Want to know the best Charlton Heston movies? How about the worst Charlton Heston movies? Curious about Charlton Heston’s box office grosses or which Charlton Heston movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Charlton Heston movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) is known for his heroic roles in films such as 1961’s El Cid, 1956’s The Ten Commandments, 1968’s Planet of the Apes and 1959’s Ben-Hur, for which he won the Oscar® for Best Actor. At one point, Heston had starred in three of the top eight movies of all-time. Those movies were Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur and The Greatest Show on Earth. Heston remained a leading man from 1950 until the early 1980s. After that he started appearing in supporting roles in such movies as True Lies, Any Given Sunday and Tombstone.
His IMDb page shows 131 acting credits from 1941-2010. This page will rank Charlton Heston movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Charlton Heston 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
1959
Ben-Hur (1959)
AA Best Picture Win
AA Best Actor Win
1956
The Ten Commandments (1956)
AA Best Picture Nom
1952
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
AA Best Picture Win
1958
The Big Country (1958)
1968
Planet of the Apes (1968)
1961
El Cid (1961)
1973
The Three Musketeers (1973)
1994
True Lies (1994)
1993
Tombstone (1993)
1954
The Naked Jungle (1954)
1974
The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974)
1963
55 Days At Peking (1963)
1976
Midway (1976)
1965
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
1958
The Buccaneer (1958)
1965
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
1970
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
1999
Any Given Sunday (1999)
1974
Earthquake (1974)
1962
Diamond Head (1962)
2001
Cats & Dogs (2001)
Voice Only
1958
Touch of Evil (1958)
1955
The Private War of Major Benson (1955)
1974
Airport 1975 (1974)
1976
Two-Minute Warning (1976)
1993
Wayne's World 2 (1993)
1953
The President's Lady (1953)
1952
Ruby Gentry (1952)
1966
Khartoum (1966)
1973
Soylent Green (1973)
1965
Major Dundee (1965)
1996
Hamlet (1996)
1967
Will Penny (1967)
1971
The Omega Man (1971)
1972
Skyjacked (1972)
1955
Lucy Gallant (1955)
1954
Secret of the Incas (1954)
1962
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)
1959
The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
1950
Julius Caesar (1950)
1956
Three Violent People (1956)
1950
Dark City (1950)
1955
The Far Horizons (1955)
1978
Gray Lady Down (1978)
1965
The War Lord (1965)
1952
The Savage (1952)
1970
The Hawaiians (1970)
1994
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
1953
Pony Express (1953)
1968
Counterpoint (1968)
1969
Number One (1969)
1980
The Mountain Men (1980)
1953
Arrowhead (1953)
1941
Peer Gynt (1941)
1970
Julius Caesar (1970)
1977
Crossed Swords (1977)
1982
Mother Lode (1982)
1998
Gideon (1998)
Film Festival Circuit Only
1976
The Last Hard Men (1976)
1953
Bad For Each Other (1953)
1980
The Awakening (1980)
1972
The Call of the Wild (1972)
1996
Alaska (1996)
1990
Solar Crisis (1990)
2001
Town & Country (2001)
Charlton Heston 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 Charlton Heston movies by his co-stars
- Sort Charlton Heston movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort Charlton Heston movies by yearly box office rank
- Sort Charlton Heston movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Charlton Heston movie received.
- Sort Charlton Heston 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.
