Alec Guinness (1914-2000) was an Oscar® winning English actor. Most of his professional life, he was known for his six collaborations with director David Lean. To current audiences he is best known for playing Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi in the original Star Wars movies. His IMDb page shows 63 acting credits from 1934 to 2011. This page ranks 44 Alec Guinness movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, some of his early British movies and his movies not released in North America theaters are not included in the rankings.
From Joel Hirschhorn’s Rating The Movie Stars Book…..”Guinness was once asked if he enjoyed acting and he replied, “Yes I do, It’s happy agony”. Watching him, one should only be glad he feels that the agony is worth it. Few, if any, actors have given so many dazzling performances in such a wide variety of roles.” This page comes from requests by many different people.
Alec Guinness Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews, and awards.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1962
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
AA Best Picture Win
1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Actor Win
1977
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1965
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
AA Best Picture Nom
1980
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1946
Great Expectations (1946)
AA Best Picture Nom
1983
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
1976
Murder by Death (1976)
1984
A Passage to India (1984)
AA Best Picture Nom
1959
Our Man in Havana (1959)
1951
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
AA Best Actor Nom
1961
A Majority of One (1961)
1955
The Ladykillers (1955)
1970
Scrooge (1970)
1948
Oliver Twist (1948)
1958
The Horse's Mouth (1958)
1956
The Swan (1956)
1964
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
1960
Tunes of Glory (1960)
1949
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
1970
Cromwell (1970)
1950
The Mudlark (1950)
1972
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
1973
Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973)
1957
All At Sea/Barnacle Bill (1957)
1987
Little Dorrit (1987)
AA Best Supp Actor Nom
1955
The Prisoner (1955)
1951
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
1966
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
1953
The Captain's Paradise (1953)
1962
Damn the Defiant!/H.M.S. Defiant (1962)
1952
The Promoter/The Card (1952)
1988
A Handful of Dust (1988)
1954
The Detective/Father Brown (1954)
1953
Malta Story (1953)
1995
Mute Witness (1995)
1965
Situation Hopeless…But Not Serious (1965)
1967
The Comedians (1967)
1991
Kafka (1991)
1959
The Scapegoat (1959)
1966
Hotel Paradiso (1966)
1980
Raise the Titanic (1980)
1983
Lovesick (1983)
1955
To Paris With Love (1955)
Alec Guinness Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Alec Guinness movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Alec Guinness movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Alec Guinness movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Alec Guinness movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Alec Guinness movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Alec Guinness movie won.
- Sort Alec Guinness movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Use the search and sort button to make this page very interactive.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) AA Best Picture Win |
Peter O'Toole & Anthony Quinn |
41.50 | 595.9 | 595.90 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actor Win |
William Holden & Directed by David Lean |
30.40 | 586.2 | 586.20 | 1 | 88 | 08 / 07 | 99.9 | |
| 3 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Harrison Ford & Mark Hamill |
398.00 | 1,924.0 | 3,443.80 | 1 | 94 | 10 / 06 | 99.8 | |
| 4 | Doctor Zhivago (1965) AA Best Picture Nom |
Omar Sharif & Julie Christie |
126.60 | 1,337.5 | 2,416.80 | 2 | 82 | 10 / 05 | 99.6 | |
| 5 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher |
255.30 | 1,058.4 | 2,086.20 | 1 | 92 | 03 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 6 | Great Expectations (1946) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Mills & Jean Simmons |
5.40 | 166.5 | 166.50 | 62 | 84 | 05 / 02 | 98.5 | |
| 7 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) | Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher |
296.30 | 1,014.0 | 1,581.40 | 1 | 78 | 04 / 00 | 97.7 | |
| 8 | Murder by Death (1976) | David Niven & Peter Sellers |
57.90 | 292.9 | 292.90 | 9 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 9 | A Passage to India (1984) AA Best Picture Nom |
Judy Davis & Peggy Ashcroft |
27.20 | 87.2 | 87.20 | 36 | 79 | 11 / 02 | 92.5 | |
