Key films of Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster was an exceptional actor who left behind a outstanding legacy. Indeed, few Hollywood leading men have distinguished themselves internationally and in as many classic films as this former circus acrobat who equally excelled in dynamic action roles and complex dramatic characterizations. His many great performances and long-lasting popularity earned him a place among the American Film Institute's list of 25 male legends. The following lists chronologically the feature films I consider were most significant in his career, whether because Lancaster's performance was particularly memorable or because the film made a notable contribution to his popularity or recognition as an actor. I recommend these films to any-one interested in seeing the best and most defining moments of this legendary star.
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- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men arrive in a small New Jersey town to kill an unresisting victim, and insurance investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.Lancaster displays a strong presence in his very first film role, starring as “The Swede”, a good-natured, but somewhat naïve prize fighter turned hood, manipulated by “femme fatale” Ava Gardner. This quintessential film noir was a major commercial and critical success, making instant stars of both Gardner and Lancaster. A few years later, Lancaster would reunite with Killers director, Robert Siodmak, in Criss Cross, another important, though not quite as successful, film noir.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.After the success of The Killers, Lancaster stuck mainly to film noir for several years, often reprising the tough yet vulnerable and brooding persona of his first film. In Brute Force, Lancaster adds more toughness to his persona as the leader of a group of prisoners in an escape attempt. Brute Force broke new grounds for graphic violence and confirmed Lancaster as a major star.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBarbara StanwyckBurt LancasterAnn RichardsWhen neurotic bedridden wife Leona Stevenson overhears a murder plot on her telephone, she tries to piece the puzzle together and prevent the murder. Based on Lucille Fletcher's famous radio play.In another film noir classic, Lancaster plays somewhat against type as Barbara Stanwick’s weak and treacherous husband involved in a plot to assassinate her. While Lancaster gives a strong performance, this was seen more as Stanwick’s picture.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsBurt LancasterVirginia MayoRobert DouglasDardo, a Robin Hood-like figure, and his loyal followers use a Roman ruin in Medieval Lombardy as their headquarters as they conduct an insurgency against their Hessian conquerors.Having recently formed his own production company with Harold Hecht, Lancaster broke from his film noir persona, to produce and star as the flashy hero of this entertaining shawbuckling adventure, performing many of his own stunts. A major box-office success, the film propelled Lancaster to higher popularity. Notably, he entered the Quigley Poll of top money-making stars of 1950 at spot #16, and remained within the top 25 for more than a dozen years after that.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterNick CravatEva BartokDuring the 1700s, pirate Captain Vallo seizes a British warship and gets involved in various money-making schemes involving Caribbean rebels led by El Libre, British envoy Baron Jose Gruda, and a beautiful courtesan named Consuelo.In one of his signature roles, Lancaster is extremely engaging as the captain of a pirate ship who leads a rebellion of native islanders against their colonial masters. Another hit at the box office (though not as much as The Flame and the Arrow), this pirate parody is the most memorable and best regarded of Lancaster’s shawbuckling adventures of the 1950s.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsBurt LancasterShirley BoothTerry MooreAn emotionally remote recovering alcoholic and his dowdy, unambitious wife face a personal crisis when they take in an attractive lodger.By 1952, Lancaster had already delivered some commendable dramatic performances (All My Sons, Sorry Wrong Number, Jim Thorpe All American), but he was not quite recognized as a dramatic actor until this film. Lancaster’s sensitive performance as an alcoholic doctor in a troubled marriage was not as praised as that of his co-star (Shirley Booth), who won an academy award for her role. However, it did impress critics and audiences who had previously underestimated his acting ability.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsBurt LancasterMontgomery CliftDeborah KerrAt a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a pugilistic private is cruelly punished for refusing to join his unit's boxing team. Meanwhile, his commanding officer's wife and top NCO are indulging in a torrid love affair.Lancaster firmly confirms himself as a serious dramatic actor, earning his first academy award nomination for best actor (as well as the New York film Circle award) for his role as the tough US army sergeant in this hugely successful Pearl Harbour love and war drama. Ultimately, he may be more remembered for the iconic beach love scene with Deborah Kerr than his excellent performance.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGary CooperBurt LancasterDenise DarcelDuring the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emporer Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz.Now taking on the role of a villain, Lancaster plays a wide-grinning, violent outlaw who teams up with Gary Cooper to lead a gang of thieves in a highly charged adventure in Mexico. Though rather violent for the time, Vera Cruz become another major success at the box office.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsAnna MagnaniBurt LancasterMarisa PavanA Sicilian seamstress who idolizes her husband must deal with several family crises upon his sudden death.While this is primarily Ana Magnani’s film (Tennesse Williams wrote the screenplay was written for her), Lancaster gives a spirited performance as the not-too-bright Italian blue collar worker who tried to conquer Magnani’s heart. Some found his characterization somewhat over the top, however.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisGina LollobrigidaA crippled circus acrobat is torn emotionally between two ambitious young trapeze artists, one a talented young American and a less-gifted but beautiful Italian.Lancaster is a wounded trapeze who is caught in a love triangle with Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. As a former circus acrobat, Lancaster was well placed to star in this emotionally charged drama. The film was one of the very top hits of 1956, helping Lancaster to reach the rank of #4, on the Quigley poll, the highest rank he would reach.
