Want to know the best Jack Elam movies? How about the worst Jack Elam movies? Curious about Jack Elam box office grosses or which Jack Elam movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Jack Elam movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Jack Elam (1920-2003) was an American actor. Elam was a “go to character actor” for five different decades. His most distinguishing physical quality was his misaligned eye. Before his career in acting, he took several jobs in finance and served two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His IMDb page shows 207 acting credits from 1944 to 1995. This page will rank Jack Elam movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. To do well in the rankings, a movie needed to do well at the box office, be liked by both critics and audiences and earn some award recognition. We listed 80 movies in our rankings, but there are some of his movies that were not included. This was due to lack of box office information.
Jack Elam Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Jack Elam 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 Jack Elam movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Jack Elam movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Jack Elam movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Jack Elam 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 Jack Elam movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Jack Elam movie won.
- Sort Jack Elam 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.
Check out Jack Elam’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time
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Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globe® and Emmy® are registered trademarks.
Jack Elam, one of my favorite character actors, a memorable face in countless westerns.
I’ve seen 35 of the 80 films on the chart, probably more. My favorites include – High Noon, Gunfight at the OK Corral, Vera Cruz, Man from Laramie, Man Without a Star, Support Your Local Sheriff, Support Your Local Gunfighter, Rio Lobo, The Villain, Kismet, Cannonball Run, The Comancheros and Once Upon a Time in the West.
High Noon tops the UMR and critics chart, Vera Cruz no.1 at the box office chart.
Jack Elam’s final lines in Support Your Local Gunfighter always make me laugh – “Now, the way this story ends: those two go to Denver to get married. And me… I go on to become a big star in Italian westerns.”
Nice work Bruce. Vote Up!
Jack Elam is # 828 on the 2020 Oracle of Bacon list. These are the other actors on the list he has appeared with.
1 CHRISTOPHER LEE Hannie Caulder (1971)
11 ERNEST BORGNINE Hannie Caulder (1971)
11 ERNEST BORGNINE Jubal (1956)
11 ERNEST BORGNINE Vera Cruz (1954)
16 DENNIS HOPPER Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
23 ROD STEIGER Jubal (1956)
36 ANTHONY QUINN Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
43 CHRISTOPHER LLOYD Suburban Commando (1991)
45 GEORGE KENNEDY Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
49 FRANK WELKER Cannonball Run II (1984)
49 FRANK WELKER Suburban Commando (1991)
52 NED BEATTY Big Bad John (1990)
54 ROGER MOORE The Cannonball Run (1981)
57 HARRY DEAN STANTON Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
59 CLAUDIA CARDINALE Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
61 BURT REYNOLDS Cannonball Run II (1984)
61 BURT REYNOLDS The Cannonball Run (1981)
65 JACKIE CHAN Cannonball Run II (1984)
65 JACKIE CHAN The Cannonball Run (1981)
81 ROBERT MITCHUM The Way West (1967)
84 BRUCE DERN Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
84 BRUCE DERN Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
99 RIP TORN Jinxed! (1982)
106 SHIRLEY MACLAINE Artists and Models (1955)
106 SHIRLEY MACLAINE Cannonball Run II (1984)
107 MICKEY ROONEY Baby Face Nelson (1957)
107 MICKEY ROONEY Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970)
107 MICKEY ROONEY Quicksand (1950)
108 JAMES MASON One Way Street (1950)
114 JASON ROBARDS Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
114 JASON ROBARDS Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
126 HENRY FONDA Firecreek (1968)
126 HENRY FONDA Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
131 BURT LANCASTER Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
131 BURT LANCASTER Vera Cruz (1954)
158 SHELLEY WINTERS My Man and I (1952)
163 CLINT HOWARD The Wild Country (1970)
167 KRIS KRISTOFFERSON Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
189 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER The Villain (1979)
191 PETER FONDA Hawken’s Breed (1987)
191 PETER FONDA The Cannonball Run (1981)
193 KIRK DOUGLAS Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
193 KIRK DOUGLAS Man Without a Star (1955)
193 KIRK DOUGLAS The Last Sunset (1961)
193 KIRK DOUGLAS The Villain (1979)
193 KIRK DOUGLAS The Way West (1967)
196 CLORIS LEACHMAN Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
196 CLORIS LEACHMAN The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991)
207 JEFF COREY Rawhide (1951)
223 JAMES COBURN Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
237 PETER FALK Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
