Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten

1905-05-15 Petersburg, Virginia, USA 102 Credits

Biography

Joseph Cheshire Cotten (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair. He is associated with Orson Welles, leading to appearances in Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay, and The Third Man (1949). He was a star in his own right with films such as Shadow...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

2018

as Self (archive footage)

7.1
Acting

As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other...

Too Much Johnson

Too Much Johnson

2013

as Augustus Billings

5.3
Acting

This film was not intended to stand by itself, but was designed as the cinematic aspect of Welles' Mercury Theatre stage presentation of William Gille...

Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film

Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film

2000

as Self

7.0
Acting

A short documentary about the Making Of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943).

Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook

1991

as Baron Frankenstein (archive footage)

5.7
Acting

Documentary with a treasure trove of rare footage and vintage trailers, offering a rich and unusual look at the history of Frankenstein on the screen.

Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths

Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths

1990

as (archive footage)

5.7
Acting

Welcome behind the closed doors of a Hollywood that only a select few will ever get to see -- a Hollywood of tragic lives and tragic deaths. Some of t...

The Survivor

The Survivor

1981

as Priest

5.2
Acting

When a 747 crashes shortly after take-off, the sole survivor is the pilot. Virtually unhurt, he and the investigators look for the answers to the disa...

Delusion

Delusion

1981

as Ivar Langrock

3.8
Acting

Meredith Stone, a home care nurse, has been assigned the duty of looking after a wealthy invalid named Ivar Langrock. Cooped up in Langrock's stately ...

Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate

1980

as The Reverend Doctor

6.8
Acting

Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished imm...

Casino

Casino

1980

as Ed Booker

10.0
Acting

Mike Connors is a suave gambler who owns a floating hotel/casino which takes a turn when the passengers are stalked by a saboteur during the casino sh...

The Hearse

The Hearse

1980

as Walter Prichard

5.3
Acting

A schoolteacher moves into her deceased aunt’s house in a small Californian town, and is harassed by unfriendly locals and a mysterious hearse.

Churchill and the Generals

Churchill and the Generals

1979

as Gen. George C. Marshall

Acting

The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during World War II.

Guyana: Crime of the Century

Guyana: Crime of the Century

1979

as Richard Gable

4.8
Acting

This horrific dramatization of the Guyana tragedy traces the steps of Reverend Jim Jones, a highly charismatic, but profoundly paranoid clergyman, who...

Concorde Affair

Concorde Affair

1979

as Milland

6.6
Acting

A reporter tries to stop the crash of an aircraft after uncovering an airline's plot to save their business by sabotaging Concorde flights and have th...

Island of the Fishmen

Island of the Fishmen

1979

as Prof. Ernest Marvin

5.6
Acting

After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on a seemingly deserted island. They soon discover a str...

The Perfect Crime

The Perfect Crime

1978

as Sir Arthur Dundee

5.3
Acting

The death of a multinational company’s chairman induces the three candidates for the chairmanship to plot against one another for control of the busin...

Caravans

Caravans

1978

as Crandall

5.3
Acting

This epic adventure-drama based on James Michener's best-selling novel concerns a young American embassy official who is sent into the Middle-Eastern ...

Last In, First Out

Last In, First Out

1978

as Foster Johnson

3.4
Acting

A woman on a train becomes the center of attention when she is mistaken for a spy by opposing factions who are traveling on the same line.

Return to Fantasy Island

Return to Fantasy Island

1978

as Simon Grant

4.7
Acting

A second feature-length pilot film for the wish-fulfillment series sees six lucky people having their dreams fulfilled on the luxury resort island. Ca...

Airport '77

Airport '77

1977

as Nicholas St. Downs III

5.6
Acting

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle after a hijacking gone wrong. Now the surviving passengers must brave panic, slow leaks, oxygen depletio...

Twilight's Last Gleaming

Twilight's Last Gleaming

1977

as Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State

6.4
Acting

A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 u...

A Whisper in the Dark

A Whisper in the Dark

1976

as The Professor

6.0
Acting

Martino is a young child who claims to have an invisible friend called Luca. His parents assume it is just a game, but strange things start to happen.

Mysteries of the Gods

Mysteries of the Gods

1976

as Narrator

5.6
Acting

William Shatner explores the theory that the U.S. government is involved in a cover-up of visiting alien spacecraft. Based on a book by Erich von Däni...

The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case

The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case

1976

as Dr. Joseph Francis Condon

6.4
Acting

Fact-based story of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., son and namesake of the famed pilot, and ensuing trial of accused and convicted killer, B...

Timber Tramps

Timber Tramps

1975

as Greedy sawmill mogul

Acting

A tough, hard-drinking Alaska logging foreman likes fighting only slightly less than working.

Syndicate Sadists

Syndicate Sadists

1975

as Paternò

5.9
Acting

A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to ge...