| 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 | Ben-Hur (1959) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actor Win |
Stephen Boyd | 58.80 | 1,151.8 | 2,970.20 | 1 | 91 | 12 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | The Ten Commandments (1956) AA Best Picture Nom |
Yul Brynner & Vincent Price |
72.00 | 1,539.1 | 3,731.10 | 1 | 85 | 07 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 3 | The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) AA Best Picture Win |
James Stewart | 32.90 | 703.2 | 703.20 | 1 | 64 | 05 / 02 | 99.3 | |
| 6 | The Big Country (1958) | Gregory Peck & Directed by William Wyler |
10.60 | 208.4 | 208.40 | 11 | 89 | 02 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 5 | Planet of the Apes (1968) | Roddy McDowall | 42.90 | 384.4 | 384.40 | 7 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 4 | El Cid (1961) | Sophia Loren | 34.30 | 544.4 | 544.40 | 4 | 82 | 03 / 00 | 98.0 | |
| 7 | The Three Musketeers (1973) | Oliver Reed | 34.60 | 230.0 | 230.00 | 10 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 96.7 | |
| 8 | True Lies (1994) | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 146.30 | 421.3 | 1,091.10 | 3 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.2 | |
| 10 | Tombstone (1993) | Kurt Russell | 56.50 | 160.4 | 207.80 | 20 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 93.7 | |
| 12 | The Naked Jungle (1954) | Eleanor Parker | 6.60 | 167.9 | 167.90 | 49 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 93.2 | |
| 13 | The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) | Michael York | 26.60 | 166.9 | 166.90 | 24 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 92.9 | |
| 12 | 55 Days At Peking (1963) | David Niven & Ava Gardner |
14.30 | 195.2 | 195.20 | 17 | 62 | 02 / 00 | 92.4 | |
| 13 | Midway (1976) | Henry Fonda & Robert Mitchum |
65.50 | 361.2 | 361.20 | 7 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 91.6 | |
| 14 | The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) | Rex Harrison | 10.80 | 124.5 | 124.50 | 19 | 79 | 05 / 00 | 91.4 | |
| 16 | The Buccaneer (1958) | Yul Brynner & Directed by Anthony Quinn |
9.10 | 179.0 | 179.00 | 20 | 65 | 01 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 17 | The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) | Claude Rains & Sidney Poitier |
18.80 | 216.8 | 313.40 | 11 | 50 | 05 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 17 | Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) | Roddy McDowall | 26.10 | 197.6 | 197.60 | 14 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 88.8 | |
| 18 | Any Given Sunday (1999) | Al Pacino & Dennis Quaid |
75.50 | 175.4 | 232.70 | 27 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 17 | Earthquake (1974) | Ava Gardner | 78.60 | 494.1 | 494.10 | 4 | 45 | 04 / 01 | 87.9 | |
| 22 | Diamond Head (1962) | Music by John Williams | 12.90 | 201.4 | 201.40 | 15 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 87.7 | |
| 21 | Cats & Dogs (2001) Voice Only |
Alec Baldwin | 93.40 | 194.2 | 417.40 | 24 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 86.5 | |
| 22 | Touch of Evil (1958) | Orson Welles & Marlene Dietrich |
3.20 | 63.4 | 63.40 | 67 | 89 | 00 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 23 | The Private War of Major Benson (1955) | Julie Adams | 6.00 | 135.6 | 135.60 | 54 | 63 | 01 / 00 | 85.4 | |
| 22 | Airport 1975 (1974) | Karen Black | 76.70 | 481.8 | 481.80 | 5 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 85.2 | |
| 25 | Two-Minute Warning (1976) | Beau Bridges | 27.60 | 152.3 | 152.30 | 23 | 55 | 01 / 00 | 84.3 | |
| 27 | Wayne's World 2 (1993) | Mike Myers & Christopher Walken |
48.20 | 136.8 | 204.90 | 29 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 83.8 | |
| 25 | The President's Lady (1953) | Susan Hayward | 4.10 | 80.1 | 80.10 | 88 | 74 | 02 / 00 | 82.8 | |
| 29 | Ruby Gentry (1952) | Jennifer Jones | 4.90 | 103.9 | 103.90 | 63 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 82.7 | |
| 29 | Khartoum (1966) | Laurence Olivier | 5.90 | 62.9 | 62.90 | 48 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 81.9 | |
| 31 | Soylent Green (1973) | Edward G. Robinson & Joseph Cotten |
10.90 | 72.4 | 72.40 | 34 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 78.4 | |
| 33 | Major Dundee (1965) | James Coburn & Directed by Sam Peckinpah |
5.50 | 63.8 | 63.80 | 51 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 77.1 | |
| 30 | Hamlet (1996) | Jack Lemmon & Robin Williams |
4.70 | 12.5 | 44.80 | 153 | 83 | 04 / 00 | 76.6 | |
| 32 | Will Penny (1967) | Bruce Dern & Lee Majors |
4.50 | 43.7 | 43.70 | 55 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 76.3 | |
| 34 | The Omega Man (1971) | Anthony Zerbe | 12.10 | 86.3 | 86.30 | 27 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 35 | Skyjacked (1972) | James Brolin | 20.50 | 141.4 | 141.40 | 20 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 75.0 | |
| 35 | Lucy Gallant (1955) | Jane Wyman | 3.70 | 83.9 | 83.90 | 89 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 37 | Secret of the Incas (1954) | Robert Young | 4.00 | 102.2 | 102.20 | 83 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 74.1 | |
