Donat did, however, leave behind his legacy of great works, from The Count Of Monte Cristo (1934) to Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps.
Starring alongside Madeleine Carroll in the classic thriller, The 39 Steps centred around an innocent man accused of murder.
While being pursued by both the police and an international spy ring, Donat – who played Richard Hannay – finds himself fleeing across the Scottish moors handcuffed to a beautiful woman.
A superstar on the silver screen, fans would have been devastated to lose Donat at such a young age.