A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance

1973

as Harry

6.3
Acting

In their finely appointed Connecticut home, Agnes and Tobias have grown used to the imperfection and fragility of their marriage. Quietly nursing thei...

F for Fake

F for Fake

1973

as Self

7.4
Acting

Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his nam...

Soylent Green

Soylent Green

1973

as William R. Simonson

6.9
Acting

In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s leaders to finding food for the teeming masses. The answer i...

The Devil's Daughter

The Devil's Daughter

1973

as Judge Weatherby

6.5
Acting

A young girl whose mother had sold her soul to Satan when she was born is told by Satan that she must marry a fellow demon.

Police Dog

1973

as Narrator

Acting

Narrated by Joseph Cotten, this two-part film shows how police dogs are trained and how they help police officers in many ways from cornering suspects...

The Scopone Game

The Scopone Game

1972

as George

7.4
Acting

An aging American millionairess journeys to Rome each year with her chauffeur George to play the card game scopone with destitute Peppino and his wife...

Baron Blood

Baron Blood

1972

as Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker

6.2
Acting

A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of an ancestor, a sadistic Baron who was cursed to a viol...

Doomsday Voyage

Doomsday Voyage

1972

as Captain Jason

Acting

A political extremist on the run after assassinating a corrupt politician, poses as a French sailor in hopes of fleeing the country.

The Screaming Woman

The Screaming Woman

1972

as George Tresvant

6.7
Acting

A wealthy former mental patient goes home to her estate to rest and recuperate. While walking the grounds one day she hears the screams of a woman com...

Lady Frankenstein

Lady Frankenstein

1971

as Baron Frankenstein

5.5
Acting

When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant continue his experiments.

City Beneath the Sea

City Beneath the Sea

1971

as Dr. Ziegler

4.1
Acting

A group of 21st-century colonists inhabit an underwater city called Pacifica. Originally intended as a purely scientific installation, the U. S. gover...

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

1971

as Dr. Vesalius

6.9
Acting

After a team of surgeons botches his beloved wife's operation, the distraught Dr. Phibes unleashes a score of Old-Testament atrocities on his enemies.

Do You Take This Stranger?

Do You Take This Stranger?

1971

as Dr. Robert Carson

5.0
Acting

A social climber/con artist schemes to inherit one million dollars by trading identities with a dying man.

Assault on the Wayne

Assault on the Wayne

1971

as Admiral

3.0
Acting

The U.S. submarine Anthony Wayne is underway for a top-secret mission. Onboard is a highly classified device that will give the Americans a decided nu...

Journey to Murder

Journey to Murder

1971

as Jeff Wheeler

Acting

Television movie that consists of two episodes from the UK TV series Journey to the Unknown (1968): Do Me a Favor and Kill Me (1968) and The Killing B...

The Grasshopper

The Grasshopper

1970

as Richard Morgan

5.1
Acting

A British Columbia teenager dreams of show business but winds up as a call girl in Las Vegas.

Cutter's Trail

Cutter's Trail

1970

as General Spalding

7.5
Acting

The Marshal of Santa Fe returns home to find his town almost wiped out by Mexican bandits and enlists the help of a young Mexican boy and his mother t...

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970

as Henry L. Stimson

7.1
Acting

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! ...

The Lonely Profession

The Lonely Profession

1969

as Martin Bannister

Acting

Private investigator Leo Gordon is hired to trail Karen Mendaros, the mistress of a reclusive billionaire. When they meet, Gordon and Mendaros hit it ...

Latitude Zero

Latitude Zero

1969

as Capt. Craig McKenzie / Cmdr. Glenn McKenzie

5.8
Acting

A massive underwater volcano erupts and puts a group of investigative scientists in danger. They are rescued by an atomic super submarine named The Al...

Split Second to an Epitaph

Split Second to an Epitaph

1968

as Dr. Ben Stern

Acting

In the second "Ironside" movie, the Chief has his spine jolted during a hospital encounter with a narcotics pusher, not only raising the possibility f...

White Comanche

White Comanche

1968

as Sheriff Logan

4.6
Acting

William Shatner plays two roles: cowboy Johnny Moon and his ruthless Indian twin brother, Notah. Notah likes peyote and gets the crazy idea that he's ...

Petulia

Petulia

1968

as Mr. Danner

5.9
Acting

Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of...

Gangsters '70

Gangsters '70

1968

as Destil

7.0
Acting

An elderly gangster just released from prison plans one last job, and gathers a small crew to do the job, but the plan goes sour when one of the crew ...

Alexander The Great

Alexander The Great

1968

as Antigonus

5.0
Acting

An historical film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king that united all ancient Greek tribes and led them against the vas...

