One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat and clown known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film "La Strada" (1954), directed by Federico Fellini. He also appeared as the killer in the film noir classic "He Walked by Night" (1948), as a psychotic member of the Hatfield clan in "Roseanna McCoy" (1949), as a timid husband in "Tension" (1950), as Ishmael in "Moby Dick" (1956), in the drama "Decision Before Dawn" (1951), and as Ivan in "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958). He portrayed a high priest in "Kings of the Sun" (1963). From 1964 to 1968, Basehart played the lead role, Admiral Harriman Nelson, on Irwin Allen's first foray into science-fiction television, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea".