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.
films of a legend like him never be forgotten
hey scott33thomas…thanks for the comments and I agree him will never be forgotten.
Good morning: Thought I would read the additional comments on Heston since I sent in my comment. Wonder if they will ever remake any of his BIG BOX OFFICE movies? Guess it would cost lots of “bucks” to do them today. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Hey Bern1960….currently there are no plans to remake Ben-Hur or Ten Commandments but I am sure sometime in the future someone will tackle those two movies….which will actually be the third time they would have been filmed whenever they get around to filming it…..and your welcome for the updated photo.
The Ten Commandments was remade last year as Exodus Gods and Kings and was a flop. Ben Hur was remade 4 years ago as a TV miniseries and also was a big flop and now a lower budgeted film remake is being made that will also be a big flop. You simply cannot remake a masterpiece and Hollywood just can’t seem to get that in their heads.
Hey Bruce…true Exodus was based on the same story….but now they have a new Ben-Hur coming out. This time out John Huston’s grandson Jack has the title role. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2638144/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1
It comes out in 2016 and I think it will follow in the same path as Exodus. I agree with you, you can’t remake a masterpiece. Then again new ideas are very rare in Hollywood.
I am obviously a Heston Fan (wrote my own page about him.) I like your conversion charts showing where his films would actually rank today in today’s money. I agree with ruffridyer that Charlton Heston was a man we could look up to. He definitely had morals and a sense of helping mankind. Good page Cogerson.
Thank you tillsontitan for the compliment of my conversion charts….I think they are fascinating numbers to look at. I will be checking out your Heston page as soon as I hit the Post Comment button. I can say from reading Heston’s autobiography that seem to believe that having principles and morals was the key to a great life, and he tried to help lots of people….thanks for stopping by.
My favorite Heston movie is The War Lord. I love his historical films. It was always like Heston vs the World, Even when he lost the world suffered greatly.
I never cared much for his Sci-fi, apes and Soylent Green. Ben-Hur and Ten Commandments were awesome.
Who ever wrote the dialogue between E. G Robinson and Yul Brenner as Robinson betrayed Moses was inspired.
His personal life was pretty impressive to. Being with his first and only wife, his stand on equal rights, ignoring the hollywood b.s. Standing true to his principals. Here was a man we could look up too.
Hey ruffridyer…you know two days ago I was not even aware that The WarLords even existed…..I got an e-mail from BERN1960 saying it was ranked too low 44th, and know you say it is your favorite Heston movie….I am going to have to check this one out.
I agree that a 64 year marriage from a Hollywood superstar might be his greatest accomplishment….I read that she was the only person that could call him Charlie.
Heston really was a person people could look up to…thanks for the comments.
I remember my parents watching Ben-Hur and Ten Commandments all the time at least once a year, very fond memories.
Hey AlabamaGirl….I am glad my page was able to bring back some fond memories….both of the movies you mention were staples on regular broadcast tv in the 1970s, and we also watch them every year….thanks for commenting.