82 Burt Lancaster Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

The Train is a war thriller film which takes us to the time of the Second World War. It revolves around Paul Labiche, a member of the French resistance, who tries to stop Franz Waldheim, a German Colonel, from moving stolen art pieces to Germany by train.

The movie follows the lives and love interests of three US Army soldiers deployed in Hawaii and is set in the months leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This Academy Award-winning American war drama-romance is based on a 1951 novel of the same name.

A conman joins hands with a beautiful revivalist to preach about religion. He continues the pretense until one of his ex-lovers shows up to pick a bone with him.

This is a dramatized version of 3rd Nuremberg trial for war crimes held by the US authorities after WWII. Four German judges, who officiated during the Nazi regime, are tried before Chief Trial Judge Dan Haywood for crimes against humanity. Haywood has the most challenging task of deciding whether they are guilty of international crimes or were observing the orders of their government. 

Birdman of Alcatraz is a biographical drama film which tells the story of Robert Stroud, who is imprisoned as a young man for committing a murder. He soon finds himself fighting against the rigid prison system. When his mother is not allowed to visit him, he attacks a guard and stabs him brutally. This leads him to a sentence of solitary confinement for the rest of his life. He soon starts caring for birds and develops affection for them.

JJ Hunsecker is a media kingpin who asks an unethical press agent named Sidney Falco to break up his sister’s relationship with a jazz guitarist named Steve Dallas, since Hunsecker is quite overprotective of her.

During the unification of Italy in the 1860s, the Prince of Salina, who is a noble aristocrat, tries to preserve his family as well as his class, as a social upheaval takes place.

After the President offers his support to a nuclear disarmament treaty, several military leaders in the US plan to overthrow him, as they fear an attack from the Soviets.

The Professionals is a Western action adventure film which revolves around four adventurous mercenaries, who are hired by a wealthy rancher to rescue his young wife who has been kidnapped by a bandit. After a lot of struggle and fighting, they find her, but discover that she is not being held against her will. This confuses the group as to whether they should continue with their agreement.

The Killers is mystery crime drama film which tells the story of an insurance investigator who uncovers a string of crimes, while trying to find the beneficiary of a murdered boxer.

Local Hero is a comedy drama film which tells the story of an American oil company representative who is sent to a village located on the West Coast of Scotland. His task is to purchase the town for his company along with all the surrounding properties.

The captain of a submarine that was sunk by the Japanese during the Second World War is finally given an opportunity to take charge of another submarine after one year. Now, he is determined to sink a certain Japanese ship, the one that had destroyed his previous submarine, and this determination puts his crew in unnecessary danger.

The Swimmer is a drama film which tells the story of Ned Merill, who is visiting a friend of his, when he notices the abundance of backyard pools in their suburb. He therefore makes up his mind to swim across every pool in his town.

After being away for some years, Steve Thompson, a working class man returns to his hometown, and moves back into his family home. He soon realizes that he is unable to stay away from Anna, his ex wife, although his parents know that she is nothing but bad news for him. He is soon able to learn that Anna is now married to a gangster named Slim Dundee. He thinks of a plan that would not only get him Anna back, but also help him obtain enough money to escape together with her.

Sally Matthews leaves her home in Canada and relocates to Atlantic City. She wishes to pursue a career in gambling but her criminal husband is still on her trail. She soon finds an unlikely savior in a small-time mobster.

During the 1700s, Pirate captain Vallo seizes a British warship and along with several Caribbean rebels, he gets involved in many moneymaking schemes.

Tough and disgruntled prisoners at a penitentiary, decide to rebel against Captain Munsey, the chief guard, and plan a daring escape.

An unlikely alliance between a deputy federal marshal and an outlaw eventually leads to one of the most famous and legendary gunfights in the Old West.

After learning that Apache warrior Ulzana has assembled a war party and left the reservation, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.

Shortly after the American Civil War, two adventurers are hired by Emperor Maximillian to escort a countess named Marie Duvarre to Vera Cruz. Despite their differences, the two agree to work together, since they are being offered a good sum of money. However, things take a turn when on the way, they find a wealth of gold hidden in the stagecoach.

This Western romantic drama film takes us to post-Civil War Texas, and it revolves around the Zachary and the Rawlins families, who are quite close. Charlie, son of the Rawlins family, is interesting in courting Rachel, the adopted daughter of the Zacharys. However, the relationship between the families gets strained when it is suspected that Rachel was stolen as a child from the Kiowa tribe.

Two childhood friends in Northern Italy during the early years of the 20th century, find themselves on different sides when a huge conflict arises in their country.

The documentary film biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., constructed using original newsreels, chronicles the important events of his Civil Rights Movement. King’s journey from a regional activist to the world-renowned leader of non-violent campaign for racial equality is captured through events from the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott to the 1968 assassination in Memphis, and also includes rare footage of his speeches, arrests, and protest-marches. 

Due to a telephone glitch, a wheelchair-bound woman named Leona Stevenson overhears a conversation about a plan which involves the murder of a woman. She wants to prevent the murder, although she is unable to leave her home, or reach her husband. She struggles to uncover the truth through a series of phone calls that lead her even deeper into a mystery which might even involve Sally, a girl she used to know in college.

In 1879, British Army officer Lord Chelmsford plots with diplomat Sir Henry Frere, to declare war on the Zulu population and take over their territory. Despite objections from several prominent individuals in the Cape Colony as well as Great Britain, Lord Chelmsford is eventually authorized to launch an attack on the Zulu Empire. The British become quite frustrated as the Zulu military adopts a Fabian strategy. Instead of engaging in pitched battle, they launch few skirmishes against the British. The overconfident British army eventually learns how they have underestimated the skill and might of the Zulu nation.

Based on a true story Mister 880, tells the tale of a man who, for a decade, manages to counterfeit $1 bills on his old-fashioned hand press without getting caught. However, he is neither greedy nor an expert at his work. He only prints as much as he needs to sustain himself. Eventually, he is caught by Burt Lancaster, a determined treasury agent.

After hearing an enigmatic voice say ‘If you build it, he will come,’ an Iowa corn-farmer Ray Kinsella, with support of his wife, decides to construct a baseball diamond in his corn-farm. Soon ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson’ appears there to play baseball. As Ray receives more messages, he understands that his ball-field is meant to be a place to realize certain unfulfilled dreams. 

A middle-aged butcher has always been unlucky in love, but he reluctantly goes out to a ballroom one night, where he meets a teacher. Although they find themselves attracted to each other, his family is totally opposed to the relationship.     

Frankie and Noll, the infamous bootleggers partway in order to escape being captured by the police. Unfortunately, police gets hold of Frankie who is put behind the bars, while Noll escapes the police and opens a posh nightclub in New York City. Years later, Frankie is released from the jail and visits Noll with the intention of claiming his share of the club's profits. However, Noll has other plans, surely not the one of dividing the profits.

Bill, a former prisoner of war, is prone to violence. One day, he gets involved in a bar fight and kills a man. Fleeing from the scene, he finds shelter in the home of a nurse, gradually developing a relationship with her.  Shortly, he is arrested for getting involved in another fight. Jane continues to love him and on his release finds him a job before his past catches up with him.  

In a small South African mining town, Diamondstad, a safari guide, Mike, and one of his customers steal diamonds by illegally entering into a diamond company’s land. The company’s chief of security beats him up mercilessly to find the location of the diamond but in vain. Mike flees and returns two years later. Now the company’s manager devises another plan to extract the information.

Airport is a disaster suspense drama film which revolves around the manager of the Lincoln International Airport, who is trying his best to keep the airport open despite the fact that there is a snowstorm. Meanwhile a suicide bomber is planning to blow up an airliner in flight.

This Italian war film tells us the story of some of the ravaged people of post-World II in Naples, Italy, who betray and swindle their liberators. 

Bookkeeper Charlie Sampson is attending night school, aspiring to become an accountant and gets upset when his wife becomes pregnant, believing that fatherhood may hamper his studies. He envies Eddie, a single go lucky coworker. His reservations comes to fore at a bachelor’s party held for one of his colleagues and he becomes tempted to stray. 

Jim Slade, once a police detective, now an ex-convict on parole, works as college campus night-watchman. When a student, daughter of a Senator is murdered, a weird night janitor is the prime suspect; but Slade starts his own investigations. As he unearths more facts, he is warned not to cross his limits as a night-watchman. Can he get to the real murderer? 

A group of passengers on a train that is travelling from Geneva to Stockholm are exposed to an extremely deadly virus. In order to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread, the driver receives explicit orders not to stop or let anyone off the train. 

An adventure film directed by Byron Haskin, His Majesty O'Keefe is based on the novel of the same name by Laurence Klingman and Gerald Green. The movie tells the tale of Captain David O'Keefe, who plans to enlist island natives to harvest copra in the 19th century South Pacific but runs into cultural problems. 

US Marine, Master Gunnery Sergeant James O-Hearn, is being tried at the San Diego Marine base on several charges including desertion, theft, scandalous conduct and destruction of property, in times of war. However, the soldier refuses to testify or plead guilty or not guilty. 

The Island of Dr. Moreau is a science fiction adventure horror film which tells the story of Andrew Braddock, a sailor who survives a shipwreck, and soon finds himself in a tropical island owned by Dr. Moreau. He awaits for a ship, hoping that he can return to civilization. While roaming the island, he meets the lovely Maria, and finds himself attracted to her. He soon learns that the strange creatures roaming the island are a result of the experiments conducted by Dr Moreau.

Harry and Archie are two elderly gangsters, who are released from prison after serving a sentence of 30 years for trying to hijack a train. They are in for a shock upon seeing that the world is no longer the same, and many things have changed, including clothing, sexual lifestyles, clubs, advances in technology, as well as lack fo respect from the younger generations.

Three navy men run into a shady producer after spending months at sea. He convinces the sailors to invest in his new show. Although they are not initially interested, they change their minds after they meet the show’s female star attraction.

The Osterman Weekend is an action drama thriller film which tells the story of John Tanner, an outspoken TV personality, who has an annual tradition of going on a vacation with three of his friends. Things get complicated, however, when he learns that his friends are actually members of a Soviet spy network. He is soon approached by the CIA, who asks him to request his friends to defect.

The story focuses on two adolescent girls, who are infatuated with the Western outlaws after reading Ned Buntline's stories. Eventually, they leave home to join the Doolin-Dalton gang and on finding the members demoralized, they start shaming and inspiring them, forcing them to rejuvenate. They also start taking part in raids.