# Leading Actor Who Was In Many Great Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970 "2020-03-05T16:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/1 "2020-03-05T16:37:55Z")
Burt Lancaster seems to have been in MANY great movies -The Swimmer -A Child Is Waiting -Elmer Gantry -Birdman of Alcatraz -The Professionals -Come Back, Little Sheba -The Leopard -Seven Days in May -Sweet Smell of Success ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/2 "2020-03-05T16:58:42Z")
No argument here! Burt rarely made a dud! And there aren’t that many with his longevity and quality to compete. That said, I’d mention: Paul Newman Spencer Tracy Henry Fonda and at least another five or ten. But Burt ought to be on most lists worth considering! Nice idea! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/3 "2020-03-05T17:06:37Z")
Klrk Douglass Charlton Heston Humphrey Bogart Gregory Peck Gary Cooper I have never sought out a Tony Curtis movie, but when I am channel-surfing and I come across one of his, I often stop and watch. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/4 "2020-03-05T17:13:12Z")
Harrison Ford - Star Wars films - Indiana Jones films - Jack Ryan films - Blade Runner - American Graffitti ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/5 "2020-03-05T17:18:15Z")
Clint Eastwood Jack Nicholson Robert Redford John Wayne ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/6 "2020-03-05T17:21:15Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Burt Lancaster seems to have been in MANY great movies > > -The Swimmer > -A Child Is Waiting > -Elmer Gantry > -Birdman of Alcatraz > -The Professionals > -Come Back, Little Sheba > -The Leopard > -Seven Days in May > -Sweet Smell of Success Don’t forget my personal favorite, **The Train.** ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/7 "2020-03-05T17:21:54Z")
James Cagney Sidney Greenstreet Peter Lorre Lauren Bacall … obviously… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/8 "2020-03-05T17:30:28Z")
Sydney Greenstreet’s film career lasted only eight years, after his debut at age 61 in **The Maltese Falcon.** And I’ve only seen him in that, plus **Casablanca** and **The Mask of Dimitrios.** Checking his filmography, though, I really want to watch him doing Count Fosco in **The Woman in White.** ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/9 "2020-03-05T17:31:51Z")
:eek: No mention yet of CARY GRANT??? Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House North By NorthWest Bringing Up Baby Charade Father Goose To Catch A Thief a dozen more. He could do it ALL (maybe not song & dance) - Comedy, drama, war movies, farces. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/10 "2020-03-05T18:02:13Z")
Jimmy Stewart Bing Crosby ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/11 "2020-03-05T18:06:11Z")
Many actors have been in great movies, but **John Cazale** is the only one who was \*only \*in great movies: _The Godfather The Godfather Part II The Conversation Dog Day Afternoon The Deer Hunter_ And that’s it. Nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/12 "2020-03-05T18:31:52Z")
Peter O’Toole ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/13 "2020-03-05T18:35:02Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Don’t forget my personal favorite, **The Train.** Don’t forget my personal favorite, **Local Hero**. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/14 "2020-03-05T19:15:30Z")
Jean Gabin Charles Laughton Toshiro Mifune Tatsuya Nakadai Haruo Nakajima Takashi Shimura Conrad Veidt Max von Sydow ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/15 "2020-03-05T21:14:12Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > James Cagney > > … obviously… Oddly enough, I started a thread (on another site) asking for favorite characters who weren’t in GREAT movies, and I thought of Cagney. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/16 "2020-03-05T21:25:16Z")
**Do-yeon Jeon**. Has she \*ever \*been in a bad movie? If so, I’ve never seen it. I’ve seen all of the below, and the worst of them I rate 3.5 stars. And the best of them I consider some of my all-time favorite films. The Contact The Harmonium in My Memory Happy End I Wish I Had a Wife No Blood No Tears Untold Scandal (Korean version of Dangerous Liaisons) My Mother, the Mermaid You Are My Sunshine Secret Sunshine The Housemaid The Shameless Memories of the Sword ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/17 "2020-03-05T21:44:34Z")
According to the IMDB, **Ron Jeremy** has starred in over 1,500 films. As to the _greatness_ of the movies, isn’t that in the eye of the beholder? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/18 "2020-03-06T01:06:52Z")
To some extent, this thread is a measure of where we each set the bar for what constituted a “great” movie. I tend to set it rather high. With that in mind, let me nominate… **William Holden** _Sunset Blvd._ _Stalag 17_ _The Bridge on the River Kwai_ _Network_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/19 "2020-03-06T01:13:29Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Burt Lancaster seems to have been in MANY great movies > > -The Swimmer > -A Child Is Waiting > -Elmer Gantry > -Birdman of Alcatraz > -The Professionals > -Come Back, Little Sheba > -The Leopard > -Seven Days in May > -Sweet Smell of Success > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Don’t forget my personal favorite, **The Train.** > [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > Don’t forget my personal favorite, **Local Hero**. Don’t forget one of my all-time faves, **The Crimson Pirate**. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970/20 "2020-03-06T01:19:14Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Don’t forget one of my all-time faves, **The Crimson Pirate**. Stick to the boilerplate, damn you! Also, Burt was great in **Field of Dreams.** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leading-actor-who-was-in-many-great-movies/848970.md?page=2)