Watchworthy

The Best Movies of 1962

Updated September 21, 2019 3.7k votes 224 voters 6.7k views 116 items

List of the best movies of 1962, with movie trailers when available. James Bond fans remember the year well, as 1962 saw the launch of the James Bond film franchise with Dr. No. These top movies of 1962 are listed by popularity, so the movies with the most votes are at the top. This list consists of all different movie genres - from To Kill a Mockingbird to Lolita - but each film was released in 1962. You can filter this list of films that came out in 1962 for various bits of information, such as who directed the movie and what genre it is. Think the best 1962 movie isn't as high as it should be? Vote up your favorite so it will rise to the top.

List ranges from Lawrence of Arabia to The Manchurian Candidate, plus much more.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best movies from 1962?" and "What are the most popular movies of 1962?"

1962 was a great year for movies, since a lot of classic films were released in 1962. This is a crowd sourced list that has been voted on by many people, so these top films of 1962 aren't just one persons opinion.

Data-driven recommendations based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Try the free app

list ordered by

Lawrence of Arabia Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness

Released: 1962

Directed by: David Lean

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British epic adventure drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the ...more

More Lawrence of Arabia ❯

#9 of 375 The 50+ Best War Movies Ever Made, Ranked #1,126 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movieslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin

Released: 1962

Directed by: John Ford

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford starring James Stewart and John Wayne. The black-and-white film was released by Paramount Pictures. The ...more

More The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ❯

#5 of 395 The Best Western Movies Ever Made #303 of 548 The Greatest Movies for Guys #119 of 710 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars

The Longest Day Sean Connery, John Wayne, Richard Burton

Released: 1962

Directed by: Darryl F. Zanuck, Ken Annakin, Bernhard Wicki, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald

The Longest Day is a 1962 film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about D-Day, the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during WWII. The film was produced by Darryl ...more

More The Longest Day ❯

#4 of 375 The 50+ Best War Movies Ever Made, Ranked #123 of 599 The Greatest Epic Movies Ever Madelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

The Manchurian Candidate Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh

Released: 1962

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American Cold War suspense thriller directed by John Frankenheimer that stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh and co-stars Angela Lansbury, ...more

More The Manchurian Candidate ❯

#62 of 250 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #732 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies #292 of 599 The Greatest Epic Movies Ever Made

Dr. No Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord

Released: 1962

Directed by: Terence Young

Dr. No is a 1962 British spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna ...more

More Dr. No ❯

#1,004 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies #151 of 366 The Best Movies Based On Books #328 of 548 The Greatest Movies for Guys

How the West Was Won John Wayne, James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds

Released: 1962

Directed by: Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, John Ford, Richard Thorpe

How the West Was Won is a 1962 western film written by James R. Webb and John Gay and directed by John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall and Richard Thorpe.

More How the West Was Won ❯

#1,304 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies #40 of 395 The Best Western Movies Ever Madelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, William Windom

Released: 1962

Directed by: Robert Mulligan

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...more

More To Kill a Mockingbird ❯

'To Kill a Mockingbird' Quotes That'll Change How You Think #35 of 82 The Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novelslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Birdman of Alcatraz Burt Lancaster, Telly Savalas, Karl Malden

Released: 1962

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known ...more

More Birdman of Alcatraz ❯

#46 of 195 The Best Movies of the '60s #11 of 28 Great Movies About People Going Through Life Solo #17 of 136 The Best Prison Movies

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Robert Aldrich

Released: 1962

Directed by: Robert Aldrich

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford about an actress who holds her ...more

More What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? ❯

#79 of 250 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #376 of 804 The Greatest Chick Flicks Ever Madelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Cape Fear Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas

Released: 1962

Directed by: J. Lee Thompson

Cape Fear is a 1962 American psychological thriller film starring Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam and Polly Bergen. It was adapted by James R. Webb from the novel The Executioners by ...more

More Cape Fear ❯

#74 of 250 The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time #115 of 366 The Best Movies Based On Books #487 of 847 The Best Horror Movies Of All Time

Days of Wine and Roses Jack Lemmon, Mel Blanc, Lee Remick

Released: 1962

Directed by: Blake Edwards

Days of Wine and Roses is a 1962 film directed by Blake Edwards with a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. The movie was produced by Martin ...more

More Days of Wine and Roses ❯

#240 of 581 The Greatest Film Scores of All Time #49 of 195 The Best Movies of the '60slisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Mutiny on the Bounty Marlon Brando, Richard Harris, Trevor Howard

Released: 1962

Directed by: Lewis Milestone, Carol Reed

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 historical drama film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells ...more

Lolita Christopher Lee, Peter Sellers, Shelley Winters

Released: 1962

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov, about a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with a teenage girl. The ...more

More Lolita ❯

#213 of 366 The Best Movies Based On Books #86 of 195 The Best Movies of the '60s #9 of 45 The Most Controversial Movies of All Time

Divorce Italian Style Marcello Mastroianni, Stefania Sandrelli, Leopoldo Trieste

Released: 1961

Directed by: Pietro Germi

Divorce Italian Style is a 1961 Italian comedy film directed by Pietro Germi. The screenplay was written by Ennio De Concini, Pietro Germi, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci; based on the ...more

The Music Man Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett

Released: 1962

Directed by: Morton DaCosta

The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith ...more

More The Music Man ❯

#13 of 377 The Best Musical Movies of All Time #368 of 410 The Best Rainy Day Movieslisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Ride the High Country Warren Oates, Edgar Buchanan, Randolph Scott

Released: 1962

Directed by: Sam Peckinpah

Ride the High Country is a 1962 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Mariette Hartley. The supporting cast includes Edgar Buchanan, James ...more

More Ride the High Country ❯

#65 of 395 The Best Western Movies Ever Made #183 of 195 The Best Movies of the '60s #18 of 47 The Greatest Western Movies of the 1960s

Kid Galahad Elvis Presley, Charles Bronson, Gig Young

Released: 1962

Directed by: Phil Karlson

Kid Galahad is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists. The film opened at #9 at the box office when released in the United States in ...more

Sodom and Gomorrah Stanley Baker, Stewart Granger, Anouk Aimée

Released: 1962

Directed by: Robert Aldrich

Sodom and Gomorrah — known in the USA as The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah — is a 1962 epic film which is loosely based on the Biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah. The film was a ...more

More Sodom and Gomorrah ❯

#24 of 39 The Greatest Biblical Movies Ever Made #168 of 222 The Best Historical Drama Movies Of All Time, Ranked

Advise & Consent Frank Sinatra, Betty White, Henry Fonda

Released: 1962

Directed by: Otto Preminger

Advise & Consent is a 1962 American motion picture based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Allen Drury, published in 1959. The movie was adapted for the screen by ...more

More Advise & Consent ❯

#238 of 266 The Best Ensemble Movies #188 of 322 The Best Political Films Ever Made #364 of 408 The Best LGBTQ+ Themed Movies

Requiem for a Heavyweight Mickey Rooney, Jack Dempsey, Jackie Gleason

Released: 1962

Directed by: Ralph Nelson

Requiem for a Heavyweight was a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show Playhouse 90 on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted as a 1962 feature film ...more

Hatari! John Wayne, Red Buttons, Hardy Krüger

Released: 1962

Directed by: Howard Hawks

Hatari! is a 1962 American action/adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. It portrays a group of professional wildlife catchers in Africa. The film ...more

More Hatari! ❯

#568 of 581 The Greatest Film Scores of All Time #31 of 99 The Best John Wayne Movies of All Time, Ranked

The Exterminating Angel Silvia Pinal, Claudio Brook, Jacqueline Andere

Released: 1962

Directed by: Luis Buñuel

The Exterminating Angel, is the second Buñuel film of the Buñuel/Alatriste/Pinal film trilogy, written and directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Silvia Pinal, and produced by ...more

More The Exterminating Angel ❯

#94 of 195 The Best Movies of the '60s #95 of 313 The Greatest Movies in World Cinema History #297 of 322 The Best Political Films Ever Made

Dimos Dicoudis added Girls! Girls! Girls! Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Hal Blaine

Released: 1962

Directed by: Norman Taurog

Girls! Girls! Girls! is a 1962 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaiian fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. "Return ...more

More Girls! Girls! Girls! ❯

#16 of 38 The Best Elvis Presley Movies #23 of 30 The Best '60s Romantic Comedies #16 of 27 The Best '60s Dance Movies

Experiment in Terror Stefanie Powers, Glenn Ford, Lee Remick

Released: 1962

Directed by: Blake Edwards

Experiment in Terror, originally released in the UK as The Grip of Fear, is a 1962 suspense-thriller released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Blake Edwards and written by Mildred Gordon ...more

Hell Is for Heroes Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Bob Newhart

Released: 1962

Directed by: Don Siegel

Hell Is for Heroes is a 1962 American war film directed by Don Siegel and starring Steve McQueen. It tells the story of a squad of U.S. soldiers from the 95th Infantry Division who, in the fall ...more

More Hell Is for Heroes ❯

#155 of 375 The 50+ Best War Movies Ever Made, Ranked #63 of 222 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Time #12 of 15 The 15 Best Movies About Suicide (or Seemingly Suicidal) Missions