Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Feature Films With Phil Karlson
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1. Hell to Eternity (1960)
Approved | 131 min | Biography, Drama, War
When his adoptive Japanese-American family is sent to Manzanar after Pearl Harbor, a young Chicano enlists in the marines to become a hero in the Battle of Saipan.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone, Patricia Owens
Votes: 1,601
2. The Wrecking Crew (1968)
PG | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Gold bullion worth USD 1 billion has been stolen from a hijacked train in Denmark. The main suspect is Count Massimo Contini. The US government sends Matt Helm, one of its top agents, to investigate and recover the gold.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan
Votes: 3,759
3. The Silencers (1966)
TV-PG | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Retired agent Matt Helm is re-activated in order to stop an evil organization from exploding an atom bomb over the USA and starting WWIII.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono
Votes: 3,829
4. Walking Tall (1973)
R | 125 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartman, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn
Votes: 6,771 | Gross: $4.75M
5. Ben (1972)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent swarm of killer rats.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, Arthur O'Connell, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 3,454 | Gross: $0.77M
6. Gunman's Walk (1958)
Approved | 97 min | Western
A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Kathryn Grant, James Darren
Votes: 2,141
7. Kid Galahad (1962)
Approved | 96 min | Drama, Musical, Sport
After completing his military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter and takes him under his wing.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman
Votes: 3,125 | Gross: $1.80M
8. Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster, Neville Brand
Votes: 8,179
9. A Time for Killing (1967)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Western
Confederate POWs escape a Union camp and make for the Mexico border chased by Union troops with both parties oblivious to the fact that peace was declared.
Directors: Phil Karlson, Roger Corman | Stars: Inger Stevens, Glenn Ford, Paul Petersen, Timothy Carey
Votes: 1,114
10. Tight Spot (1955)
Approved | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A female inmate is whisked out of prison and into a police-guarded hotel until the district attorney can convince her to testify against the mob.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, Lucy Marlow
Votes: 2,550
11. 99 River Street (1953)
Not Rated | 83 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A former boxer turned cab driver has to hide from the police when his badgering wife is murdered by the jewel thief she was having an affair with.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen
Votes: 3,458
12. Werewolf of London (1935)
Passed | 75 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
After botanist Wilfred Glendon travels to Tibet in search of a rare flower, the Mariphasa, he returns to a London haunted by murders that can only be the work of bloodthirsty werewolves.
Director: Stuart Walker | Stars: Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews
Votes: 6,528
13. The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
Director: Joe May | Stars: Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton
Votes: 5,332
14. Scandal Sheet (1952)
Passed | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
The editor of an exploitation newspaper commits a murder and assigns his protégé to investigate hoping to divert attention away from himself.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Derek, Donna Reed, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp
Votes: 3,506
15. Rampage (1963)
Approved | 98 min | Adventure, Romance
In colonial Malaysia, British big game-hunter Otto Abbot and American trapper Harry Stanton clash over the ethics of catching versus killing animals and over Abbot's mistress, Anna.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Elsa Martinelli, Jack Hawkins, Sabu
Votes: 811
16. Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
TV-G | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Fabian and Shelley Fabares are among the '60s stars surfing their way to paradise along the famous beaches on Hawaii's North Shore.
Directors: Don Taylor, Phil Karlson | Stars: Fabian, Shelley Fabares, Peter Brown, Barbara Eden
Votes: 802
17. Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
Approved | 61 min | Musical, Romance
A chorus girl falls in love with a wealthy young man, but their relationship is jeopardized by her mother's fears about the reaction of his family.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe, Rand Brooks, Nana Bryant
Votes: 1,589
18. In the Navy (1941)
Passed | 86 min | Comedy
Russ Raymond, America's number one crooner, disappears and joins the Navy under the name Tommy Halstead. Dorothy Roberts, a magazine journalist, is intent on finding out what happened to ... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd
Votes: 3,221
19. Hornets' Nest (1970)
R | 110 min | Action, Drama, War
In 1944, during a sabotage mission, the sole surviving U.S. paratrooper is saved by a group of Italian orphans who later aid him in blowing up a vital enemy dam.
Directors: Phil Karlson, Franco Cirino | Stars: Rock Hudson, Sylva Koscina, Sergio Fantoni, Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Votes: 1,125
20. The House of the Seven Gables (1940)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, Thriller
Based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this classic film follows a family feud between two brothers and an ancient curse that haunts them.