| 36 | The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962) | Elsa Marshall | 4.70 | 73.9 | 73.90 | 52 | 63 | 01 / 00 | 74.0 | |
| 39 | The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) | Gary Cooper | 3.30 | 65.2 | 157.50 | 73 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 39 | Julius Caesar (1950) | Harold Tasker | 0.10 | 2.1 | 2.10 | 216 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 65.7 | |
| 41 | Three Violent People (1956) | Anne Baxter | 3.40 | 73.2 | 73.20 | 98 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 64.2 | |
| 42 | Dark City (1950) | Lizabeth Scott | 2.70 | 66.4 | 66.40 | 117 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 62.7 | |
| 45 | The Far Horizons (1955) | Fred MacMurray | 4.60 | 103.3 | 103.30 | 75 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 62.2 | |
| 43 | Gray Lady Down (1978) | David Carradine | 10.40 | 52.0 | 52.00 | 57 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 60.4 | |
| 44 | The War Lord (1965) | Richard Boone | 2.60 | 29.7 | 29.70 | 88 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 55.6 | |
| 46 | The Savage (1952) | Susan Morrow | 1.80 | 38.6 | 38.60 | 166 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 55.3 | |
| 47 | The Hawaiians (1970) | Tina Chen | 7.00 | 52.8 | 52.80 | 45 | 53 | 01 / 00 | 51.1 | |
| 48 | In the Mouth of Madness (1994) | Sam Neill | 8.90 | 25.7 | 25.70 | 116 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 44.1 | |
| 49 | Pony Express (1953) | Rhonda Fleming | 4.20 | 83.1 | 83.10 | 85 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 44.1 | |
| 48 | Counterpoint (1968) | Maximilian Schell | 2.10 | 19.2 | 19.20 | 115 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 43.8 | |
| 51 | Number One (1969) | Bruce Dern | 2.90 | 23.6 | 23.60 | 72 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 42.3 | |
| 52 | The Mountain Men (1980) | Brian Keith | 7.60 | 34.5 | 34.50 | 84 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 42.2 | |
| 55 | Arrowhead (1953) | Jack Palance | 3.60 | 71.2 | 71.20 | 104 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 40.6 | |
| 54 | Peer Gynt (1941) | Betty Hanisee | 0.10 | 3.4 | 3.40 | 229 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 40.6 | |
| 53 | Julius Caesar (1970) | Jason Robards & John Gielgud |
0.10 | 0.4 | 0.40 | 184 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 35.2 | |
| 57 | Crossed Swords (1977) | Charlton Heston | 7.30 | 38.4 | 38.40 | 72 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 32.7 | |
| 55 | Mother Lode (1982) | Kim Basinger & Directed by Charlton Heston |
0.10 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 163 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 30.6 | |
| 56 | Gideon (1998) Film Festival Circuit Only |
Shirley Jones | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 268 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 30.5 | |
| 58 | The Last Hard Men (1976) | James Coburn | 2.40 | 13.4 | 13.40 | 113 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 28.7 | |
| 59 | Bad For Each Other (1953) | Lizabeth Scott | 3.30 | 65.3 | 65.30 | 115 | 38 | 00 / 00 | 26.0 | |
| 60 | The Awakening (1980) | Susannah York | 9.90 | 44.7 | 44.70 | 72 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 23.4 | |
| 62 | The Call of the Wild (1972) | Maria Rohim | 2.70 | 18.9 | 18.90 | 99 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 21.2 | |
| 61 | Alaska (1996) | Thora Birch | 11.80 | 31.4 | 31.40 | 116 | 36 | 00 / 00 | 8.5 | |
| 62 | Solar Crisis (1990) | Jack Palance | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 239 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 4.3 | |
| 64 | Town & Country (2001) | Warren Beatty & Diane Keaton |
6.70 | 14.0 | 21.60 | 141 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 2.3 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Charlton Heston
1. Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter….Charlton’s name comes from his mom’s maiden name, Charlton, and his stepfather’s last name, Heston.
2. Charlton Heston turned down the role of “Police Chief Brody” in Jaws. Other movies he turned down over the years….John Wayne’s The Alamo, A Man For All Seasons, The Wild Bunch, The Omen, Deliverance and Stalag 17
3. Charlton Heston only received one Oscar® nomination in his acting career but he made it count as won the Oscar® for Ben-Hur…..luckily Burt Lancaster turned down the role.
4. Charlton Heston had two parts in The Ten Commandments……Moses and he provided the voice of God……years later he was hired by the F.B.I during the April 1993 Waco stand-off with cult leader David Koresh, to play the voice of God while communicating with him. However the plan was never used.
5. Charlton Heston played President Andrew Jackson twice in two separate unrelated films: The President’s Lady in 1953 and The Buccaneer in 1958.
6. Charlton Heston was also known for his political activism. In the 1950s and 1960s he was one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak openly against racism and was an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. He was also president of the NRA from 1998 to 2003.
