Classic Movies Featuring Hollywood's Greatest Stars

A beloved performer who typified the onscreen Everyman, Henry Fonda was the star of many classic movies over the course of six decades. He worked with the top directors of the day and did his best work with John Ford before their falling out in 1955. Despite turning in a number of great performances throughout his career, Fonda was nominated for...

Possessing a down-home persona that was quintessentially American, Gary Cooper spent five decades making dozens of classic movies. At his peak, he was a top box office draw who earned five Academy Award nominations and won once. Cooper died relatively young and still in his prime, but left behind a staggering cinematic legacy filled with...

She was the ultimate Hollywood bombshell, a sultry siren who sang, danced and flipped her long red hair into becoming a screen legend. On screen, Rita Hayworth was charismatic and oozed sex appeal, but off screen she was admittedly shy and suffered from a series of failed marriages. Though her career eventually faltered, she was one of the top...

A dashing leading man in his youth, William Holden was in his prime during the 1950s with a number of comic and romantic films that were all-time classics. But when he entered the turbulent 1960s, Holden made a number of forgettable films due to contractual obligations that damaged his career. He mounted a comeback toward the end of the decade...

For over 50 years, Elizabeth Taylor reigned as one of classic Hollywood's great screen actresses. Starting her career as a child performer, she blossomed into a star following her adolescent years and earned four consecutive Academy Award nominations, while becoming a top box office attraction for over a decade.

Hollywood in the 1970s was markedly different than the one that existed in the previous three decades. The old studio system was gone thanks to financial struggles and a seismic cultural shift that saw the rise of the youth-oriented counterculture. Hollywood responded by opening the doors wider to more experimentation, resulting in a second...

Hollywood in the 1970s was markedly different than the one that existed in the previous three decades. The old studio system was gone thanks to financial struggles and a seismic cultural shift that saw the rise of the youth-oriented counterculture. Hollywood responded by opening the doors wider to more experimentation, resulting in a second...

One of the finest actors of his generation, Richard Burton delivered a number of high-caliber performances. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards – six for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor – but never won. Still, he was one of the best performers on either side of the Atlantic. Here are nine of his best movies.

James Stewart has long been remembered for his work with Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra. But just as famous as 'Rear Window' and 'It's a Wonderful Life' were a series of Westerns he made in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly his image-changing films with Anthony Mann. Though not as identifiable with the genre as John Wayne or Clint Eastwood,...

With an elegant and quietly commanding personality, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Because of his refusal to compromise his principals and his insistence on taking roles that avoided stereotypical depictions of blacks, Poitier earned the respect of audiences and his peers. As in Major...

With an elegant and quietly commanding personality, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Because of his refusal to compromise his principals and his insistence on taking roles that avoided stereotypical depictions of blacks, Poitier earned the respect of audiences and his peers. As in Major...

Marlon Brando was the most celebrated and influential actor of the 20th century. Employing the famed Method style of acting, Brando was a powerful and mesmerizing presence on the screen, but combative and enigmatic behind the cameras. His career spanned across six decades, though his best work came in the 1950s and often in collaboration with...

In just five short years, Grace Kelly rose from being a bit player to one of the biggest Hollywood stars whose elegance and radiated off the screen in several classic movies, only to give it all up to become the Princess of Monaco. Though her film career was brief, Kelly left an indelible mark on cinema.

With deadly charm and cool sophistication, Sean Connery inaugurated British secret agent 007 in 1962 and set forth the framework for other actors who played the role in later movies. He was icy-cold in Dr. No, charmingly witty in Goldfinger and a bit too cheeky in Diamonds Are Forever. No matter what, Connery inhabited the role like no other and...

If there was ever a director-actor tandem that defined the Western genre, it was John Ford and John Wayne. Over the course of five decades, Ford and Wayne made over 20 pictures, most of them Westerns and some that stood the test of time as the model for all others to follow. They made other types of films, war movies and even a romantic comedy....

Undeniably the most iconic music star of the 20th century, Elvis Presley was also a popular box office star in the 1960s. Thanks to manager Colonel Tom Parker, many of Presley's films contained thin plots, exotic locations, bikini clad girls and mundane songs - a combination that irked critics and brought audiences to theaters in droves.

With his long face, shadowed eyes and short stature, Humphrey Bogart almost never made it past supporting roles to leading man. Thank goodness destiny took a hand. Here are six great Humphrey Bogart films, where Bogie plays heroes and villains, complex men of honor and deeply flawed characters.

This tiny beauty was one of the first Hollywood actresses to take control of her own career. A list of great Claudette Colbert classic movies.

A list of some of the greatest movies starring Clark Gable, the rugged, masculine early film star known as "The King of Hollywood."

Cary Grant was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite actors, and they made four great movies together, each well worth a viewing.

A list of the best movies starring Katharine Hepburn, the angular, athletic beauty who brought a series of strong women characters to the screen over decades of work.

Partners on and off screen, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made legendary movies together with terrific screen chemistry. Here is a list of their best.

With his chiseled features, magnificent physique and deep, resonant voice, Charlton Heston was born to be a Hollywood hero. In a career that spanned more than sixty years, he was a dependable leading man and box office success who never lacked for work. Here's a list of his finest classic movies.

A platinum blonde beauty who overcame adversity to become a great star, and died tragically young. These movies show her range in a career cut short.

Paul Newman’s rugged American good looks, piercing blue eyes and irresistible air of weary virility made him a top box-office attraction for decades and a genuine movie star in the great tradition of Hollywood. Here are six classic Paul Newman movies.

With his black Irish looks and dimpled smile, Tyrone Power was a perfect matinee idol, but he wanted to be recognized for his talent. Here is a list of Tyrone Power movies showing his versatility.

A folksy defense lawyer. A naive, idealistic Senator. A voyeuristic photographer. The lovable town drunk. A hardened, vengeful cowboy. The small-town banker who dreamed of bigger things. Jimmy Stewart played them all in his long, accomplished career. Here are nine of his finest performances.