The 40+ Best Peter Lawford Movies

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Updated April 23, 2024 47 items
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List of the best Peter Lawford movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Peter Lawford'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 Peter Lawford movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Peter Lawford movies will be at the top of the list. Peter Lawford has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Peter Lawford movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Peter Lawford films to end the squabble once and for all.

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

Angels Revenge and Rosebud are included in this list.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Peter Lawford movies?" and "What are the greatest Peter Lawford roles of all time?"
  • Easter Parade
    1
    Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford
    13 votes
    In this lavish musical, Broadway star Don Hewes' (Fred Astaire) dancing partner (Ann Miller) goes solo, and Don declares that he can make a hit performer out of the next dancer he sees. This turns out to be the inexperienced Hannah (Judy Garland), who bristles as Don tries to make her into his old partner. But as he realizes that he is falling in love with Hannah, Don knows that he must let her grow into her own kind of dancer if he wants her to reach her full potential.
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray
    2
    George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Angela Lansbury
    11 votes
    Posing for a portrait, Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) talks with Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders), who says that men should pursue their sensual longings, but laments that only the young get to do so. Taken with the idea, Dorian imagines a scenario in which the painting will age as he stays youthful. His wish comes true, and his boyish looks aid him as he indulges his every whim. But when a stunning revelation forces him to see what he's become, Dorian faces some very dangerous questions.
  • The Longest Day
    3
    John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda
    16 votes
    The Longest Day, an iconic film of 1962, is a war epic that takes viewers into the heart of D-Day. The movie, directed by Ken Annakin and Andrew Marton, showcases the events of June 6, 1944, through a tapestry of perspectives. Notable characters include Brigadier General Norman Cota (Robert Mitchum), Major John Howard (Richard Burton), and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (Werner Hinz). This film won two Academy Awards, featuring a sprawling ensemble cast renowned for their performances. The Longest Day is an accurate yet compelling cinematic rendering of World War II's most significant day.
  • Little Women
    4
    June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor
    10 votes
    The March sisters -- Meg (Janet Leigh), Jo (June Allyson), Beth (Margaret O'Brien) and Amy (Elizabeth Taylor) -- struggle to make ends meet in their New England household while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. Despite harsh times, they cling to optimism, often with neighbor Laurie (Peter Lawford) as a companion. As they mature, they face burgeoning ambitions and relationships, as well as tragedy, all the while maintaining their unbreakable bond.
  • It Should Happen to You
    5
    Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Peter Lawford
    10 votes
    After two years of failing to make it big in New York City, small-town model and actress Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) takes a gamble by investing in billboard advertising to get her name out there. Almost immediately her risk pays off, and she finds herself inundated with media requests and fans, including the affections of the wealthy Evan Adams III (Peter Lawford) of the Adams Soap company. While Glover enjoys the spotlight, her boyfriend (Jack Lemmon) is less pleased about it.
  • Exodus
    6
    Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson
    9 votes
    Based on Leon Uris' novel, this historical epic provides a dramatic backstory to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, in the aftermath of World War II. Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman), a passionate member of the Jewish paramilitary group Haganah, attempts to transport 600 Jewish refugees on a dangerous voyage from Cyprus to Palestine on a ship named the Exodus. He faces obstruction from British forces, who will not grant the ship passage to its destination.
  • Good News
    7
    June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall
    9 votes
    Tommy (Peter Lawford) is Tait College's quarterback and the biggest heartthrob on campus; unfortunately, his preoccupations with football and girls leave little time for studying. With an important game on the horizon, Tommy flunks a test. The college refuses to let Tommy play unless he retakes the test and gets a decent grade. Bookish student Connie (June Allyson) is enlisted to help; when they begin to hit it off, another seductive Tait coed grows jealous and decides to butt in.
  • Ocean's 11
    8
    Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis
    15 votes
    Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) calls on some of his World War II buddies -- including Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford), Sam Harmon (Dean Martin) and Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) -- to pull off an elaborate New Year's Eve heist at five casinos in Las Vegas. Eleven members of Danny's crew come together to pull off a perfect robbery, but they suffer a series of setbacks when Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a former gangster, tries to thwart Ocean's plans to disappear with the money.
  • Son of Lassie
    9
    Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart
    8 votes
    Laddie follows in the paw prints of his heroic mother in this sequel to "Lassie Come Home." Laddie's owner, Joe Carraclough (Peter Lawford), enlists during World War II, and the pup joins him at his military camp to train as a war dog. After sneaking onto Joe's airplane for an ill-fated bombing mission, Laddie finds himself trapped behind enemy lines with Joe. Together they try to evade the Nazis forces. But when Joe gets injured, it's up to Laddie to come to his rescue.
  • Royal Wedding
    10
    Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford
    9 votes
    American sibling song-and-dance team Tom (Fred Astaire) and Ellen Bowen (Jane Powell) are in London in 1947, when all of England is in a tizzy over the impending nuptials of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Ellen falls head over heels for the dashing Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford), and Tom becomes equally smitten with the elegant Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill). The film features one of Astaire's most legendary dance performances, dancing across the ceiling of a hotel room.
  • That's Entertainment!
    11
    Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Mickey Rooney
    9 votes
    The last major film to be shot at MGM's world famous Hollywood backlot, "That's Entertainment!" is a star-studded traipse down memory lane. The film boasts more than 100 classic segments compiled from dozens of MGM's most popular song-and-dance numbers and features newly recorded footage hosted by a variety of familiar faces, including MGM favorites Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable and Liza Minnelli.
  • Cluny Brown
    12
    Charles Boyer, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lawford
    6 votes
    To teach her to stay within her social station, Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones) is sent by her plumber uncle to work as a parlor maid in the country house of Sir Henry Carmel (Reginald Owen) and his wife, Alice (Margaret Bannerman). Brown soon finds herself torn between her attraction to Adam Belinski (Charles Boyer), a political refugee staying as a houseguest, and the prospect of a stable marriage with stuffy Jonathan Wilson (Richard Haydn), a chemist.
  • The April Fools
    13
    Catherine Deneuve, Jack Lemmon, Myrna Loy
    6 votes
    The April Fools is a 1969 romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
  • Good Evening, Ms Campbell
    14
    Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters, Peter Lawford
    6 votes
    During World War II, an Italian villager (Gina Lollobrigida) befriends three American soldiers. Later, when unsure which of them fathered the daughter she has, she invents a dead captain named Campbell, declares herself his widow and accepts support checks from all three soldiers. Twenty years later, a reunion unexpectedly brings the three veterans -- and their wives and children -- back to Italy. Mrs. Campbell panics as she endeavors to keep her lively past from her daughter.
  • It Happened in Brooklyn
    15
    Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford
    11 votes
    After returning home from the war, soldier Danny Miller (Frank Sinatra) heads straight to his old stomping grounds in Brooklyn, N.Y. He's determined to attain success as a singer -- and help his friends reach their own dreams along the way. Danny moves in with old chum Nick Lombardi (Jimmy Durante) and falls head-over-heels in love with schoolteacher Anne Fielding (Kathryn Grayson). But will an upper-crust acquaintance (Peter Lawford) wreck his new romance?
  • Julia Misbehaves
    16
    Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Elizabeth Taylor
    5 votes
    In London, crafty performer Julia Packett (Greer Garson) receives an invitation to her daughter's wedding in France. During the trip, Packett uses her feminine wiles to finagle money from a few hopeless men, and encounters a proposing acrobat (Cesar Romero). When Packett arrives, she is reunited with her daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) and her wealthy husband (Walter Pidgeon), although class conflicts with his family separated them years ago. Packett's scheming ways make for an interesting visit.
  • A Yank at Eton
    17
    Mickey Rooney, Edmund Gwenn, Ian Hunter
    4 votes
    Dismayed when his mother marries Englishman Roger Carlton (Ian Hunter), teenager Tim Dennis (Mickey Rooney) chafes at leaving America and his college football dreams to move to England. His mother convinces Tim to try Eton College for six months, but once there he clashes with the traditions of the conservative students -- who are led by Roger's son, school head boy Peter (Freddie Bartholomew). When Tim's girlfriend shows an interest in Peter, Tim's response nearly causes disaster.
  • Kangaroo
    18
    Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford, Finlay Currie
    4 votes
    Thinking it will be easy to make his fortune Down Under, Englishman Richard Connor (Peter Lawford) travels to Australia only to find he's been grossly misinformed. Broke and demoralized, he teams up with petty criminal John Gamble (Richard Boone) just to scrape together enough money to go back home. Their plan is to con a local rancher (Finlay Currie) into thinking Connor is his estranged son, but things go awry when Connor falls in love with the rancher's daughter (Maureen O'Hara).
  • Rogue's March
    19
    Peter Lawford, Leo G. Carroll, Hayden Rorke
    4 votes
    Rogue's March is a 1952 film.
  • The Hour of 13
    20

