A regular "good guy" and "bad guy" presence in sagebrush sagas and two-fisted film action during the early 1950s, brawny, blond-haired Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr. was born in 1916 in Ossining, New York, the son of a prison warden there at Sing Sing, and his wife, the matron of a detention center. Alex developed an early interest in acting and originally trained at the Fagin School of Dramatic Art. On the professional stage from 1938, he soon found work as an apprentice to Maurice Evans. As part of the ensemble in his highly-regarded Shakespearean production company, he appeared on stage with the great actor in "Henry IV, Part I" (1939) and "Richard II" (1940) on Broadway. Following a stage role in "Return Engagement," his newly-found career was interrupted by World War II. Following his five-year stretch as a Tech Sergeant with the National Guard and Cavalry Unit, he became a student and eventual charter member of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. He also returned to Broadway in such shows as "Sundown Beach" and "South Pacific" (in the ensemble as a Marine). Other post-war stage plays included "Waiting for Lefty," "Forward the Heart" and "Mister Roberts," in which he took over Ralph Meeker's role (as the sailor Minnion) and served as understudy to Henry Fonda. The pinnacle of his Broadway career occurred when he replaced Ben Gazzara and received excellent reviews as Brick in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1956. Alex's film career was launched when he was discovered by Universal-International director George Sherman, who cast him in a prime role in his film mystery The Sleeping City (1950) starring Richard Conte and Coleen Gray. He next appeared in Tomahawk (1951), the first of his many oaters, which starred Yvonne De Carlo, Van Heflin and an up-and-coming Rock Hudson. Continuing in the same vein throughout the early 1950s as both support player and occasional lead, he played an assortment of decent, law-abiding sheriffs and simpering, murdering gunslingers in such westerns as The Redhead from Wyoming (1953), his first co-starring role opposite Maureen O'Hara, The Lone Hand (1953), Law and Order (1953), Dawn at Socorro (1954), and his best film, The Man from Laramie (1955) in which he memorably menaced James Stewart. Outside the western genre he rolled out such outdoor/war pictures as Target Unknown (1951), Air Cadet (1951), Red Ball Express (1952) and Strategic Air Command (1955), the last mentioned also starring Stewart. He also top-lined a few British-made pictures during this 1950s time period. Television also brought Alex work with a number of appearances in such popular shows as "The Twilight Zone," "Dr. Kildare" and "The Outer Limits," among others. Unable to break free of his rugged secondary typecast, he also tried his hand at directing, his first being the semi-cult horror film The Screaming Skull (1958) in which he was a secondary character in a cast of five. He found more prolific directing offers on TV, notably the "Tarzan" series starring Ron Ely throughout the 1960s. In 1959, after receiving a major part in the Italian/Yugoslavian picture 5 Branded Women (1960), Alex and his family transported themselves to Rome for a couple of years where he continued to film. Although they returned to the US in 1961, he would often show up in a European-made "spaghetti western" or two during the early 1960s. He appeared sporadically on TV and film into the next decade, his last feature being the extremely low-budget giant monster flick Ape (1976), about a 36 foot gorilla that terrorizes Korea, a film he agreed to do for his friend Paul Leder. Alex retired fully in 1987 and died in Montecito, California in 2001 at the age of 85, survived by long-time wife (since 1948), former actress Jean Fleming, and their three children (two sons and a daughter).
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Biography from IMDb.
- January 20, 1916
- July 29, 2001 (aged 85)
- Ossining, New York, USA
- Actor and director
- 29 on MovieCove · 63 credits in all
What are Alex Nicol's films like?
Across their 24 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 22
Light 4 · Serious 13 · Dark 7
Grounded 10 · Stylized 14 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 15 · Intense 6
Steady 10 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 19 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 2
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 1
A split, not a type: Casual 13 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 9 · Heavy 6
Resolved 20 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 7 of 16 analyzed roles.
