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Denis O'Dea

Denis O'Dea

Actor · Died November 5, 1978, aged 73 · Dublin, Ireland

Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boarding house at 54 South Richmond Street. He worked in insurance until taking up acting. O'Dea was a leading member of Dublin's Abbey Theatre where he had a great acting career from 1929 to 1953; a list of his performances can be found in the Abbey archives. He also appeared in numerous plays by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy, some of which toured New York and England. His work led to a number of notable film roles, including two mid-1930s John Ford films, The Informer and The Plough and the Stars (1936), and the part of the police inspector in pursuit of IRA man James Mason in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out (1947).

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 26, 1905
Died
November 5, 1978 (aged 73)
From
Dublin, Ireland
Works as
Actor
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 24 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 38 days to Oct 27Down 20% in 30 days

What are Denis O'Dea's films like?

Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Adventure3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 77th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 47th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile
: browse their Action 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
43%
Bonds
36%
Self
14%
Power
5%
Society
3%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 3

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 6 · Intense 5

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1

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

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 4 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3

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

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

4 analyzed roles

Usually the Mentor: 3 of 4 analyzed roles.

Mentor
3 of 4
Shadow
1 of 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Melancholic
6
Romantic
5
Dread
4
Thrilling
3
Other
6

How their films linger

Bittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet5
  • Tragic3

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 Denis O'Dea's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Denis O'Dea'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

24 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Esther and the King(1960)

    as Mordecai

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • Darby O'Gill and the Little People(1959)

    as Father Murphy

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • I Captured the King of the Leprechauns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    as Father Murphy

  • The Story of Esther Costello (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    as Father Devlin

  • The Rising of the Moon(1957)

    as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Captain Lightfoot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    as Regis Donnell

  • Mogambo(1953)

    as Father Josef

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Sea Devils(1953)

    as Lethierry

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Niagara(1953)

    as Inspector Starkey

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Never Take No for an Answer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Father Damico

  • Captain Horatio Hornblower(1951)

    as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Long Dark Hall(1951)

    as Sir Charles Morton

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Treasure Island(1950)

    as Dr. Livesy

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Under Capricorn(1949)

    as Mr. Corrigan

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Landfall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as Captain Burnaby

  • Marry Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as George Saunders

  • The Bad Lord Byron (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    as Prosecuting Counsel

  • The Fallen Idol(1948)

    as Inspector Crowe

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Mark of Cain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    as Sir William Godgrey

  • Odd Man Out(1947)

    as Inspector

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Plough and the Stars(1936)

    as The Covey

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Beloved Enemy(1936)

    as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Informer(1935)

    as Street Singer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Guests of The Nation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 24 titles from 1935 to 1960.

Biggest box office

Treasure Island (1950)

$4.4M worldwide

Highest rated

Odd Man Out (1947)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Under Capricorn (1949)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting24 of 24: 24 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score68th

By decade

1930s4 · acting1940s7 · acting1950s12 · acting1960s1 · acting

Billing

usually 6th · top billed in 0% of 10 roles

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 Denis O'Dea's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 15 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed2

Most loved · actor

Odd Man Out (1947)

Midcredits 95th · 82% liked

Reviewers score the acting 73/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 46. 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 Denis O'Dea's work okay for kids?

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

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 9 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 0 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 39 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 39 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

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

Who does Denis O'Dea work with?

People who share at least 2 of Denis O'Dea's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Raoul Walsh shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers