Gregory Peck was the Oscar-winning actor who starred in dozens of classics, staying active on the big and small screen until his death in 2003 at the age of 87. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1916, Peck made his screen debut with a starring role in “Days of Glory” (1944). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for his second movie, “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), playing a Catholic priest spreading Christianity in China. He earned subsequent bids for playing an ex-Confederate soldier in “The Yearling” (1946), a journalist posing as Jewish in “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and an Air Force commander in “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949).
He clinched the gold for “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), adapted from Harper Lee‘s beloved Civil Rights novel. The role of Atticus Finch, a quietly determined Southern lawyer defending an innocent black man against charges of rape, brought him a Golden Globe win and a BAFTA nomination.
Peck won additional Golden Globes for “The Yearling” and the TV miniseries “Moby Dick,” which also brought him an Emmy nomination as Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actor. (He played Father Mapple in that version, having portrayed Captain Ahab in John Huston‘s 1956 film adaptation.) He also competed for “Captain Newman, M.D.” (1963), “MacArthur” (1977), and “The Boys from Brazil” (1978). His role in “Roman Holiday” (1953) brought him a BAFTA bid.
In addition to his Oscar win, Peck earned the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1968, having served as the Academy’s President starting in 1967. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991.
Tour our photo gallery above of Peck’s greatest films, including a few gems that should’ve brought him Oscar glory.
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20. THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM (1944)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by John M. Stahl. Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the novel by A. J. Cronin. Starring Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Rose Stradner, Edmund Gwenn, Benson Fong, Roddy McDowell, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
Peck shot to stardom with this respectable (albeit rather staid) religious drama about a Catholic Priest spreading Christianity throughout China. Suffice it to say, the Chinese are initially reluctant to accept his teachings, but after years of strife and suffering, the determined holy man earns their trust. While it’s rather preachy (for lack of a better term), “The Keys of the Kingdom” nevertheless proved Peck was capable of headlining a movie. Though officially released in 1944, it didn’t compete at the Oscars until the following year, where Peck lost Best Actor to Ray Milland (“The Lost Weekend”).
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19. DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by King Vidor. Screenplay by Oliver H.P Garrett, David O. Selznick, and Ben Hecht, based on the novel by Niven Busch. Starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Lionel Barrymore, Herbert Marshall, Lillian Gish, Walter Huston, Charles Bickford.
“Duel in the Sun” was David O. Selznick’s attempt to remake his classic “Gone with the Wind” as a western, with the notoriously hands-on producer micromanaging every conceivable aspect (most notably the handling of the film’s star, his wife Jennifer Jones). By the time it finally reached screens, prerelease buzz was so bad that it had little chance of recreating the box office numbers of his own previous successes. While this soapy melodrama about a beautiful woman (Jones) torn between the affections of two rancher brothers (Peck and Joseph Cotten) is a mixed bag, it’s at least a thoroughly entertaining one.
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18. THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO (1952)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Henry King. Screenplay by Casey Robinson, based on the story by Ernest Hemingway. Starring Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, Leo G. Carroll.
One of Ernest Hemingway’s greatest short stories makes a perfect vehicle for Peck’s unique talents. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” casts him as Henry Street, a writer who becomes gravely wounded while on safari in Africa. Sick with fever and dying on the mountain, he reflects on a wasted life and career, including his lost love with Cynthia Green (Ava Gardner), a character created specifically for this adaptation. The film, shot largely on location in Kenya and Egypt, earned Oscar nominations for its cinematography and art direction.
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17. ARABESQUE (1966)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Stanley Donen. Screenplay by Julian Mitchell, Stanley Price, and Peter Stone, based on the novel ‘The Cypher’ by Alex Gordon. Starring Sophia Loren, Alan Badel, Kieron Moore.
“Arabesque” finds Stanley Donen returning to the sort of material he excelled at in “Charade” (1963), with Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren stepping into the Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn roles (albeit somewhat reversed). Peck is a hieroglyphics professor who finds himself embroiled in international intrigue when he’s asked to decode a cryptic Arabian message; Loren is the mysterious beauty who helps him crack the code. While it fails to capture the sparkle and wit of Donen’s previous Hitchcock homage, the film is a delightful entertainment that makes good use of its leading man and woman’s star personas.