7. Charlton Heston was married to Lydia Clarke from 1944 until his death in 2008…they had two children.
8. In his 1985 autobiography “In The Arena” Charlton Heston wrote that 1972’s The Call of the Wild was easily his worst film, and hoped the public would never have to watch the film.
9. His line “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!” from Planet of the Apes, is ranked by the American Film Institute as the 66th best movie quote of all-time.
10. Two links from SteveLensman are highly recommended. One is all about Ben-Hur and the other about all Charlton Heston movies. Charlton Heston Movies
Steve’s Charlton Heston You Tube Video
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
I REALLY LIKED CHARLETON HESTON AND THOUGHT HIS MOVIES WERE VERY GOOD. I HAVE THE NAKED JUNGLE ON A VCR TAPE AND HAVE WATCHED IT MANY TIMES. HE WAS A GREAT ACTOR…ENJOYED READING THIS HUB COGERSON. YOU COME UP WITH SOME INTERESTING FACTS THAT ARE ENJOYABLE TO READ. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY…
Hey BERN1960….thanks for stopping by….I will have to check out The Naked Jungle….when I was doing the research for this page, I kept seeing that movie title pop up over and over….and in the 5 comments posted 40% of the comments mention the movie…..seems like I should watch it as well….it sounds like it is time to replace that VHS tape with a DVD…..enjoy your holiday as well.
He was a big fellow who made a big impact, a real movie star in every sense. I loved Ben Hur, Earthquake, Fifty Five Days At Peking and many more. He really was larger than life and as usual you have paid him a great compliment. Cheers
Thanks for stopping by attemptedhumour….when I was doing this hub I realized that I had not watched many of his older movies….I will have to check out 55 Days at Peking…and I agree 100% Charlton Heston was indeed larger than life.
Am epic page on one of my favourite actors, cheers Cogerson.
And it’s good to see my favourite movie at the top of one of your moviescores. 🙂
As a lad I was a big fan of Heston because he played such larger than life characters, with conviction. To me he was Judah Ben-Hur, Moses, El Cid, Gordon of Khartoum, the last man on Earth. I believed it.
For a brief time back in the 70’s The Omega Man was my no.1 favourite, I watched it over and over. 36th on your movie score, oh well. 🙂
“Damn them all to hell!” Planet of the Apes is one of the all time great sci-fi films and his character Taylor is pretty iconic.
Touch of Evil, Orson Welles, great film. And The Naked Jungle was an enjoyable slice of jungle action involving millions of killer ants.
Chuck started making enemies later in life as president of the NRA but I’ll always remember him parting the Red Sea, shooting dead albino mutants and winning that chariot race. 🙂
Thanks for the compliment Steve, I am glad you like your suggested hub. Ben-Hur is easily his best film according to Movie Score, I found it interesting that the Oscar people only nominated him one time in his whole career
Khartoum is one that I have not seen, I will have to check that out as well as The Naked Jungle. Sorry Omega Man did not do better on the Movie Score chart….but it is a cult classic. It is a shame that he was such an easy target in his later years…..what Michael Moore did to him in a documentary was just mean, and when I got off the Moore bandwagon after seeing that….thanks always for your comments.
I love Touch of Evil. Too bad Welles died before its original editing as he wanted it was restored. That is easily my favourite Heston film, even though it was an example of a white man playing a Mexican instead of the role going to a Latino. I have seen all of his Planet of the apes films with Roddy Mcdowell. they are not my favourite, though, and I don’t watch them often. I don’t see there was any reason to redo the franchise.
Another favourite is The Big Country opposite my favourite Peck.
I’m not really big on religious epics, so I don’t count his most famous of his films aamong my personal favourites.
I prefer his dramas. I love Julius Ceasar. I must confess that I haven’t seen much of his late career as I rarely watch current films unless they have been nominated for awards. The only one I’ve seen is Tombstone.
Hey Flora, you will not believe how I discovered Touch of Evil….I had heard of the movie but had never watched it….but after seeing Chilli Palmer(John Travolta) watch the movie in Get Shorty…..I gave it a try…..awesome movie….Heston is awesome Welles is awesome….now it is one of my favorites as well…I recently saw The Big Country and Peck and Heston make a good team on screen….it took them weeks to film their big fight scene. As for why more Planet of the Apes…..one reason…big dollars….I think almost every version has returned the producers some serious money….as always I appreciate your comments.
What a prolific performer he was. Everyone of his films seems to stick in your mind. One of the great actors of the 20th century. Peter
Hey Peter, thanks for stopping by and checking out my Chuck hub, I agree some of his movies are ones that stick to your mind…especially his movies from the 1950s….Moses and Ben-Hur is a pretty impressive combo for any actor.