The Top 40 Films of Burt Lancaster.
by jacobyjhn-18-315763 | created - 09 Aug 2011 | updated - 24 Jan 2015 | PublicHandsome, athletic, confident, and wildly talented, Burt Lancaster acted in some of the finest films and created many indelible characters over his 45 year film career. Lancaster transitioned from leading man to mature character actor, to senior roles flawlessly and always with excellence and style. Here are 40 of his very best films.
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1. From Here to Eternity (1953)
Passed | 118 min | Drama, Romance, War
At a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed
Votes: 50,847 | Gross: $30.50M
2. Atlantic City (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli
Votes: 18,305
3. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Approved | 179 min | Drama, War
In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich
Votes: 85,583
4. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Drama, Film-Noir
Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner
Votes: 35,727
5. The Train (1964)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Thriller, War
In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, Suzanne Flon
Votes: 18,910 | Gross: $7.41M
6. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Not Rated | 147 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Votes: 19,314
7. Elmer Gantry (1960)
Approved | 146 min | Drama
A fast-talking traveling salesman with a charming, loquacious manner convinces a sincere evangelist that he can be an effective preacher for her cause.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger
Votes: 12,826 | Gross: $11.34M
8. The Swimmer (1968)
M/PG | 95 min | Drama
A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.
Directors: Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley
Votes: 13,786
9. Airport (1970)
G | 137 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
Directors: George Seaton, Henry Hathaway | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jean Seberg
Votes: 21,719 | Gross: $100.49M
10. The Professionals (1966)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode
Votes: 18,849 | Gross: $19.54M
11. The Killers (1946)
Passed | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker
Votes: 23,650
12. Local Hero (1983)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
An American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.
Director: Bill Forsyth | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay, Denis Lawson
Votes: 26,716 | Gross: $5.90M
13. The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Unrated | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Sicilian seamstress who idolizes her husband must deal with several family crises upon his sudden death.
Director: Daniel Mann | Stars: Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster, Marisa Pavan, Ben Cooper
Votes: 4,602
14. Seven Days in May (1964)
Approved | 118 min | Drama, Thriller
United States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner
Votes: 17,349 | Gross: $7.96M
15. Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Romance
An emotionally remote recovering alcoholic and his dowdy, unambitious wife face a personal crisis when they take in an attractive lodger.
Director: Daniel Mann | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 5,388
16. The Rainmaker (1956)
Approved | 121 min | Romance, Western
During the Depression, a con-man promises rain to a desperate drought-ridden Kansas town and marriage to a local desperate spinster.
Director: Joseph Anthony | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Wendell Corey, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 4,285
17. Valdez Is Coming (1971)
PG-13 | 90 min | Drama, Western
A Mexican-American sheriff (Burt Lancaster) must resort to violence against a powerful rancher (Frank Tanner, played by Jon Cypher) in order to get just compensation for the pregnant Indian widow of a wrongly killed black man.
Director: Edwin Sherin | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Frank Silvera, Jon Cypher
Votes: 4,534 | Gross: $0.06M
18. Tough Guys (1986)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Crime
Two elderly gangsters are released from prison only to find they have trouble fitting in as old men who still take no guff from anyone.
Director: Jeff Kanew | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Charles Durning, Alexis Smith
Votes: 7,859 | Gross: $21.46M
19. The Leopard (1963)
PG | 186 min | Drama, History
The Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.
Director: Luchino Visconti | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa
Votes: 28,848
20. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Passed | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Western
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet
Votes: 17,453 | Gross: $11.75M
21. Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
Approved | 93 min | Action, Drama, War
A U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter
Votes: 13,125
22. The Unforgiven (1960)
Approved | 125 min | Drama, Romance, Western
The neighbors of a frontier family turn on them when it is suspected that their adopted daughter was stolen from the local Kiowa tribe.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, John Saxon
Votes: 9,744
23. Rocket Gibraltar (1988)
PG | 99 min | Drama
An old patriarch unites all members of his family for his birthday, but the group of people are full of personal and social problems.
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Suzy Amis, Patricia Clarkson, Frances Conroy
Votes: 2,187 | Gross: $0.19M
24. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,219 | Gross: $64.43M
25. Trapeze (1956)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Romance
A crippled circus acrobat is torn emotionally between two ambitious young trapeze artists, one a talented young American and a less-gifted but beautiful Italian.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida, Katy Jurado
Votes: 5,229
26. The Devil's Disciple (1959)
Approved | 83 min | Comedy, History, Romance
The black sheep of a family and the local minister discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.
Directors: Guy Hamilton, Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott
Votes: 2,877
27. All My Sons (1948)
Approved | 94 min | Drama, Film-Noir
During WW2, industrialist Joe Keller commits a crime and frames his business partner Herbert Deever but years later his sin comes back to haunt him when Joe's son plans to marry Deever's daughter.
Director: Irving Reis | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Mady Christians, Louisa Horton
Votes: 2,410
28. Brute Force (1947)
Passed | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
At a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo
Votes: 11,551
29. Ulzana's Raid (1972)
R | 103 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
After fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Jorge Luke, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 6,482
30. Lawman (1971)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A lawman from Bannock arrives in Sabbath to arrest all the cattlemen whose wild celebration the year before resulted in the accidental death of an old man.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Duvall
Votes: 5,910 | Gross: $5.94M
31. Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)
Approved | 107 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The triumph and tragedy of Native American Jim Thorpe, who, after winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in the same Olympics, is stripped of his medals on a technicality.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Steve Cochran, Phyllis Thaxter
Votes: 2,302
32. Apache (1954)
Passed | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Refusing to let himself be re-settled on a Florida reservation, Massai, an Apache warrior, escapes his captors and returns to his homeland to become a peaceful farmer.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Jean Peters, John McIntire, Charles Bronson
Votes: 4,903 | Gross: $6.00M
33. The Young Savages (1961)
Not Rated | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A district attorney investigates three white teenagers accused of murdering a blind Puerto Rican kid.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Edward Andrews, Vivian Nathan
Votes: 2,940
34. The Gypsy Moths (1969)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Three skydivers and their travelling thrill show barnstorm through a small midwestern town one Fourth of July weekend.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Gene Hackman, Scott Wilson
Votes: 2,464
35. Executive Action (1973)
PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama, History
Rogue intelligence agents, right-wing politicians, greedy capitalists, and free-lance assassins plot and carry out the JFK assassination.
Director: David Miller | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Geer, Gilbert Green
Votes: 3,246
36. The Crimson Pirate (1952)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
During the 1700s, pirate Captain Vallo seizes a British warship and gets involved in various money-making schemes involving Caribbean rebels led by El Libre, British envoy Baron Jose Gruda, and a beautiful courtesan named Consuelo.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Torin Thatcher
Votes: 6,993
37. Mister 880 (1950)
Approved | 90 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
Gentle romantic comedy about a Secret Service Agent trying to catch a cold case counterfeiter and a United Nations translator.
Director: Edmund Goulding | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Edmund Gwenn, Dorothy McGuire, Millard Mitchell
Votes: 1,970
38. Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
R | 146 min | Drama, Thriller
An imprisoned rogue USAF general with a secret personal agenda, escapes the brig and takes over an ICBM silo, threatening to start WW3.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten
Votes: 3,728
39. The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
R | 129 min | Drama, Thriller
Passengers on a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease. Nobody will let them off the train. So what happens next?
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson
Votes: 9,890
40. Criss Cross (1949)
Not Rated | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally
Votes: 9,604
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