Want to know the best Cliff Robertson movies? How about the worst Cliff Robertson movies? Curious about Cliff Robertson box office grosses or which Cliff Robertson movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Cliff Robertson movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place.
Cliff Robertson (1923-2011) was an Oscar® winning American actor. His IMDb page shows 114 acting credits from 1943-2007. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks 42 of his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles, shorts and uncredited roles were not included in the rankings. This page was requested by Phil and Lyle.
Cliff Robertson Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Cliff Robertson Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies by movie titles and trailers
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Cliff Robertson movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Cliff Robertson movie won.
- Sort Cliff Robertson movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Cliff Robertson
1. Clifford Parker Robertson III was born in La Jolla, California in 1923.
2. Cliff Robertson studied at the Actors Studio. In the early 50s he worked steadily on television before making his film debut in 1955’s Picnic.
3. Cliff Robertson was personally chosen by John F. Kennedy to portray a World War II US Navy Lieutenant Kennedy in 1963’s PT 109.
4. Alfred Hitchcock considered Cliff Robertson for the role of Sam Loomis in 1960’s Psycho, but the role went to John Gavin.
5. Cliff Robertson won the Best Actor Oscar® for his role in 1967’s Charly……he was unable to attend the ceremony.
6. The reason that Cliff Robertson was not at the Oscars® to receive his Best Actor award was because he was in the middle of filming the movie, Too Late the Hero (1970) in the Philippines. The director Robert Aldridge would not allow him to leave owing to budget constraints.
7. Cliff Robertson was responsible for unraveling a major studio fraud in the 1970s, which led to the downfall of powerful Columbia Pictures president David Begelman. The morality of Hollywood was such that it did more short-term harm to Robertson’s career than to Begelman’s, who soon after was hired to run MGM. The full story is told in David McClintick’s 1982 bestseller, “Indecent Exposure”.
8. Cliff Robertson was married two times and had two children.
9. Cliff Robertson was a well-known sailplane pilot, and was also the voice in the “Running On Empty” documentary video about the Barron Hilton Cup, a prestigious soaring competition. He owned a number of vintage aircraft, including an original German Messerschmitt ME-108, which was on display at the Parker-O’Malley Air Museum (closed in 2009) in Ghent, New York.
10. Check out Cliff Robertson’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
I just dumped Malone out of my collection, it was a pretty good action picture that bombed back in 1987. It was supposed to be a return to form for Burt Reynolds after fluff like then Cannonball Runs and Stroker Ace.
Cliff was # 914 on then 2016 Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. Unfortunately he has fallen of the list since then. In 2000 on the original list he was # 162. These are the actors on the 2016 list who appeared in a film with him.
1 ERIC ROBERTS Star 80 (1983)
4 SAMUEL L. JACKSON WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
7 WILLEM DAFOE Spider-Man (2002)
7 WILLEM DAFOE Spider-Man 2 (2004)
7 WILLEM DAFOE Spider-Man 3 (2007)
10 MICHAEL CAINE Too Late the Hero (1970)
20 MAX VON SYDOW Three Days of the Condor (1975)
28 CHRISTOPHER WALKEN Brainstorm (1983)
34 ALFRED MOLINA Spider-Man 2 (2004)
44 STELLAN SKARSGARD Wind (1992)
48 NICOLAS CAGE WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
