Burt Lancaster
Highest Rated: 100% Local Hero (1983)
Lowest Rated: 30% The Cassandra Crossing (1977)
Birthday: Nov 2, 1913
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Rugged, athletic, and handsome, Burt Lancaster enjoyed phenomenal success from his first film, The Killers, to his last, Field of Dreams -- over a career spanning more than four decades. Boasting an impressively wide range, he delivered thoughtful, sensitive performances across a spectrum of genres: from film noir to Westerns to melodrama, he commanded the screen with a presence and power matched by only a handful of stars.Lancaster was born November 2, 1913, in New York City. As a child, he exhibited considerable athletic and acrobatic prowess, and at the age of 17 joined a circus troupe, forming a duo with the diminutive performer Nick Cravat (later to frequently serve as his onscreen sidekick). He eventually joined the army, and, after acting and dancing in a number of armed forces revues, he decided to pursue a dramatic career. Upon hiring an agent, Harold Hecht, Lancaster made his Broadway debut in A Sound of Hunting, a role which led to a contract with Paramount. Because the release of his first picture, Desert Fury, was delayed, he initially came to the attention of audiences in 1946's The Killers, a certified classic of film noir. It remained the genre of choice in several of his subsequent projects, including 1947's Brute Force and I Walk Alone the following year.After starring as Barbara Stanwyck's cheating husband in Sorry, Wrong Number, Lancaster and his manager formed their own production company, Hecht-Lancaster, the first notable star-owned venture of its kind; more were to follow, and they contributed significantly to the ultimate downfall of the old studio system. Its formation was a result of Lancaster's conscious effort to avoid "beefcake" roles, instead seeking projects which spotlighted his versatility as a performer. While the company's first effort, the war melodrama Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was not a success, they were nonetheless able to secure enough financial backing to break off completely from the mainstream Hollywood system. Still, Lancaster also continued to appear in studio productions. In 1949, he reunited with The Killers director Robert Siodmak at Universal for another excellent noir, Criss Cross, followed by Rope of Sand. He also signed a non-exclusive contract with Warner Bros., where he and Hecht produced 1950's The Flame and the Arrow, a swashbuckler which was his first major box-office success. After producing Ten Tall Men with Hecht, Lancaster starred in the MGM Western Vengeance Valley, followed by the biopic Jim Thorpe -- All American. With Siodmak again directing, he next headlined the 1952 adventure spoof The Crimson Pirate, followed by Daniel Mann's Come Back, Little Sheba opposite Oscar-winner Shirley Booth. A minor effort, South Sea Woman, followed in 1953 before Lancaster starred in the Fred Zinnemann classic From Here to Eternity, earning him a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance and, in his beachside rendezvous with co-star Deborah Kerr, creating one of the most indelible images in film history. Another swashbuckler, His Majesty O'Keefe, followed, and under director Robert Aldrich the actor headlined a pair of Westerns, Apache and Vera Cruz. Finally, in 1955, Lancaster realized a long-held dream and helmed his own film, The Kentuckian; reviews were negative, however, and he did not return to the director's chair for another two decades.Again working with Mann, Lancaster co-starred with another Oscar winner, Anna Magnani, in 1955's The Rose Tattoo. Opposite Tony Curtis, he appeared in the 1956 hit Trapeze, and, with Katherine Hepburn, headlined The Rainmaker later that same year. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a blockbuster featuring Lancaster as Wyatt Earp, followed, as did the acclaimed The Sweet Smell of Success. With Clark Gable, Lancaster starred in 1958's Run Silent, Run Deep, followed by Separate Tables. For 1960's Elmer Gantry, he won an Academy Award for his superb portrayal of the title character, a disreputable evangelist, and a year later co-starred in
Photos
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
| Credit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet | The Fighters | Actor | — | 2014 |
| No Score Yet | NFL Films Classics: Big Game America | Actor | — | 2008 |
| 83% | Separate But Equal | John W. Davis | — | 1991 |
| No Score Yet | The Phantom of the Opera | Gerard Carriere | — | 1990 |
| No Score Yet | Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair | Leon Klinghoffer | — | 1990 |
| No Score Yet | The Jeweller's Shop | The Jeweller | — | 1989 |
| 86% | Field of Dreams | Dr. "Moonlight" Graham | — | 1989 |
| No Score Yet | Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs | Narrator | — | 1989 |
| No Score Yet | Rocket Gibraltar | Levi Rockwell | — | 1988 |
| No Score Yet | Control | Dr. Herbert Monroe | — | 1987 |
| No Score Yet | Barnum | Phineas T. Barnum | — | 1986 |
| 57% | Tough Guys | Archie Long | — | 1986 |
| No Score Yet | On Wings of Eagles | "Bull" Simons | — | 1986 |
| No Score Yet | Little Treasure | Teschemacher | — | 1985 |
| No Score Yet | Scandal Sheet | Harold Fallen | — | 1985 |
| 44% | The Osterman Weekend | Maxwell Danforth | — | 1983 |
| 100% | Local Hero | Felix Happer | — | 1983 |
| 84% | The Thing | Screenwriter | — | 1982 |
| No Score Yet | Life of Verdi | Introductions/Narration (U.S. Version) | — | 1982 |
| No Score Yet | La Pelle | Gen. Mark Clark | — | 1981 |
| No Score Yet | Cattle Annie and Little Britches | Bill Doolin | — | 1981 |
| 100% | Atlantic City | Lou | — | 1980 |
| 57% | Zulu Dawn | Col. Anthony Durnford | — | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | Arthur Miller on Home Ground | Actor | — | 1979 |
| 60% | Go Tell the Spartans | Maj. Asa Barker | — | 1978 |
| 53% | 1900 (Novecento) | Alfredo Berlinghieri (grandfather) | — | 1977 |
| 56% | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Dr. Moreau | — | 1977 |
| 80% | Twilight's Last Gleaming | Lawrence Dell | — | 1977 |
| 30% | The Cassandra Crossing | MacKenzie | — | 1977 |
| No Score Yet | Victory at Entebbe | Shimon Peres | — | 1976 |
| 67% | Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | The Legend Maker (Ned Buntline) | — | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | America at the Movies | Actor | — | 1976 |
| No Score Yet | Moses | Moses | — | 1975 |
| No Score Yet | Ali the Fighter | Actor | — | 1975 |
| 78% | Conversation Piece (Gruppo di famiglia in un interno) | Professor | — | 1974 |
| No Score Yet | The Midnight Man | Producer Jim Slade Director Screenwriter | — | 1974 |
| 63% | Executive Action | Farrington | — | 1973 |
| 67% | The Scorpio File | Cross | — | 1973 |
| 89% | Ulzana's Raid | McIntosh | — | 1972 |
| 63% | Lawman | Jared Maddox | — | 1971 |
| No Score Yet | Valdez Is Coming | Bob Valdez | — | 1971 |
| No Score Yet | King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis | Guest | — | 1970 |
| 73% | Airport | Mel Bakersfeld | — | 1970 |
| No Score Yet | The Gypsy Moths | Mike Rettig | — | 1969 |
| 38% | Castle Keep | Maj. Abraham Falconer | — | 1969 |
| 100% | The Swimmer | Ned Merrill | — | 1968 |
| 70% | The Scalphunters | Joe Bass | — | 1968 |
| 88% | The Professionals | Bill Dolworth | — | 1966 |
| No Score Yet | The Hallelujah Trail | Thadeus | — | 1965 |
| 92% | The Train | Labiche | — | 1965 |
| 91% | Seven Days in May | Gen. James M. Scott | — | 1964 |
| 98% | The Leopard | Prince Don Fabrizio Salina | — | 1963 |
| 67% | The List of Adrian Messenger | Woman | — | 1963 |
| 92% | A Child Is Waiting | Dr. Matthew Clark | — | 1963 |
| 86% | Birdman of Alcatraz | Robert Franklin Stroud | — | 1962 |
| 91% | Judgment at Nuremberg | Ernst Janning | — | 1961 |
| 50% | The Young Savages | Hank Bell | — | 1961 |
| 94% | Elmer Gantry | Elmer Gantry | — | 1960 |
| No Score Yet | The Unforgiven | Ben Zachary | — | 1960 |
| No Score Yet | Take a Giant Step | Executive Producer | — | 1959 |
| No Score Yet | The Devil's Disciple | The Rev. Anthony Anderson | — | 1959 |
| 73% | Separate Tables | John Malcolm | — | 1958 |
| 100% | Run Silent, Run Deep | Lt. Jim Bledsoe | — | 1958 |
| 98% | Sweet Smell of Success | J.J. Hunsecker | — | 1957 |
| 82% | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Wyatt Earp | — | 1957 |
| No Score Yet | The Rainmaker | Bill Starbuck/Bill Smith/Bill Harley/Tornado Johnson | — | 1956 |
| 67% | Trapeze | Mike Ribble | — | 1956 |
| 80% | The Rose Tattoo | Alvaro Mangiacavallo | — | 1955 |
| No Score Yet | The Kentuckian | Director Elias Wakefield | — | 1955 |
| 100% | Marty | Producer | — | 1955 |
| 83% | Vera Cruz | Producer Joe Erin | — | 1954 |
| 78% | Apache | Massai | — | 1954 |
| No Score Yet | His Majesty O'Keefe | Capt. David O'Keefe | — | 1954 |
| 92% | From Here to Eternity | Sgt. Milton Warden | — | 1953 |
| No Score Yet | South Sea Woman | Master Gunnery Sgt. James O'Hearn | — | 1953 |
| No Score Yet | 3 Sailors And A Girl | Marine | — | 1953 |
| 86% | Come Back, Little Sheba | Doc Delaney | — | 1952 |
| 100% | The Crimson Pirate | Capt. Vallo | — | 1952 |
| No Score Yet | Ten Tall Men | Sgt. Mike Kincaid | — | 1951 |
| No Score Yet | Jim Thorpe---All American | Jim Thorpe | — | 1951 |
| 100% | Vengeance Valley | Owen Daybright | — | 1951 |
| No Score Yet | Mister 880 | Steve Buchanan | — | 1950 |
| 100% | The Flame and the Arrow | Dardo Bartoli | — | 1950 |
| No Score Yet | Rope of Sand | Mike Davis | — | 1949 |
| 100% | Criss Cross | Steve Thompson | — | 1949 |
| No Score Yet | Kiss the Blood Off My Hands | William Earle 'Bill' Saunders | — | 1948 |
| 86% | Sorry, Wrong Number | Henry Stevenson | — | 1948 |
| No Score Yet | All My Sons | Chris Keller | — | 1948 |
| No Score Yet | I Walk Alone | Frankie Madison | — | 1948 |
| No Score Yet | Variety Girl | Himself | — | 1947 |
| 57% | Desert Fury (Desert Town) | Tom Hanson | — | 1947 |
| 91% | Brute Force | Joe Collins | — | 1947 |
| 100% | The Killers | Ole "Swede" Anderson | — | 1946 |
TV
| Credit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet |
Sesame Street 1969 |
Voice |
1996 1971 1970 1969 |
QUOTES FROM Burt Lancaster CHARACTERS
Lou says: I'm the one who killed those guys. And you're next.
Ned says: Ned (toasting to Julie): Here's to the sugar on the strawberries.
Ned says: Here's to the sugar on the strawberries.
J.J. Hunsecker says: I'd hate to take a bite out of you.You're like a cookie full of arsenic
J.J. Hunsecker says: I'd hate to take a bite out of you.You're like a cookie full of arsenic.
Capt. Jesus Raza says: You want perfection, or nothing. The revolution was never perfect. We fight because we believe, we leave because we are disilliusioned, we return because we are lost, we die because we are committed.
