86 David Niven Movies & TV Shows, Ranked Best to Worst

Peter is an aircraft pilot serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. After his plane crashes, he appeals to the divine to give a second chance at life, so that he doesn’t have to leave the love of his life behind.

The Guns of Navarone is a war adventure film, which takes us to the time of the Second World War. The story revolves around a British team of soldiers who are sent to cross-occupied Greek territory to destroy the massive German gun emplacement that commands a key channel. 

Set in the WWII time, a plane carrying British Major Richardson’s troops crashes in the Ethiopian deserts where they encounter Italian forces led by Captain Blasi; but the Italians allow the British to escape. The British return with greater force to capture the Italian troops, which is taken as a discourteous behavior by Captain Blasi, who decides to create all possible trouble. 

A retired automobile manufacturer and his wife take a vacation to Europe, which is to be their ‘second honeymoon’. While the wife falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, the husband meets a woman who is quite opposite to his wife- self-assured, confident and able to take care of herself.

While vacationing in a small European country, Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll realizes his uncanny resemblance to the distant relative and would-be king Rudolf V. When Rudolf V is drugged and kidnapped, a reluctant Rassendyll is persuaded to take the King’s place at coronation. Then Rudolf V’s fiancée Princess Flavia, who notices ‘Personality Change’ in her betrothed, falls for Rassendyll, complicating the matters further.

The Pink Panther is a comedy film, which tells the story of a clumsy detective on the trail of a notorious jewel thief, who is planning to steal a diamond called The Pink Panther. 

After all his efforts to raise money for a cathedral fails, a Bishop Henry Brougham finds himself quite depressed. However, his life takes an interesting turn, after he is visited by Dudley, who claims to be an angel. Henry is a bit annoyed, but his wife takes kindly to Dudley.

Based on a novel of the same name, this romantic drama film is about Heathcliff, an orphaned boy who is found on the streets by Mr Earnshaw.  He brings him home to live with his own children Cathy and Hindley. Over the years, Cathy and Heathcliff develop feelings for one another, although Hindley despises Heathcliff. However, their neighbor Edgar also falls for Cathy, and proposes to her. Heathcliff decides to disappear from her life forever.

Polly is an unemployed woman who discovers an abandoned baby, and accepts an offer to take care of the child in exchange for a job at Merlin’s Department Store. However, her un-motherly conduct infuriates David Merlin.

Death on the Nile is a mystery drama film which tells the story of detective Hercule Poirot, who is on a luxurious cruise down the Nile.  However, when a newlywed rich heiress gets killed along with few others, it is up to Poirot to find the killer before the ship reaches its destination.      

Eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain invites five renowned private detectives to his castle for a ‘dinner and murder,’ and after sealing off his house, he challenges them to find the killer of a murder that will occur at midnight. He announces 1million for solving the case. Long before midnight, Twain’s blind butler, Bensonmum, is found dead. What is the mystery behind the tricky set-up?

During the Second World War, an American servicewoman puts up with her granduncle, Rollo Dane. The plot then turns backwards into Rollo’s childhood, when his father brings home a girl called Lark, who begins to live with them. Over the time, they fall in love; but cannot marry due to his sister’s scheme. Now that Lark’s nephew and his niece have fallen in love, can the old man sit idle?  

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of Michael Brandon, an American multi-millionaire who marries Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. Upon learning that she is his eighth wife, Nicole decides that she doesn’t want to end up like the other women. Therefore, she tries to come up with a strategy to ‘tame’ her husband.

While stationed in India, British army-officer Geoffrey Vickers saves life of Rajah Surat Khan, who later attacks the British barracks at Chukoti and massacres several British including women and children, and then joins Russians against British. Determined to avenge the massacre, Maj. Vickers countermands the orders, leads the 27th Lancers in ‘Battle of Balaclava’ and Kills Surat Khan before laying his life.

