Burt Lancaster Movies

Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster both won Oscars for 1960's Elmer Gantry.
Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster both won Oscars for 1960’s Elmer Gantry.

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 and Tony Curtis in 1957's Sweet Smell of Success
Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success

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.

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.

Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Burt Lancaster Table

  1. 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.
  2. An average Burt Lancaster movie grossed $100.00 million in adjusted box office gross.
  3. 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.
  4. Twenty Burt Lancaster movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 29.85% of his movies.
  5. Seven Burt Lancaster movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 10.44% of his movies.
  6. 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.
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in one of the most famous movie kisses of all time...in 1953's From Here To Eternity
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in one of the most famous movie kisses of all time…in 1953’s From Here To Eternity

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.

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.

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126 thoughts on “Burt Lancaster Movies”

  1. Burt worked with 51 other Oscar winners I could come up with

    Airport (1970) – Van Heflin, Helen Hayes, Maureen Stapeton
    All About People (1967) – Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, George Burns
    Atlantic City (1980) – Susan Sarandon
    Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) – Karl Malden, Edmond O’Brien
    Brute Force (1947) – Edmond O’Brien
    Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) – Paul Newman
    Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) – Rod Steiger
    Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) – Shirley Booth
    Desert Fury (1947) – Mary Astor
    Elmer Gantry (1960) – Shirley Jones, Dean Jagger
    From Here to Eternity (1953) – Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Donna Reed
    Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) – Maximilian Schell, Spencer Tracy
    Kiss the Blood of My Hands (1948) – Joan Fontaine
    Lawman (1971) – Robert Duvall
    Mister 880 (1950) – Edmund Gwenn
    Novocento (1976) – Robert De Niro
    Rocket Gibralter (1988) – Kevin Spacey
    Run Silent Run Deep (1958) – Clark Gable
    Scorpio (1973) – Paul Scofield
    Separate Tables (1958) – David Niven, Wendy Hiller
    Seven Days in May (1964) – Martin Balsam, Edmond O’Brien, Fredric March
    The Cassandra Crossing (1976) – Sophia Loren
    The Devil’s Disciple (1959) – Laurence Olivier
    The Gypsy Moths (1969) – Gene Hackman
    The Hallelujah Trail (1965) – Martin Landau
    The Kentuckian (1955) – Walter Matthau
    The Killers (1946) – Edmond O’Brien
    The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) – Frank Sinatra, George C. Scott
    The Professionals (1966) – Jack Palance, Lee Marvin
    The Rainmaker (1956) – Katherine Hepburn
    The Rose Tattoo (1955) – Anna Magnani
    The Scalphunters (1968) – Shelley Winters
    The Swimmer (1968) – Kim Hunter
    The Train (1964) – Paul Scofield
    The Unforgiven (1960) – Audrey Hepburn
    The Young Savages (1961) – Shelley Winters
    Trapeze (1956) – Katy Jurado
    Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) – Melvyn Douglas
    Variety Girl (1947) – Ray Milland, William Holden, Barry Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper
    Vera Cruz (1954) – Ernest Borgnine
    Zulu Dawn (1979) – John Mills

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan…51 is impressive…beating Lee Marvin….but not up to Sir Michael’s tally. Thanks for the information….you will see…I switched the name from Anonymous to you.

      Reply

  2. You’re right. While Burt is no longer on the list there is a number of people on the 2016 Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. Burt was amazingly #45 in 2000 and is now gone.

