Skip to content
MovieCove
Ian Keith

Ian Keith

Actor · Died March 26, 1960, aged 61 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 24, 1899
Died
March 26, 1960 (aged 61)
From
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
35 on MovieCove · 89 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Up 3% in 30 days

What are Ian Keith's films like?

Across their 24 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Drama10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 43rd percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 42nd percentile
: browse their Action movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
32%
Bonds
24%
Self
17%
Power
11%
Survival
9%
Society
4%
Ideas
2%
Romantic love11 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice8 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 24 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 9 · Serious 8 · Dark 7

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 10 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 4

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 15 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 12 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 16 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 14 · Relentless 3

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 14 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 21 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

11 analyzed roles

Usually the Threshold guardian: 4 of 11 analyzed roles.

Threshold guardian
4 of 11
Shadow
4 of 11
Mentor
1 of 11
Herald
1 of 11
Shapeshifter
1 of 11
Show the 11 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
15
Thrilling
12
Romantic
10
Melancholic
6
Hopeful
4
Other
15

How their films linger

Bittersweet11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy15
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic4
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ian Keith's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 35 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ian Keith's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

89 credits, 35 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Ten Commandments(1956)

    as Rameses I

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Duel on the Mississippi(1955)

    as Jacques Scarlet

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • It Came from Beneath the Sea(1955)

    as Adm. Burns

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • New York Confidential (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    as Waluska

  • Prince of Players (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    as Ghost of Hamlet's father in "Hamlet"

  • The Black Shield of Falworth(1954)

    as King Henry IV

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • The Three Musketeers(1948)

    as Rochefort

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Ford Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Forever Amber(1947)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Nightmare Alley(1947)

    as Pete Krumbein

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Dick Tracy's Dilemma(1947)

    as Vitamin Flintheart

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Border Feud(1947)

    as Doc Peters

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Dick Tracy vs. Cueball(1946)

    as Vitamin Flintheart

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Mr. Hex (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Mr. Raymond, the Hypnotist

  • The Strange Woman(1946)

    as Lincoln Pittridge (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Singing on the Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Jerry Easton

  • Valley of the Zombies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Ormond Murks

  • Northwest Trail(1945)

    as Inspector McGrath

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Song of Old Wyoming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Lee Landow

  • The Spanish Main(1945)

    as Captain Lussan

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Phantom of the Plains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Fancy Charlie

  • Identity Unknown(1945)

    as Maj. Williams

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Fog Island(1945)

    as Dr. Lake

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Under Western Skies(1945)

    as Professor Moffett

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • She Gets Her Man(1945)

    as Oliver McQuestion

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Cowboy from Lonesome River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Matt Conway

  • Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Dr. Paul Recknik

  • Arizona Whirlwind(1944)

    as Polini

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Casanova in Burlesque (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as J. Boggs-Robinson

  • Here Comes Kelly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as L. Herbert Oakley

  • Nazty Nuisance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as Chief Paj Mab

  • Bordertown Gun Fighters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as Cameo Shelby

  • The Man from Thunder River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    as Henry Stevens

  • Five Graves to Cairo(1943)

    as Capt. St. Bride (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • I Escaped from the Gestapo(1943)

    as Gerard

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Wild Horse Stampede(1943)

    as Carson

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Corregidor(1943)

    as Capt. Morris

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • The Sundown Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as J. Richard Spencer

  • Keep 'Em Sailing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as FBI Director Sinclair

  • The Payoff (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Inspector Thomas

  • Fall In (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Army Doctor

  • Remember Pearl Harbor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Capt. Hudson

  • The Sea Hawk(1940)

    as Peralta

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • All This, and Heaven Too(1940)

    as DeLangle

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Comet Over Broadway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Wilton Banks

  • The Buccaneer(1938)

    as Senator Crawford

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • White Legion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Dr. Julian Murray

  • Mary of Scotland(1936)

    as Moray

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Don't Gamble with Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as John Crane

  • The Preview Murder Mystery(1936)

    as E. Gordon Smith

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • The Three Musketeers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Count de Rochefort

  • Hollywood Extra Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Crusades Actor (uncredited)

  • The Crusades(1935)

    as Saladin

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Dangerous Corner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Martin Chatfield

  • Cleopatra(1934)

    as Octavian

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Queen Christina(1933)

    as Magnus

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Sign of the Cross(1932)

    as Tigellinus

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Deceiver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Reginald Thorpe

  • Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)(1931)

    as Robert Lane

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Phantom of Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Marquis Max Du Touchais

  • The Sin Ship (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Smiley Marsden

  • A Tailor-Made Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Dr. Gustav von Sonntag

  • The Boudoir Diplomat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Baron Belmar

  • Abraham Lincoln(1930)

    as John Wilkes Booth

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • The Big Trail(1930)

    as Bill Thorpe

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Prince of Diamonds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Rupert Endon

  • The Great Divide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Steven Ghent

  • Light Fingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Light Fingers

  • Prisoners (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Nicholas Cathy

  • The Divine Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Honorable Charles Greville

  • The Look Out Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Dean Richardson

  • The Street of Illusion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Edwin Booth Benton

  • A Man's Past (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Dr. Fontaine

  • Two Arabian Knights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Shevket

  • Convoy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Smith

  • What Every Girl Should Know (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Arthur Graham

  • The Love of Sunya(1927)

    as Louis Anthony

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Truthful Sex (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Tom Barnes

  • The Prince of Tempters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Mario Ambrosio, later Baron Humberto Giordano

  • The Lily (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as George Arnaud

  • The Greater Glory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Pauli Birbach

  • The Tower of Lies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Lars

  • The Talker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Ned Hollister

  • My Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Felipe Vargas

  • Enticement (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Richard Valyran

  • Love's Wilderness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Paul L'Estrange

  • Christine of the Hungry Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Ivan Vianney

  • Her Love Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Captain Kavor

  • Manhandled (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Robert Brandt

Career shape

Star power in the 95th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 89 titles from 1924 to 1956.

Biggest box office

Nightmare Alley (1947)

$362 worldwide

Highest rated

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Queen Christina (1933)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting89 of 89: 89 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score55th

By decade

1920s23 · acting1930s22 · acting1940s38 · acting1950s6 · acting

Billing

usually 8th · top billed in 0% of 19 roles
273747

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Ian Keith's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 35; across their 24 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 24

Approval · how many liked their films

47thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 24

Reach · how many have seen their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 24

Midcredits score across 35 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th11
  • 25th to 49th9
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

15 of their 35 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser15
  • Broadly Agreed5
  • Mixed10

Most divisive · actor

The Love of Sunya (1927)

62nd percentile spread · 12% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Ian Keith's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 27 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Ian Keith work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ian Keith's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Cecil B. DeMille shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers