The Best David Niven Movies

Ranker Film
Updated August 15, 2023 2.5K votes 479 voters 66.7K views
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List of the best David Niven movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. David Niven's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top David Niven movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated David Niven movies will be at the top of the list. David Niven has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest David Niven movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining David Niven films to end the squabble once and for all.

If you think the best David Niven role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest David Niven performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.

List features films like The Pink Panther, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife and more!

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best David Niven movies?" and "What are the greatest David Niven roles of all time?"

Blake Edwards and Ernst Lubitsch both worked with David Niven over the years, as have plenty of other well-known directors. Is David Niven your favorite person to watch on the big screen? You might also want to vote on our best Rod Steiger and Rex Harrison films lists too.

Most divisive: Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Ranked by
  • The Guns of Navarone
    1

    The Guns of Navarone

    Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn
    83 votes
    • Released: 1961
    • Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
    In 1943, a small commando team is sent to destroy huge German guns on the Greek Island of Navarone in order to rescue Allied troops trapped on Kheros. Led by British Major Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the team includes American Mallory (Gregory Peck), Greek resistance fighter Stavros (Anthony Quinn) and reluctant explosives expert Miller. Facing impossible odds, the men battle stormy seas and daunting cliffs. When Franklin is injured, Mallory takes command, and personal enmities spill over.

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  • A Matter of Life and Death
    2

    A Matter of Life and Death

    David Niven, Richard Attenborough, Raymond Massey
    90 votes
    • Released: 1946
    • Directed by: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
    This film is a romantic fantasy film created by the British writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and set in England during the WWII. It stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title Stairway to Heaven, which derived from the film's most prominent special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife. The decision to film the scenes of the Other World in black and white added to the complications.
  • The Bishop's Wife
    3

    The Bishop's Wife

    Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
    69 votes
    • Released: 1947
    • Directed by: Henry Koster
    Dejected by his efforts to raise money to build a cathedral, Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) beseeches heaven for guidance, and is visited immediately by Dudley (Cary Grant), who claims to be an angel. Henry is skeptical, then annoyed when Dudley ingratiates himself into the household as his assistant -- and worse, wins the attentions of Henry's long-suffering and kindly wife (Loretta Young). When Dudley continues to intervene in Henry's struggles, the bishop decides to challenge heaven.
  • The Dawn Patrol
    4

    The Dawn Patrol

    Errol Flynn, David Niven, Basil Rathbone
    45 votes
    • Released: 1938
    • Directed by: Edmund Goulding
    Major Brand (Basil Rathbone), the commander of the 59th division of the British Royal Flying Corps in 1915 France, is frantic over the many casualties his squadron has suffered. When Captain Courtney (Errol Flynn) and his buddy Scott (David Niven) lose another of their best friends in a dangerous mission, Courtney lashes out at Brand, who hands Courtney the reins. Now in control, Captain Courtney soon sees things from Brand's perspective as more good men are killed in the line of duty.

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  • Around the World in 80 Days
    5

    Around the World in 80 Days

    David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine
    74 votes
    • Released: 1956
    • Directed by: Michael Anderson
    Victorian-era Englishman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) proclaims before his fellow members of a London gentleman's club that he can circumnavigate the globe in a mere 80 days, further boasting that he will bet the princely sum of 20,000 pounds on the success of his endeavor. With his stalwart manservant Passepartout (Cantinflas) alongside, he goes forth on his adventure, pursued by a dogged Police Inspector (Robert Newton) who suspects Fogg of chicanery.

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  • The Charge of the Light Brigade
    6

    The Charge of the Light Brigade

    Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles
    35 votes
    • Released: 1936
    • Directed by: Michael Curtiz
    While stationed in India during the Crimean War, Major Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flynn) is twice betrayed. His brother, Captain Perry Vickers (Patric Knowles), has swept his fiancée, Elsa (Olivia De Havilland), off her feet. Meanwhile, after Vickers saves the life of Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon), the rajah launches a massacre in a nearby city and allies himself with the British troops' Russian enemies. Vickers and his Light Brigade respond to this provocation at the historical Battle of Balaklava.

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