by Fiona Underhill, Staff Writer

This week at MovieJawn, we’re celebrating the centennial of Hollywood legend Paul Newman, who was born on January 26, 1925.

As part of this celebration, I’ve watched all 55 of Newman’s live-action feature films in which he has an acting role. We already brought you numbers 55-30 in Part One, so let’s get cracking with the Top 30!

The Good

30. The Towering Inferno (John Guillermin, 1974)
I admittedly love disaster movies probably more than the average person, but one of Newman’s most famous movies–in which he wrestled for top billing against Steve McQueen–is an enjoyable watch. 

29. Rally Round the Flag,  Boys! (Leo McCarey, 1958)
This entertaining comedy co-stars Joanne Woodward and Joan Collins, and is a predecessor to some of the zany farces that Newman would star in the during the 60s – to varying success.

28. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (John Huston, 1972)
If you’re a Butch Cassidy fan, you’re likely to also enjoy this western comedy, in which a wiry and straggly-bearded Newman plays a self-appointed judge of a lawless region. He gets drunk with a bear, what more do you want!

27. Until They Sail (Robert Wise, 1957)
A WWII film with the unusual setting of New Zealand, and an all-star cast including Jean Simmons and Piper Laurie. It’s about four sisters’ romantic entanglements with American servicemen, and is well worth your time.

26. Mr & Mrs Bridge (James Ivory, 1990)
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward starring in a Merchant Ivory film is pretty much made for me on every single level, and this does not disappoint. Robert Sean Leonard and Kyra Sedgwick play their children, who are resistant to their parents’ conservative attitudes.

25. WUSA (Stuart Rosenberg, 1970)
Considered a failure at the time, and still looked down upon today (it gets roundly mocked in the recent Ethan Hawke documentary The Last Movie Stars)–WUSA doesn’t deserve its poor reputation, in my opinion! Co-starring Joanne Woodward and Anthony Perkins–I encourage you to give WUSA a chance!

24. Fat Man and Little Boy (Roland Joffe, 1989)
With the enormous success of Oppenheimer, this movie on the same topic deserves to be rediscovered, with Newman in the role that Matt Damon plays in the Nolan movie. 

23. The Drowning Pool (Stuart Rosenberg, 1975)
The second of two noir movies in which Newman plays PI Lew Harper, this one just pips the first, due to the cast and the memorably thrilling sequence set in the drowning pool of the title.

22. Absence of Malice (Sydney Pollack, 1981)
This political thriller covers journalistic ethics, and co-stars a brilliant Sally Field, as well as Bob Balaban and Melinda Dillon. Field and Newman have fantastic chemistry, even though there is a difficult-to-watch violent scene between them.

21. Harper (Jack Smight, 1966)
It’s very funny that the title of this movie was changed because Newman had been on a run of success with ‘H’ movies (The Hustler, Hud). Lew Harper is a PI in the classic noir mold of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, a role that fits Newman likes a glove.

Top Tier

20. Somebody Up There Likes Me (Robert Wise, 1956)
Newman stepped into this boxing drama after James Dean died and it made his career. The influence of the Actors’ Studio is heavily present here, but it’s fascinating to watch the young Newman wrestling with what kind of actor – and movie star – he would become.

19. Winning (James Goldstone, 1969)
This film was largely responsible for Newman’s car racing career, but it’s actually one of the better Newman/Joanne Woodward pairings. Interestingly, Woodward takes on the kind of role that Newman usually plays – she is the mercurial one that he finds hard to pin down.

18. Sometimes a Great Notion (Paul Newman, 1971)
Newman stepped in to the directing chair at the last minute to save this sprawling family drama, and although he viewed it as a failure – it definitely isn’t one. Henry Fonda and Lee Remick co-star in this tale of how union scabbing can tear a family apart.

17. Sweet Bird of Youth (Richard Brooks, 1961)
Tennessee Williams and Newman were a match made in heaven, with him also directing The Glass Menagerie in 1987. Geraldine Page is heartbreaking, and Newman excels at playing hard-hearted men who don’t deserve a happy ending (see also: Hud).

16. Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002)
Newman returned to the noir genre right at the end of his career, and also returned to the theme of father/son relationships that pervaded his work. His scenes with Daniel Craig are masterclasses of acting. 

15. Paris Blues (Martin Ritt, 1961)
Newman had fantastic chemistry with Woodward (obviously), as well as Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll in this film which is known for its incredible soundtrack by Duke Ellington, and for featuring Louis Armstrong. The vibe is vibrant and sexy, featuring beautiful people in a beautiful city.

14. The Rack (Arnold Laven, 1956)
This early Newman film is a surprising and extraordinary examination of psychological torture and PTSD during and after war, which feels very ahead of its time. You can absolutely see Newman working on what he’d absorbed at the Actors Studio here, and is an essential film in understanding the actor he would become.

13. What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964)
This delightful, colorful extravaganza is just a joy from start to finish, with its all-star cast revolving around a scintillating Shirley MacLaine. Edith Head’s costumes alone deserve some kind of Nobel Peace Prize. This is also Newman in extremely silly mode – something we rarely got to see onscreen.

12. The Hudsucker Proxy (Coen Brothers, 1994)
The Coens perfectly channeled 40s-50s screwball comedies into this delightful tale, with an all-time great Jennifer Jason Leigh performance as a fast-talking, no-nonsense broad. Newman gets to chew fat cigars (and the scenery) as Sidney J. Mussburger – a fantastic role at this stage of his career.

11. The Long, Hot Summer (Martin Ritt, 1958)
Right at the start of their real-life romance, the sizzling and sultry Newman-Woodward chemistry burns a hole in the screen in this melodrama set in the Deep South, with Orson Welles filling the ‘Big Daddy’ role. Just tremendous.

God Tier

10. The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982)
Newman gives one of his all-time great performances in this courtroom thriller as an alcoholic lawyer who comes to passionately believe in a case he initially took just for the money. Charlotte Rampling and James Mason are both fantastic.

9. Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967)
Luke Jackson is a quintessential Newman character – nonchalant, rebellious, and refusing to be beat. Most famous for its egg scene, there’s a lot more to this film, with a particularly poignant scene between Luke and his mother. 

8. Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977)
The first of three Hill films in this top 10 – which goes to show that he and Newman really did make magic together. This hilarious, foul-mouthed, and violent ice hockey comedy is such an enjoyable ride, with writer Nancy Dowd drawing on many real players’ experiences in the minor leagues.

7. The Color of Money (Martin Scorsese, 1986)
One of only two sequels that Newman made in his career, this time returning to the character of Fast Eddie Felson – now the older mentor, rather than the young hustler. The torch is passed to none other than Tom Cruise, which feels like a perfect transition, and the stakes feel as high as ever.

6. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)
The first Fast Eddie movie features a trio of perfect performances – from Newman, a heartbreaking Piper Laurie, and a bombastic Jackie Gleason. Newman was never better than when he had to face an older, worthy adversary (frequently a father figure), and that’s absolutely the case here. But his scenes with Laurie really elevate this film into masterpiece territory.

5. Nobody’s Fool (Robert Benton, 1994)
Newman playing a cranky, crotchety old geezer at this stage of his career is of course great, but this film treats all of its characters as rounded humans, not as comedic stereotypes. Melanie Griffiths is there to show that Newman still very much has ‘it,’ and an against-type Bruce Willis gives a very surprising, very good performance. The writing of these richly-drawn characters in a thoroughly lived-in small town makes Nobody’s Fool a gem that we should cherish.

4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)
We’re now at the stage where any of these films would be a worthy number one. Newman and Robert Redford absolutely had a unique chemistry, which created a special kind of magic onscreen. Throw in the beautiful Katharine Ross, that Burt Bacharach music, and William Goldman’s sharp, witty script – and we’re talking about one of the best movies of all time.

3. The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973)
The second collaboration between Newman, Redford, and Hill achieves the rare feat of being just as good, if not better, than the first. An ingenious heist caper movie, set to Scott Joplin’s ragtime music, that provides another fantastic adversary for Newman in the intimidating shape of Robert Shaw. It’s impossible not to get swept along with the relentless charm of this film, and Edith Head’s costumes are once again a star of the show.

2. Hud (Martin Ritt, 1963)
A thorny film, centered around an unrepentant bastard in the form of Newman’s Hud Bannon, is complemented by James Wong Howe’s starkly stunning black-and-white cinematography. Newman is supported by Melvyn Douglas (as the father that he rubs up against until they’re both red raw) and by Patricia Neal, who along with Piper Laurie, gives one of the best-ever performances opposite Newman. A giant of a role for Newman, and he absolutely rises to the occasion.

1. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958)
This film sees so many factors colliding together to produce perfection, it could never ever be replicated. From Tennessee Williams’ writing, to the performances by Burl Ives and Judith Anderson (completely unrecognizable from Hitchcock’s Rebecca!), to the impeccable costumes and production design – to that relentless heat. At the center of it all is Physical Peak Paul Newman, in silk pajamas that perfectly match his eyes, and the breathtaking Elizabeth Taylor, who battled through production despite personal tragedy. Watching two of the most beautiful people who ever lived encircle one another in an unending game of who can hurt the other the most – that is cinema, baby!

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