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16. THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT (1956)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Nunnally Johnson, based on the novel by Sloan Wilson. Starring Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Paven, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan Wynn.
This long, engrossing adaptation of Sloan Wilson’s bestseller casts Peck as an ex-soldier struggling to support his wife (Jennifer Jones) and children. He finds a high-paying job at a television network, writing speeches for the boss (Fredric March), whose commitment to his career has cost him happiness at home. Through flashbacks, we learn of Peck’s service in World War II, during which he fathered an illegitimate child with a beautiful Italian woman (Marisa Paven). Peck is superb as a man torn apart by his moral obligations, and director Nunnally Johnson does an expert job showcasing the Madison Avenue New York of the “Mad Men” era.
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15. THE GUNFIGHTER (1950)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Henry King. Written by William Bowers and William Sellers. Starring Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden.
Peck straps on his six-shooter for “The Gunslinger,” a tightly-wound western that’s almost single-minded in its focus. When notorious gunslinger Jimmy Ringo (Peck) rides into town to find his wife, Peggy (Helen Westcott), he learns she wants nothing to do with him. Though he’s not looking for trouble, trouble finds him in the form of several townspeople who want him dead. William Bowers and William Sellers earned an Oscar nomination for their taut, slim screenplay, which covers a lot of ground in just 85 minutes.
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14. THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Screenplay by Heywood Gould, based on the novel by Ira Levin. Starring Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Uta Hagen, Steve Guttenberg, Denholm Elliott, Rosemary Harris.
“The Boys from Brazil” is a first-rate potboiler, a melodramatic thriller that takes its inspiration from some real life monsters. Laurence Olivier is Ezra Lieberman, an aging Nazi hunter who stumbles upon a plot to reignite the Third Reich. Peck play Dr. Joseph Mengele, the notoriously demented Auschwitz doctor who conducted horrific experiments on concentration camp Jews. The actors chew the scenery like it’s candy, including James Mason as Mengele’s principle contact, Eduard Seibert. Though Peck earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor, Olivier competed at the Oscars instead.
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13. THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)
Image Credit: United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by James R. Webb, Sy Bartlett, Robert Wilder, based on the serialized novel ‘Ambush at Blanco Canyon’ by Donald Hamilton. Starring Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford, Chuck Connors.
William Wyler’s Technicolor epic stars Peck as a New England sea captain who travels west to marry a rancher’s daughter (Carroll Baker), and soon becomes embroiled in a land feud between two families. Charlton Heston steals the show as Steve Leech, the feisty, fiercely loyal foreman to the Terrill family estate. Burl Ives won Best Supporting Actor for playing Rufus Hannassey, patriarch to the impoverished rival clan. Though too long for it’s own good, “The Big Country” features some striking, widescreen imagery and first-rate performances.
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12. THE YEARLING (1946)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Clarence Brown. Screenplay by Paul Osborn, based on the novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Starring Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman Jr., Chill Wills.
The Yearling” is one of the great family entertainments, a loving adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawling’s bestseller. Set in post-Civil War era Florida, it centers on a young boy (Claude Jarman Jr.) who forms a bond with a deer. He convinces his parents — an ex-Confederate solider (Peck) and his loving wife (Jane Wyman) — to take the animal in and raise him on their farm. The gorgeous Technicolor cinematography and art direction (both of which won Oscars) creates a peaceful hamlet within the woods. The film earned five additional nominations: Best Picture, directing for Clarence Brown, lead acting for Peck and Wyman, and film editing. Peck won the Golden Globe, but lost at the Academy to Fredric March (“The Best Years of Our Lives”).
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11. MACARTHUR (1977)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Joseph Sargent. Written by Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins. Starring Ed Flanders, Dan O’Herlihy, Ivan Boner.