253 RANCE HOWARD The Wild Country (1970)
262 KEENAN WYNN Love That Brute (1950)
262 KEENAN WYNN Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
262 KEENAN WYNN The Night of the Grizzly (1966)
265 HENRY SILVA Cannonball Run II (1984)
265 HENRY SILVA Never a Dull Moment (1968)
296 JAMES GARNER Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
296 JAMES GARNER Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
313 AVA GARDNER Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
315 CHARLES BRONSON 4 for Texas (1963)
315 CHARLES BRONSON Jubal (1956)
315 CHARLES BRONSON Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
315 CHARLES BRONSON Vera Cruz (1954)
334 PETER JASON Rio Lobo (1970)
344 JOHN WAYNE Rio Lobo (1970)
344 JOHN WAYNE The Comancheros (1961)
352 TELLY SAVALAS Cannonball Run II (1984)
366 ANN-MARGRET Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
366 ANN-MARGRET The Villain (1979)
368 CESAR ROMERO Love That Brute (1950)
368 CESAR ROMERO Vera Cruz (1954)
372 LLOYD BRIDGES High Noon (1952)
372 LLOYD BRIDGES Wichita (1955)
377 GLENN FORD Appointment in Honduras (1953)
377 GLENN FORD Jubal (1956)
377 GLENN FORD Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
377 GLENN FORD The Last Challenge (1967)
385 EDDIE ALBERT The Gun Runners (1958)
398 MEL FERRER Rancho Notorious (1952)
398 MEL FERRER The Norseman (1978)
406 LIONEL STANDER Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
413 JOSEPH COTTEN The Last Sunset (1961)
423 BO HOPKINS Big Bad John (1990)
462 STUART WHITMAN Appointment in Honduras (1953)
462 STUART WHITMAN The Comancheros (1961)
491 LARRY MILLER Suburban Commando (1991)
496 VIVECA LINDFORS Moonfleet (1955)
502 RICHARD WIDMARK The Way West (1967)
510 JOHN IRELAND Big Bad John (1990)
510 JOHN IRELAND Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
510 JOHN IRELAND The Bushwhackers (1952)
525 RAQUEL WELCH Hannie Caulder (1971)
532 DUB TAYLOR Cannonball Run II (1984)
532 DUB TAYLOR Creature from Black Lake (1976)
532 DUB TAYLOR Lure of the Wilderness (1952)
532 DUB TAYLOR Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
532 DUB TAYLOR Pony Express Rider (1976)
532 DUB TAYLOR Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)
532 DUB TAYLOR Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
532 DUB TAYLOR The Wild Country (1970)
532 DUB TAYLOR The Winds of Autumn (1976)
537 WOODY STRODE Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
537 WOODY STRODE The Last Rebel (1971)
543 CHEECH MARIN Cannonball Run II (1984)
592 ANGIE DICKINSON The Last Challenge (1967)
597 PAUL FIX Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
597 PAUL FIX Grayeagle (1977)
597 PAUL FIX Night Passage (1957)
597 PAUL FIX Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
610 ANTHONY ZERBE Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)
623 BRION JAMES Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)
626 BEN JOHNSON Grayeagle (1977)
626 BEN JOHNSON Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)
626 BEN JOHNSON The Rare Breed (1966)
628 GEORGE SANDERS Moonfleet (1955)
629 ROYAL DANO The Far Country (1954)
629 ROYAL DANO The Last Challenge (1967)
660 LEE MARVIN The Comancheros (1961)
675 DOM DELUISE Cannonball Run II (1984)
675 DOM DELUISE The Cannonball Run (1981)
710 SALLY FIELD The Way West (1967)
717 SLIM PICKENS Hawmps! (1976)
717 SLIM PICKENS Never a Dull Moment (1968)
717 SLIM PICKENS Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
717 SLIM PICKENS Pony Express Rider (1976)
721 LOUIS JOURDAN Bird of Paradise (1951)
729 MATT CLARK Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
741 GABRIELE FERZETTI Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
749 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Artists and Models (1955)
749 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
749 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
749 KATHLEEN FREEMAN The Far Country (1954)
749 KATHLEEN FREEMAN The Norseman (1978)
760 LEE VAN CLEEF Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
760 LEE VAN CLEEF High Noon (1952)
760 LEE VAN CLEEF Kansas City Confidential (1952)
760 LEE VAN CLEEF Pardners (1956)
760 LEE VAN CLEEF Princess of the Nile (1954)
768 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Never a Dull Moment (1968)
780 JOHN DEHNER Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
780 JOHN DEHNER Gun Belt (1953)
780 JOHN DEHNER Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
784 BETTE DAVIS Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
794 ALEX ROCCO Cannonball Run II (1984)
825 NEHEMIAH PERSOFF The Comancheros (1961)
860 MIKE MAZURKI 4 for Texas (1963)
860 MIKE MAZURKI Kismet (1955)
860 MIKE MAZURKI Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
895 JOHN CRAWFORD The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)
895 JOHN CRAWFORD The Ring (1952)
928 YAPHET KOTTO 4 for Texas (1963)
948 FRANK SINATRA 4 for Texas (1963)
948 FRANK SINATRA Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
952 BRIAN KEITH The Rare Breed (1966)
975 RICHARD JAECKEL 4 for Texas (1963)
975 RICHARD JAECKEL Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
975 RICHARD JAECKEL The Gun Runners (1958)
Jack appeared with 35 Oscar winners.
