Entertainment
The Best Kirk Douglas Movies
Here is a list of the best Kirk Douglas movies, ranked best to worst. It's hard to say which of his films are the greatest, but Kirk Douglas's performance in Spartacus certainly ranks amongst his best. Kirk Douglas'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 Kirk Douglas movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Kirk Douglas movies will be at the top of the list. Kirk Douglas has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Kirk Douglas movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Kirk Douglas films to end the squabble once and for all.
If you think the best Kirk Douglas role isn't at the top, then vote it up so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest Kirk Douglas performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand. He was born in Beverly Hills, CA, and died at the age of 103 after acting in films for over five decades.
The list you're viewing has a variety of films, like Paths of Glory and The Vikings, in it.
This list answers the questions, "What are the best Kirk Douglas movies?" and "What are the greatest Kirk Douglas roles of all time?" If you are a fan of Douglas' classic films, you might also enjoy our list of best Burt Lancaster movies and best Michael Douglas movies.
Ranked by
- 1Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
- Released: 1960
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the ...more - 2Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
During World War I, commanding officer General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) orders his subordinate, General Mireau (George Macready), to attack a German trench position, offering a promotion as an ...more - 3Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Porter Hall
- Released: 1951
- Directed by: Billy Wilder
With flaws that outweigh his talent, reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) has bounced across the country from job to job. Winding up in New Mexico, Tatum gets work from the local newspaper, but finds ...more - 4Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh
- Released: 1958
- Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Viking Prince Einar (Kirk Douglas) doesn't know it, but his most fearsome enemy, the slave Eric (Tony Curtis), is actually his half brother. Their feud only intensifies when Einar kidnaps Princess ...more - 5Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
- Released: 1964
- Directed by: John Frankenheimer
U.S. President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) hopes to bring an end to the Cold War by signing a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviets, much to the displeasure of the hawkish General James Scott ...more - 6Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Everett Sloane
- Released: 1956
- Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
This lauded drama depicts the life of revered Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (Kirk Douglas). An intense and imaginative artist, Van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental ...more - 7Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: David Miller
Ranch hand Jack Burns (Kirk Douglas) feels out of place in the modern world. Jack deliberately gets into a bar room fight to be imprisoned alongside friend Paul (Michael Kane), arrested for helping ...more - 8Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Richard Fleischer
In 1866, Professor Pierre M. Aronnax (Paul Lukas) and his assistant Conseil (Peter Lorre), stranded in San Francisco by reports of a giant sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean, are ...more - 9Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix
- Released: 1951
- Directed by: William Wyler
James McLeod (Kirk Douglas) is a stern police detective who has no tolerance for crime. At home, however, he is a loving husband to his wife, Mary (Eleanor Parker). The police are ready to conclude ...more - 10Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Mario Camerini, Mario Bava
Ulysses is a 1954 fantasy-adventure film based on Homer's epic poem Odyssey. The movie was made by director Mario Camerini, who co-wrote the screenplay with writer Franco Brusati. The original choice ...more - 11Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: John Sturges
Lawman Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and gunfighter John "Doc" Holliday (Kirk Douglas) find themselves together again in Tombstone, Ariz., despite the tumultuous history between them. Earp comes to ...more - 12Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Kirk Douglas
- Released: 1946
- Directed by: Lewis Milestone
Young Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) inadvertently causes the death of her cruel, authoritarian aunt. Martha lies to the cops, and Walter (Kirk Douglas), who saw the crime, corroborates the girl's story. ...more - 13Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon
- Released: 1952
- Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
Unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is a child of Hollywood who ruthlessly toils his way to the top of the studio system, discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director ...more - 14Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: George Miller
After the death of his father, proud young Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson) sets out to become his own man. Taking a job with horse rancher Harrison (Kirk Douglas), Craig is treated poorly by the more ...more - 15John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Otto Preminger
Naval Captain Torrey (John Wayne) manages to bring his ship through the bombing of Pearl Harbor unscathed, but is later demoted when it is damaged in a subsequent battle due to his negligence. Back ...more - 16Kirk Douglas
- Released: 1947
- Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
The quiet life of small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is interrupted when a figure from his shady past, small-time crook Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine), recognizes him. ...more - 17Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern
- Released: 1949
- Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Deborah Bishop, Lora Mae Hollingsway and Rita Phipps are three friends who all receive letters from another friend, Addie Ross, telling them that she is about to leave town with one of their ...more - 18Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt
- Released: 1952
- Directed by: Howard Hawks
In 1830, two tough Kentucky mountaineers join a trading expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River to trade whisky for furs with the Blackfoot Indians. They soon discover that there is much more ...more - 19John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel
- Released: 1967
- Directed by: Burt Kennedy
Rancher Taw Jackson (John Wayne) is out for revenge. He was shot by a gunslinger, Lomax (Kirk Douglas), on the orders of mining tycoon Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot) and framed for a crime he did not ...more - 20Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy
- Released: 1949
- Directed by: Mark Robson
Scrappy Michael "Midge" Kelly (Kirk Douglas), on the run from a shotgun marriage and needing to help support his handicapped brother, Connie (Arthur Kennedy), angles his way into a short-term job as ...more - 21Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones
- Released: 1959
- Directed by: John Sturges
As the wealthiest and most powerful man in the Wild West town of Gun Hill, cattle rancher Craig Belden (Anthony Quinn) has come to believe he's above the law. When his son, Rick (Earl Holliman), ...more - 22Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Don Taylor
A time warp takes the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its captain (Kirk Douglas) back to Pearl Harbor, Dec. 6, 1941. - 23Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day
- Released: 1950
- Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Rick Martin (Kirk Douglas) is a young man with no direction in life --until he discovers he has a flare for the trumpet. When jazz icon Art Hazzard (Juano Hernandez) agrees to become his teacher, ...more - 24Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Anthony Mann
In this fact-based film, as Axis and Allied scientists race to create the first atomic bomb, British Intelligence receives shocking news of significant breakthroughs at a Nazi facility in occupied ...more - 25Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: King Vidor
Texas drifter Dempsey Rae (Kirk Douglas) enters Wyoming in search of work as a cattle herder. In his company is another drifter, young Jeff Jimson (William Campbell), whom he mentors in the same line ...more