Bill Dolworth says: To die for a woman is even more foolish, any woman, even her.
Bill Dolworth says: My word to Grant 'aint worth a plug nickle.
Rico (Henry Fardan) says: You gave your word to me.
Hans Ehrengard says: Mr Grant, I can make 'em go, but I can't make 'em do.
Bob Valdez says: 100 dollars!
J.J. Hunsecker says: Everybody knows Manny Davis ;except Mrs. Manny Davis
J.J. Hunsecker says: Everyone knows Manny Davis... except Mrs. Manny Davis.
Big Eli says: We're gonna live it bold.
Ernst Janning says: My counsel would have you believe that we were not aware of the extermination of millions. That we were only aware of the extermination of the hundreds. Does that make us any the less guilty? Maybe we didn't know the details. But if we didn't know, it was because we did not want to know.
Emil Hahn says: Traitor! Traitor!
Judge Dan Haywood says: Order, order! Put that man back in his seat and keep him there!
Ernst Janning says: am going to tell the truth if the whole world conspires against it. I am going to tell them the truth about their Ministry of Justice. Werner Lampe â?? an old man who cries into his Bible now. An old man who profited from the property expropriation of every man he sent to a concentration camp. Friedrich Hofstetter â?? the butcher who knew how to take orders, who sent men before him to be sterilized like so many digits. Emil Hahn â?? the decayed, corrupt bigot, obsessed by the evil within himself. And Ernst Janning â?? worse than any of them, because he knew what they were, and he went along with them. Ernst Janning â?? who made his life...excrement... because he walked with them.
Ernst Janning says: I am going to tell the truth if the whole world conspires against it. I am going to tell them the truth about their Ministry of Justice. Werner Lampe an old man who cries into his Bible now. An old man who profited from the property expropriation of every man he sent to a concentration camp. Friedrich Hofstetter â?? the butcher who knew how to take orders, who sent men before him to be sterilized like so many digits. Emil Hahn the decayed, corrupt bigot, obsessed by the evil within himself. And Ernst Janning worse than any of them, because he knew what they were, and he went along with them. Ernst Janning who made his life...excrement... because he walked with them.
Ernst Janning says: We have fallen on happy times, Herr Hahn. In old times it would have made your day if I'd deigned to say good morning to you. Now that we are here in this place together... you feel obliged to tell me what to do with my life... Listen to me, Herr Hahn, there have been terrible things that have happened to me in my life. But the worst thing that has ever happened... is to find myself in the company of men like you.
Ernst Janning says: Judge Haywood... the reason I asked you to come: Those people, those millions of people... I never knew it would come to that. You must believe it, you must believe it!
Judge Dan Haywood says: Herr Janning, it "came to that" the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent.
Judge Dan Haywood says: Herr Janning, it 'came to that' the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent.
McIntosh says: I'm not about to try and educate an Apache about horse apples, Lieutenant
McIntosh says: I'm not about to try and educate an Apache about horse apples, Lieutenant.
Elmer Gantry says: Well, as long as I got a foot, I'll kick booze. And as long as I got a fist, I'll punch it. And as long as I got a tooth, I'll bite it.
Elmer Gantry says: And when I'm old and gray and toothless and bootless, I'll gum it till I go to heaven and booze goes to hell.
J.J. Hunsecker says: You're dead son, go get yourself buried
J.J. Hunsecker says: You're dead, son. Get yourself buried.
Lou says: Put your makeup on put your hair up pretty and I ll meet you tonight in Atlantic City.
Lou says: Put your makeup on, put your hair up pretty, and I'll meet you tonight in Atlantic City.
Jeanne says: Yes
Jeanne says: Yes.
J.J. Hunsecker says: "My right hand hasn't seen my left hand in thirty years."
J.J. Hunsecker says: My right hand hasn't seen my left hand in thirty years.
J.J. Hunsecker says: Match me, Sidney.
Lou says: Yes, it used to be beautiful -- what with the rackets, whoring, guns.