Peck dominates this biographical drama about the legendary military commander, from his years in World War II to his time during the Korean War. There’s nothing spectacular about the filmmaking by multi-Emmy winner Joseph Sargent, who helms it like an expensive television movie. But Peck carries the day, seamlessly transforming himself into the pipe-chomping, sunglasses-wearing general while capturing the fiery spirit that got him removed for insubordination by President Truman (Ed Flanders). The role brought him a Golden Globe nomination, but the Academy overlooked him.
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10. ON THE BEACH (1959)
Image Credit: United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Stanley Kramer. Screenplay by John Paxton, based on the novel by Nevil Shute. Starring Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins.
Stanley Kramer’s “On the Beach” feels frighteningly prescient with each passing year, which is troubling considering its subject matter. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute, it imagines a future in which life on the northern hemisphere has been totally wiped out from a nuclear bomb. A group of survivors have gathered in Australia, including Peck as a submarine commander, Ava Gardner as his girlfriend, Fred Astair as a scientist, and Anthony Perkins as a naval officer. Though it tends to sermonize in a way that only Kramer can, it benefits from strong performances and striking black-and-white photography.
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10. THE OMEN (1978)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Richard Donner. Written by David Seltzer. Starring Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw, Harvey Spencer Stevens.
Richard Donner’s satanic thriller is a perfect cautionary tale for expectant parents everywhere. When American diplomat Robert Thorn (Peck) and his wife, Katherine (Lee Remick), lose their baby during childbirth, they decide to adopt a newborn whose mother died. But as little Damien (Harvey Spencer Stevens) grows up, his dad begins to suspect that his kid might be the Antichrist! “The Omen” is tautly made and scary as hell, keeping us captivated despite being borderline silly. Due credit goes to Peck, who plays it straight throughout. Jerry Goldsmith won an Oscar for his haunting, eerie score. Several sequels and a remake followed, none matching the original.
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8. GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT (1947)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Elia Kazan. Screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the novel by Laura Z. Hobson. Starring Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, June Havoc, Anne Revere.
Peck stars in Elia Kazan’s Oscar-winning message movie as a newspaper reporter who poses as Jewish in order to write an expose on antisemitism. Much to his surprise, intolerance in the upper-middle class runs rampant. As was often the case with the director, “Gentleman’s Agreement” caused quite a stir for touching on a then-controversial topic. Overall, it’s probably more “important” than it is entertaining. Yet in an age when antisemitism is still very much a problem (look no further than recent events in Charlottesville, VA), the film remains a timely and powerful indictment against bigotry. The film won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm as a friendly fashion editor). Peck competed in Best Actor, losing to Ronald Colman (“A Double Life”).
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7. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay by Carl Foreman, based on the novel by Alistair MacLean. Starring David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren.
“The Guns of Navarone” exists in the long tradition of films featuring a ragtag group of men who come together to pull off a complicated mission. This time it’s a team of Allied soldiers assembled to cross occupied Greek territory in order to destroy a massive German gun emplacement during World War II. Peck is renowned spy Captain Keith Malloy, David Niven is explosives expert Corporal Miller, and Anthony Quinn is Greek resistance officer Col. Andrea Stavros. This is a superior entertainment, helmed with a steady hand by action-maestro J. Lee Thompson. The film won an Oscar for its special effects and competed in six more categories, including Best Picture.
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6. CAPE FEAR (1962)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay by James R. Webb, based on the novel ‘The Executioners’ by John D. MacDonald. Starring Robert Mitchum, Martin Balsam, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin.
Peck goes head-to-head with Robert Mitchum in this classic nail-biter from J. Lee Thompson. He plays Sam Bowden, a straight-laced lawyer who sent the violent and sadistic Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) to prison for rape. Eight years later, Cady is out and stalking Bowden and his family. Though his co-star has the showier role, Peck still does a solid job as a dedicated attorney protecting his wife and child at all costs. Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam (who costars as a helpful police chief) made cameo appearances in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake, with Robert De Niro playing Cady and Nick Nolte starring as Bowden.
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5. MOBY DICK (1956)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by John Huston. Screenplay by Ray Bradbury and John Huston, based on the novel by Herman Melville. Starring Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, Orson Welles.
