlfriend, Barbara, is heir to the Tuttle Department Store dynasty. Mrs. Tuttle, Barbara's mother, is determined to split the two lovers, and hires Norman in an attempt to humiliate him enough that Barbara leaves him. Will she ruin their love, or will he ruin her store?


Gigi
1958 · 1h 55m · US
A home, a motorcar, servants, the latest fashions: the most eligible and most finicky bachelor in Paris offers them all to Gigi. But she, who's gone from girlish gawkishness to cultured glamour before our eyes, yearns for that wonderful something money can't buy.


Omar Khayyam
1957 · 1h 41m · US
In the 11th century Seljuk Empire, Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam's lover marries the Shah but the Shah, whose life is threatened by a sect of assassins, appoints Omar royal advisor.


Public Pigeon No. 1
1957 · 1h 19m · US
Swindlers con a lunchroom clerk into doing them a favor, supposedly on behalf of the FBI.


The Miracle on 34th Street
1955 · 46m · US
One Kris Kringle, a department-store Santa Claus, causes quite a commotion by suggesting customers go to a rival store for their purchases. But this is nothing to the stir he causes by announcing that he is not merely a make-believe St. Nick, but the real thing.


The Steel Lady
1953 · 1h 24m · US
Surviving a plane crash in the Sahara, four oilmen find and manage to repair a German Afrika Corps tank which had been buried in the sand since WWII.


Sombrero
1953 · 1h 43m · US
Mexican love stories follow a dying man, a bullfighter's sister and lovers from feuding villages.


Rogue's March
1953 · 1h 24m · US
After being unjustly accused of spying, a British officer tries to redeem himself in India.


Thunder in the East
1952 · 1h 37m · US
During India's first years of independence from Britain, Steve Gibbs lands his armaments loaded plane in Ghandahar province hoping to get rich. Pacifist Prime Minister Singh hopes to reach an agreement with guerilla leader Khan, the maharajah is a fool, and the British residents are living in the past. Steve's love interest is Joan Willoughby, the blind daughter of a parson.


The Merry Widow
1952 · 1h 45m · US
Marshovia, a small European kingdom, is on the brink of bankruptcy but the country may be saved if the wealthy American Crystal Radek, widow of a Marshovian, can be convinced to part with her money and marry the king's nephew count Danilo. Arriving to Marshovia on a visit, Crystal Radek change places with her secretary Kitty. Following them to Paris, Danilo has a hard time wooing the widow after meeting an attractive young woman at a nightclub, the same Crystal Radek who presents herself as Fifi the chorus girl. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.


Thunder on the Hill
1951 · 1h 24m · US
Sister Mary presides over a convent where a convicted murderess, who is being escorted to Death Row, is stranded by bad weather. She is slowly becoming convinced that Valerie is innocent so Sister Mary sets about to clear the girl and bring the real killer to justice.


Crosswinds
1951 · 1h 35m · US
A sailor gets his boat stolen from him after he's set up for a crime.


Navy Bound
1951 · 1h 1m · US
A sailor who is a champion boxer in the Navy is forced to leave the service because his family's business, a tuna fishing operation, is in financial trouble. He becomes a prizefighter and one day signs up for a winner-take-all boxing match, which could make him a lot of money but could also result in the end of his boxing career.


Sideshow
1950 · 1h 7m · US
A Treasury Department agent on the trail of an international jewel smuggling ring joins a carnival that he thinks the gang is using as a front. He finally locates the jewels hidden as the eyes of wax figures.


Madame Bovary
1949 · 1h 46m · US
In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.


The Woman in White
1948 · 1h 49m · US
A young painter stumbles upon an assortment of odd characters at an English estate where he has been hired to give art lessons to beautiful Laura Fairlie. Among them are Anne Catherick, a strange young woman dressed in white whom he meets in the forest and who bears a striking resemblance to Laura; cunning Count Fosco, who hopes to obtain an inheritance for nobleman Sir Percival Glyde, whom he plans to have Laura marry; Mr. Fairlie, a hypochondriac who can't stand to have anyone make the slightest noise; and eccentric Countess Fosco who has her own dark secret. The artist also finds himself drawn to Marion Halcomb, a distant relation to Laura for whom the Count also has plans.


