The Best Lon Chaney, Jr. Movies

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Updated August 11, 2023 1.9K votes 195 voters
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Lon Chaney, Jr. Movies
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List of the best Lon Chaney, Jr. movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Lon Chaney, Jr.'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 Lon Chaney, Jr. movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Lon Chaney, Jr. movies will be at the top of the list. Lon Chaney, Jr. has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Lon Chaney, Jr. movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Lon Chaney, Jr. films to end the squabble once and for all.

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

List features films like The Cowboy Creed, San Antonio Rose.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Lon Chaney, Jr. movies?" and "What are the greatest Lon Chaney, Jr. roles of all time?"
Most divisive: The Singing Cowboy
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  • The Wolf Man
    1

    The Wolf Man

    Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy
    62 votes
    • Released: 1941
    • Directed by: George Waggner
    When his brother dies, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) returns to Wales and reconciles with his father (Claude Rains). While there, he visits an antique shop and, hoping to impress Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), the attractive shopkeeper, buys a silver walking cane. That same night he kills a wolf with it, only to later learn that he actually killed a man (Bela Lugosi). A gypsy (Maria Ouspenskaya) explains that it was her son, a werewolf, that he killed, and that Larry is now one himself.

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  • Of Mice and Men
    2

    Of Mice and Men

    Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney, Betty Field
    47 votes
    • Released: 1939
    • Directed by: Lewis Milestone
    In this acclaimed adaptation of the novella by John Steinbeck, migrant farmhands George Milton (Burgess Meredith) and Lennie Small (Lon Chaney Jr.) begin working at a ranch near Soledad, California, after the mentally handicapped Lennie got the pair in trouble at their last job. George dreams of settling down on their own farm where Lennie can tend his beloved rabbits, but despite George's best efforts to protect his friend, events accidentally take a tragic turn.

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  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
    3

    Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

    Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi
    51 votes
    • Released: 1948
    • Directed by: Charles Barton
    In the first of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's horror vehicles for Universal Pictures, the inimitable comic duo star as railway baggage handlers in northern Florida. When a pair of crates belonging to a house of horrors museum are mishandled by Wilbur (Lou Costello), the museum's director, Mr. MacDougal (Frank Ferguson), demands that they deliver them personally so that they can be inspected for insurance purposes, but Lou's friend Chick (Bud Abbott) has grave suspicions.

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  • Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
    4

    Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

    Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Ilona Massey
    52 votes
    • Released: 1943
    • Directed by: Roy William Neill
    Lawrence Stewart Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is plagued by a physical oddity that turns him into a crazed werewolf after sundown. His desire to rid himself of this ailment leads him to the castle owned by mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein. Frankenstein, it turns out, is now dead, yet Talbot believes that the scientist's daughter, Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey), can help him. However, his quest to right himself puts him on a collision course with Frankenstein's monster (Bela Lugosi).

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  • High Noon
    5

    High Noon

    Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Katy Jurado
    34 votes
    • Released: 1952
    • Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
    High Noon is a gripping tale of courage and duty set in the dusty streets of a small western town. The film's protagonist, Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper), is on the brink of retirement when he learns that a vengeful outlaw he'd once put behind bars is coming to seek revenge. Despite being abandoned by his friends and townsfolk, Kane decides to face the threat alone. This classic 1952 Western, directed by Fred Zinnemann, won four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Cooper, epitomizing the genre's grit and moral complexity.
  • House of Frankenstein
    6

    House of Frankenstein

    Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, J. Carrol Naish
    37 votes
    • Released: 1945
    • Directed by: Erle C. Kenton
    After escaping from prison, the evil Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), plot their revenge against those who imprisoned them. For this, they recruit the powerful Wolf Man (Lon Chaney), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and even Dracula himself (John Carradine). Niemann pursues those who wrong him, sending each monster out to do his dirty work. But his control on the monsters is weak at best and may prove to be his downfall.

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