Show the 16 rolesHide the roles
- Threshold guardianas Dr. Steve Anderson in The Sleeping City (1950)
- Shapeshifteras Carl Linder in The Raging Tide (1951)
- Shadowas Lt. Rob Dancy in Tomahawk (1951)
- Shadowas Mike Monroe in Because of You (1952)
- Shapeshifteras Sgt. Red Kallek in Red Ball Express (1952)
- Heroas Sheriff Stan Blaine in The Redhead from Wyoming (1953)
- Heroas George Wilson in Champ for a Day (1953)
- Shadowas Lute Johnson in Law and Order (1953)
- Shadowas Jonah Varden in The Lone Hand (1953)
- Heroas James Bradley in The Black Glove (1954)
- Heraldas Jimmy Rapp in Dawn at Socorro (1954)
- Heroas Mark Kendrick in Heat Wave (1954)
- Shadowas Dave Waggoman in The Man from Laramie (1955)
- Threshold guardianas Mickey in The Screaming Skull (1958)
- Shadowas Danny Pose in The Savage Guns (1961)
- Shadowas Joe Daylight in Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964)
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet14
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous1
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 Alex Nicol's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Alex Nicol'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
63 credits, 29 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Huckleberry Finn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Woman in the Rain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Ape(1976)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Joe Forrester (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Clones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Point of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Night God Screamed(1971)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Bloody Mama(1970)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
McCloud(1970)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Tarzan and the Four O'Clock Army (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Tarzan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The F.B.I. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
The Wild Wild West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
The Legend of Jesse James (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Daniel Boone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Ride and Kill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Relevo para un pistolero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Outer Limits(1963)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
I Love, You Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Then There Were Three (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Savage Guns(1961)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
A Matter of WHO (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Dr. Kildare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Cain's Hundred (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Look in Any Window (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Hunchback (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Everybody Go Home!(1960)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Under Ten Flags(1960)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Run with the Devil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Five Branded Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Twilight Zone(1959)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
The Screaming Skull(1958)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
The Percentage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Stranger in Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Great Day in the Morning(1956)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Sincerely Yours(1955)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
The Man from Laramie(1955)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Strategic Air Command(1955)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
The Gilded Cage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Climax! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Dawn at Socorro(1954)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
About Mrs. Leslie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Heat Wave(1954)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
The Black Glove(1954)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The Loretta Young Show(1953)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Champ for a Day(1953)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Lone Hand(1953)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Law and Order(1953)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The Redhead from Wyoming(1953)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Because of You(1952)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Red Ball Express(1952)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Meet Danny Wilson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
The Raging Tide(1951)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Air Cadet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Target Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Tomahawk(1951)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all filmsLux Video Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
The Sleeping City(1950)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Studio One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Career shape
Star power in the 90th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 63 titles from 1948 to 1978; peak year 1976.
Biggest box office
The Man from Laramie (1955)
Highest rated
Everybody Go Home! (1960)
Most popular right now
The Man from Laramie (1955)
Film career
Peak 1976 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1954Screen debut· The House Across the Lake
- 1954First top-billed film· The House Across the Lake
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.
How do Alex Nicol's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 47th percentile, the median of all 24; across their 24 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
13 of their 29 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Universally Panned1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser13
- Broadly Agreed6
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 61/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles; fans 70, detractors 41. 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.
Who does Alex Nicol work with?
People who share at least 2 of Alex Nicol's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; George Sherman shares the most, 5.
Directors
- George ShermanShared titles: Dawn at Socorro (1954), The Lone Hand (1953), The Raging Tide (1951), Tomahawk (1951), The Sleeping City (1950)See all 5 shared titles with George Sherman
- Anthony MannShared titles: Strategic Air Command (1955), The Man from Laramie (1955)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Mann
Actors
- James MillicanShared titles: Strategic Air Command (1955), The Man from Laramie (1955), Dawn at Socorro (1954)See all 3 shared titles with James Millican
- Shelley WintersShared titles: Bloody Mama (1970), The Raging Tide (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Shelley Winters
- Van HeflinShared titles: Under Ten Flags (1960), Tomahawk (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Van Heflin
- Dorothy MaloneShared titles: Sincerely Yours (1955), Law and Order (1953)See all 2 shared titles with Dorothy Malone
Composers and editors
- Frank SkinnerShared titles: Dawn at Socorro (1954), Because of You (1952), The Raging Tide (1951), The Sleeping City (1950)See all 4 shared titles with Frank Skinner
- Herman SteinShared titles: Dawn at Socorro (1954), The Lone Hand (1953), The Redhead from Wyoming (1953)See all 3 shared titles with Herman Stein
- Edward CurtissShared titles: Dawn at Socorro (1954), Red Ball Express (1952)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Curtiss
- Ivor SlaneyShared titles: Heat Wave (1954), The Black Glove (1954)See all 2 shared titles with Ivor Slaney
Producers
- John W. RogersShared titles: Law and Order (1953), Red Ball Express (1952), The Raging Tide (1951)See all 3 shared titles with John W. Rogers
- Leonard GoldsteinShared titles: The Redhead from Wyoming (1953), Tomahawk (1951), The Sleeping City (1950)See all 3 shared titles with Leonard Goldstein
- Dino De LaurentiisShared titles: Everybody Go Home! (1960), Under Ten Flags (1960)See all 2 shared titles with Dino De Laurentiis
- Aaron RosenbergShared titles: Red Ball Express (1952), The Raging Tide (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron Rosenberg
Mixed roles
- Michael CarrerasShared titles: The Savage Guns (1961), The Black Glove (1954)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Carreras