50 STEVE BUSCEMI Escape from L.A. (1996)
55 THOMAS ROSALES JR. Escape from L.A. (1996)
59 MICHAEL PAPAJOHN Spider-Man (2002)
59 MICHAEL PAPAJOHN Spider-Man 3 (2007)
71 ROBERT DUVALL The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
72 ROBERT FORSTER Family Tree (1999)
78 PETER JASON Escape from L.A. (1996)
90 JOHN CUSACK Class (1983)
96 BURT REYNOLDS Malone (1987)
109 STACY KEACH Escape from L.A. (1996)
111 JAMES FRANCO Spider-Man (2002)
111 JAMES FRANCO Spider-Man 2 (2004)
111 JAMES FRANCO Spider-Man 3 (2007)
111 JAMES FRANCO WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
113 TRACEY WALTER Malone (1987)
125 VANESSA REDGRAVE Out of Season (1975)
132 ED BEGLEY JR. Renaissance Man (1994)
134 FAYE DUNAWAY Three Days of the Condor (1975)
142 ERNEST BORGNINE Shoot (1976)
152 JAMES REMAR Renaissance Man (1994)
162 DANNY DEVITO Renaissance Man (1994)
163 JAMES CROMWELL Spider-Man 3 (2007)
167 J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man (2002)
167 J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man 2 (2004)
167 J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man 3 (2007)
168 STAN LEE Spider-Man (2002)
168 STAN LEE Spider-Man 2 (2004)
168 STAN LEE Spider-Man 3 (2007)
168 STAN LEE With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010)
182 MATTHEW MODINE Wind (1992)
209 JAMES LEW ESCAPE FROM L.A. (1996)
238 JOEL THINGVALL WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
239 JEREMY PIVEN WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
240 SCOTT WILSON Malone (1987)
247 CHARLTON HESTON Midway (1976)
271 ROBERT WAGNER Midway (1976)
276 KIRSTEN DUNST Spider-Man (2002)
276 KIRSTEN DUNST Spider-Man 2 (2004)
276 KIRSTEN DUNST Spider-Man 3 (2007)
276 KIRSTEN DUNST WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
295 MARK WAHLBERG Renaissance Man (1994)
302 DAVID BOSTON SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
317 PETER FONDA Escape from L.A. (1996)
332 ELYA BASKIN Spider-Man 2 (2004)
332 ELYA BASKIN Spider-Man 3 (2007)
335 JAMES REBHORN Wind (1992)
343 DYLAN BAKER Spider-Man 2 (2004)
343 DYLAN BAKER Spider-Man 3 (2007)
347 CLYDE KUSATSU Midway (1976)
357 KURT RUSSELL Escape from L.A. (1996)
364 ROBERT VAUGHN The Big Show (1961)
391 JACQUELINE BISSET Class (1983)
394 JOHN LITHGOW Obsession (1976)
398 PATRICK STEWART WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
399 LUKE BURNYEAT SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
403 ROBERT REDFORD Three Days of the Condor (1975)
411 JON FAVREAU WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
413 JAMES COBURN Midway (1976)
454 ARNE STARR Spider-Man 3 (2007)
455 SHIRLEY MACLAINE All in a Night’s Work (1961)
458 PETER MCROBBIE SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
459 BRENT BRISCOE SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
470 OCTAVIA SPENCER SPIDER-MAN (2002)
490 VIRGINIA MADSEN Class (1983)
499 JAMES DUMONT CLASS (1983)
500 EMILIO RIVERA SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)
511 JOAN CUSACK CLASS (1983)
513 DAVID CLENNON Star 80 (1983)
528 JOSEF SOMMER Man on a Swing (1974)
536 JOANNE BARON SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
548 HENRY SILVA Shoot (1976)
581 ELIZABETH BANKS Spider-Man (2002)
581 ELIZABETH BANKS Spider-Man 2 (2004)
581 ELIZABETH BANKS Spider-Man 3 (2007)
599 NICKY KATT RIDING THE BULLET (2004)
609 LOUISE FLETCHER Brainstorm (1983)
610 HAL HOLBROOK Midway (1976)
615 MICHAEL ARTHUR SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
632 PAM GRIER Escape from L.A. (1996)
648 DAVID ARQUETTE RIDING THE BULLET (2004)
658 SEAN ASTIN WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
661 MATT MALLOY WIND (1992)
671 WILLIAM SHATNER Falcon Down (2000)
692 ROBERT PICARDO STAR 80 (1983)