If Winter Comes
1947 · 1h 37m · US
The small English town of Penny Green is swarming with scandal when textbook author Mark, unhappily married to the shrewish Mabel, cultivates a friendship with Effie, a young pregnant girl. As the townsfolk theorize that Mark is the baby's father, Effie - already troubled because of her impending motherhood - commits suicide, and circulating rumors lead the authorities to think Mark killed her. The innocent writer must fight to clear his name.


Adventure Island
1947 · 1h 6m · US
Travelers find themselves marooned on an island with a maniacal self-made ruler.


The Web
1947 · 1h 27m · US
A brash young lawyer takes a short-term, high-paying job as bodyguard for a slick business exec being threatened by a former partner, and quickly realizes he may be in over his head.


Time Out of Mind
1947 · 1h 29m · US
The son of a wealthy Maine family shocks his relatives by announcing he wants to pursue a career in music.


Humoresque
1947 · 2h 5m · US
A classical musician from a working class background is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.


Deception
1946 · 1h 50m · US
After marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.


Anna and the King of Siam
1946 · 2h 8m · US
In 1862, a young Englishwoman becomes royal tutor in Siam and befriends the King.


One More Tomorrow
1946 · 1h 27m · US
Shiftless playboy Tom Collier lives to jump from party to party — until he meets photographer Christie Sage. Through Christie, Tom takes over the ownership of The Bantam, a liberal magazine that opposes everything his family represents. As Tom and Christie's relationship deepens, love blooms and he proposes to her. Realizing that she could never fit in with Tom's social circle, Christie says no, a decision she later regrets. But Tom isn't left alone for long — scheming gold-digger Cecelia Henry wastes no time in catching Tom on the rebound and forcing him into a disastrous marriage.


The Bandit of Sherwood Forest
1946 · 1h 26m · US
Robin Hood's swashbuckling son comes to the rescue when England's boy-king is captured by the evil, power-hungry William of Pembroke.


The Notorious Lone Wolf
1946 · 1h 4m · US
Ex-thief Lone Wolf and his valet don turbans to solve a museum jewel theft.


Saratoga Trunk
1945 · 2h 15m · US
An opportunistic Texas gambler and the exiled Creole daughter of an aristocratic family join forces to achieve justice from the society that has ostracized them.


Pursuit to Algiers
1945 · 1h 5m · US
After the King of Rovenia has been assassinated, Holmes and Watson are engaged to escort his son to Europe via Algiers, aboard a transatlantic ocean liner which also carries a number of suspicious persons, any of whom may be involved in a plot to also assassinate him.


The Crime Doctor's Warning
1945 · 1h 10m · US
A criminal psychologist treats an artist whose blackouts coincide with a series of murders.


A Thousand and One Nights
1945 · 1h 33m · US
On the run after being found sweet-talking the Sultan's daughter, Aladdin comes upon a lamp which, when rubbed, summons up Babs the genie. He uses it to return as a visiting prince asking for the princess's hand. Unfortunately for him, the sultan's wicked twin brother has secretly usurped the throne, someone else is after the lamp for his own ends, and Babs has taken a shine to Aladdin herself and is bent on wrecking his endeavours.


Honeymoon Ahead
1945 · 1h
When the prison choir loses its leader, the boys try to get him back in.


The Power of the Whistler
1945 · 1h 6m · US
A woman uses a deck of cards to predict death within 24 hours for a stranger sitting at a bar, then tries to help him remember who he is based on items in his pockets.


The Vampire's Ghost
1945 · 59m · US
In a small African port, a tawdry bar is run by a old man named Webb Fallon. Fallon is actually a vampire, but he is becoming weary of his "life" of the past few hundred years.


The Falcon in Hollywood
1944 · 1h 7m · US
Suave amateur detective Tom Lawrence--aka Michael Arlen's literary hero The Falcon--arrives in Hollywood for some rest and relaxation, only to find himself involved in the murder of a movie actor. There's no shortage of suspects: the costume designer to whom he was married, a tyrannical director, a beautiful young French starlet, a Shakespeare-quoting producer, even a New York gangster. Helping The Falcon solve the crime is a cute, wise-cracking cab driver and a pair of bumbling cops.


End of the Road
1944 · 51m · US
A crime writer believes that a man imprisoned for committing the notorious "Flower Shop Murder" is innocent of the crime. He believes he knows who the actual culprit is, and sets out to befriend the man and get enough evidence to prove that he is the real killer.


