Every Marlon Brando Movie, Ranked Best to Worst
The best Marlon Brando movies of all time prove that he was one of the top actors of all time. Active from the ‘40s up until late in his life, Brando has appeared in plenty of blockbusters and critically-acclaimed movies, earning awards and accolades along the way. His highest grossing movies have been well-received at the box office.
Originally from Omaha Nebraska, Marlon Brando moved to New York and studied acting under Stella Adler. After performing in local plays, he made his Broadway debut with the drama I Remember Mama. His first on-screen role was in the 1950 movie The Men. Following that role, he starred in one of his greatest movies, A Streetcar Named Desire. For the rest of the ‘50s, Marlon Brando remained a top box office earner and critics generally agree that the best Marlon Brando movies come from his period in his career.
During the 60s, critics noted a decline in the quality of his performances while his personal life seemed to be more and more troubled. In 1962, he made his directorial debut with the western One-Eyed Jacks, which he also starred in. However, he managed to turn his career around with his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Charlie Chaplin and Bryan Singer are among those who directed Marlon Brando at one point or another during their careers in the film industry. If Marlon Brando movies are your thing, then check out the greatest movies by James Dean and Paul Newman too.
So what are the best Marlon Brando movies of all time? Is it The Godfather or On the Waterfront? See what fans have ranked as their favorite Marlon Brando movies below. Movie trailers have been included below if you want a preview of the film. If you think the best Marlon Brando role isn't at the top, then vote it up. Don’t see it listed? Add it so that others may vote for it. After all, this list of the best Marlon Brando movies should be as comprehensive as possible.
- 1Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
- Released: 1972
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, this mob drama, based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name, focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone ...more - Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Elia Kazan
Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered ...more - 3Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter
- Released: 1951
- Directed by: Elia Kazan
Based on the play by Tennessee Williams, this renowned drama follows troubled former schoolteacher Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) as she leaves small-town Mississippi and moves in with her sister, ...more - 4Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who ...more - 5Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Laslo Benedek
Johnny (Marlon Brando) and his motorcycle gang roll into Carbonville for a biker competition and raise enough hell to get kicked out of town. They repair to nearby Wrightsville and continue their ...more - 6Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin
- Released: 1958
- Directed by: Edward Dmytryk
Three soldiers endure the crucible of World War II. Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando) is a ski instructor turned Nazi lieutenant whose initial enthusiasm for Hitler is vanishing, Noah Ackerman ...more - 7Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn
- Released: 1952
- Directed by: Elia Kazan
Mexican rancher Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) becomes a revolutionary when corrupt President Porfirio Diaz (Fay Roope) ignores the needs of his people. Zapata, his brother Eufemio (Anthony Quinn) ...more - 8Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
- Released: 1953
- Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Brutus (James Mason) is convinced by a scheming band of Roman senators, led by Caius Cassius (John Gielgud), that his dear friend Julius Caesar (Louis Calhern) intends to dissolve the republic and ...more - 9Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: Lewis Milestone, Carol Reed
On a sea voyage to transport breadfruit to Jamaica, English Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) abuses his crew and officers enough to anger his 1st Lieutenant, Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando). When ...more - 10Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright, Everett Sloane
- Released: 1950
- Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
When Ken (Marlon Brando) is shot in battle, he loses the use of both his legs. In the hospital, he spends his time mired in self-pity, making little effort to respond to treatment. After much ...more - 11Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Harvey Keitel
- Released: 1967
- Directed by: John Huston
Reflections in a Golden Eye is a film directed by John Huston based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Carson McCullers. It deals with elements of repressed sexuality, voyeurism, homosexuality, ...more - 12Marlon Brando, Red Buttons, Miiko Taka
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: Joshua Logan
Stationed in Japan during the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver falls for the beautiful Japanese actress Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka). However, he is hesitant to pursue the relationship ...more - 13Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford
- Released: 1966
- Directed by: Arthur Penn
When "Bubber" Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison, it upsets the folks in the nearby town of Tarl, Texas. Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) wants to capture Reeves alive, which puts him in ...more - 14Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado
- Released: 1961
- Directed by: Marlon Brando
After pulling a bank heist in Mexico, the outlaw Rio (Marlon Brando) and his partner, Dad Longworth (Karl Malden), make a run for it, but Dad has bigger plans than freedom. He betrays Rio and ...more - 15Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Bernhard Wicki
During World War II, German Robert Crain (Marlon Brando) goes AWOL and heads to India to live peacefully. He is discovered, however, by the British Secret Service, who force him to go on an ...more - 16Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Gambler Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has few options for the location of his big craps game. Needing $1,000 to pay a garage owner to host the game, Nathan bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that ...more - 17Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward
- Released: 1960
- Directed by: Sidney Lumet
When drifter Valentine Xavier (Marlon Brando) arrives in a southern town, he catches the eye of the married Lady Torrance (Anna Magnani) and the oversexed alcoholic, Carol Cutrere (Joanne Woodward). ...more - 18Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud
- Released: 1972
- Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Distraught following his wife's suicide, American hotelier Paul (Marlon Brando) becomes transfixed by the beautiful younger Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) when he meets her by chance at an ...more - Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: Richard Donner
Just before the destruction of the planet Krypton, scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sends his infant son Kal-El on a spaceship to Earth. Raised by kindly farmers Jonathan (Glenn Ford) and Martha Kent ...more - 20Marlon Brando, Rita Moreno, Pamela Franklin
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Hubert Cornfield
The Night of the Following Day is a 1968 film starring Marlon Brando and Richard Boone. Filmed in France, around Le Touquet it tells the story of a kidnapped heiress being held hostage in a remote ...more - 21Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Arthur Penn
When vigilante land baron David Braxton (John McLiam) hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan (Jack Nicholson), Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a small farm next to ...more - 22Marlon Brando, Evaristo Márquez, Renato Salvatori
- Released: 1969
- Directed by: Gillo Pontecorvo
During the 1840s, Britain sends secret agent Sir William Walker (Marlon Brando) to break up Portugal's sugar monopoly on the fictional Caribbean island of Queimada. Walker incites the slaves to ...more - 23Donald Sutherland, Winston Ntshona, Zakes Mokae
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Euzhan Palcy
Teacher Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) mostly ignores the problems of apartheid in South Africa until he discovers that the son of a gardener (Winston Ntshona) at his school has been killed by ...more - 24Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Jeremy Leven
An aging psychiatrist (Marlon Brando) believes in a patient (Johnny Depp) who sees himself as the world's greatest lover. - 25Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, John Saxon
- Released: 1966
- Directed by: Sidney J. Furie
In this classic Western, buffalo hunter Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando) plans on starting a horse breeding farm with his friend Paco (Rafael Campos) in the border town of Ojo Prieto. But when a Mexican ...more