698 JAMES MARSDEN WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
721 SCOTT L. SCHWARTZ SPIDER-MAN (2002)
725 BARBARA HERSHEY Riding the Bullet (2004)
750 ROBERT CARRADINE Escape from L.A. (1996)
799 BRUCE CAMPBELL Escape from L.A. (1996)
799 BRUCE CAMPBELL Spider-Man (2002)
799 BRUCE CAMPBELL Spider-Man 2 (2004)
799 BRUCE CAMPBELL Spider-Man 3 (2007)
802 VALERIA GOLINO Escape from L.A. (1996)
804 JOHN LANDIS Spider-Man 2 (2004)
805 JANE FONDA Sunday in New York (1963)
809 ROBERT MITCHUM Corvette K-225 (1943)
809 ROBERT MITCHUM Midway (1976)
809 ROBERT MITCHUM Waiting for Sunset (1995)
809 ROBERT MITCHUM We’ve Never Been Licked (1943)
812 ROGER REES STAR 80 (1983)
819 THERESA RUSSELL Spider-Man 3 (2007)
875 JENIFER LEWIS RENAISSANCE MAN (1994)
912 ARTHUR TOVEY Autumn Leaves (1956)
912 ARTHUR TOVEY The Best Man (1964)
919 PAT MORITA Midway (1976)
923 GEORGE TAKEI BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (1959)
923 GEORGE TAKEI PT 109 (1963)
940 TY COPEMAN SPIDER-MAN (2002)
963 JENNY AGUTTER Dominique (1980)
965 GARY RODRIGUEZ RACE (1998)
983 JAMES KEANE Three Days of the Condor (1975)
991 TED RAIMI SPIDER-MAN (2002)
991 TED RAIMI SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
991 TED RAIMI SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)
994 PAUL EDNEY SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)
995 ROB LOWE CLASS (1983)
1000 LELAND ORSER ESCAPE FROM L.A. (1996)
Actors on the 2000 list who have since fallen off but worked with Cliff are shown below, Rank is for 2000.
56 HENRY FONDA Midway (1976)
56 HENRY FONDA The Best Man (1964)
56 HENRY FONDA Too Late the Hero (1970)
75 CAMERON MITCHELL As the Sea Rages (1959)
93 HARRY CAREY JR. The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
99 DENHOLM ELLIOTT Too Late the Hero (1970)
100 IAN WOLFE All in a Night’s Work (1961)
100 IAN WOLFE Corvette K-225 (1943)
132 GLENN FORD Midway (1976)
137 CARROLL BAKER Star 80 (1983)
149 TELLY SAVALAS The Interns (1962)
155 ROYAL DANO Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973)
155 ROYAL DANO The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
161 PAUL BARTEL Escape from L.A. (1996)
161 PAUL BARTEL Race (1998)
164 HARRY ANDREWS 633 Squadron (1964)
164 HARRY ANDREWS Too Late the Hero (1970)
165 R.G. ARMSTRONG J.W. Coop (1971)
165 R.G. ARMSTRONG The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
185 KEVIN MCCARTHY The Best Man (1964)
207 WILLIAM HOLDEN Picnic (1955)
207 WILLIAM HOLDEN The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
219 ELISHA COOK JR. The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
221 JOHN CRAWFORD J.W. Coop (1971)
222 BESS FLOWERS All in a Night’s Work (1961)
222 BESS FLOWERS Autumn Leaves (1956)
237 PETER LAWFORD Corvette K-225 (1943)
241 BRODERICK CRAWFORD Up from the Beach (1965)
245 SLIM PICKENS Up from the Beach (1965)
253 ROBERT WEBBER Midway (1976)
257 MICHEL PICCOLI Masquerade (1965)
258 DABNEY COLEMAN Midway (1976)
271 PETER BROCCO The Interns (1962)
271 PETER BROCCO Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
307 MATT CLARK The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
319 DONALD MOFFAT The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
338 IAN BANNEN Too Late the Hero (1970)
350 L.Q. JONES Battle of the Coral Sea (1959)
350 L.Q. JONES The Naked and the Dead (1958)
358 CLAIRE BLOOM Charly (1968)
394 ALDO RAY The Naked and the Dead (1958)
396 RICHARD JAECKEL The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
396 RICHARD JAECKEL The Naked and the Dead (1958)
399 NEHEMIAH PERSOFF The Big Show (1961)
409 ROD TAYLOR Sunday in New York (1963)
451 DANA ANDREWS The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
451 DANA ANDREWS The Pilot (1980)
466 KENNETH MCMILLAN Malone (1987)