Cry of the Werewolf
1944 · 1h 3m · US
A young gypsy girl turns into a wolf to destroy her enemies.


Abroad with Two Yanks
1944 · 1h 20m · US
Biff and Jeff, two American G.I.'s on furlough in Australia during The Second World War, are enjoying their time the way most soldiers on leave do. When they meet the beautiful Joyce, however, they both fall head over heels for her, and start competing for her attentions. As their R&R time begins to run out, the schemes they each come up with to win her affection and foil the other's plans to do the same become more and more outrageous.


Secrets of Scotland Yard
1944 · 1h 8m · US
Secrets of Scotland Yard is Republic's spin on a plotline first elucidated in the old E. Phillips Oppenheim novel The Great Impersonation. After losing WW I, the German high command, with remarkable foresight, prepares for the next war by planting a spy in the British Admiralty. Edgar Barrier plays the dual role of the German spy and his British twin brother. When one twin is killed, the other assumes his identity. The question: is the surviving brother the "good" one or the bad? It is up to C. Aubrey Smith, cast as Scotland Yard inspector Sir Christopher Belt, to sort out the mystery. Though it owes a great deal to the aforementioned Oppenheim yarn, Secrets of Scotland Yard is actually based on a novel by Denison Clift, who also wrote the screenplay.


U-Boat Prisoner
1944 · 1h 6m · US
Merchant seaman Archie Gibbs manages to survive when his ship is torpedoed by a German submarine. Disguising himself in the uniform of a dead Nazi spy, Gibbs is picked up by the Nazi U-boat. He manages to convince the German sailors that he's the spy, and in this guise he tries to rescue a group of captured Allied scientists.


Summer Storm
1944 · 1h 46m · US
It's a tale of power and passions when a Russian siren, who wants the finer things in life, sinks her hooks into a judge, a decadent aristocrat and an estate superintendent, with surprising results.


Once Upon a Time
1944 · 1h 29m · US
Broadway producer Jerry Flynn is anxious to recapture the magic and reclaim the crowds after a set of costly flops. Outside his theater one night, Flynn meets a young boy who just might save the day. Inside a small box the boy shows Flynn his pride and joy: a caterpillar named Curly that dances to Yes Sir, That's My Baby. Word quickly spreads about the amazingly talented hoofer, and the caterpillar becomes a symbol of hope for wartime America. Soon, offers are pouring in to capitalize on this sensational insect.


The Mask of Dimitrios
1944 · 1h 35m · US
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.


Jane Eyre
1943 · 1h 37m · US
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?


The Cross of Lorraine
1943 · 1h 30m · US
French soldiers surrender to lying Nazis and are herded into a barbaric prison of war camp. From there they plan an uprising.


Dangerous Blondes
1943 · 1h 21m · US
Mystery writer Barry Craig (Allyn Joslyn) and his wife Jane (Evelyn Keyes), prefer solving crimes rather than writing about them. They get a chance when killings plague the fashion photography studio of Ralph McCormick (Edmund Lowe). After his secretary, Julie Taylor(Anita Louise) reports an attempt to murder her there, Erika McCormick's (Ann Savage) Aunt Isabel Fleming (Mary Forbes) is stabbed and the evidence points to Madge Lawrence (Bess Flowers) an older model and an apparent suicide. Police Inspector Joseph Clinton (Frank Craven) declares the case closed...but then Erika is murdered.


Mission to Moscow
1943 · 2h 4m · US
Ambassador Joseph Davies is sent by FDR to Russia to learn about the Soviet system and returns to the US as an advocate of socialism.


Hangmen Also Die!
1943 · 2h 14m · US
During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his attempt to escape, he is helped by history professor Stephen Novotny and his daughter Mascha.


They Got Me Covered
1943 · 1h 35m · US
Bumbling reporter Robert Kittredge has been fired after bungling his latest assignment. His career isn't all he's botched up: his girlfriend Chris is tired of waiting for him to marry her. When he gets a hot tip on some Nazi spies operating in Washington, D.C., he convinces Chris to help him break the story so he can get his job back. The pair soon find themselves in several awkward predicaments as they track the criminals down in a night club, a burlesque show, and face a final showdown at a beauty salon.


The Gorilla Man
1943 · 1h 4m · US
A wounded soldier discovers his hospital is secretly run by the Nazis.


