Want to know the best Martin Balsam movies? How about the worst Martin Balsam movies? Curious about Martin Balsam box office grosses or which Martin Balsam movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Martin Balsam 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.
Martin Balsam (1919-1996) was an Oscar® winning American actor. He is best known for a number of renowned film roles, including detective Milton Arbogast in 1960’s Psycho, Arnold Burns in 1965’s A Thousand Clowns , Juror #1 in 1957’s 12 Angry Men, and Mr. Green in 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. His most famous television credit was his role as Murray Klein in the television sitcom Archie Bunker’s Place (1979–1983). His IMDb page shows 178 acting credits from 1949 to 1997. This page will rank Martin Balsam movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.
Martin Balsam 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
1954
On the Waterfront (1954)
AA Best Picture Win
1976
All the President's Men (1976)
AA Best Picture Nom
1960
Psycho (1960)
1974
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
1961
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
1970
Little Big Man (1970)
1970
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
1970
Catch-22 (1970)
1991
Cape Fear (1991)
1964
Seven Days in May (1964)
1964
The Carpetbaggers (1964)
1967
Hombre (1967)
1957
12 Angry Men (1957)
AA Best Picture Nom
1962
Cape Fear (1962)
1959
Al Capone (1959)
1965
A Thousand Clowns (1965)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Supp Actor Win
1976
Two-Minute Warning (1976)
1971
The Anderson Tapes (1971)
1958
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
1974
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
1959
Middle Of The Night (1959)
1985
St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
1965
The Bedford Incident (1965)
1969
Me, Natalie (1969)
1965
Harlow (Embassy Pictures) (1965)
1957
Time Limit (1957)
1966
After The Fox (1966)
1961
Ada (1961)
1977
The Sentinel (1977)
1986
The Delta Force (1986)
1973
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)
1969
Trilogy (1969)
1972
The Man (1972)
1990
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
1973
The Stone Killer (1973)
1963
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
1969
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)
1979
Cuba (1979)
1985
Death Wish 3 (1985)
1976
Death Rage (1976)
1977
Silver Bears (1977)
1980
There Goes The Bride (1980)
Martin Balsam 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 Martin Balsam movies by his co-stars
- Sort Martin Balsam movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Martin Balsam movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Martin Balsam 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 Martin Balsam movie received.
- Sort Martin Balsam movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR 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 | On the Waterfront (1954) AA Best Picture Win |
Marlon Brando & Rod Steiger |
12.00 | 281.2 | 281.20 | 20 | 92 | 12 / 08 | 100.0 | |
2 | All the President's Men (1976) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman |
90.90 | 460.1 | 460.10 | 4 | 83 | 08 / 04 | 99.5 | |
3 | Psycho (1960) | Janet Leigh & Directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
29.40 | 459.3 | 740.50 | 3 | 94 | 04 / 00 | 99.3 | |
4 | Murder on the Orient Express (1974) | Sean Connery & Ingrid Bergman |
58.00 | 334.1 | 334.10 | 6 | 78 | 06 / 01 | 98.1 | |
5 | Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) | Audrey Hepburn & Mickey Rooney |
12.00 | 174.8 | 174.80 | 17 | 84 | 05 / 02 | 97.9 | |
5 | Little Big Man (1970) | Dustin Hoffman & Faye Dunaway |
45.50 | 316.1 | 316.10 | 6 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 97.8 | |
6 | Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) | Joseph Cotten & Jason Robards |
44.00 | 306.2 | 306.20 | 8 | 75 | 05 / 01 | 97.4 | |
7 | Catch-22 (1970) | Alan Arkin & Martin Balsam |
37.90 | 263.4 | 263.40 | 10 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 97.2 | |