    Airport (1970) – 282 Christopher Lloyd, 313 George Kennedy, 391 jacqueline Bisset
    All About People (1967) – 247 Charlton Heston
    Atlantic City (1980) – 66 Susan Sarandon, 197 Elias Koteas, 339 Wallace Shawn
    Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) – 5 Harvey Keitel, 122 Geraldine Chaplin, 992 Bert Remsen
    Castle Keep (1969) – 240 Scott Wilson, 274 Bruce Dern, 684 Peter Falk
    Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) – 19 John Savage, 112 Rod Steiger, 170 Scott Glenn, 337 Diane Lane, 423 Amanda Plummer
    Criss Cross (1949) – 897 Tony Curtis
    Executive Action (1973) – 105 Ed Lauter, 772 Dick Miller
    Field of Dreams (1989) – 46 Matt Damon, 68 Ray Liotta, 91 James Earl Jones, 206 Kevin Costner, 272 Ben Affleck, 578 Frank Whaley, 861 Lee Garlington, 948 Art Lafleur
    From Here to Eternity (1953) – 142 Ernest Borgnine, 762 Jack Warden
    Go Tell the Spartans (1978) – 67 James Hong, 347 Clyde Kusatsu, 513 David Clennon
    Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) – 27 Dennis Hopper, 912 Arthur Tovey
    Il Giorno Prima (1987) – 194 Ben Gazzara
    Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) – 671 William Shatner, 704 Maximillian Schell
    La Pelle (1981) – Tomas Arana
    Lawman (1971) – 71 Robert Duvall
    Little Treasure (1985) – 933 Margot Kidder
    Novocento (1976) – 6 Robert De Niro, 9 Donald Sutherland, 116 Gerard Depardieu
    Rocket Gibralter (1988) – 231 Bill Pullman, 346 Kevin Spacey. 768 Patricia Clarkson
    Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) – 762 Jack Warden
    Scorpio (1973) – 576 Shane Rimmer
    South Sea Woman (1953) – 912 Arthur Tovey
    Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – 897 Tony Curtis, 912 Arthur Tovey
    The Cassandra Crossing (1976) – 11 Martin Sheen
    The Crimson Pirate (1952) – 35 Christopher Lee
    The Devi’s Disciple (1959) – 385 Steven Berkoff
    The Gypsy Moths (1969) – 127 Gene Hackman, 240 Scott Wilson
    The Hallelujah Trail (1965) – 69 Martin Landau, 323 Donald Pleasence
    The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) – 172 Michael York
    The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) – 809 Robert Mitchum, 897 Tony Curtis, 912 Arthur Tovey
    The Midnight Man (1974) – 105 Ed Lauter, 466 Harris Yulin
    The Osterman Weekend (1983) – 23 John Hurt, 27 Dennis Hopper, 51 Ruter Hauer, 711 Tim Thomerson
    The Scalphunters (1968) – 781 Shelley Winters
    The Unforgiven (1960) – 478 John Saxon
    The Young Savages (1961) – 781 Shelley Winters
    Tough Guys (1986) – 97 Charles Durning, 220 Eli Wallach, 912 Arthur Tovey
    Trapeze (1956) – 897 Tony Curtis
    Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) – 97 Charles Durning, 157 Burt Young, 438 John Ratzenberger, 567 Shane Rimmer, 571 William Smith, 627 Garrick Hagon
    Ulzana’s Raid (1971) – 166 Bruce Davison
    Valdez is Coming (1971) – 541 Hector Elizondo
    Vera Cruz (1954) – 142 Ernest Borgnine
    Zulu Dawn (1979) – 121 Bob Hoskins, 503 Peter O’Toole

    Reply

    2. That is a huge drop off for Burt over the last 16 years……though looking at the attached actors…..many are no longer with us….or near the end of their careers….though Hector Elizondo with Mother’s Day, Kevin Spacey with Nine Lives, Susan Sarandon with numerous 2016 projects might get him back on the list. Thanks for the stats.

      Reply

  3. Yes I could swear if u can find that guest appearance with Dean and Jerry. Burt’s acting was an almost identical gantry character. Well he should have won an Emmy. I actually have the CD somewhere. Good luck in finding this comedy skit.

    Reply

  4. You know if you want to see a prelude to that amazing Elmer gantry acting get a load of laundry Lancaster on Jerry Lewis and Dean martin early comedy hour. Burt is a guest on the show and he shows a tad if what’s to come on this show. Even though he is more promoting little sheba you ll see a glimpse his next level for gantry.

    Reply

    1. Hey Alonzo….thanks for the suggestion….I think having a chance to see those three legends would be a good watch. I will have to see if You Tube has it already….let’s see Sheba was in 1952….so I have a good place to start…thanks for stopping by and commenting…it is greatly appreciated.

      Reply

  5. Burt was an inspiration as far as what a man was supposed to be. He was always a good guy. And that to me is a hero .

    Reply

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