London Blackout Murders
1943 · 59m · US
Young Mary Tillet is forced to find a new place to live due to her London home being bombed during World War II. Her tobacconist landlord, Jack Rawling, tries to help her turn her new apartment into a home. Meanwhile, the newspapers are reporting news of the 'London Blackout Murders', a murder spree being committed against a ring of suspected Nazi spies, and Mary must determine if her kind landlord is an assassin.


Nightmare
1942 · 1h 21m · US
An ex-gambler helps a beautiful widow, and becomes involved with a murder, secret agents, and saboteurs.


Get Hep to Love
1942 · 1h 11m · US
Orphan prodigy singer runs away from her oppressive aunt and tricks a rural couple into adopting her.


Mrs. Miniver
1942 · 2h 14m · US
Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxford-educated son Vin court Carol Beldon, the charming granddaughter of the local nobility as represented by Lady Beldon. Then the war comes and Vin joins the RAF.


Rubber Racketeers
1942 · 1h 7m · US
Racketeer Gillin is paroled from prison and immediately goes to work trying to make an illegal buck from America's war effort. With rationing in effect the black market tire business is booming. Gillen's mob sets up car lots around town where they peddle stolen tires and "new" tires milled in the gangster's factories from cheap faulty materials. People begin to die in crashes as the defective tires fail. Bill Barry leads his fellow defense plant workers on a crusade to uncover the source of the black market rubber and bring the guilty to justice. Although clearly intended to warn the public about black market tire smuggling, Rubber Racketeers holds it own as a saga of mobsters versus an irate public.


This Above All
1942 · 1h 50m · US
In 1940 England, aristocratic Prudence Cathaway alarms her snobbish parents by joining the WAF service branch. She soon meets and falls in love with the brooding Clive Briggs, despite his prejudice against the upper classes, and agrees to spend a week with him at a Dover hotel. When Clive's soldier friend, Monty, arrives to retrieve him, Prudence learns that Clive went AWOL after Dunkirk, and urges him to recall why England must fight the war.


Joan of Paris
1942 · 1h 31m · US
An RAF squadron is brought down over occupied France. The flyers get to Paris in spite of the fact that the youngest, Baby, is injured. He must be hidden and his wounds cared for. The Gestapo has already issued orders for their arrest.


The Shanghai Gesture
1941 · 1h 39m · US
A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.


Ten Days in Paris
1940 · 1h 22m · UK
Bob Stevens awakens in a hospital with a gunshot wound to his head, and is told that he has been in Paris for ten days. However, this cannot be true because he insists that he crashed his plane and has no recollection of being anywhere for ten days. Bob decides to follow a note found in his jacket, to the woman who wrote it, "Miss D", and get to the bottom of the whole strange situation.


The Great Commandment
1939 · 1h 18m · US
Portrays the conversion to Christianity of a young Zealot, Joel, and the Roman soldier Longinus through the teachings of Jesus in his Parable of the Good Samaritan.


The Saint in London
1939 · 1h 12m · UK
Suave soldier of fortune Simon Templer gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters who've murdered and robbed an European count of 1,000,000 pounds. He is aided reluctantly by Scotland Yard inspector Teal, who's convinced that Templar himself pulled off the heist, and less reluctantly by light-fingered Dugan and dizzy socialite Penny Parker.


This Man Is News
1938 · 1h 17m · UK
A newspaper reporter keeps beating the police to clues in a current murder case. This makes the police think he may be involved in the crime.


Under Secret Orders
1937 · 1h 24m · UK
During the First World War, a woman doctor falls in love with one of her patients who turns out to be a German spy. She herself ends up working for German intelligence.


Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1937 · 1h 28m · UK
Sir Percy is forced to return to France one last time, to rescue his wife from the clutches of the sinister Robespierre. It's clearly a trap, but nothing will keep the good Pimpernel from carrying out his mission.


Street of Shadows
1937 · 1h 56m · FR
A slippery femme fatale, a spy for Germany during the Great War, is sent to Thessaloniki in Greece and becomes involved with a man on the other side, a French military officer.


The Conquest of the Air
1931 · 1h 11m · UK
This early docudrama uses dramatic reenactment, working models of early flying machines, and archival footage to trace man's attempts to fly from ancient times through the 1930s.