| 10 | Our Man in Havana (1959) | Maureen O'Hara | 5.20 | 93.7 | 93.70 | 47 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 86.9 | |
| 12 | The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) AA Best Actor Nom |
Audrey Hepburn | 2.40 | 52.4 | 52.40 | 138 | 85 | 02 / 01 | 85.5 | |
| 11 | A Majority of One (1961) | Rosalind Russell | 7.10 | 104.1 | 104.10 | 30 | 70 | 01 / 00 | 85.5 | |
| 13 | The Ladykillers (1955) | Peter Sellers | 2.20 | 45.9 | 45.90 | 129 | 83 | 01 / 00 | 82.7 | |
| 16 | Scrooge (1970) | Albert Finney | 9.10 | 63.2 | 63.20 | 37 | 75 | 04 / 00 | 82.7 | |
| 14 | Oliver Twist (1948) | Robert Newton | 2.00 | 53.2 | 53.20 | 139 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 82.6 | |
| 15 | The Horse's Mouth (1958) | Kay Walsh | 2.90 | 51.3 | 51.30 | 76 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 82.5 | |
| 17 | The Swan (1956) | Grace Kelly & Agnes Moorehead |
5.40 | 106.4 | 106.40 | 55 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 82.0 | |
| 18 | The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) | Sophia Loren & James Mason |
4.80 | 54.5 | 54.50 | 61 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 80.0 | |
| 19 | Tunes of Glory (1960) | John Mills | 1.50 | 23.0 | 23.00 | 114 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 76.8 | |
| 20 | Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) | Valerie Hobson | 0.60 | 16.2 | 16.20 | 192 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 73.0 | |
| 21 | Cromwell (1970) | Richard Harris | 4.80 | 33.7 | 33.70 | 53 | 70 | 02 / 01 | 71.6 | |
| 23 | The Mudlark (1950) | Irene Dunne | 2.90 | 64.2 | 64.20 | 109 | 62 | 01 / 00 | 71.2 | |
| 22 | Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) | Graham Faulkner | 3.60 | 23.1 | 23.10 | 76 | 75 | 01 / 00 | 70.9 | |
| 24 | Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) | Simon Ward | 6.70 | 40.6 | 40.60 | 51 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 68.7 | |
| 26 | All At Sea/Barnacle Bill (1957) | Harry Locke | 1.90 | 36.2 | 58.50 | 119 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 67.3 | |
| 25 | Little Dorrit (1987) AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Derek Jacobi | 1.00 | 2.8 | 2.80 | 175 | 76 | 02 / 00 | 65.5 | |
| 27 | The Prisoner (1955) | Jack Hawkins | 0.80 | 15.7 | 15.70 | 182 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 64.2 | |
| 28 | The Man in the White Suit (1951) | Joan Greenwood | 0.60 | 13.3 | 13.30 | 219 | 72 | 01 / 00 | 63.3 | |
| 29 | The Quiller Memorandum (1966) | George Segal & George Sanders |
3.80 | 36.8 | 36.80 | 65 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 59.6 | |
| 30 | The Captain's Paradise (1953) | Yvonne De Carlo | 0.70 | 12.2 | 12.20 | 221 | 69 | 01 / 00 | 57.2 | |
| 31 | Damn the Defiant!/H.M.S. Defiant (1962) | Dirk Bogarde | 0.80 | 11.3 | 11.30 | 124 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 53.5 | |
| 32 | The Promoter/The Card (1952) | Glynis Johns | 0.30 | 5.2 | 5.20 | 234 | 68 | 01 / 00 | 51.2 | |
| 33 | A Handful of Dust (1988) | Anjelica Huston & Kristin Scott Thomas |
1.60 | 4.1 | 4.10 | 169 | 68 | 01 / 00 | 50.6 | |
| 34 | The Detective/Father Brown (1954) | Peter Finch | 0.80 | 17.8 | 17.80 | 162 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 49.7 | |
| 35 | Malta Story (1953) | Jack Hawkins | 1.30 | 23.0 | 23.00 | 192 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 49.1 | |
| 36 | Mute Witness (1995) | Marina Zudina | 1.10 | 2.8 | 2.80 | 185 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 43.0 | |
| 37 | Situation Hopeless…But Not Serious (1965) | Robert Redford | 1.80 | 19.3 | 19.30 | 107 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 41.7 | |
| 38 | The Comedians (1967) | Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton |
7.00 | 62.4 | 62.40 | 41 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 40.8 | |
| 39 | Kafka (1991) | Jeremy Irons | 1.10 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 167 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 34.2 | |
| 40 | The Scapegoat (1959) | Bette Davis | 1.60 | 29.3 | 61.30 | 125 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 28.4 | |
| 41 | Hotel Paradiso (1966) | Gina Lollobrigida | 0.60 | 5.5 | 5.50 | 136 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 26.6 | |
| 42 | Raise the Titanic (1980) | Jason Robards | 6.80 | 28.2 | 28.20 | 92 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 22.9 | |
| 44 | Lovesick (1983) | Dudley Moore & John Huston |
10.20 | 34.8 | 34.80 | 66 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 20.5 | |
| 43 | To Paris With Love (1955) | Odile Versois | 0.60 | 11.9 | 11.90 | 189 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 19.1 |
Alec Guinness or John Mahoney
Hey Bruce, Anonymous is Lyle.
Thanks for that information Lyle…. I will edit that comment….and give you proper credit.