John Huston’s moody and expressionistic adaptation of Herman Melville’s maritime adventure casts Peck as Captain Ahab, whose fanatical obsession with catching the great white whale that nearly killed him leads to his ultimate destruction. Richard Basehart is Ishmael, the sole survivor of Ahab’s doomed voyage. Peck is magnificent as Ahab, perfectly conveying the fire and mania that drives him to his demise. He would later appear in a 1988 television adaptation as Father Mapple, a role played here by Orson Welles. Though that one was more faithful to the original novel, this version is more visually and viscerally effective.
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4. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH (1949)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Henry King. Screenplay by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay Jr., based on their novel. Starring Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merill, Millard Mitchell, Dean Jagger.
“Twelve O’Clock High” is a superior entertainment, casting Peck as the new commander of a World War II Air Force squadron. Through grit and determination, he whips the down-on-their luck cadets into fighting shape. Director Henry King makes excellent use of real-life dogfight footage, giving this aerial adventure an added sense of reality. Peck gives one of his best performances as Gen. Frank Savage, a tough-as-nails commander who invests himself wholeheartedly in his men. Dean Jagger took home the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for playing one of the officers. Peck competed in Best Actor, losing to Broderick Crawford (“All the King’s Men”). The film won an additional prize for its sound and contended in Best Picture.
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3. SPELLBOUND (1945)
Image Credit: Selznick/United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht, based on the book ‘The House of Dr. Edwardes’ by Hilary Saint George Saunders and Francis Beeding. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Michael Chekhov.
Alfred Hitchcock takes his obsession with abstract imagery to a whole new level with “Spellbound.” Ingrid Bergman stars as a bookish psychiatrist who falls in love with the handsome new chief of staff (Peck) at her institution. But it turns out he’s actually an imposter who has killed the real guy, and can’t remember what exactly happened due to a pesky case of amnesia. The film is best remembered for an impressive and haunting dream sequence designed by surrealist maestro Salvador Dali. It earned six additional nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, winning for its score. Interestingly enough, both Peck and Bergman earned acting bids that year, albeit for different films (“The Keys of the Kingdom” for Peck, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” for Bergman).
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2. ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
Image Credit: Paramount/REX/Shutterstock Directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, story by Trumbo. Starring Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings.
William Wyler’s effervescent romantic comedy is mostly remembered as the film that introduced Audrey Hepburn to the world, winning her an Oscar as Best Actress in the process. But it also contains one of Peck’s best performances, bringing a level of grace and humor to his stoic leading man charms. “Roman Holiday” centers on a royal princess (Hepburn) who’s grown bored with her sheltered life, and escapes her guardians while vacationing in Rome. She meets an American reporter (Peck) who, hungry for a scoop, agrees to show her around town. The Oscar-winning script by Dalton Trumbo (working uncredited due to the Blacklist) develops their relationship in unique and surprising ways, while Wyler makes good use of his location. The film won an additional prize for Edith Head’s costumes and earned seven additional bids, including Best Picture and Best Director. Peck was snubbed, though he did contend at BAFTA.
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1. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Directed by Robert Mulligan. Screenplay by Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee. Starring Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, John Megna, Ruth White, Paul Fix, Brock Peters, Frank Overton, Robert Duvall.
Peck handily won the Oscar as Best Actor for Robert Mulligan’s landmark Civil Rights drama. Based on the novel by Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird” centers on Atticus Finch (Peck), a Depression-era Southern lawyer defending a black man (Brock Peters) wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. At the same time, he tries to teach his children to live without prejudice, including his daughter, Scout (Supporting Actress nominee Mary Badham), who serves as the story’s narrator. Several decades later, the film remains a testament to always doing the right thing, no matter how difficult. At its center is Peck in a quietly powerful performance as a man struggling against hate, who retains his dignity even after defeat. His final courtroom summation, in which he invokes our Constitutional promise that “all men are created equally,” remains staggering. The film earned additional prizes for Horton Foote’s script and for its art direction, and competed in Best Picture.
