 The first film Shaw appeared in was Caste in 1930 . He soon began to make a name for himself in films such as Brewster 's Millions in 1935 , Men Are Not Gods in 1936 and Farewell Again in 1937 . He was making about £ 300 a week during this stage of his career , a significant sum higher than the salary of the British Prime Minister of the time . He brought what the Daily Telegraph described as a " smooth villainy " to the role of Frank Sutton in The Squeaker in 1937 , while in 1939 he played the hero Cmdr. David Blacklock alongside Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson in The Spy in Black , Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 's first collaboration . Shaw described himself as a film buff and called Academy Award @-@ winning actor Spencer Tracy his " great god of all screen actors " ; he was so impressed by Tracy 's technique that he claimed to become depressed while watching his films because Tracy made acting look simple , while Shaw claimed to find it so difficult to master himself . 