    The Hour of 13

    Peter Lawford, Dawn Addams, Roland Culver
    4 votes
    Nicholas Revel (Peter Lawford) steals a famous jewel, but when police find a corpse at the crime scene, they start to believe that the person behind the theft also committed several murders. Nicholas isn't a killer, however, and he appeals to Jane Frensham (Dawn Addams), the daughter of a top policeman, for a hand in finding the murderer. As police close in on Nicholas, digging through his apartment for clues linking him to the murders, he gets closer to unmasking the real killer.
  • On an Island with You
    21
    Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalban
    4 votes
    In this musical, movie star Rosalind Reynolds (Esther Williams) is filming on location in Hawaii. Co-star Ricardo Montez (Ricardo Montalban) wants to marry her, but the movie's technical adviser, Lt. Kingslee (Peter Lawford), also has eyes for Rosalind. After Kingslee sweeps Rosalind away to a deserted isle to try and win her, Ricardo's affections turn toward bit player Yvonne (Cyd Charisse). All the while, assistant director Jimmy Buckley (Jimmy Durante) tries to keep the production together.
  • The Red Danube
    22
    Walter Pidgeon, Ethel Barrymore, Peter Lawford
    4 votes
    Assigned to repatriate Soviet nationals from Vienna after World War II, Col. Michael S. Nicobar (Walter Pidgeon) and his aides, Maj. John McPhimister (Peter Lawford) and Audrey Quail (Angela Lansbury), relocate from Rome to carry out their mission. The three stay in a convent headed by a Mother Superior (Ethel Barrymore) who happens to be protecting Maria Buhlen (Janet Leigh), a Soviet ballerina wanted by the authorities. Soon, Nicobar questions his duty when he and McPhimister fall for Buhlen.
  • Sergeants 3
    23
    Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis
    8 votes
    Mike (Frank Sinatra), Chip (Dean Martin) and Larry (Peter Lawford) are three rowdy American sergeants stationed in Indian territory. Along with Jonah (Sammy Davis Jr.), a former slave who aspires to be a trooper, the trio attempt to fight back against an Indian chief (Henry Silva) who has conspired to unite all of the local tribes and kill any Americans in sight. But when the sergeants are taken prisoner, they must find a way to warn their regiment of an impending ambush.
  • The White Cliffs of Dover
    24
    Irene Dunne, Alan Marshal, Frank Morgan
    3 votes
    Susan (Irene Dunne) travels with her father (Frank Morgan) to England for a vacation. Invited to a society ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood (Alan Marshal) and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry. Upon the outbreak of World War I, Ashwood is sent to the trenches and never returns. When her son (Peter Lawford) goes off to fight in World War II, Susan fears the same tragic fate may befall him too.
  • Advise & Consent
    25
    Frank Sinatra, Betty White, Henry Fonda
    3 votes
    Advise & Consent is a 1962 American motion picture based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Allen Drury, published in 1959. The movie was adapted for the screen by Wendell Mayes and was directed by Otto Preminger. The ensemble cast features Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Eddie Hodges, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Inga Swenson, Betty White and others. The title derives from the United States Constitution's Article II, Sec. 2, cl. 2, which provides that the President of the United States "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States". The film, set in Washington, D.C., follows the consequences of a Presidential nomination for Secretary of State of a man with a hidden past who commits perjury in the course of confirmation proceedings.
  • Harlow
    26
    Carroll Baker, Martin Balsam, Red Buttons
    3 votes
    In this fictionalized biopic inspired by the brief life of the 1930s screen siren Jean Harlow (Carroll Baker), Harlow arrives in Los Angeles as a teenager, pushed into showbiz by her mother (Angela Lansbury) and stepfather (Raf Vallone). Kindhearted agent Arthur Landau (Red Buttons) becomes Jean's mentor, while a devious Howard Hughes-like mogul (Leslie Nielsen) grows infatuated with the beautiful young actress. Harlow herself falls for producer Paul Bern (Peter Lawford) before tragedy strikes.
  • Skidoo
    27

    Skidoo

    Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, Carol Channing
    3 votes
    Tough Tony Banks (Jackie Gleason) is a malcontented mobster who is perpetually at odds with his wife, Flo (Carol Channing). When Tony receives an unusual assignment from a crime lord known as God (Groucho Marx), he reluctantly accepts and must get himself arrested and incarcerated with the sole purpose of killing an imprisoned convict. Tony's mission gets completely derailed, however, when he accidentally takes acid and has a mind-expanding experience that leads to an ambitious escape plan.
  • My Brother Talks to Horses
    28
    Peter Lawford, Edward Arnold, Charlie Ruggles
    4 votes
    My Brother Talks to Horses is a 1947 comedy film based on the story by Morton Thompson and directed by Fred Zinnemann.
  • Salt and Pepper
    29
    Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford, Michael Bates
    4 votes
    Christopher Pepper (Peter Lawford) and Charles Salt (Sammy Davis Jr.) are hip Soho nightclub owners enjoying the good life -- until a secret agent turns up dead in their club. They find her diary and, pursuing the case on their own, discover a sinister plot to overthrow the British government, masterminded by a certain Col. Woodstock (John Le Mesurier). Salt and Pepper have a tough time getting anyone to believe their story until Col. Balsom (Ernest Clark) of MI5 hires them to foil the plot.
  • Two Sisters from Boston
    30
    Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior
    4 votes
    Boston socialite Abigail Chandler (Kathryn Grayson) dreams of singing with the New York Metropolitan Opera. After her aunt and uncle kindly pay for her to go to New York for voice lessons, Abigail secretly takes a job singing at a beer hall in the Bowery in order to pay for the lessons. Abigail's stuffy sister, Martha (June Allyson), remains after a family visit to keep an eye on her, and, instead of being shocked by Abigail's secret performing life, she ends up enthusiastically joining her.