ANNE BAXTER A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
ANTHONY QUINN Ride, Vaquero! (1953)
BEN JOHNSON Grayeagle (1977)
BEN JOHNSON Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981)
BEN JOHNSON The Rare Breed (1966)
BETTE DAVIS Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
BURT LANCASTER Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
CLAIRE TREVOR Man Without a Star (1955)
CLAIRE TREVOR My Man and I (1952)
CLARK GABLE Key to the City (1950)
CLORIS LEACHMAN Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
CLORIS LEACHMAN The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991)
DEAN JAGGER Firecreek (1968)
DEAN JAGGER Rawhide (1951)
DONALD CRISP THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)
DOROTHY MALONE Artists and Models (1955)
DOROTHY MALONE The Bushwhackers (1952)
DOROTHY MALONE The Last Sunset (1961)
ERNEST BORGNINE Hannie Caulder (1971)
ERNEST BORGNINE Jubal (1956)
ERNEST BORGNINE Vera Cruz (1954)
FRANK SINATRA 4 for Texas (1963)
FRANK SINATRA Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
GARY COOPER High Noon (1952)
GARY COOPER Vera Cruz (1954)
GEORGE KENNEDY Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
GEORGE SANDERS Moonfleet (1955)
GRACE KELLY High Noon (1952)
HENRY FONDA Firecreek (1968)
HENRY FONDA Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
JAMES COBURN Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
JAMES STEWART Firecreek (1968)
JAMES STEWART Night Passage (1957)
JAMES STEWART The Far Country (1954)
JAMES STEWART The Man from Laramie (1955)
JAMES STEWART The Rare Breed (1966)
JASON ROBARDS Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
JASON ROBARDS Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
JO VAN FLEET GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL (1957)
JOHN WAYNE Rio Lobo (1970)
JOHN WAYNE The Comancheros (1961)
KATY JURADO Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957)
KATY JURADO High Noon (1952)
KATY JURADO Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
LEE MARVIN The Comancheros (1961)
LORETTA YOUNG Key to the City (1950)
RITA MORENO The Ring (1952)
ROD STEIGER Jubal (1956)
SALLY FIELD The Way West (1967)
SHELLEY WINTERS My Man and I (1952)
SHIRLEY MACLAINE Artists and Models (1955)
SHIRLEY MACLAINE Cannonball Run II (1984)
SUSAN HAYWARD Rawhide (1951)
TERESA WRIGHT Count the Hours (1953)
THOMAS MITCHELL HIGH NOON (1952)
THOMAS MITCHELL POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961)
WALTER BRENNAN A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
WALTER BRENNAN Lure of the Wilderness (1952)
WALTER BRENNAN Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
WALTER BRENNAN The Far Country (1954)
Hey Dan
1. As always…thanks for providing these trivia lists on Jack Elam.
2. Good to see that he is holding onto his spot on the Oracle list…..not bad for an actor that has been gone for screens for so long.
3. First list is pretty impressive. Looks like another great character gets the honors of most frequent Oracle co-star with 8 movies.
4. Lots of legends on the first list as well.
5. When looking at his Oscar winning co-stars….35 is actually lower than I would have guessed…..I guess it appeared in too many low budget westerns.
As always…good stuff.
I have seen 30 Jack Elam movies, including 8 of the top 10.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is High Noon.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Pardners.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is My Man and I.
Favourite Jack Elam movies:
High Noon
Gunfight at the OK Corral
Vera Cruz
The Man From Laramie
The Far Country
Man Without a Star
Wichita
Pocketful of Miracles
Once Upon a Time in the West
Support Your Local Sheriff!
The Last Sunset
Jubal
Kiss Me Deadly
Rancho Notorious
Kansas City Confidential
Kismet
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Quicksand
Other Jack Elam Movies I Have seen:
Artists and Models
The Cannonball Run
Key to the City
Pat Garett and Billy the Kid
Moonfleet
Dirty Dingus Magee
Firecreek
4 For Texas
The Rare Breed
The Way West
The Last Challenge
My Man and I
Is that the most films you’ve seen by 1 actor?
