Want to know the best Burt Lancaster movies? How about the worst Burt Lancaster movies? Curious about Burt Lancaster’s box office grosses or which Burt Lancaster movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Burt Lancaster movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information.
Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique, blue eyes, and distinctive smile. During his long career he was nominated for four Best Actor Oscars®. He won the Oscar® for his performance in 1960’s Elmer Gantry. He was also nominated for five Best Actor Golden Globes®. AFI (American Film Institute) listed Lancaster on their Top 50 Screen Legends list. He was ranked as the 19th greatest actor.
His IMDb page shows 87 acting credits from 1946-1991. This page will rank Burt Lancaster movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television appearances, cameos and his straight to DVD movies were not included in the rankings.
Burt Lancaster 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
1953
From Here to Eternity (1953)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Actor Nom
1960
Elmer Gantry (1960)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Win
1955
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
AA Best Picture Nom
1961
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
AA Best Picture Nom
1946
The Killers (1946)
1966
The Professionals (1966)
1958
Separate Tables (1958)
AA Best Picture Nom
1948
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
1970
Airport (1970)
AA Best Picture Nom
1957
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
1989
Field of Dreams (1989)
AA Best Picture Nom
1947
Brute Force (1947)
1954
Vera Cruz (1954)
1952
Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
1947
Desert Fury (1947)
1954
Apache (1954)
1950
The Flame and the Arrow (1950)
1957
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
1956
Trapeze (1956)
1964
Seven Days in May (1964)
1952
The Crimson Pirate (1952)
1964
The Train (1964)
1958
Run Silent Run Deep (1958)
1962
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
AA Best Actor Nom
1949
Criss Cross (1949)
1949
Rope of Sand (1949)
1963
The Leopard (1963)
1980
Atlantic City (1980)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1960
The Unforgiven (1960)
1951
Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)
1956
The Rainmaker (1956)
1948
Kiss The Blood Off My Hands (1948)
1947
I Walk Alone (1947)
1955
The Kentuckian (1955)
1948
All My Sons (1948)
1954
His Majesty O'Keefe (1954)
1951
Vengeance Valley (1951)
1977
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
1951
Ten Tall Men (1951)
1950
Mister 880 (1950)
1968
The Scalphunters (1968)
1963
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
1983
Local Hero (1983)
1963
The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
1968
The Swimmer (1968)
1961
The Young Savages (1961)
1972
Ulzana's Raid (1972)
1959
The Devil's Disciple (1959)
1971
Lawman (1971)
1986
Tough Guys (1986)
1971
Valdez is Coming (1971)
1953
South Sea Woman (1953)
1974
Conversation Piece (1974)
1965
The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
1976
Buffalo Bill and The Indians (1976)
1977
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
1974
The Midnight Man (1974)
1974
The Midnight Man (1974)
1976
The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
1976
1900 (1976)
1973
Scorpio (1973)
1969
Castle Keep (1969)
1979
Zulu Dawn (1979)
1988
Rocket Gibraltar (1988)
1981
Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981)
1987
Control (1987)
1978
Go Tell The Spartans (1978)
1969
The Gypsy Moths (1969)
1983
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
1973
Executive Action (1973)
1985
Little Treasure (1985)
Burt Lancaster 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 Burt Lancaster movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Burt Lancaster movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Burt Lancaster movies by yearly box office rank
- Sort Burt Lancaster movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or highis should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Burt Lancaster movie received.
- Sort Burt Lancaster 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 sort and search buttons to make this a very interactive table…for example you want to just see the Kirk Douglas/Lancaster movies….just type in Kirk in the search box and the 5 movies will pop right up.
