After a theatrical role in
The Recruiting Officer (1943), Howard began working in films with an uncredited part
The Way Ahead (1944), directed by
Carol Reed. He was in a big stage hit,
A Soldier for Christmas (1944), and a production of Eugene O'Neill's
Anna Christie (1944). Howard received his first film credit for
The Way to the Stars (1945), playing a pilot. Howard's performance in
The Way Ahead came to the attention of
David Lean, who was looking for someone to play the role of Alec in
Brief Encounter (1945). Lean recommended him to
Noël Coward, who agreed with the suggestion, and the success of the film launched Howard's film career. He followed it with
I See a Dark Stranger (1946) with
Deborah Kerr, and
Green for Danger (1947), starring
Alastair Sim. Both films were successful as was
They Made Me a Fugitive (1947). That year British exhibitors voted Howard the 10th most popular British star at the box office.
So Well Remembered (1948) was made with American talent and money and was a hit in Britain but lost money overall. Howard was reunited with Lean for
The Passionate Friends (1949), but the film was not a success. In contrast,
Carol Reed's
The Third Man (1949, from a story by
Graham Greene), in which Howard starred alongside
Orson Welles and
Joseph Cotten, was a huge international success, and became the film of which Howard was most proud. During the filming of
The Third Man in
Vienna, visited a bar still wearing his
British Army officer's uniform costume and, following an altercation, was detained for impersonation by the
Royal Military Police. When identified, he was released without further ado. Howard was the lead in
Golden Salamander (1950) and played
Peter Churchill in
Odette (1950) with
Anna Neagle, a big hit in Britain. It was directed by
Herbert Wilcox who put Howard under contract. He loaned Howard to
Betty Box and
Ralph Thomas to make
The Clouded Yellow (1950), a popular thriller with
Jean Simmons. These films helped Howard be voted the 2nd biggest British star at the box office in 1950 and the 5th biggest (and eleventh bigger over-all) in 1951. Howard was reunited with Carol Reed for
Outcast of the Islands (1952) and he made a war film,
Gift Horse (1952). That year he made his final appearance on the list of Britain's ten most popular actors, coming in at number nine. He was in another adaptation of a Graham Greene story,
The Heart of the Matter (1953). Greene also wrote and produced Howard's next film, the British-Italian ''
The Stranger's Hand'' (1954). Howard was in a French movie,
The Lovers of Lisbon (1955), then supported
Jose Ferrer in a war film from
Warwick Pictures,
The Cockleshell Heroes (1955), which was popular in Britain. Howard's first Hollywood film was
Run for the Sun (1956), where he played a villain to
Richard Widmark's hero. He made a cameo in
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and again played a villain to an American star,
Victor Mature, in Warwick's
Interpol (1957). Howard starred in
Manuela (1957) then supported
William Holden in Carol Reed's
The Key (1958), for which he received the Best Actor award from the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts. When William Holden dropped out of the lead of
The Roots of Heaven (1958), Howard stepped in as his first opportunity at a starring role in a Hollywood film (although top billing still went to
Errol Flynn). After a thriller
Moment of Danger (1960) he was in
Sons and Lovers (1960), for which he was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for a BAFTA on four other occasions. and received two other Emmy nominations, one as a lead and the other as a supporting actor. He also received three
Golden Globe Award nominations. Howard was reunited with Holden for
The Lion (1962). He was
Captain Bligh to
Marlon Brando's
Fletcher Christian in MGM's remake of
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). He was in a TV movie production of
Hedda Gabler (1962) and played the title prime minister in "The Invincible Mr Disraeli" (1963), an episode of the
Hallmark Hall of Fame for which he won an
Emmy Award for his role then supported
Robert Mitchum in
Man in the Middle (1964) and
Cary Grant in
Father Goose (1964). After a cameo in
Operation Crossbow (1965), Howard supported
Frank Sinatra in ''
Von Ryan's Express (1965), Brando and Yul Brynner in Morituri (1965), and Rod Taylor in The Liquidator (1965). After a leading role in The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966) he made two movies with Brynner, Triple Cross (1966) and The Long Duel'' (1967). Howard had a change of pace supporting
Hayley Mills in
Pretty Polly (1968). He went back to military roles:
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), as
Lord Cardigan, and
Battle of Britain (1969), as
Air Vice Marshal Keith Park. He had support parts in
Lola (1969) and ''
Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), the latter for David Lean. He made a Swedish film
The Night Visitor (1971) then settled into a career as a character actor:
To Catch a Spy (1971), supporting
Kirk Douglas;
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), as
Sir William Cecil;
Kidnapped (1971);
Pope Joan (1972);
Ludwig (1972);
The Offence (1972), with
Sean Connery; ''
A Doll's House (1973), for Joseph Losey; Who? (1974), supporting Elliott Gould; and Catholics'' (1974) for British TV. He appeared in some horror films, including
Craze (1974),
Persecution (1974), and
11 Harrowhouse (1974) alongside his wife
Helen Cherry. In
The Count of Monte Cristo (1975), he mentored Richard Chamberlain. He played military men in
Hennessy (1975) and
Conduct Unbecoming (1975). Around this time he complained that he had to work so hard because of the high rate of tax in Britain. Howard appeared in
Albino (1976), shot in
Rhodesia;
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976);
Aces High (1976);
Eliza Fraser (1976), shot in Australia;
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977); and
Stevie (1978). He was one of many names in
Superman (1978),
Hurricane (1979),
Meteor (1979) and
The Sea Wolves (1980). He appeared in a TV series
Shillingbury Tales (1980–81). One of his strangest films, and one he took great delight in, was
Vivian Stanshall's
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980), in which he played the title role. He and
Celia Johnson from
Brief Encounter were reunited in
Staying On (1980) for British TV. Howard was also top-billed in
Windwalker (1981). ==Final years==