Biography
Brian Keith (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and the Lion, in which he portrayed Theodore Roosevelt. On television, two of his best known roles were that of a widowed uncle turned bachelor: Bill Davis, in the 1960...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004
as Self (archive footage)
An account of the life and work of American film director Sam Peckinpah (1925-84), a tortured artist whose genius and inner demons changed the Western...

Follow Your Heart
1999
as Roddy Thompson
When an eight year old girl loses her mother to cancer, her mother's last wish is for her to fall in love and find that special magical person. Twenty...

The Second Civil War
1997
as General Buford
When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho defies the president and closes the sta...

Walking Thunder
1997
as Narrator
In the 1850's, a young boy and his family on their way West become stranded in the Rockies. With the help of a local mountain man, a Sioux medicine ma...

Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
1996
as Cardinal
The firebrand reporter, feminist and philanthropist Dorothy Day co-founds The Catholic Worker with Peter Maurin, an eccentric philosopher.

National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins
1995
as 'Noble Hart' / Self
America's three top leisure-time activities come roaring to life in National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins. This film consists of three short stories...

Lightning
1995
as Tappan
Against the backdrop of California’s 19th century Gold Rush, Brian Keith plays a lucky digger in a story of greed and equine smarts.

The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A.
1995
as Pete Morgan
Lieutenant Rick Hunter's girlfriend is murdered, and the main suspect is her ex-husband. But Hunter is soon convinced of a connection to another case.

Wind Dancer
1993
as Truman Richards
When a young girl is injured by a riding accident, she overcomes her injury with the help of her family and her beloved horse.

The Gambler: The Luck Of The Draw
1991
as The Westerner
Hawkes, Jones and Cassidy are on their way to the biggest poker game in history. But a few folks want to see them fold before they even get there.

Lady in a Corner
1989
as David Henderson
Grace Guthrie tries to stave off the hostile take over of her publishing empire. While fighting off a ruthless British business-mogul, she must also d...

Welcome Home
1989
as Harry Robins
Jake died in Vietnam; his family mourned him, then moved on. When he reappears, quite alive, the question is, what must he do and how will his family ...

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
1989
as Frank Wellman Sr.
Ken Malansky, a law student of Perry Mason's, is accused of murdering a fellow student. Perry is reluctant to take on his case as the victim was the s...

After the Rain
1988
as Byron Monroe
A father disowns his daughter, Annie, because of her choice to marry a neighboring woodsman. The marriage is strong and bears four children, but Annie...

Young Guns
1988
as Buckshot Roberts
A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes t...

The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
1987
as Colonel Davy Crockett
Against orders and with no help of relief Texas patriots led by William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett defend the Alamo against overwhelming Mex...

Death Before Dishonor
1987
as Col. Halloran
Gunnery Sergeant Burns reports for duty to an American Embassy in the Middle East. However due to the 'enlightened' views of the Ambassador, the marin...

The B.R.A.T. Patrol
1986
as General Newmeyer
A group of military brats uncovers a plot to steal base equipment.

Cry for the Strangers
1982
as Chief Whalen
The little coastal town of Clark's Harbor seems like the perfect place for psychiatrist Brad Russell and his wife to get a little peace and spend more...

Sharky's Machine
1981
as Papa
Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new '...
All-Star Party for Burt Reynolds
1981
as Self
Burt Reynolds is honored by more than 100 of his fellow celebrities and co-workers.

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
1981
as Police Chief Baxter
Famous detective Charlie Chan is called out of retirement to help a San Francisco detective solve a mysterious series of murders. With his bumbling gr...

The Mountain Men
1980
as Henry Frapp
The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Runn...

The Silent Lovers
1980
as Mauritz Stiller
The story of the ill-fated romance between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

Power
1980
as Charles Kandell
Loosely based on the life of Jimmy Hoffa, this traces the rise of Tommy Vanda (Joe Don Baker) from a Chicago dock worker to an influential labor leade...

The Seekers
1979
as Elijah Weatherby
This follow-up to "The Bastard" and "The Rebels" continues the account of Philip Kent's life and career from his emigration to colonial Massachusetts ...

Meteor
1979
as Dr. Dubov
After a collision with a comet, a nearly 8km wide piece of the asteroid "Orpheus" is heading towards Earth. If it hits it will cause an incredible cat...

Hooper
1978
as Jocko Doyle
Legendary stunt man Sonny Hooper remains one of the top men in his field, but due to too many stressful impacts to the spine and the need to pop paink...

The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
1977
as Allan Jacobson - Defense Attorney
General Custer is on trial for the deaths of his men at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan
1977
as Joe Quinlan
Based on a true case, this tells the story of two parents in New Jersey whose daughter has lapsed into a coma from which doctors say she will never re...

Nickelodeon
1976
as H.H. Cobb
In the silent film era, attorney Leo Harrigan and gunslinger Buck Greenway are hired to stop an illegal film production. However, they soon team up wi...

The Loneliest Runner
1976
as Arnold Curtis
A young boy who still wets the bed finds escapism from his abusive mother and his own embarrassment by going running after school.
Joe Panther
1976
as Capt. Harper
A young Seminole indian boy comes of age outside the Florida Everglades by trying to enter the establishment (white man's world). He gets work as crew...

The Quest
1976
as Tank Logan
Eight years ago, Cheyenne Indians attacked the Baudine Family wagon and captured Morgan, whom they renamed Two Persons. Now Two Persons, raised in the...

The Wind and the Lion
1975
as Theodore Roosevelt
At the beginning of the 20th century an American woman is abducted in Morocco by Berbers, and the attempts to free her range from diplomatic pressure ...
The Lion Roars Again
1975
as Self
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.

The Yakuza
1974
as George Tanner
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer...

The Bull of the West
1972
as Johnny Wade
Two episodes of the TV series "The Virginian" edited together: "Duel at Shiloh" (2 Jan. 1963) and "Nobility of Kings" (10 Nov. 1965).

Second Chance
1972
as Geoff Smith
A rich stockbroker buys a Nevada ghost town as a community for people who need a second chance in life.

Something Big
1971
as Col. Morgan
Joe Baker has a dream. He wants to do 'something big.' When he needs a Gatling gun to accomplish this, he seeks out a black marketeer. The price he wa...

Scandalous John
1971
as John McCanless
A crotchety old ranch owner fights to be able to live his life the way he wants to, and not the way other people--and the law--tell him he has to.

The McKenzie Break
1970
as Captain Jack Connor
A German U-Boat commander plans a daring escape from a PoW camp in Scotland.

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
1970
as Officer Michael M. Nace
War is brewing between the soldiers at an otherwise quiet army base and the civilians of a nearby Southern town. Brian Keith is an officer who tries t...

Gaily, Gaily
1969
as Francis Sullivan
After runaway Ben Young is robbed and left on his own, he is taken in by Lil, the head of a Chicago brothel. Acting as a surrogate mother for Ben, who...

Krakatoa, East of Java
1968
as Connerly
A team of maritime salvage workers are about to embark on a recovery dive. However the 1883 Krakatoa Volcano eruption provides more pressing problems.

With Six You Get Eggroll
1968
as Jake Iverson
Abby McClure, a widow with three sons, and Jake Iverson, a widower with a teenage daughter, begin dating and eventually decide to get married. But the...

Reflections in a Golden Eye
1967
as Lt. Col. Morris Langdon
Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.

Way... Way Out
1966
as Gen. 'Howling Bull' Hallenby
A platonically wed American couple run a lunar weather station near an unwed Soviet couple.

Nevada Smith
1966
as Jonas Cord
Nevada Smith is the young son of an Indian mother and white father. When his father is killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to find them and...

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
1966
as Police Chief Link Mattocks
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov,...

The Rare Breed
1966
as Alexander Bowen
When her husband dies en route to America, Martha Price and her daughter Hilary are left to carry out his dream: the introduction of Hereford cattle i...

Johnny Shiloh
1965
as Sgt. Gabe Trotter
Johnny Shiloh is a 1963 made for TV film that originally aired in two parts on the Wonderful World of Disney in Color. It was released in other countr...

The Hallelujah Trail
1965
as Frank Wallingham
A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance League, the US cavalry, the miners and the local ...

The Pleasure Seekers
1964
as Paul Barton
A trio of gorgeous American tourists hope to find love while vacationing in Spain. Secretary Maggie Williams falls hard for a married newsman named Pa...

Those Calloways
1964
as Cam Calloway
Story of Cam Calloway and his family, who live in a densely wooded area in New England. Cam dreams of building a sanctuary for the geese that fly over...

The Tenderfoot
1964
as Mose Carson
Based on author James H. Tevis' Arizona in the 50s, The Tenderfoot stars Brandon De Wilde as young Tevis. With nothing more than a stetson, a gun, and...

A Tiger Walks
1964
as Sheriff Pete Williams
A tiger escapes from a circus truck as it passes by a small town, and hides itself in the surrounding woods. This throws the town into a panic and eve...

