Burt Lancaster started acting in his 30s, and used his strong physical presence and winning charm to become a popular Hollywood star. Lancaster built his career playing tough guys before trading his all-American image for more complex roles.
He showed exceptional range across genres like Westerns, film noir, historical dramas, sweeping romances, thrillers and biopics. Lancaster won the Academy Award in 1960 and is one of Hollywood's greatest actors.
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Jim Thorpe – All American starred Lancaster as the Native American sportsman widely considered to be the greatest athlete of the 20th century. Despite excelling both on the field and in shool, Thorpe couldn't crack through the white establishment. That led to a slow decline after he's stripped of his Olympic gold medals for playing semi-professional baseball. Tragedy strikes when Thorpe’s son dies, his marriage falls apart, and he finds comfort in a bottle. But years later, he gets a chance to redeem himself. Lancaster was the perfect actor to play Thorpe and delivered the first of many great performances.More »
From Here to Eternity starred Lancaster as an officer stationed in Oahu who has an affair with his commanding officer's wife (Deborah Kerr). The film also focused on a wisecracking soldier (Frank Sinatra) abused by a mean-spirited sergeant (Ernest Borgnine); a bugler (Montgomery Clift) compelled to become a boxer; and the hostess (Donna Reed) of a gentlemen’s club. The intense drama between characters is interrupted when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards and Lancaster earned his first nomination for Best Actor. Lancaster's beach romp with Kerr remains one classic cinema's most iconic moments.More »
Lancaster starred with Gary Cooper in Vera Cruz, a darkly comic Western that was a precursor to spaghetti Westerns in the next decade. Lancaster and Cooper played two mercenaries caught between warring factions during the Mexican revolution. At this point in his career, Lancaster hit his stride and entered into his most fruitful period, while Cooper, another great classic actor, was nearing the end of his.More »
An adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel, Lancaster gives a great performance as Gantry, a drunk, womanizing preacher whose dishonesty is matched only by his charm. Always on the make, Gantry partners with Sister Sharon (Jean Simmons) and helps her build a tabernacle. But his past comes back to haunt him when a prostitute (Shirley Jones) jeopardizes Gantry's success. Gantry was Lancaster's flashiest role and earned his only Academy Award for Best Actor.More »
Lancaster earned his third Oscar nomination for playing Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer who nursed sick birds while serving time in Alcatraz. Along the way, he becomes a world-famous ornithologist. Though Lancaster maintains interest despite being confined to a cell, Birdman of Alcatraz glosses over the facts of the real life Stroud, who was diagnosed a psychopath. But Lancaster’s sensitive portrayal remains one of the best of his career.More »
Lancaster delivered his most chilling turn as a delusional general who plots to overthrow the President of the United States (Frederic March). Standing in the general’s way is Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), one of his Joint Chiefs who uncovers the plot and tries to stop it. With a script by Rod Sterling and directed by John Frankenheimer, Seven Days in May was in intense thriller that inspired Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View. Lancaster used his versatility that to play both hero and villain.Buy from Amazon »
He showed exceptional range across genres like Westerns, film noir, historical dramas, sweeping romances, thrillers and biopics. Lancaster won the Academy Award in 1960 and is one of Hollywood's greatest actors.
1. ‘Jim Thorpe – All American’ – 1951
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Jim Thorpe – All American starred Lancaster as the Native American sportsman widely considered to be the greatest athlete of the 20th century. Despite excelling both on the field and in shool, Thorpe couldn't crack through the white establishment. That led to a slow decline after he's stripped of his Olympic gold medals for playing semi-professional baseball. Tragedy strikes when Thorpe’s son dies, his marriage falls apart, and he finds comfort in a bottle. But years later, he gets a chance to redeem himself. Lancaster was the perfect actor to play Thorpe and delivered the first of many great performances.More »
2. ‘From Here to Eternity’ – 1953
From Here to Eternity starred Lancaster as an officer stationed in Oahu who has an affair with his commanding officer's wife (Deborah Kerr). The film also focused on a wisecracking soldier (Frank Sinatra) abused by a mean-spirited sergeant (Ernest Borgnine); a bugler (Montgomery Clift) compelled to become a boxer; and the hostess (Donna Reed) of a gentlemen’s club. The intense drama between characters is interrupted when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards and Lancaster earned his first nomination for Best Actor. Lancaster's beach romp with Kerr remains one classic cinema's most iconic moments.More »
3. ‘Vera Cruz’ – 1954
Lancaster starred with Gary Cooper in Vera Cruz, a darkly comic Western that was a precursor to spaghetti Westerns in the next decade. Lancaster and Cooper played two mercenaries caught between warring factions during the Mexican revolution. At this point in his career, Lancaster hit his stride and entered into his most fruitful period, while Cooper, another great classic actor, was nearing the end of his.More »
4. ‘Elmer Gantry’ – 1960
An adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel, Lancaster gives a great performance as Gantry, a drunk, womanizing preacher whose dishonesty is matched only by his charm. Always on the make, Gantry partners with Sister Sharon (Jean Simmons) and helps her build a tabernacle. But his past comes back to haunt him when a prostitute (Shirley Jones) jeopardizes Gantry's success. Gantry was Lancaster's flashiest role and earned his only Academy Award for Best Actor.More »
5. ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ – 1962
Lancaster earned his third Oscar nomination for playing Robert Stroud, a convicted murderer who nursed sick birds while serving time in Alcatraz. Along the way, he becomes a world-famous ornithologist. Though Lancaster maintains interest despite being confined to a cell, Birdman of Alcatraz glosses over the facts of the real life Stroud, who was diagnosed a psychopath. But Lancaster’s sensitive portrayal remains one of the best of his career.More »
6. ‘Seven Days in May’ – 1964
Lancaster delivered his most chilling turn as a delusional general who plots to overthrow the President of the United States (Frederic March). Standing in the general’s way is Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), one of his Joint Chiefs who uncovers the plot and tries to stop it. With a script by Rod Sterling and directed by John Frankenheimer, Seven Days in May was in intense thriller that inspired Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View. Lancaster used his versatility that to play both hero and villain.Buy from Amazon »