10 | Cape Fear (1991) | Robert DeNiro & Directed by Martin Scorsese |
79.10 | 202.5 | 466.80 | 12 | 77 | 02 / 00 | 97.2 | |
12 | Seven Days in May (1964) | Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas |
10.20 | 117.1 | 117.10 | 26 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 92.9 | |
10 | The Carpetbaggers (1964) | George Peppard & Alan Ladd |
36.30 | 416.1 | 416.10 | 4 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 92.6 | |
13 | Hombre (1967) | Paul Newman & Fredric March |
14.00 | 124.9 | 124.90 | 20 | 83 | 00 / 00 | 92.1 | |
12 | 12 Angry Men (1957) AA Best Picture Nom |
Henry Fonda & Lee J. Cobb |
2.90 | 55.0 | 55.00 | 82 | 95 | 01 / 00 | 91.2 | |
15 | Cape Fear (1962) | Gregory Peck & Robert Mitchum |
5.00 | 71.9 | 71.90 | 51 | 85 | 00 / 00 | 87.1 | |
16 | Al Capone (1959) | Rod Steiger & Fay Spain |
7.10 | 128.3 | 128.30 | 34 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 86.1 | |
14 | A Thousand Clowns (1965) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Jason Robards & Barbara Harris |
6.50 | 68.6 | 68.60 | 46 | 72 | 04 / 01 | 85.7 | |
17 | Two-Minute Warning (1976) | Charlton Heston & John Cassavetes |
27.60 | 139.7 | 139.70 | 23 | 55 | 01 / 00 | 83.7 | |
18 | The Anderson Tapes (1971) | Sean Connery & Dyan Cannon |
15.20 | 99.0 | 99.00 | 20 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 82.5 | |
19 | Marjorie Morningstar (1958) | Gene Kelly & Natalie Wood |
7.50 | 134.6 | 134.60 | 29 | 54 | 01 / 00 | 82.4 | |
20 | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) | Walter Matthau & Robert Shaw |
3.30 | 19.2 | 19.20 | 78 | 85 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
22 | Middle Of The Night (1959) | Fredric March & Kim Novak |
4.10 | 74.4 | 74.40 | 64 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 77.9 | |
23 | St. Elmo's Fire (1985) | Judd Nelson & Demi Moore |
37.80 | 114.8 | 114.80 | 23 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 77.3 | |
21 | The Bedford Incident (1965) | Richard Widmark & Sidney Poitier |
2.60 | 27.1 | 27.10 | 90 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 76.7 | |
24 | Me, Natalie (1969) | Al Pacino | 5.40 | 41.2 | 41.20 | 50 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 72.9 | |
27 | Harlow (Embassy Pictures) (1965) | Red Buttons & Angela Lansbury |
8.60 | 91.4 | 91.40 | 32 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 72.7 | |
26 | Time Limit (1957) | Richard Widmark & Richard Basehart |
3.60 | 68.8 | 68.80 | 69 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 72.6 | |
25 | After The Fox (1966) | Peter Sellers & Victor Mature |
5.70 | 56.3 | 56.30 | 50 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 72.1 | |
28 | Ada (1961) | Susan Hayward & Dean Martin |
3.60 | 52.0 | 52.00 | 63 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 68.0 | |
29 | The Sentinel (1977) | Ava Gardner & Jeff Goldblum |
10.90 | 52.8 | 52.80 | 55 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 65.1 | |
32 | The Delta Force (1986) | Lee Marvin & Chuck Norris & She |
17.80 | 51.6 | 51.60 | 48 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 53.3 | |
30 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973) | Joanne Woodward & Sylvia Sidney |
2.70 | 16.6 | 16.60 | 101 | 64 | 02 / 00 | 52.2 | |
31 | Trilogy (1969) | Geraldine Page & Conrad L. Hall |
0.50 | 3.6 | 3.60 | 161 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 50.6 | |
33 | The Man (1972) | James Earl Jones & Burgess Meredith |
0.10 | 0.7 | 0.70 | 176 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 46.7 | |
34 | Two Evil Eyes (1990) | Adrienne Barbeau & Harvey Keitel |
0.30 | 0.9 | 0.90 | 205 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 40.7 | |
35 | The Stone Killer (1973) | Charles Bronson | 3.80 | 23.1 | 23.10 | 78 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 31.6 | |
36 | Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) | Dean Martin & Elizabeth Montgomery |
2.40 | 30.4 | 30.40 | 80 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 23.9 | |
