Douglas Spencer

Douglas Spencer

Douglas Spencer (born July 4, 1910 – March 5, 1960) was an American actor, best known for his roles in classic science fiction films and film noirs during the 1940s and 1950s. Spencer was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was drawn to the entertainment industry early on and began his career in theater before transitioning to films. He often played characters with a tough, no-nonsense edge, making him a popular choice for a variety of roles in films of the time. Spencer's big break came when he landed a role in the influential science fiction film *The Thing from Another World* (1951), directed by Christian Nyby and produced by Howard Hawks. In the film, Spencer played the role of a reporter named Ned Scott, who is among the group of scientists and military personnel investigating a mysterious alien threat in the Arctic. *The Thing from Another World* became a classic of the genre and remains one of Spencer’s most memorable roles. In addition to his work in science fiction, Spencer appeared in several other films across a range of genres. He was frequently cast in supporting roles in film noirs, thrillers, and dramas, and his distinctive, gravelly voice and sharp screen presence made him a recognizable face in Hollywood. Other notable films he appeared in include *The Big Clock* (1948), a crime thriller directed by John Farrow, and *The Green Glove* (1952), a suspenseful drama. Douglas Spencer was married to actress *Ann Wedgeworth*, and their marriage lasted for several years. After the height of his film career, Spencer continued working in television and on stage, although he never achieved the same level of fame as some of his contemporaries. Spencer’s career was cut short when he died from cancer at the age of 49, on March 5, 1960. Despite his relatively brief career, he remains fondly remembered by fans of classic sci-fi and noir films. Douglas Spencer's legacy is primarily tied to his memorable performance in *The Thing from Another World*, but his work across various genres helped solidify him as a dependable and versatile character actor in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His contributions to the sci-fi and noir genres continue to be appreciated by film enthusiasts today.

Known For: Acting

Born: Princeton, Illinois, USA, 1910-02-10

Died: 1960-10-06

Film

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1939	The Day the Bookies Wept	Auction Spectator (uncredited)	50
2	1939	Allegheny Uprising	Prisoner in Irons	56
3	1940	Lucky Partners	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)	60
4	1940	Men Against the Sky	Mechanic	44
5	1940	Christmas in July	Man Listening to Radio (uncredited)	69
6	1940	Little Nellie Kelly	Policeman in Dance Line (uncredited)	67
7	1941	Lady Scarface	Police Secretary	51
8	1941	The Mexican Spitfire's Baby	Hotel Guest	43
9	1942	A Date with the Falcon	Witness at Accident (uncredited)	65
10	1942	Fall In	Military Policeman	60
11	1943	Princess O'Rourke	Pilot (uncredited)	63
12	1944	Double Indemnity	Lou Schwartz (uncredited)	81
13	1945	Incendiary Blonde	New Years Eve Party Patron (uncredited)	51
14	1945	Kitty	Guest (uncredited)	55
15	1945	The Lost Weekend	Hospital Patient Seeing Imaginary Beetles (uncredited)	76
16	1946	The Dark Corner	Deli Customer (uncredited)	66
17	1947	Adventure Island	Prisoner sharing cell with Herrick and Lochlin (uncredited)	47
18	1948	The Big Clock	Bert Finch	73
19	1948	The Sainted Sisters	Townsman (uncredited)	70
20	1948	Night Has a Thousand Eyes	Dr. Ramsdell	67
21	1949	Alias Nick Beal	Henry T. Finch	69
22	1949	Bride of Vengeance	False Physician	50
23	1949	It Happens Every Spring	Train Conductor (uncredited)	64
24	1949	Follow Me Quietly	Phony Judge	62
25	1949	Red, Hot and Blue	Actor in Theatre Group (uncredited)	58
26	1949	Trapped	Sam Hooker (uncredited)	58
27	1949	The Heiress	Minister (uncredited)	78
28	1949	My Friend Irma	Interior Decorator (uncredited)	68
29	1950	Father of the Bride	Fritz the Organist (uncredited)	70
30	1950	Union Station	Stationmaster (uncredited)	64
31	1951	The Redhead and The Cowboy	Perry (Union agent)	49
32	1951	The Thing from Another World	Ned 'Scotty' Scott	67
33	1951	A Place in the Sun	Boatkeeper (uncredited)	73
34	1951	Come Fill the Cup	Ike Bashaw	70
35	1951	Warpath	Kelso	58
36	1952	Something to Live For	Joey (uncredited)	68
37	1952	Untamed Frontier	Clayton Vance	72
38	1952	Monkey Business	Dr. Brunner	67
39	1953	She's Back on Broadway	Lew Ludlow	57
40	1953	The Glass Wall	Inspector Bailey	53
41	1953	Trouble Along the Way	Father Procurator aka George	59
42	1953	Shane	Axel 'Swede' Shipstead	74
43	1953	Houdini	Simms	65
44	1954	River of No Return	Sam Benson	67
45	1954	The Raid	Rev. Douglas	65
46	1955	Smoke Signal	Garode	65
47	1955	This Island Earth	The Monitor of Metaluna	60
48	1955	The Kentuckian	Frome Brother (uncredited)	57
49	1955	A Man Alone	Henry Slocum	57
50	1956	Pardners	Smith	67
51	1956	Man from Del Rio	Sheriff Jack Tillman	62
52	1957	The Unholy Wife	Judge	46
53	1957	Omar Khayyam	Pigeon Keeper	50
54	1957	Short Cut to Hell	Train Conductor	57
55	1957	The Three Faces of Eve	Mr. Black	72
56	1958	Saddle the Wind	Hemp Scribner	65
57	1958	Cole Younger, Gunfighter	Marshal Fred Woodruff	62
58	1959	The Diary of Anne Frank	Kraler	72
59	1961	The Sins of Rachel Cade	Doctor Bikel	55

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Jonas	63
2	1954	Studio 57		0
3	1955	The Millionaire	Joe Brock	50
4	1955	Cheyenne		58
5	1956	Wire Service	Mason	0
6	1958	The Rifleman		70
7	1959	Bonanza	Alonzo McFadden	75
8	1959	The Twilight Zone	1st Martian	84
9	1959	The Rebel	Joe Shandell	51

No.

Year

Title

Role

Vote Average

1950