471 GENEVIEVE BUJOLD Obsession (1976)
508 ROBERT BLAKE PT 109 (1963)
522 RED BUTTONS Up from the Beach (1965)
529 NORMAN ALDEN The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
530 NORMAN FELL PT 109 (1963)
532 JIM BACKUS My Six Loves (1963)
532 JIM BACKUS Sunday in New York (1963)
562 PAUL BRYAR Corvette K-225 (1943)
562 PAUL BRYAR The Naked and the Dead (1958)
575 JACK HAWKINS Masquerade (1965)
585 HAMILTON CAMP Family Tree (1999)
596 ADOLFO CELI The Honey Pot (1967)
602 MAGGIE SMITH The Honey Pot (1967)
613 JOHN LE MESURIER Masquerade (1965)
617 PAUL FREES Midway (1976)
617 PAUL FREES The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
626 BILLY BECK The Best Man (1964)
650 ARTHUR MALET Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973)
657 DEBBIE REYNOLDS My Six Loves (1963)
665 MARIA SCHELL As the Sea Rages (1959)
670 EDWARD ALBERT Midway (1976)
678 PAUL WINFIELD Assignment Berlin (1998)
686 MITCHELL RYAN Midway (1976)
687 LAUREN HUTTON Malone (1987)
696 TUTTE LEMKOW Masquerade (1965)
714 ERIK HOLLAND The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
727 DIANE BAKER The Pilot (1980)
728 JOSH MOSTEL Star 80 (1983)
732 ARTHUR O’CONNELL Gidget (1959)
732 ARTHUR O’CONNELL Picnic (1955)
737 SAMUEL FULLER Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
758 MICHAEL HIGGINS Wind (1992)
782 LEONARD TERMO Family Tree (1999)
783 JAMES FLAVIN Corvette K-225 (1943)
787 ISAAC HAYES Escape from L.A. (1996)
816 CARLETON YOUNG The Big Show (1961)
818 DENNIS BURKLEY Malone (1987)
830 SUSAN STRASBERG Picnic (1955)
848 FRANK LATIMORE The Honey Pot (1967)
872 ROBERT CULP PT 109 (1963)
872 ROBERT CULP Sunday in New York (1963)
882 DEAN MARTIN All in a Night’s Work (1961)
891 GREGORY WALCOTT Midway (1976)
904 ROGER CORMAN With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010)
914 DOUG MCCLURE Gidget (1959)
923 GEORGE FURTH The Best Man (1964)
951 PERCY HERBERT Too Late the Hero (1970)
952 CHARLES GRAY Masquerade (1965)
964 TOM HEATON Malone (1987)
973 JEAN SIMMONS Dominique (1980)
990 STEFAN SCHNABEL The Big Show (1961)
Cliff worked with 24 Oscar winners, a number I find disappointing considering the 60 years or so covering his film career.
BARRY FITZGERALD Corvette K-225 (1943)
BRODERICK CRAWFORD Up from the Beach (1965)
CHARLTON HESTON Midway (1976)
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN Brainstorm (1983)
ERNEST BORGNINE Shoot (1976)
FAYE DUNAWAY Three Days of the Condor (1975)
GERALDINE PAGE J.W. Coop (1971)
HENRY FONDA Midway (1976)
HENRY FONDA The Best Man (1964)
HENRY FONDA Too Late the Hero (1970)
J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man (2002)
J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man 2 (2004)
J. K. SIMMONS Spider-Man 3 (2007)
JAMES COBURN Midway (1976)
JANE FONDA Sunday in New York (1963)
JOAN CRAWFORD Autumn Leaves (1956)
LOUISE FLETCHER Brainstorm (1983)
MAGGIE SMITH The Honey Pot (1967)
MICHAEL CAINE Too Late the Hero (1970)
NICOLAS CAGE WITH GREAT POWER: THE STAN LEE STORY (2010)
OCTAVIA SPENCER SPIDER-MAN (2002)
RED BUTTONS Up from the Beach (1965)
REX HARRISON The Honey Pot (1967)
ROBERT DUVALL The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972)
SHIRLEY MACLAINE All in a Night’s Work (1961)
SUSAN HAYWARD The Honey Pot (1967)
VANESSA REDGRAVE Out of Season (1975)
WILLIAM HOLDEN Picnic (1955)
WILLIAM HOLDEN The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
Hey Dan. These are some massive awesome lists. I think that he just fell off the list is pretty impressive. So Malone got the boot. I am about to do some trimming of my collection as well. Midway is a movie with lots of connections. Actually 24 Oscar winners is pretty low for an actor that made movies in 6 decades. Even worse only two Bess Flowers movies….how can that be?….lol.