| 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 | From Here to Eternity (1953) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actor Nom |
Montgomery Clift & Frank Sinatra |
30.90 | 555.3 | 555.30 | 2 | 81 | 13 / 08 | 99.9 | |
| 2 | Elmer Gantry (1960) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Win |
Shirley Jones & Jean Simmons |
13.20 | 206.4 | 206.40 | 15 | 87 | 05 / 03 | 99.5 | |
| 3 | The Rose Tattoo (1955) AA Best Picture Nom |
Anna Magnani & Costumes by Edith Head |
12.00 | 248.8 | 248.80 | 21 | 75 | 08 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 5 | Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) AA Best Picture Nom |
Spencer Tracy & Marlene Dietrich |
11.30 | 164.4 | 164.40 | 19 | 86 | 11 / 02 | 99.0 | |
| 4 | The Killers (1946) | Ava Gardner | 6.80 | 208.1 | 208.10 | 52 | 87 | 04 / 00 | 98.9 | |
| 6 | The Professionals (1966) | Lee Marvin & Robert Ryan |
22.00 | 215.6 | 215.60 | 10 | 83 | 03 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 8 | Separate Tables (1958) AA Best Picture Nom |
David Niven & Rita Hayworth |
8.90 | 159.1 | 159.10 | 23 | 80 | 07 / 02 | 97.6 | |
| 7 | Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) | Barbara Stanwyck & Ed Begley |
7.50 | 202.1 | 202.10 | 25 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 97.6 | |
| 9 | Airport (1970) AA Best Picture Nom |
Dean Martin & Helen Hayes |
102.40 | 712.0 | 712.00 | 2 | 63 | 10 / 01 | 97.1 | |
| 10 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) | Kirk Douglas & Dennis Hooper |
13.40 | 258.5 | 258.50 | 9 | 77 | 02 / 00 | 97.1 | |
| 11 | Field of Dreams (1989) AA Best Picture Nom |
Kevin Costner | 64.40 | 175.0 | 229.30 | 19 | 76 | 03 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 13 | Brute Force (1947) | Hume Cronyn & Charles Bickford |
5.90 | 173.2 | 173.20 | 53 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 96.5 | |
| 12 | Vera Cruz (1954) | Gary Cooper & Charles Bronson |
13.00 | 305.8 | 305.80 | 14 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 15 | Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) | Shirley Booth | 9.70 | 190.6 | 190.60 | 11 | 72 | 03 / 01 | 95.9 | |
| 14 | Desert Fury (1947) | Lizabeth Scott & Mary Astor |
8.10 | 236.2 | 236.20 | 28 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 95.9 | |
| 16 | Apache (1954) | Charles Bronson & Jean Peters |
10.00 | 234.3 | 234.30 | 27 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 95.0 | |
| 18 | The Flame and the Arrow (1950) | Virginia Mayo & Robert Douglas |
7.80 | 175.6 | 361.00 | 15 | 74 | 02 / 00 | 94.7 | |
| 17 | Sweet Smell of Success (1957) | Tony Curtis & Susan Harrison |
6.40 | 123.7 | 123.70 | 36 | 92 | 00 / 00 | 94.6 | |
| 19 | Trapeze (1956) | Gina Lollobrigida & Tony Curtis |
20.80 | 407.1 | 407.10 | 6 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 93.3 | |
| 20 | Seven Days in May (1964) | Kirk Douglas & Fredric March |
10.20 | 117.1 | 117.10 | 26 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 92.9 | |
| 21 | The Crimson Pirate (1952) | Nick Cravat & Christopher Lee |
6.90 | 136.1 | 136.10 | 31 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 92.5 | |
| 22 | The Train (1964) | Paul Scofield & Jeanne Moreau |
10.60 | 121.2 | 121.20 | 25 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 23 | Run Silent Run Deep (1958) | Clark Gable & Jack Warden |
7.10 | 128.3 | 180.70 | 33 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 91.1 | |
| 24 | Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) AA Best Actor Nom |
Thelma Ritter & Telly Savalas |
7.60 | 108.8 | 108.80 | 33 | 80 | 04 / 00 | 90.4 | |
| 25 | Criss Cross (1949) | Dan Duryea & Yvonne De Carlo |
4.00 | 101.0 | 101.00 | 90 | 82 | 00 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 26 | Rope of Sand (1949) | Claude Rains & Paul Henreid |
6.20 | 156.7 | 156.70 | 34 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 89.2 | |
| 27 | The Leopard (1963) | Alain Delon & Claudia Cardinale |
4.40 | 55.5 | 248.90 | 59 | 91 | 01 / 00 | 87.6 | |
| 28 | Atlantic City (1980) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Susan Sarandon | 12.70 | 52.8 | 52.80 | 64 | 80 | 05 / 00 | 86.8 | |
| 29 | The Unforgiven (1960) | Audrey Hepburn & Directed by John Huston |
8.90 | 138.4 | 138.40 | 30 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 31 | Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951) | Charles Bickford & Phyllis Thaxter |
6.40 | 138.4 | 177.90 | 35 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 86.2 | |
| 30 | The Rainmaker (1956) | Katharine Hepburn & Lloyd Bridges |
6.00 | 117.6 | 117.60 | 44 | 67 | 02 / 00 | 86.2 | |
| 32 | Kiss The Blood Off My Hands (1948) | Joan Fontaine & Robert Newton |
4.20 | 113.5 | 113.50 | 85 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 85.8 | |
| 33 | I Walk Alone (1947) | Kirk Douglas & Lizabeth Scott |
5.70 | 165.4 | 165.40 | 56 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 85.5 | |
| 35 | The Kentuckian (1955) | Walter Matthau & Directed by Burt Lancaster |
7.40 | 154.0 | 154.00 | 38 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 85.1 | |
| 34 | All My Sons (1948) | Edward G. Robinson & Mady Christians |
2.90 | 78.0 | 78.00 | 106 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 84.8 | |
| 36 | His Majesty O'Keefe (1954) | Joan Rice & André Morell |
5.50 | 129.7 | 235.40 | 57 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 83.9 | |
| 37 | Vengeance Valley (1951) | Robert Walker & John Ireland |