Director: Joe May | Stars: George Sanders, Margaret Lindsay, Vincent Price, Dick Foran
Votes: 1,524
21. 5 Against the House (1955)
Approved | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Four vets attending college on the GI Bill and a cabaret singer try to rob a Reno Casino and pull off the perfect crime.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Guy Madison, Kim Novak, Brian Keith, Alvy Moore
Votes: 2,064
22. Assignment: Paris (1952)
Passed | 85 min | Drama, Thriller
Cold war intrigue in France and Hungary.
Directors: Robert Parrish, Phil Karlson | Stars: Dana Andrews, Märta Torén, George Sanders, Audrey Totter
Votes: 693
23. The Texas Rangers (1951)
Passed | 74 min | Western
In 1874, unable to eliminate a gang of notorious outlaws, the Texas Rangers hire two former convicts to assist with the tracking and the destruction of the Sam Bass gang.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: George Montgomery, Gale Storm, Jerome Courtland, Noah Beery Jr.
Votes: 459
24. Seven Sinners (1940)
Approved | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Banished from various U.S. protectorates in the Pacific, a saloon entertainer uses her femme-fatale charms to woo politicians, navy personnel, gangsters, riff-raff, judges and a ship's doctor in order to achieve her aims.
Director: Tay Garnett | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford
Votes: 1,668
25. The Phenix City Story (1955)
Passed | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John McIntire, Richard Kiley, Kathryn Grant, Edward Andrews
Votes: 3,265
26. The Brothers Rico (1957)
Passed | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A retired mob accountant is drawn back in when his brothers, who have recently made a hit for the organization, decide to go to the authorities.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Grant, Larry Gates
Votes: 1,621
27. Key Witness (1960)
Approved | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In Los Angeles, a brave witness to murder agrees to testify in court against the street gang leader who's desperate to silence him.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Jeffrey Hunter, Pat Crowley, Dennis Hopper, Joby Baker
Votes: 366
28. Framed (1975)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A gambler kills a sheriff in self defense. But as everyone in conspiring against him, he is condemned to a long sentence in prison.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Conny Van Dyke, Gabriel Dell, John Marley
Votes: 743 | Gross: $2.12M
29. Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
Approved | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
An opium-addicted choirmaster develops an obsession for a beautiful young girl and will not stop short of murder in order to have her.
Director: Stuart Walker | Stars: Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel, David Manners
Votes: 615
30. It Started with Eve (1941)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
In order to please his dying father, a man convinces a hat-check girl to impersonate his fiancée, but complications arise when the father's health suddenly improves.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Robert Cummings, Guy Kibbee
Votes: 1,841
31. The Iroquois Trail (1950)
Approved | 86 min | Western
Hawkeye, an American scout, helps the British side in the French and Indian War, aided by his Indian blood brother Sagamore.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: George Montgomery, Brenda Marshall, Glenn Langan, Paul Cavanagh
Votes: 197
32. Hell's Island (1955)
Approved | 84 min | Adventure, Drama, Film-Noir
Down-on-his-luck Mike Cormack is hired to fly to a Caribbean island to retrieve a missing ruby. On the island, possibly involved with the ruby's disappearance, is his ex-girlfriend.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Payne, Mary Murphy, Francis L. Sullivan, Eduardo Noriega
Votes: 416
33. They Rode West (1954)
Approved | 84 min | Drama, Western
A young cavalry doctor, against orders, treats very sick Indians who are forced to stay on unhealthy land, which could lead to a war.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Robert Francis, Donna Reed, May Wynn, Philip Carey
Votes: 711
34. Dark Alibi (1946)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A public defender enlists Charlie to exonerate one of his clients, an ex-con falsely accused of bank robbery and murder, scheduled for execution in nine days.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Ben Carter, Benson Fong
Votes: 1,456
35. The Secret Ways (1961)
Approved | 112 min | Adventure, History, Mystery
During the 1956 Hungarian uprising, an American mercenary is hired to smuggle a Hungarian resistance leader out of Soviet-occupied Budapest.
Directors: Phil Karlson, Richard Widmark | Stars: Richard Widmark, Sonja Ziemann, Charles Regnier, Walter Rilla
Votes: 508
36. Lorna Doone (1951)
Approved | 88 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Set in 17th century England, a young woman falls in love with a humble villager whose community suffers under the rule of her despotic landowning family.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Barbara Hale, Richard Greene, Carl Benton Reid, William Bishop
Votes: 243
37. The Flame of New Orleans (1941)
Passed | 79 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music
In old New Orleans, a beautiful adventuress juggles the attentions of a rich banker and a dashing sea captain.
Director: René Clair | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Bruce Cabot, Roland Young, Mischa Auer
Votes: 1,304
38. Great Expectations (1934)
Approved | 102 min | Drama, Romance
9 year old 'Pip' Pirrip, an orphan living with relatives, aids and befriends an escaped convict on the moors, an act that will have a profound effect on his life.
Director: Stuart Walker | Stars: Henry Hull, Phillips Holmes, Jane Wyatt, Florence Reed
Votes: 224
39. Black Gold (1947)
Passed | 90 min | Drama, History, Sport
In the 1920s Texas, Indian farmer Charley Eagle is dreaming of winning the Kentucky Derby with his Black Hope horse but things change when oil is found on his land and the Black Gold colt is born.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Katherine DeMille, 'Ducky' Louie, Raymond Hatton
Votes: 232
40. The Young Doctors (1961)
Approved | 100 min | Drama
Medical drama set at one of New York City's hospitals during the early 1960s.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Fredric March, Ben Gazzara, Dick Clark, Ina Balin
Votes: 604
41. Rio (1939)
Passed | 77 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A crazed man escapes from prison to kill his wife's lover.
Director: John Brahm | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Victor McLaglen, Sigrid Gurie, Robert Cummings
Votes: 198
42. Love Before Breakfast (1936)
Passed | 70 min | Comedy, Romance
A rich businessman stalks another man's fiancée.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Carole Lombard, Preston Foster, Cesar Romero, Janet Beecher
Votes: 899
43. Kilroy Was Here (1947)
Approved | 68 min | Comedy
"Kilroy Was Here" was a popular expression during World War II, but it's not much fun to John J. Kilroy, who has to try to live with all the jokes and wisecracks regarding his name.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Jackie Cooper, Jackie Coogan, Wanda McKay, Frank Jenks
Votes: 55
44. Swing Parade of 1946 (1946)
Approved | 74 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A struggling young singer falls for a nightclub owner whose father, a millionaire, is trying to shut it down. Featuring The Three Stooges as waiters.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Gale Storm, Phil Regan, Moe Howard, Larry Fine
Votes: 441
45. The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
Approved | 64 min | Mystery
Someone is attempting to steal radium stored in a bank. Death by cobra venom connects a number of murders. Charlie investigates.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Benson Fong, James Cardwell
Votes: 1,247
46. The Black Doll (1938)
Approved | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
Dishonest mine owner Nicholas Rood finds a Black Doll on his desk and knows that vengeance is about to overtake him for murdering his former partner. He is knifed as he talks to his ... See full summary »
Director: Otis Garrett | Stars: Donald Woods, Nan Grey, Edgar Kennedy, C. Henry Gordon
Votes: 247
47. Mask of the Avenger (1951)
Approved | 83 min | Adventure, Drama, History
During the European revolutionary fervor of 1848, Italian Captain Renato Dimorna tries to avenge his father's death, goes against the corrupt local military governor Larocca and prevents an Austrian military invasion.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Derek, Anthony Quinn, Jody Lawrance, Arnold Moss
Votes: 304
48. Destry Rides Again (1932)
Passed | 61 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Brant frames Destry and has men testify against him. Found guilty he vows to return. Back from prison he goes after the man that framed him. When the Sheriff is shot before he can talk, ... See full summary »
Director: Benjamin Stoloff | Stars: Tom Mix, Claudia Dell, Zasu Pitts, Stanley Fields
Votes: 134
49. Behind the Mask (1946)
Passed | 68 min | Mystery
Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont ... See full summary »
Directors: Phil Karlson, William Beaudine | Stars: Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, George Chandler, Dorothea Kent
Votes: 234
50. The Missing Lady (1946)
Passed | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A jade statue, "The Missing Lady", is stolen and its owner killed. Lamont Cranston, alias the Shadow, sets out to catch the killer but is blamed for the murders himself as each time he ... See full summary »
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, George Chandler, James Flavin
Votes: 219