Dan, I don’t know if you are asking Bob or me if our total films seen is the most by any actor. I have seen 56 Gregory Peck movies, 62 Richard Widmark movies and 63 Glenn Ford movies, according to my letterboxd account. That site includes films like documentaries. There are a number of character actors whose output is so large that I may have seen more films of theirs than these leading men.
Flora
I was asking you, since 30 was high. I think Johnny Mack Brown, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers are the ones I’ve most seen. Character actors, one comes to mind, Charles King who is in hundreds of B westerns and lots of serials. I’m actually 99 feature films away from seeing my film # 25,000 after Black Widow today.
Dan
25,000 movies is impressive. I wish I would have kept track like you did. Since using Letterboxd…I have a confirmed 4,562 movies since 2014. Add in another 1,418 movies in 2013…and I am sitting at 5,980 movies since 2013. That only leaves about 40 plus years of movies I did not keep track off. But…we can not all be as good as Dan the man! As I have said many times…your tracking skills are off the chart impressive!
Hey Flora…my leader in the clubhouse is Michael Caine with 92 movies seen. I know one day…he will be the first to cross triple digits for me.
Hey Flora…thanks for the feedback on Jack Elam. Tally count: Bob 33, Flora 30 and me at 25. I have seen 10 of your favorites and 4 of your others. My favorites would include both Garner Support movies, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Rare Breed (Bern1960 likes this one a lot) and Gunfight At The OK Corral. Good stuff as always.
When I was growing up in the 1950s the type of movie product that was churned out by the studios required the ready availability of a stock troop of skilled and type-cast supporting actors who would almost eternally play small roles of one size or another such as those of sidekicks/family doctors/inferior villains and the like.
In short they were eternal ‘stooges’ to the big stars like The Duke and Jimmy Stewart and the entertaining Jack Elam was one of those ‘stooges’. In Elam’s case Bruce’s tables above amply illustrate droves of the types of movie about which I am talking and indeed I have seen a whopping 33 of the films that The Work Horse lists.
Other examples of such character actors are Robert J Wilke/Royal Dano [the poor man’s Gregory Peck if you like] Henry Harry Morgan/Chubby Johnson and Lee Van Cleef who did get promoted in the 1960s to bigger roles via the Spaghetti Westerns.
Whilst their roles were normally relatively insignificant – “Just another guy” as On the Waterfront’s Lee J Cobb would have expressed it in a band of outlaws for example – they did get plenty of work because they always seemed to be on our screens.
I give WH’s new Elam page a “Vote Up” because it brings back to me those long-ago days of the 1950s when I spent many happy hours in the cinemas watching films like my Jimmy’s The Far Country/Man from Laramie and Night Passage [all mentioned above] with Jack and his kindred spirits lending the kind of essential support that the big stars required. Anyway thanks Work Horse for giving us this page.
Hey Bob….first of all…thanks for the tally count…..I have always suspected your tally counts would be in the high air with Flora. Tally count: Bob 33, Flora 30 and me at 25. Glad this page was able to bring back some found memories. Good thoughts on Elam and people like Morgan, Johnson and Van Cleef. In the book I mentioned in this page….Van Cleef has a spot in the book with Elam but they left out Morgan and Johnson. I like you, have fond memories of his movies….he is probably one of the first actors I started to connect to other movies….probably for his very distinctive look and his Disney movies of the 1970s. Good stuff as always.
HI BIG BOY: Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. Much appreciated. In terms of “have seens” you have calculated 33 me/30 Flora/25 you. I know it’s boring and repetitive but I can’t resist it-
“Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”
At least that’s apparently the completely accurate quote unlike “Play it again Sam”. Anyway as it is only once in a blue moon that I trump [albeit slenderly by 33 to 30] The Queen of the Have Seens I’m going to take a bow.
Also it’s good to know that spending three-quarters of my boyhood in cinemas watching guys like Elam has had SOME benefit as regards my personal Cogerson stats; though I am reminded of a character in a movie or a book being put down with “YOU never had a boyhood: Clark Gable and Errol Flynn took it all away from you!”
In my case substitute for example Widmark/Wayne/Peck/Laddie and Charlie Bill Stuart as well as Doris/Joan/Deanna. Even Joel couldn’t blame Brando in this instance because my infatuation with him didn’t really begin until well into my teens.
Anyway I hope you and your family have enjoyed the holidays so far and please keep safe.
Great UMR Page
Thank you Mike.