5.70 | 123.0 | 193.80 | 50 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 82.4 | |
| 38 | Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) | Richard Widmark | 12.20 | 58.8 | 58.80 | 51 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 81.7 | |
| 39 | Ten Tall Men (1951) | Gilbert Roland & Jody Lawrance |
5.10 | 110.9 | 110.90 | 56 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 81.4 | |
| 40 | Mister 880 (1950) | Dorothy McGuire & Edmund Gwenn |
4.90 | 109.1 | 109.10 | 53 | 57 | 01 / 00 | 79.4 | |
| 41 | The Scalphunters (1968) | Telly Savalas & Shelley Winters |
8.00 | 65.8 | 65.80 | 48 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 79.0 | |
| 42 | A Child Is Waiting (1963) | Judy Garland & Gena Rowlands |
2.50 | 31.2 | 31.20 | 79 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 78.5 | |
| 43 | Local Hero (1983) | Peter Riegert & Directed by Bill Forsyth |
5.90 | 20.2 | 20.20 | 83 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 77.9 | |
| 44 | The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) | Kirk Douglas & Robert Mitchum |
4.60 | 57.3 | 57.30 | 56 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 75.5 | |
| 45 | The Swimmer (1968) | Janice Rule & Kim Hunter |
1.80 | 15.2 | 15.20 | 127 | 82 | 00 / 00 | 75.0 | |
| 47 | The Young Savages (1961) | Telly Savalas & Shelley Winters |
5.00 | 72.8 | 72.80 | 47 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 70.2 | |
| 46 | Ulzana's Raid (1972) | Bruce Davison & Richard Jaeckel |
2.00 | 12.6 | 12.60 | 120 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 70.1 | |
| 48 | The Devil's Disciple (1959) | Kirk Douglas & Laurence Olivier |
3.90 | 69.3 | 69.30 | 68 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 69.8 | |
| 49 | Lawman (1971) | Robert Duvall & Robert Ryan |
8.20 | 53.5 | 53.50 | 43 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 68.4 | |
| 50 | Tough Guys (1986) | Kirk Douglas & Eli Wallach |
21.50 | 62.4 | 62.40 | 42 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 66.9 | |
| 51 | Valdez is Coming (1971) | Susan Clark & Hector Elizondo |
9.10 | 59.4 | 59.40 | 40 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 65.2 | |
| 53 | South Sea Woman (1953) | Virgina Mayo & Chuck Conners |
4.90 | 88.1 | 129.50 | 65 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 64.6 | |
| 52 | Conversation Piece (1974) | Helmut Berger & Silvana Mangano |
1.60 | 9.0 | 9.00 | 118 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 64.1 | |
| 54 | The Hallelujah Trail (1965) | Lee Remick & Jim Hutton |
3.20 | 34.3 | 34.30 | 78 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 58.4 | |
| 55 | Buffalo Bill and The Indians (1976) | Paul Newman | 3.90 | 19.7 | 19.70 | 91 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 56.4 | |
| 56 | The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) | Michael York & Nigel Davenport |
10.80 | 52.3 | 52.30 | 56 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 47.4 | |
| 57 | The Midnight Man (1974) | Susan Clark & Directed by Burt Lancaster |
1.80 | 10.7 | 10.70 | 110 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 43.1 | |
| 58 | The Midnight Man (1974) | Burt Lancaster & Susan Clark |
1.80 | 10.7 | 10.70 | 110 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 43.1 | |
| 59 | The Cassandra Crossing (1976) | Sophia Loren & Martin Sheen |
12.70 | 64.2 | 64.20 | 52 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 41.8 | |
| 60 | 1900 (1976) | Robert DeNiro & Donald Sutherland |
3.30 | 16.9 | 16.90 | 96 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 41.0 | |
| 61 | Scorpio (1973) | Alain Delone & Paul Scofield |
4.20 | 25.8 | 25.80 | 73 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 40.5 | |
| 62 | Castle Keep (1969) | Peter Falk & Scott Wilson |
5.10 | 39.0 | 39.00 | 53 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 38.4 | |
| 63 | Zulu Dawn (1979) | Peter O'Toole | 2.30 | 10.1 | 10.10 | 112 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 36.7 | |
| 64 | Rocket Gibraltar (1988) | Suzy Amis & Patricia Clarkson |
0.20 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 239 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 33.4 | |
| 66 | Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) | Scott Glenn & Rod Steiger |
0.50 | 2.1 | 2.10 | 152 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 33.3 | |
| 65 | Control (1987) | Ben Gazzara | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 259 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 33.1 | |
| 67 | Go Tell The Spartans (1978) | Craig Wasson & Marc Singer |
1.20 | 5.6 | 5.60 | 124 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 32.4 | |
| 68 | The Gypsy Moths (1969) | Deborah Kerr & Gene Hackman |
1.60 | 11.9 | 11.90 | 117 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 26.9 | |
| 69 | The Osterman Weekend (1983) | Rutger Hauer & Directed by Sam Peckinpah |
6.50 | 22.2 | 22.20 | 76 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 24.2 | |
| 70 | Executive Action (1973) | Robert Ryan & Will Geer |
2.20 | 13.2 | 13.20 | 118 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 22.7 | |
| 71 | Little Treasure (1985) | Ted Danson | 3.00 | 9.1 | 9.10 | 127 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 13.3 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Burt Lancaster Table
- Twenty-five Burt Lancaster movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 37.31% of his movies listed. Airport (1970) was his biggest box office hit.