- DirectorJoseph AnthonyStarsBurt LancasterKatharine HepburnWendell CoreyDuring the Depression, a con-man promises rain to a desperate drought-ridden Kansas town and marriage to a local desperate spinster.With slightly more subtlety than in The Rose Tattoo, Lancaster displays charm, exuberance and a strong flair for dramatic comedy as the fast-talking con-man who wins over Katherine Hepburn’s family, promising them that rain will fall on their crop, in this adaptation of Hens’ famous play.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasRhonda FlemingLawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.Turning back to action, Lancaster plays legendary lawman Wyatt Earp to Kirk Douglas’ Doc Holiday in one of most successful westerns of the 1950s. While there is plenty of action, the real interest of the film is the evolution of the Earp-Holiday friendship as portrayed by two of the biggest stars of the time. Lancaster and Douglas (who had already appeared together 10 years earlier in I Walk Alone), became friends during the shooting of the film and would co-star in 4 more films together.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisSusan HarrisonA powerful Broadway columnist coerces an unscrupulous press agent into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.While it was not fully appreciated at the time, Lancaster’s poignant performance as the ruthless and controlling scandal sheet editor J.J. Hunsecker is considered to be one of his greatest. A moderate success upon its release, the film evolved into a true classic with its sharp, witty and moody rendition of the New York newspaper industry. Lancaster's cold, cynical and cerebral characterization contrasts with his earnest and vibrant performances in films like The Rose Tatoo, The Rainmaker and Elmer Gantry. Lancaster would often use variations of these two contrasting personas in his dramatic roles.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsBurt LancasterJean SimmonsArthur KennedyA fast-talking traveling salesman with a charming, loquacious manner convinces a sincere evangelist that he can be an effective preacher for her cause.Lancaster is at his bombastic best, delivering an Oscar-winning performance as the travelling salesman turned fire and brimstone evangelist in the US mid-west of the 1920s. Both Lancaster and Jean Simmons seem perfect for their roles. Despite its cynical and intelligent criticism of religion, particularly of Christian evangelism, Elmer Gantry proved both a major commercial and critical success.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkFictionalized depiction of the 1947 Judges' Trial, the third of 12 trials of Nazi war criminals conducted by the American occupying forces in Nuremberg, Germany, in which former judges of Nazi Germany were tried for their actions.By the early 1960s, Lancaster was justifiably regarded as one of Hollywood's most talented performers and he took on some of his most distinguished roles during this period. Although he has a relatively small role in Judgment at Nuremberg, his dignified, tortured and powerful portrayal of a prestigious, repented Nazi judge is a valuable contribution to this seminal court drama.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKarl MaldenThelma RitterA surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.Less than two years after winning the Oscar for Elmer Gantry, Lancaster again received a best actor nomination, this time for a darker and more solemn characterization, as real-life prisoner Robert Stroud who became an renowned bird authority. While he lost the Oscar to Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mocking Bird, it's undoubtedly a great performance, full of emotional depth and intelligence.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsBurt LancasterAlain DelonClaudia CardinaleThe Prince of Salina, a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity, tries to preserve his family and class amid the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860s Sicily.While it seemed impossible that Lancaster could surpass Elmer Gantry and Birdman of Alcatraz, he may have done it as the noble, declining aristocrat in Luchino Visconti's Italian masterpiece, Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). In this case, however, the quality of his performance was initially relatively ignored in the US where the film was not particularly well received, in contrast with its international success (notably the film received the Palmes d'or at Cannes). The Leopard and Lancaster did receive some belated critical acclaim in the US when the film was re-released in a reconstructed version in the early 1980s.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasFredric MarchUnited States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.Lancaster is altogether chilling as a hawkish general plotting to overthrow a liberally-minded president. Fredrich March, as the president, and Kirk Douglas as the second-in-command who foils Lancaster's plans, are also excellent in the more sympathetic roles.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterPaul ScofieldJeanne MoreauIn 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.Now in his early 50s, Lancaster continues to display high energy and physical prowess in this superbly executed WWII action drama, Lancaster's fourth film under the direction of John Frankenheimer (following The Young Savages, Birdman of Alcatraz and Seven Days in May).
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsBurt LancasterLee MarvinRobert RyanAn arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.Though his popularity was by now showing some early signs of decline, Lancaster had his biggest box office hit of the 1960s in this action-packed western. He is in top shape as a dynamite expert in a group of men (led be Lee Marvin) hired to bring back Ralph Bellamy's wife from Mexican revolutionaries.
- DirectorsFrank PerrySydney PollackStarsBurt LancasterJanet LandgardJanice RuleA man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.Lancaster gives a thoughtful performance as a middle-aged advertising man increasingly confronted with the troubling reality of his life, as he swims home through all the pools of his neighbors. A somewhat surrealistic and perceptive psychological and social drama, The Swimmer was Lancaster's most poorly received film at the box office up to that point, though it has earned recognition since then.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt LancasterBruce DavisonJorge LukeAfter fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.Despite the huge commercial success of Airport at the start of the decade, Lancaster was in steep decline in the early 1970s, but he still managed to make some interesting films, such as this revisionist and effectively violent western tale. Like The Swimmer, Ulzana's Raid failed commercially but subsequently elicited significant interest and critical acclaim.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBurt LancasterSusan SarandonKate ReidIn a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.The 1970s were generally not kind to Burt Lancaster, but he made something of a comeback with another marvelous performance, playing an aging small-time mobster who finally gets his chance to prove himself as a man (with Susan Sarandon) and as a gangster. Lancaster received his fourth Oscar nomination, and a slew of other prestigious awards and nominations for his work in this outstanding film.
- DirectorBill ForsythStarsBurt LancasterPeter RiegertFulton MackayAn American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.With Atlantic City, it became evident that Lancaster had attained with age a presence and acting ability that brought class and distinction to whatever project he was involved in. In this highly original social drama, mostly set in Scotland, he furthers cements this reputation, in a supporting role as an eccentric oil tycoon.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.In a small but essential role, Lancaster shines as an elderly and legendary baseball player who inspires Kevin Costner to build a baseball diamond on his property. As Lancaster's last role on the big screen, this was a fitting end to an illustrious career.