Bristle Face
1964
as Lue Swank
In the rolling, wooded hills of Tennessee in the 1920s, a 14-year-old orphan, Jace, comes to town with his hound dog and tries to teach him to hunt. B...

The Raiders
1963
as McElroy
Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane help a Texas rancher against the railroad.

Savage Sam
1963
as Uncle Beck Coates
Travis, Arliss, and Lisbeth are captured by Apaches while Old Yeller's son, Sam, tracks their trail.

Moon Pilot
1962
as Maj. Gen. John M. Vanneman
An Air Force captain inadvertently volunteers to make the first manned flight around the moon. He immediately falls under the watchful protection of v...

The Deadly Companions
1961
as Yellowleg
Ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son, tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.

The Parent Trap
1961
as Mitch Evers
Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their ...

Ten Who Dared
1960
as William Dunn
The John Wesley Powell expedition of 1869 explores the dangerous Colorado River, withstands internal dissension, and finally discovers the Grand Canyo...

Rapids Ahead/Bear Country
1960
The first half is a salute to John Wesley Powell, the first man to explore the Colorado River. Walt Disney presents a behind-the-scenes look at the fi...

The Young Philadelphians
1959
as Mike Flanagan
Up and coming young lawyer Anthony Lawrence faces several ethical and emotional dilemmas as he climbs the Philadelphia social ladder. His personal and...

Villa!!
1958
as Bill Harmon
Biographical south-of-the-border cowboy western adventure thriller of Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa

Sierra Baron
1958
as Jack McCrackin
Director James B. Clark's western, set in 1848 California, is about a brother and sister battling a crooked businessman over property rights.

Desert Hell
1958
as Capt. Robert Edwards
This melodrama tells the tale of a great battle between the French Foreign Legion and the rebellious Arab tribe, the Tuaregs, who fight it out upon th...

Violent Road
1958
as Mitch Barton
Following the crash and explosion of a test rocket, which killed several people, six men volunteer to take explosive rocket-fuel chemical components, ...

Fort Dobbs
1958
as Clett
An escaped prisoner helps a mother and her son flee marauding Indians. Director Gordon Douglas' 1958 western stars Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, Richar...

Hell Canyon Outlaws
1957
as Happy Waters
In this western, a sheriff attempts to exact his revenge against the desperadoes who cost him his job. The former lawman successfully gets rid of the ...

Run of the Arrow
1957
as Captain Clark
When the South loses the war, Confederate veteran O'Meara goes West, joins the Sioux, takes a wife and refuses to be an American but he must choose a ...

Appointment with a Shadow
1957
as Lt. Spencer
George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Nader is a bystander at the arrest of a we...

Chicago Confidential
1957
as Jim Fremont
In the Windy City, the mob infiltrates a powerful union.

Dino
1957
as Larry Sheridan
A juvenile delinquent on parole receives support from a social worker and a girl from a slum.

Nightfall
1956
as John
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.

Storm Center
1956
as Paul Duncan
Politicians go after a small-town librarian when she refuses to ban a book. She's quickly labeled a Communist.

5 Against the House
1955
as Brick
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.

Tight Spot
1955
as Vince Striker
A former model, serving time in prison, becomes a key witness in a trial against a notorious gangster. She is put under protective watch by the Distri...

The Violent Men
1955
as Cole Wilkison
A former Union Army officer plans to sell out to Anchor Ranch and move east with his fiancée, but the low price offered by Anchor's crippled owner and...

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer!
1954
as Mike Hammer
In this half-hour unsold pilot, private eye Mike Hammer embarks on a righteous quest for vengeance over the death of his newsboy pal in a mob hit.

The Bamboo Prison
1954
as Cpl. Brady
A communist POW sides with his North Korean guards against his fellow prisoners.

Jivaro
1954
as Tony
At Rio Galdez's remote Brazilian trading post live assorted outcast Americans and Europeans, including Jerry Russell, ex-engineer who became obsessed ...

Alaska Seas
1954
as Jim Kimmerly
A crooked salmon fisherman tries to steal his best friend's fiancée and put him out of business.

Arrowhead
1953
as Capt. Bill North
Director Charles Marquis Warren's 1953 western stars Charlton Heston and Jack Palance. Chief of Scouts Ed Bannon works for the US Army at Fort Clark, ...

Fourteen Hours
1951
as Extra (uncredited)
A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of ...

Boomerang!
1947
as Man in Mob Behind Courthouse (uncredited)
When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the p...

Knute Rockne All American
1940
as Student at Train Station (uncredited)
The story of legendary Notre Dame football player and coach Knute Rockne.