Petulia: The Uncommon Movie

Petulia: The Uncommon Movie

1968

as Himself

Acting

A short featurette on the making of "Petulia"

Jack of Diamonds

Jack of Diamonds

1967

as Ace

4.2
Acting

The protégé of a famous cat burglar reluctantly agrees to join forces with a lesser criminal in the daring heist of several famous jewels from a seemi...

The Hellbenders

The Hellbenders

1967

as Colonel Jonas

6.5
Acting

A Southern Colonel, his three sons, and a card shark embark on an odyssey through the Southwest carrying a coffin full of stolen money with which the ...

Some May Live

Some May Live

1967

as Colonel Woodward

3.5
Acting

During the Vietnam War U.S. decoder Kate Meredith is plagued with guilt when her husband coerces her to pass information to him and the Viet Cong.

Lionpower from MGM

Lionpower from MGM

1967

4.5
Acting

"Lionpower from MGM" (1967) is an exciting 60's promotional short subject, which showcases MGM's releases for the 1967-68 film season under a "five se...

Brighty of the Grand Canyon

Brighty of the Grand Canyon

1966

as Jim

5.5
Acting

At the turn of the century in the Southwest, Brighty the wild burro accompanies his friend, a prospector named Old Timer, on a hunt for gold. A claim ...

The Oscar

The Oscar

1966

as Kenneth Regan

5.1
Acting

An amoral lowlife accidentally stumbles into an acting career that sets him on a trajectory to Hollywood stardom. But everyone on whom he steps on the...

The Tramplers

The Tramplers

1965

as Temple Cordeen

5.9
Acting

After the war of secession, the aging Cordeen, who owns thousands of acres in Texas, rules his numerous and quarrelsome sons with an iron hand. He sen...

The Money Trap

The Money Trap

1965

as Dr. Horace Van Tilden

5.0
Acting

When half a million dollars disappears from a doctor office's safe, the cops assigned to the burglary case, Joe and Pete, decide to find the money and...

The Great Sioux Massacre

The Great Sioux Massacre

1965

as Major Marcus A. Reno

4.2
Acting

Colonel Custer, an outspoken believer in fair treatment for the Indians, is ousted from his post and forced into retirement. Fueled by ambition when a...

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

1964

as Drew Bayliss

7.3
Acting

An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

1961

as Self (uncredited)

3.3
Acting

Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O. Selznick, who epitomized the era of the auteur producer in t...

The Last Sunset

The Last Sunset

1961

as John Breckenridge

6.8
Acting

At a Mexican ranch, fugitive O'Malley and pursuing Sheriff Stribling agree to help rancher Breckenridge drive his herd into Texas where Stribling coul...

The Angel Wore Red

The Angel Wore Red

1960

as Hawthorne

5.3
Acting

A clergyman travels to Spain to join the Loyalist side during the Spanish Civil War and finds himself attracted to a beautiful entertainer.

From the Earth to the Moon

From the Earth to the Moon

1958

as Victor Barbicane

5.1
Acting

Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane invents a new source of power called Power X. He plans to use it to p...

Touch of Evil

Touch of Evil

1958

as Coroner (uncredited)

7.8
Acting

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along ...

The Edge of Innocence

The Edge of Innocence

1957

as Robert Rainey

Acting

An unscrupulous criminal lawyer falls in love with a wealthy widow and becomes involved with her brother's disappearance and murder.

The Halliday Brand

The Halliday Brand

1957

as Daniel Halliday

6.1
Acting

Sheriff Halliday doesn't approve of his children dating or marrying half-breeds and his blind hate threatens to alienate his whole family.

The Killer Is Loose

The Killer Is Loose

1956

as Detective Sam Wagner

6.6
Acting

A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam W...

The Bottom of the Bottle

The Bottom of the Bottle

1956

as Pat 'P.M.' Martin

5.5
Acting

An alcoholic escaped convict asks his Arizona lawyer brother to help him cross the Mexican border.

Special Delivery

Special Delivery

1955

as John Adams

Acting

Complications ensue when a U.S. diplomat discovers that he has a baby on his hands and an undercover gal in his arms.

A Blueprint for Murder

A Blueprint for Murder

1953

as Whitney 'Cam' Cameron

6.1
Acting

Whitney Cameron is in a quandary: he's attracted to his beautiful sister-in-law, Lynn, but also harbors serious suspicions about her. Her husband, Cam...

Egypt by Three

1953

as Narrator

6.0
Acting

Three tales of life on the Nile River reveal love and vengeance, religion and deception. Each atmospheric vignette offers an eye-opening take on the ...

Niagara

Niagara

1953

as George Loomis

6.8
Acting

Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who a...

The Steel Trap

The Steel Trap

1952

as Jim Osborne

6.4
Acting

Joseph Cotten plays an assistant bank manager who steals $1,000,000 from the safe late on a Friday and then plans to flee to Brazil over the weekend.