- An average Burt Lancaster movie grossed $100.00 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 53 Burt Lancaster movies are rated as good movies…or 79.10% of his movies. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is his highest rated movie while Vengenance Valley (1951) is his lowest rated movie.
- Twenty Burt Lancaster movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 29.85% of his movies.
- Seven Burt Lancaster movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 10.44% of his movies.
- An average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 39.86. 43 Burt Lancaster movies scored higher that average….or 64.17% of his movies. From Here to Eternity (1953) got the the highest UMR Score while Executive Action (1973) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Burt Lancaster
1. Burt Lancaster was born Burton Stephen Lancaster in Manhatten, New York City.
2. Burt Lancaster starred with Kirk Douglas seven movies…. Victory at Entebbe (1976), Tough Guys (1986), Seven Days in May (1964), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and The Devil’s Disciple (1959). Victory at Entebbe (tv movie) and The List of Adrian Messenger (cameo role) did not make our rankings.
3. Burt Lancaster was married three times. He had 5 children (3 daughters and two sons). One of his sons, Bill Lancaster, wrote the screenplay for 1976’s The Bad News Bears. It was based on his experience of being coached by his father. The coach played by Walter Matthau was based on Burt, who was known for his grumpiness.
4. Burt Lancaster’s production company, Hecht Hill Lancaster, produced 1955’s Marty…..which won the Oscar® for Best Picture.
5. Burt Lancaster directed two movies in his career….The Kentuckian and The Midnight Man.
6. The first film Burt Lancaster directed is also the first film Walter Matthau ever appeared in….1955’s The Kentuckian
7. Burt Lancaster appeared nude in 1968’s The Swimmer.
8. For another very interesting tribute to Burt Lancaster check out this page by Lary Wallace….. Burt Lancaster.
9. Roles Burt Lancaster turned down, auditioned for or was seriously considered for: Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston role), Old Gringo (Gregory Peck role), Patton (George C. Scott role), The Poseidon Adventure (Gene Hackman role) and Under Capricorn (Joseph Cotten role) and The Wild Bunch (William Holden role).
10. Check out Burt Lancaster‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.
One of the greats. He had a terrific voice. (I wish I sounded like that.) I loved his partnerships with Kirk Douglas. He sometimes gave acting work to his old circus partner Nick Cravat (Who appeared with him in “the Flame & the Arrow” and “the Crimson Pirate”.)
“The Sweet Smell of Success” & “from Here to Eternity” were probably his best films. He always had a powerful screen presence.
Rob
Hey Rob, I agree he has a very strong screen presence….one of the things I was impressed with, was his track record helping other people win Oscars….that list includes…Frank Sinatra, Anna Magnani, Shirley Booth, Donna Reed, and David Niven. I have never seen Sweet Smell of Success….but after seeing how high it ended up being ranked, I am thinking I should check it out very soon.
Field of Dreams was filmed just a few miles from where I grew up in Iowa. It’s now a tourist attraction.
Hey WillStarr….that is cool that the baseball field is so close to you…..so have you ever gone and seen the field?….it is about 2000 miles away from me….thanks for checking out the page.
Loved Burt Lancaster, Local Hero, Elmer Gantry, Hallelujah Trail, The Rainmaker, and many other of course.
Hey Jeff May…I like almost all the movies you mentioned. I have not seen Hallelujah Trail, actually before doing this page I had never heard of the movie either…..I was surprised when I saw how much the movie earned at the box office, I will have to check the movie out….thanks for the comments
This page was very helpful in my choosing Burt Lancaster movies to add to my movie collection. Thank you.
Hey Gary…glad to hear that this page is helping you out. Thanks for the visit and the comment.
So many wonderful movies. I have seen just about all of them. Airport is a favorite of mine – showing him as a caring character. He and Kirk Douglas were so good together. Thanks.
Hey BERN…thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comment…I agree with you the Lancaster/Douglas team was very enjoyable to watch. Airport is the one that started the entire disaster films of the 1970s.