Summary
- Gregory Peck's timeless movies showcase his depth as an actor.
- Peck was most famous for playing heroic characters who stuck to their morals.
- To Kill a Mockingbird gave Peck his most iconic role, but he has many other great movies that fans of his should know.
Gregory Peck is one of the greatest stars in the history of Hollywood cinema, and his best movies can still be enjoyed decades later. Peck excelled at playing admirable characters with incorruptible moral fortitude. His good looks and silky voice marked him as a hero perfectly suited to the Hollywood approach, but he always brought depth and humanity to his characters. Peck first distinguished himself in the theater before transitioning to film, and this proved to be the ideal training ground for his acting skills. He started late in the movie industry, but he made sure to leave his mark.
Gregory Peck became an American icon as the handsome face of moral courage. Through his humanitarian work and his upstanding on-screen persona, Peck sought to make the world a better place. His films often dealt with difficult themes such as prejudice and evil, but he worked alongside some of the finest directors of his era to create mature films which never spoke down to the audience. Peck passed away in 2003 at the age of 87, but he left behind an inspirational legacy, and plenty of brilliant movies which are still enjoyed decades later.
15 Great Classic Actors Whose Movies We Never Get Tired Of Watching
Hollywood's Golden Age may have finished long ago, but many classic movie actors from that period are still highly watchable even today.
10 The Boys From Brazil (1978)
Dr. Josef Mengele
Gregory Peck so often played the hero throughout his career, and this made him all the more disturbing when he was cast against type in The Boys From Brazil.
Gregory Peck so often played the hero throughout his career, and this made him all the more disturbing when he was cast against type in The Boys From Brazil. Peck plays Dr. Josef Mengele, one of the most evil men in human history. The Boys From Brazil takes some inspiration from the real-life story of high-profile Nazis escaping to South America, and it spins it into a bizarre plot about Mengele trying to create and raise an army of Adolf Hitler clones all over the world. The Boys from Brazil examines the old question of nature versus nurture.
9 Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
General Frank Savage
Gregory Peck plays General Frank Savage in Twelve O'Clock High, a fictionalization of a remarkable true story from the Second World War. Savage deploys harsh methods to whip his group of airmen into shape as they undertake daring bombing missions during daylight hours. Peck is a commanding presence as Savage, a stern but fair taskmaster who takes his duties seriously. Ultimately, the men who despise him when he first arrives learn to grudgingly respect his effective style of leadership. The flying scenes in Twelve O'Clock High are particularly captivating, using more shots from ground-level than most similar movies.
8 The Omen (1976)
Robert Thorn
- Director
- Richard Donner
- Release Date
- June 25, 1976
- Cast
- Lee Remick , gregory peck , David Warner , Billie Whitelaw , Harvey Stephens
Gregory Peck didn't often act in horror movies, but he was part of a bona fide classic when he starred alongside Lee Remick in The Omen. The story tapped into the satanic panic of the 1970s, terrifying audiences with its depiction of a demonic child. Peck plays the child's adoptive father, an American diplomat who gradually uncovers the disturbing mystery surrounding his son. A prequel to The Omen is currently slated for an April release, showing that the franchise could still have a future, even after a disappointing 2006 remake.
7 The Gunfighter (1950)
Jimmy Ringo
- Director
- Henry King
- Release Date
- August 21, 1950
- Cast
- gregory peck , Helen Westcott , Millard Mitchell , Jean Parker , Karl Malden , Skip Homeier , Anthony Ross , Verna Felton
The Gunfighter was one of six collaborations between Gregory Peck and director Henry King, made after Twelve O'Clock High but before others such as The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Bravados. Peck plays a man known far and wide as the quickest gun in the West, and this puts a target on his back. Trouble follows Jimmy Ringo wherever he goes, and he must constantly stay alert to keep his pursuers at bay. The Gunfighter could have been an ordinary, unremarkable Western, but Peck's emotional performance is an acute study of the conflict between masculinity and emotional vulnerability.
6 The Guns Of Navarone (1961)
Captain Keith Mallory
The Guns of Navarone is punctuated by moments of chaotic action, but it is primarily a character drama about people of different backgrounds and different personalities forced to work together.
Based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone tells a fictional story of the Second World War. Gregory Peck stars as Captain Mallory, who leads an Allied team's assault on an almost impenetrable German fortress in the Aegean Sea. The Guns of Navarone is punctuated by moments of chaotic action, but it is primarily a character drama about people of different backgrounds and different personalities forced to work together to overcome a shared enemy. It remains one of the best British war movies ever, although history buffs will be disappointed by its fictionalized elements.
5 The Big Country (1958)
James McKay
The Big Country is a brilliant Western movie with a star-studded ensemble cast. Gregory Peck stars alongside Burl Ives, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons and Chuck Conners. One year before directing Ben-Hur, William Wyler captured a similar grandiose scale in The Big Country. Peck plays a sea captain who finds himself in the midst of a brutal tussle for some valuable land in the American West. He tries to play the diplomat between the two warring factions. The Big Country is vital for any fans of the Western genre, but there's still plenty to admire for anyone else.
4 Cape Fear (1962)
Sam Bowden
Cape Fear pits Gregory Peck against Robert Mitchum in a gripping psychological thriller. Peck plays Sam Bowden, a lawyer who is targeted by Max Cady, a man he previously helped send to prison. Mitchum has the splashier role as Max Cady, but Peck wonderfully counteracts his frantic energy as an honest and down-to-Earth individual. In Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake, Peck plays Sam Bowden's attorney. Mitchum also has a small role. Now, over 60 years after the original, an upcoming TV remake of Cape Fear is in development with Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as executive producers.
3 Spellbound (1945)
John Ballantine
Spellbound is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best movies, although it doesn't usually get the same recognition as the likes of Psycho, Rear Window or Vertigo. Gregory Peck stars as a man with amnesia who can't remember the details of his involvement in a murder. Unsure of whether he is guilty or innocent, he seeks help from a psychoanalyst, and the two slowly begin to unravel his dreams. The twisty psychological drama is typical of Hitchcock, but Salvador Dalí's surreal dream sequences help Spellbound stand out. Peck stars alongside Ingrid Bergman.
2 Roman Holiday (1953)
Joe Bradley
Gregory Peck struck up an intoxicating chemistry with Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, a romantic comedy with more focus on romance than comedy. Hepburn plays a European princess who escapes from her guardians to explore Rome at ground level with an American reporter by her side. Their whirlwind romance is cut short by the princess' duties to her nation, but they part with the bittersweet memory of a time when they were totally free. Roman Holiday is also among Audrey Hepburn's best movies, and it helped launch her career as a charismatic Hollywood icon.