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IMDbPro

Eric Portman(1901-1969)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Eric Portman
The Prisoner: Checkmate
Play trailer1:04
Free for All (1967)
5 Videos
31 Photos
With his clipped delivery, aristocratic if somewhat ominous manner and suave, urbane demeanour, Eric Portman was so good at playing German and/or Nazi officers that many believed he actually was German, or at least Austrian. The fact is that he was British to the core, having been born, raised and educated in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. He began his acting career on the stage in 1923, specialising in works by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. His film debut came in the Tod Slaughter melodrama Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn (1935) as, oddly enough, a Gypsy.

Portman became a favourite of renowned filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, leading to a role he is probably best remembered for - the determined Nazi commander of a German U-boat sunk off the coast of Canada in Pako (1941), who tries to lead his crew across Canada in order to get to the safety of the US, which was at the time not involved in the war. His versatility was obvious in a film he made the next year, Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942) as an RAF officer who finds himself stranded in Nazi-occupied Holland.

Portman kept busy over the next 25 years in a variety of roles, as villain and hero, in both thrillers and dramas. After making Kuolemanhyppy (1968) he retired, apart from a few television projects over the next year or so. He died in 1969 of heart problems.
BornJuly 13, 1901
DiedDecember 7, 1969(68)
BornJuly 13, 1901
DiedDecember 7, 1969(68)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos31

Robert Duncan, Eric Portman, and David Ward in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Hugh Burden and Eric Portman in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Eric Portman, and Googie Withers in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Joan Akkerman, Willem Akkerman, Pamela Brown, Hugh Burden, Arnold Marlé, Bernard Miles, Valerie Moon, Eric Portman, Peter Schenke, Godfrey Tearle, and Hugh Williams in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Joan Akkerman, Willem Akkerman, Hugh Burden, Bernard Miles, Valerie Moon, Eric Portman, Peter Schenke, Godfrey Tearle, and Hugh Williams in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Bernard Miles, Eric Portman, Godfrey Tearle, and Hugh Williams in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)
Eric Portman and Edana Romney in Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
Eric Portman and Edana Romney in Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
Eric Portman and Edana Romney in Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
Barbara Greene and Eric Portman in Kuutamosonaatti (1937)
Sidney Poitier and Eric Portman in Hyökkäys Jäämerellä (1965)
Hugh Burden, Eric Portman, and Googie Withers in Yksi pommikoneistamme on kateissa (1942)

Known for:

Canterburyn tarinoita (1944)
Canterburyn tarinoita
7.3
  • Thomas Colpeper, JP
  • 1944
Dear Murderer (1947)
Dear Murderer
6.9
  • Lee Warren
  • 1947
Edith Evans in Kuiskausten talo (1967)
Kuiskausten talo
7.1
  • Archie Ross
  • 1967
A 1956 Golden Era Film for Eros Films, this was another tear-jerker for child star Mandy Miller to strut her stuff after the box office success "Mandy."
Child in the House
6.1
  • Henry Acheson
  • 1956

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Kaz Garas, Anthony Quayle, and Anneke Wills in Strange Report (1969)
    Strange Report
    8.3
    TV Series
    • Elleston
    • 1969
  • Kuolemanhyppy (1968)
    Kuolemanhyppy
    5.7
    • Moreau
    • 1968
  • Joan Hackett and Patrick O'Neal in Tehtävänä tappaa (1968)
    Tehtävänä tappaa
    6.0
    • Notary
    • 1968
  • Patrick McGoohan in Saarroksissa (1967)
    Saarroksissa
    8.5
    TV Series
    • Number Two
    • 1967
  • Edith Evans in Kuiskausten talo (1967)
    Kuiskausten talo
    7.1
    • Archie Ross
    • 1967
  • ITV Play of the Week (1955)
    ITV Play of the Week
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Dr. David Sorel
    • 1967
  • Kylmäkuonoinen vakoilija (1966)
    Kylmäkuonoinen vakoilija
    5.6
    • British Ambassador
    • 1966
  • Hyökkäys Jäämerellä (1965)
    Hyökkäys Jäämerellä
    7.3
    • Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke - Deutsche Marine
    • 1965
  • West 11 (1963)
    West 11
    6.5
    • Richard Dyce
    • 1963
  • Mies joka kuoli kolmasti (1963)
    Mies joka kuoli kolmasti
    6.1
    • Inspector Hofmeister
    • 1963
  • Donald Pleasence and Betsy Blair in Love Story (1963)
    Love Story
    7.5
    TV Series
    • George Talbot
    • 1963
  • August for the People
    TV Movie
    • Sir Augustus Thwaites
    • 1963
  • Montgomery Clift, Susan Kohner, Larry Parks, and Susannah York in Freud: salatut intohimot (1962)
    Freud: salatut intohimot
    7.2
    • Dr. Theodore Meynert
    • 1962
  • ITV Television Playhouse (1955)
    ITV Television Playhouse
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Mr. Bell
    • Simmie
    • 1955–1961
  • Deborah Kerr in Paljastettu terä (1961)
    Paljastettu terä
    6.6
    • Jeremy Clay
    • 1961

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 1:08
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 0:34
Official Trailer
The Man Who Finally Died
Trailer 1:33
The Man Who Finally Died
Abdul the Damned
Trailer 1:13
Abdul the Damned
The Prisoner: Checkmate
Trailer 1:04
The Prisoner: Checkmate

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • July 13, 1901
    • Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • December 7, 1969
    • St Veep, Cornwall, England, UK(heart ailment)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared with Margaret Leighton in the original London and Broadway productions of "Separat Tables". Unlike the 1958 movie version (Eri pöydissä (1958)), Portman and Leighton each played two roles. Portman played the characters portrayed by David Niven and Burt Lancaster in the film, and Leighton took on the roles played in the film by Deborah Kerr and Rita Hayworth. NOTE: Portman was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor (Dramatic).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 10 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 9 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In 1942, he was voted one of the top 10 money making film stars in Britain.
  • Quotes
    Acting is like masturbation--one either does it or one doesn't, but one never talks about it.

FAQ8

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