The movie was one of the three adaptations of a Broadway musical of the same name. Two people—opera star, Marie, and  a Canadian mounted police officer, Sergeant Bruce—are looking for the same person—John Flower, a prisoner who escaped his jail and is now in need for some money to leave the country. During their journey, the two fall in love with each other.

Around the World in 80 Days is an Oscar winning adventure comedy film which is based on a novel of the same name by Jules Verne. The story revolves around Phileas Fogg, an English gentleman, living in the 19th century, who makes a bet that he can travel around the world in eighty days.  Along with his French valet Passepartout, he sets out on an adventurous journey.

During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Matt Lewis, an American major, tries to lead the defense and keep the rebels at bay, while waiting for an international military relief force to arrive. 

Set against the backdrop of the Moro Rebellion in 1906, the film focuses on the bravery and dedication of a small American contingent stationed at the Philippine island of Mindanao, where the local population is being regularly killed and abducted by Moro guerrillas. The main task of the contingent is to train the native Philippine Constabulary so that they can defend themselves.  

The film tells the story of Meg Wheeler, who arrives in New York, and takes up a job in market research. She eventually falls for one of her clients, Evan Doughton. Though his elder brother falls for her, he decides to help her win his brother’s attention.    

Celebrated cricketer A. J. Raffles is also a master burglar and safecracker. Nicknamed "The Amateur Cracksman", he takes full advantage of the invitations offered by the aristocrats.  Then he falls in love with the sister of an old friend and when he learns about his friend’s gambling debt, he decides to accept another weekend invitation. 

Aristocratic Helen Drummond accompanies her father, Lord Athleigh, to Dublin for peace talks during the Irish War of Independence. As Irish revolutionary Dennis Riordan is not known publicly, Helen doesn’t recognize him when he saves them from assassination. Unaware of his identity, she falls for him. Though later he reveals the truth, they both feel helpless in love. Based on true facts. 

Three Blind Mice is a romantic comedy film which revolves around three sisters who receive a small inheritance, after which they decide to leave their farms, and go in search of wealthy husbands. While one of them pretends to be a wealthy socialite, the other two pretend to be her staff.

Irene, the rich heiress of Bullock family, meets a man, Godfrey, on the pier who she takes as a tramp. Perceiving his good manners, she brings him home as family’s butler. Her father is unhappy, as he can envisage Irene falling for him. Godfrey wins over the family, but not Irene’s sister Cordelia. After-all, who is he? Where did he come from? 

Since Brighton’s parents are going through financially difficult times, they are disappointed after he marries Phyllis, a girl from an impoverished family. Although Phyllis is supportive of his career, and wants him to continue his struggle to become a writer, his mother has other plans for him. She forces him to get a job, and have an affair with a wealthy cousin to advance his career even further.

After being discharged dishonorably, for issuing a costly and fatal order, Colonel Loring Leigh, is murdered before he could prove his innocence as a victim of a conspiracy. Therefore his sons seek the ones who are guilty, and also attempt to restore the integrity of their father. 

The Toast of New Orleans is a musical drama film which tells the story of a humble and simple fisherman from the Louisiana Bayou, who becomes New Orleans’s most loved opera singer. 

Despite their disagreements as a married couple, Tom and Claire try their best to help President Rivera cross the border during a state of emergency.

Paper Tiger is an action adventure thriller film, which tells the story of an English man who tutors the son of a Japanese ambassador. During this time, he also boasts about his heroic service in the British Army. His life changes and he actually has to play a hero, after he and the boy are kidnapped by political terrorists.   

A retired British army official reminisces about the days when he was a colonel in charge of the British Army in Colonial India, fighting against the Indian freedom fighters. 

A concert pianist, Eric Philips, begins to think that he may be starting to lose his talent. Meanwhile, as the owner of an apartment building, he also deals with the grievances of his tenants.

In early 1800s, Dolley Payne returns home to Washington DC after an unhappy marriage. She is wooed by two rising politicians, James Madison and Aaron Burr. The charming lady uses the ardor of her two suitors to influence the Presidential elections and later, as the first lady of the United States, helps save national treasure from the 1812 British attack.

Dale and Jenny have been married for ten years, and they have a nine year old daughter as well. Both have separate careers, and everything seems to be going well until one day, on the occasion of their tenth anniversary, both of them decide that they want a divorce.

Concert pianist, Karen Duncan, is sent to a Swiss sanatorium for her terminal illness. Though she enjoys attention bestowed by caring, gentle doctor Stanton who cautions her to take rest to avoid serious consequences, she ignores his advice to have fun-filled time at the Monte Carlo nightclubs with dynamic auto-racer Paul Clermont. It is left to Dr. Stanton to save her life. 

After the Second World War, in an Austrian camp for displaced people, a British officer Giles Burnside discovers that his Russian interpreter, Janovic, is actually a deserter, who according to the regulations, should be executed. He offers to help him escape, but Janovic is not sure whether to trust Burnside.

Due to the immense trust he has of King Charles II, the Duke of Brampton, James, gets two of the King’s loyal friends falsely charged and executed. The daughter of one of the men, Lady Mary, travels from France to London, to seek justice for her father. She eventually meets Michael Dermott, a soldier who had fought to restore Charles to the throne. 

A teenage girl who has a crush on a much older man starts telling others that he is her boyfriend. The false rumor however soon spreads through the town really fast and things get complicated.

Happily married and parents of two, Chris and Alice Walters are celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary which Chris decides to rejoice with a romantic evening together. Alice’s parents send a TV as gift, which Chris detests. Chris accidently lets out the couple’s secret which upsets Alice’s parents. One thing leads to another, resulting in an argument, threatening their ‘happily married’ life. 

After being infatuated by a magician during one of his shows, Anita leaves her fiance Don and gets married with the former. However, she later finds out that her life is not as magical as she expected it would be. 

A wealthy banker in London, and four other couples, attempt to avoid pregnancy by using contraceptive pills. However, due to a series of mishaps, the pills are swapped for aspirin. 

After being released from prison, an American is hired in a London bank as an electrician. However, his former acquaintances show up and force him to take part in their well-planned heist, being their inside-man.

Nick is the supposed grandfather of Bridget, a 10 year old girl who is shortly going to inherit a fortune. However, things get complicated when another man named Charley shows up and claims that he is the one who is the genuine grandfather. Since both men had once slept with her grandmother, it is still unsure who the actual grandfather is. Now, it is up to Bridget whom she wants as her grandpa.

In this spy spoof, a retired James Bond is persuaded to rejoin the secret service to counter shadowy organization SMERSH, allegedly responsible for murdering secret agents. Sir James devises a plan to assemble a group of agents, all named James Bond 007, to confuse SMERSH. Each new Bond is assigned a specific role. Now Sir James must nab the brain behind SMERSH.  

The plot of the movie, based on Derek Lambert’s 1975 novel Touch the Lion's Paw, revolves around two jewel thieves – Jack and Gillian – who meet each other at a party and fall in love. Jack has planned a theft of $30 million in uncut diamonds but is unaware that Gillian has been blackmailed and planted by a Scotland Yard's chief inspector Cyril Willis who wants to apprehend him before retiring.

Sir Philip Ashlow and his wife, Lady Susan Ashlow, are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Accompanying them is his close friend Henry Brittingham-Brett. Ignored by her husband, Susan tries to attract his attention by demonstrating a romantic interest in Henry. Problem arises when Henry starts taking those advances seriously and suggests that like food and water they share Susan too. 

This war drama film takes us to Athens during the end of the Second World War. A small group of men and women find themselves trapped in a hotel after a group of rebels arrive, in order to find the Nazi armaments that are located somewhere in the basement.

Elegant at 80 years, Lady Lendale relates her life’s romantic adventures to biographer Sir Percy. Basically from Corsica, she meets and falls for anarchist Armand while working as a laundress in Paris. Later, she marries the smitten aristocrat, Lord Lendale, on the condition of saving Armand from jail after attempted assassination of a Prince. But her wealthy, upper-class life hides a secret. 

John Moulder-Brown, a cloddish British teenager, falls for his Uncle's wife Martha. They plot David Niven's  murder so that Brown can have Martha and the family fortune. The hitch is, they lack a foolproof plan as they forge ahead. 

The Love Lottery is a musical romantic comedy film which tells the story of a famous film star who moves from Hollywood to a small Italian village, hoping that he can escape from his crazy fans. Things get complicated when he is manipulated by a gambling syndicate into being the prize in a lottery, where the winner can keep him for a week.

Dorinda Hatch, the beautiful writer of the best-selling book that enlightens women about dangers of men, is scheduled to get photographed by a national magazine’s author-photographer Bill Shelby for a photo story on her. The two clash over viewpoints and continue to trade insults, complicating the situation, but refuse to admit their true feelings for each other. 

The Birds and the Bees is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of a cunning girl who, along with her father, cheats a naïve man out of his money, while on a cruise. However, things take an interesting turn when the girl starts to fall in love with the man.    

Just before his marriage to Myra Hagerman, Alan Coles learns that one of his neurotic patients Grant, had once dated her, as well as Arthur, the husband of another one of his patients.  Things get complicated when they tell Alan that they still want to see her.

Trail of the Pink Panther is a crime comedy mystery film which tells the story of a TV reporter who decides to investigate the matter when Inspector Clouseau goes missing all of a sudden during a mission. In order to solve the mystery, he tries to interview everyone who was close to Clouseau.

Professor Alex Bolt gains international fame after developing a universal language named Unispeak. He wins a Nobel Prize as well, for his efforts. Meanwhile, his wife Rhonda has made a sculpture of her husband. However, when Alex learns that it is a nude statue, he becomes quite enraged and it leads to a quarrel between them.

When Inspector Jacques Clouseau disappears, Sergeant Clifton Sleigh of the NYPD is assigned to find him. However, he proves to be just as incompetent as the man he is looking for. Regardless, he tries his best to prove his worth. Eventually, he begins to feel that Clouseau has most likely not been kidnapped, but he has intentionally hidden his identity after undergoing plastic surgery.

Since Count Dracula is getting old he is having problems getting new victims. He is forced to host tours of his castle, in order to attract people. He also wishes to bring back to life Countess Vampira, his love. The only problem, however, is that he requires a very rare blood type in order to revive her. Although he is able to find it eventually, when he administers it to Countess Vampira, it surprisingly changes her skin color from white to black.   

During WWII, 4 American soldiers stranded on an island, find a WWI gunboat haunted by its captain, Finchhaven, who had fallen down drunk on first assignment, disgracing the family and was condemned to stay on his ship till he tries to redeem his actions. Making a deal, the soldiers assist him in fighting-off a Japanese vessel. Will that help Finchhaven regain his honor?

Based on the 'Mutiny of 1788,’ this Academy Award-winning movie follows British Naval vessel HMS Bounty, captained by tyrannical Bligh, on its voyage to Tahiti. When Bligh’s ruthless discipline causes surgeon’s death, and he shackles crew-members in chains, ship’s Lieutenant Christian leads rebellious crew into mutiny, setting Bligh adrift in a boat. Later, midshipman Byam, though not part of the mutiny, faces court martial.

After finding her fiance dead, Mary Rutledge goes to work at a rowdy gambling house in 1950s San Francisco. She soon falls for another man named Carmichael.

Annette is the daughter of a  businessman, who is running away from an arranged marriage. She boards a train to Paris, but things get complicated when her bag is stolen. However, she is suspected of theft herself by a wealthy young man who is sharing her carriage. Meanwhile, her picture is all over the newspapers, and this makes things even harder for her to explain.