The Best 25 films of William Holden.
William Holden debuted in films at a very young age, in 1938 and went on to become one of the finest screen actors of all time. The films of William Holden dominated the 50's and Holden was the favorite actor of the great Billy Wilder, my favorite director and appeared in three of the very best of Wilder's wonderful films.
From Sunset Boulevard to Stalag 17 to Picnic to Bridge on the River Kwai, William Holden was at the top of the list in the decade of the 50's. Here are 25 of his very best.
From Sunset Boulevard to Stalag 17 to Picnic to Bridge on the River Kwai, William Holden was at the top of the list in the decade of the 50's. Here are 25 of his very best.
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- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorJoshua LoganStarsWilliam HoldenKim NovakBetty FieldEmotions are ignited among the complacent townsfolk when a handsome drifter arrives in a small Kansas community on the morning of the Labor Day picnic.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyWilliam HoldenA director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsWilliam HoldenLilli PalmerHugh GriffithBlacklisted in modern day WW2, a Swedish oil trader opts to assist British Allies, by means of infiltrating and surveying Nazi Germany.
- DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsPaul NewmanSteve McQueenWilliam HoldenAt the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJudy HollidayWilliam HoldenBroderick CrawfordA tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette, with unexpected results.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsWilliam HoldenGrace KellyFredric MarchSet during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges. The ending of this grim war drama is all tension.
- DirectorLeo McCareyDavid W. OrtonStarsWilliam HoldenClifton WebbFrance NuyenDuring the Chinese Civil War of 1949, the Communists constantly harass the two priests of a remote Catholic mission outpost.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsWilliam HoldenDavid NivenMaggie McNamaraTwo aging playboys are both after the same attractive young woman, but she fends them off by claiming that she plans to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Both men determine to find a way around her objections.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsHumphrey BogartAudrey HepburnWilliam HoldenA playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur, but it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsBarbara StanwyckAdolphe MenjouWilliam HoldenA poor young Italian man who is a virtuoso on the violin wishes to become a champion boxer to make a fortune for his family. But what is the road to success and happiness, and what is the price?
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam HoldenBarbara StanwyckJune AllysonWhen the head of a large manufacturing firm dies suddenly from a stroke, his vice presidents vie to see who will replace him.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsWilliam HoldenNancy KwanSylvia SymsA businessman moves to Hong Kong to pursue a career as an artist and falls in love with a prostitute he hires as a model.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsWilliam HoldenMartha ScottFay BainterChange comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsWilliam HoldenRichard WidmarkJanice RuleDuring the Civil War, Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly supplies the Union with cattle until Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter's hungry men force Kelly to change his customers.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsWilliam HoldenNancy OlsonBarry FitzgeraldA sharp-eyed woman spots a man with a gun on a train and her alert to the railroad police helps them in their search for a ruthless gang who have kidnapped a blind heiress.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsWilliam HoldenSophia LorenTrevor HowardDuring World War II, successive tugboat British Captains sent on dangerous salvage missions pass-on the key to a home-port apartment, where a lonely Swiss-Italian young war-widow lives.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsWilliam HoldenDeborah KerrThelma RitterIn the Pacific during WWII, a Roman Catholic widow falls for a tough lieutenant colonel.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsJeanne CrainWilliam HoldenEdmund GwennA retired professor rents his attic apartment to pregnant Peggy and her GI-Bill-student husband. The professor ponders if his life is no longer useful while the young couple faces the challenges shared with many WW II veterans' families.
- DirectorHenry KingOtto LangStarsWilliam HoldenJennifer JonesTorin ThatcherA widowed Chinese-English doctor falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist Revolution.