The Best Dorothy Dandridge Movies

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Updated September 23, 2019
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List of the best Dorothy Dandridge movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Dorothy Dandridge'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 Dorothy Dandridge movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Dorothy Dandridge movies will be at the top of the list. Dorothy Dandridge has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Dorothy Dandridge movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Dorothy Dandridge films to end the squabble once and for all.

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

Items include everything from Hit Parade of 1943 to The Harlem Globetrotters.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Dorothy Dandridge movies?" and "What are the greatest Dorothy Dandridge roles of all time?"
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  • Carmen Jones
    1

    Carmen Jones

    Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey
    11 votes
    • Released: 1954
    • Directed by: Otto Preminger
    Screen version of the musical "Carmen Jones," which adapted Bizet's opera Carmen for an African-American cast. A soldier falls for Dandridge, a seductive factory worker. The lovers flee after the soldier kills his sergeant, but Carmen's taunting faithlessness drives her lover to a crime of passion.

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  • Porgy and Bess
    2

    Porgy and Bess

    Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis
    9 votes
    • Released: 1959
    • Directed by: Otto Preminger, Rouben Mamoulian
    This musical drama focuses on the poverty-stricken residents struggling to survive in the Charleston tenement of Catfish Row. The sultry Bess (Dorothy Dandridge) becomes the object of desire of Porgy (Sidney Poitier), a disabled man who gets around in a cart. But Bess is also involved with thuggish Crown (Brock Peters) and drug dealer Sportin' Life (Sammy Davis Jr.). Crown kills a man and goes into hiding, and Bess seeks shelter with Porgy. But, when Crown returns, Porgy must take a stand.
  • Island in the Sun
    3

    Island in the Sun

    Harry Belafonte, James Mason, Joan Fontaine
    5 votes
    • Released: 1957
    • Directed by: Robert Rossen
    On a Caribbean island, a rich landowner's son, Maxwell Fleury (James Mason), is fighting for political office against black labor leader David Boyeur (Harry Belafonte). As if the contentious election weren't enough, there are plenty of scandals to go around: Boyeur has a secret white lover (Joan Fontaine) and Fleury's wife, Sylvia (Patricia Owens), is also having an affair. And then, of course, there's the small matter of a recently murdered aristocrat (Michael Rennie).

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  • Sundown
    4

    Sundown

    Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, George Sanders
    5 votes
    • Released: 1941
    • Directed by: Henry Hathaway
    William Crawford (Bruce Cabot) is a British officer stationed in East Africa during World War II. His outpost is strategically important in the war effort and is constantly under risk of attack. Jan Kuypens (Carl Esmond), a Dutch scientist, and a mysterious woman named Zia (Gene Tierney) seek refuge in Crawford's fort. Zia reveals Kuypens is a traitor, forcing Crawford and his fellow British soldiers to defend the fort from Kuypens, or allow it to fall into the hands of the Nazis.

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  • Tarzan's Peril
    5

    Tarzan's Peril

    Dorothy Dandridge, Lex Barker, Virginia Huston
    7 votes
    • Released: 1951
    • Directed by: Byron Haskin
    Tarzan's Peril is a 1951 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Virginia Huston as Jane, and featuring Dorothy Dandridge as "Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba." Some of it was shot in Kenya, making it the first Tarzan movie to be filmed in Africa, though the majority of its location shooting was done in the United States. Critics praised the convincing integration of the African and American footage. The movie was directed by Byron Haskin and is frequently shown under the alternate titles Jungle Queen and Tarzan and the Jungle Queen.
  • The Harlem Globetrotters
    6

    The Harlem Globetrotters

    Dorothy Dandridge, Thomas Gomez
    2 votes
    • Released: 1951
    • Directed by: Phil Brown, Will Jason
    The Harlem Globetrotters is a 1951 film directed by Phil Brown and Will Jason.