37 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) | Robert Mitchum & George Kennedy |
2.40 | 18.4 | 18.40 | 89 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 20.4 | |
38 | Cuba (1979) | Sean Connery & Brooke Adams |
5.30 | 22.6 | 22.60 | 79 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 12.7 | |
39 | Death Wish 3 (1985) | Charles Bronson | 16.10 | 48.9 | 48.90 | 54 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 12.0 | |
40 | Death Rage (1976) | Yul Brynner & Massimo Ranieri |
0.30 | 1.5 | 1.50 | 157 | 40 | 00 / 00 | 4.3 | |
41 | Silver Bears (1977) | Michael Caine & Cybill Shepherd |
0.90 | 4.6 | 4.60 | 136 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 1.7 | |
42 | There Goes The Bride (1980) | Jim Backus | 0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 202 | 34 | 00 / 00 | 1.6 |
Best IMDb trivia on Martin Balsam
- Martin Henry Balsam was born in New York City, New York in 1919.
2. Martin Balsam served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
3. Martin Balsam was the first to record the voice of the computer HAL-9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), but was passed over in favor of Douglas Rain because Kubrick thought that Balsam’s voice sounded “too colloquially American” for HAL.
4. Martin Balsam has appeared in six films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant: On the Waterfront (1954), 12 Angry Men (1957), Psycho (1960), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Little Big Man (1970) and All the President’s Men (1976).
5. Martin Balsam is the father of actress Talia Balsam. Talia Balsam has over 100 acting credits on her IMDb page.
6. Martin Balsam would express frustration when fans asking for autographs would only seem to remember him falling backwards down the stairway in Psycho (1960). He felt there were so many other challenging roles he would rather be remembered for. Always charming, he simply smiled and provided the signature, just the same.
Check out Martin Balsam’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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A hidden and little unseen gem co-starring Martin Balsam is “Me, Natalie”. Check it out if you can . . . it is also one of Patty Duke’s better on-screen showings.
I’ve been trying to get a hold of Truman Capote’s “Trilogy” (Balsam with Maureen Stapleton). I am most anxious to see this movie as I’m a big fan of both of these actors.
I loved Martin Balsam’s performance in “Little Big Man” and “All the President’s Men”, but for me his all-time best movie presence is in “Psycho”.
Martin Balsam is the # 9 most connected actor of the 1970’s.
I saw 20 incuding 12 of top 13. 10s and favorites: all the presidents men, 12 angry men, seven days in may. 10s not favorites: on the waterfront. 9s not favorites: psycho, murder on the orient express, little big man, Bedford incident, cape fear 91. hidden gems Bedford incident, cape fear 62 , taking of Pelham, hombre. he seemed to make every role his and improved every movie he appeared in. Yea Lensman.
Hey bob cox….thanks for sharing your movie thoughts on Martin Balsam. Glad to see All The Presidents Men getting a 10…as that is one of my all-time favorite movies. My mom always talks about the ending of The Bedford Incident….let’s just say that is not one of her all-time favorite endings. I agree that Balsam seemed to make every movie better than he appeared in. Good stuff as always.
“Some actors have a personality that imposes itself on every role. Others disappear totally into whatever part they play. Martin Balsam falls into the latter category. His mon-on-the-street face and physique are ideally suited for heroes, weaklings, and villains–anything the script requires.”
Rating The Movie Stars 4 Star Martin Balsam Performances – (book 1983)
1957’s 12 Angry Men
1957’s Time Limit
1960’s Psycho
1965’s A Thousand Clowns
1969’s Me Natalie
1973’s Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Always good to get Joel and his Consumer Reports buddies’ thoughts on the website.