Untamed Frontier

Untamed Frontier

1952

as Kirk Denbow

7.2
Acting

The Denbow family denies access across their land to homesteaders. To evade a murder charge, Glenn Denbow marries Jane, the only witness who's in love...

Othello

Othello

1951

as Senator (uncredited)

7.3
Acting

When a secret marriage is planned between Othello, a Moorish general, and Desdemona, the daughter of Senator Brabantio, her old suitor Roderigo takes ...

The Man with a Cloak

The Man with a Cloak

1951

as Dupin

6.9
Acting

Set in 19th-century New York, this mystery begins when a Frenchwoman shows up at the home of one of Napoleon's former marshals. The alcoholic man is b...

Peking Express

Peking Express

1951

as Michael Bachlin

8.0
Acting

A group of refugees fleeing Chinese Communist rule via train are beset by a gang of terrifying outlaws.

Half Angel

Half Angel

1951

as John Raymond Jr.

5.6
Acting

Nurse Nora Gilpin plans are to marry building contractor Tim McCarey and settle down. But one night a sleepwalking Nora slips into a provocative dress...

September Affair

September Affair

1950

as David Lawrence

6.0
Acting

An industrialist and a pianist meet on a trip and fall in love. Through a quirk of fate, they are reported dead in a crash though they weren't on the ...

Walk Softly, Stranger

Walk Softly, Stranger

1950

as Chris Hale aka Steve

5.0
Acting

A petty crook moves to an Ohio town and courts a factory owner's disabled daughter.

Two Flags West

Two Flags West

1950

as Col. Clay Tucker

6.2
Acting

A group of confedarate prisoners is sent to a unionist fort in the west to help the local garrison to fight the indians.

Beyond the Forest

Beyond the Forest

1949

as Doctor Louis Moline

6.8
Acting

Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead. S...

Under Capricorn

Under Capricorn

1949

as Sam Flusky

6.1
Acting

A native Briton banished to Australia for murder, and his wife, Henrietta, the disturbed sister of the man he was convicted on killing, set out to hel...

The Third Man

The Third Man

1949

as Holly Martins

7.9
Acting

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he ...

Portrait of Jennie

Portrait of Jennie

1948

as Eben Adams

7.1
Acting

A mysterious girl inspires a struggling artist.

Our American Heritage

1947

as Narrator

Acting

Public service featurette shown in connection with the 1947-1949 biannual nation-wide tour of the Foundation Freedom Train, a government-endorsed camp...

The Farmer's Daughter

The Farmer's Daughter

1947

as Glenn Morley

6.9
Acting

After leaving her family's farm to study nursing in the city, a young woman finds herself on an unexpected path towards politics.

Duel in the Sun

Duel in the Sun

1946

as Jesse McCanles

6.3
Acting

Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad...

Love Letters

Love Letters

1945

as Allen Quinton

6.4
Acting

When a man asks another man more facile with words to do his wooing for him, there are always complications. The man with no talent for writing marrie...

I'll Be Seeing You

I'll Be Seeing You

1944

as Zachary Morgan

7.1
Acting

Mary Marshall, serving a six year term for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas furlough from prison to visit her closest relatives, her uncl...

Since You Went Away

Since You Went Away

1944

as Lieutenant Tony Willett

6.5
Acting

In 1943, several people enter, re-enter, and exit the difficult life of a Midwestern family whose patriarch has been called up to war, leaving behind ...

Gaslight

Gaslight

1944

as Brian Cameron

7.5
Acting

A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.

Hers to Hold

Hers to Hold

1943

as Bill Morley

6.9
Acting

Deanna Durbin is all grown up in Hers to Hold, the unofficial sequel to her "Three Smart Girls" films of the 1930s. Durbin plays Penelope Craig, the s...

Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

1943

as Uncle Charlie

7.5
Acting

Just when Charlie is feeling especially frustrated by the lack of excitement in her small town in California, she receives wonderful news: Her uncle a...

Journey into Fear

Journey into Fear

1943

as Howard Graham

6.0
Acting

An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by Nazi agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers th...

Journey into Fear

Journey into Fear

1943

Screenplay

6.0
Writing

An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by Nazi agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers th...

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Magnificent Ambersons

1942

as Eugene Morgan

7.3
Acting

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.

Lydia

Lydia

1941

as Michael Fitzpatrick

6.5
Acting

Lydia MacMillan, a wealthy woman who has never married, invites several men her own age to her home to reminisce about the times when they were young ...

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane

1941

as Jedediah Leland

8.0
Acting

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, ty...

Seeing the World: Part One - A Visit to New York, N.Y.

Seeing the World: Part One - A Visit to New York, N.Y.

1937

4.3
Acting

A sightseeing portrait of New York, with lively narration taking the viewer aboard the New York elevated and subway trains. Then the view from the win...