Glad you caught that Gremlin, did you expose it to sunlight?
I’ve seen 14 of the 41 films on the chart. Favorites include all three Spiderman movies, Brainstorm, Midway, Three Days of the Condor, Too Late the Hero and 633 Squadron.
I’ve never seen his Oscar-winning role Charly. Picnic is another one I’ve missed.
Good to see Spider-Man 2 topping the charts, probably the best of the 6 Spider-Man movies so far. It’s the one with Dr. Octopus.
Looking at the trivia – I didn’t know he was considered for Sam Loomis in Psycho, interesting. I remember him being blacklisted by Hollywood back in the 70s.
Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up!
I hope you catch that pesky gremlin Bruce.
Cliff Robertson eh… I should add him to my video list.
Midway and Three Days of the Condor were sizable hits at the box office back then, wasn’t expecting that. I saw Midway at the cinema in seat shaking Sensurround. That gimmick wasn’t as effective on Midway as it was on Earthquake. I saw one more Sensurround movie in the 70s, the theatrical version of Battlestar Galactica.
Hey Steve…..that gremlin was caught and destroyed…..at one point during the weekend the entire database was “dead in the water”…as all the information locked up…..apparently it is getting very very big….and even a small change causes a domino effect (WoC’s wording). But today all the dominoes are back up…lol.
I, like you, saw Midway in theaters. Still can’t believe they killed off Mr. Heston. I do not remember it being in Sensurround….I imagine London had state of the art theaters versus the theaters I had growing up. Thanks for the feedback and good wishes.
As I was among those requesting a Cliff Robertson page, I want to thank you for this box office info ? I hope you manage to permanently destroy that gremlin and put up the page. I will comment after. Just one note, I’m not sure if Robertson actually acted in Spider-Man 2 and 3, or if he appeared as parts of flashbacks from the first Spider-Man.
Hey PhilHOF…..Cliff has a decent size role in Spidey 1. He returned, via flashback, in parts 2 and 3. In Spidey 2 he encourages Peter to stick with being Spidey, while in Spidey 3, Robertson appears in his death scene, only this time with a different killer (Sandman). That turned out to be the final scene in Cliff’s movie career. Hoping to have a Cliff page done soon.
Hi Bruce, thanks, you have better recollection of the Spideys that I do. I see that his two brief appearances in the second and third of the series provided him with a big boost in his average box office 🙂
Hey PhilHOF17…..gotta admit…..I had to get a little bit of internet help to make sure I was remembering things correctly. The plot twist in Spidey 3 concerning the death of Uncle Ben is one of the least impressive twists….but it got Cliff in the movie.
Thrilled you were able to publish a table despite the gremlin!
I have seen 10 Cliff Robertson movies. Five of these are in the Top 10.
The highest ranked film I have seen is Picnic.
The highest ranked film I have NOT seen is Spider-Man.
The lowest ranked film I have seen is The Girl Most Likely.
My favourite Cliff Robertson movies are:
Three Days of the Condor
Sunday in New York
Picnic
The Devil’s Brigade
The other films I have seen in UMR are:
Midway
PT 109
Autumn Leaves
The Best Man
Gidget
Hey Flora
1. Thanks for the visit and the comments……all are greatly appreciated.
2. I have seen 13….though 2 of them…Malone and All In A Night’s Work….I have no memory of his role at all.
3. The first two Spider-Man movies were fun……he made a good Uncle Ben…….I like that the end of his career had a blockbuster franchise….even if his part was small
4. Three Days of the Condor is on my list of favorite Robertson movies too…..just recently watched that one again….still not sure if he is a good guy or bad guy……or just a middle guy…lol.
5. I actually saw Midway in theaters with my day…..he was part of a stellar cast for sure.
Good feedback as always.