Denis Shaw (7 April 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story (1955).Alternatively, he could also be found propping up the tavern bar in a number of British horror films.