Martin Balsam Movies

Want to know the best Martin Balsam movies?  How about the worst Martin Balsam movies?  Curious about Martin Balsam box office grosses or which Martin Balsam movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Martin Balsam 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.

Martin Balsam (1919-1996) was an Oscar® winning American actor.  He is best known for a number of renowned film roles, including detective Milton Arbogast in 1960’s Psycho, Arnold Burns in 1965’s A Thousand Clowns , Juror #1 in 1957’s 12 Angry Men, and Mr. Green in 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.  His most famous television credit was his role as Murray Klein in the television sitcom Archie Bunker’s Place (1979–1983).  His IMDb page shows 178 acting credits from 1949 to 1997. This page will rank Martin Balsam movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.

1957’s 12 Angry Men

Martin Balsam Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Martin Balsam 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 Martin Balsam movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Martin Balsam movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Martin Balsam movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Martin Balsam movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Martin Balsam movie received.
  • Sort Martin Balsam movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
1962’s Cape Fear

Best IMDb trivia on Martin Balsam

  1. Martin Henry Balsam was born in New York City, New York in 1919.

2.  Martin Balsam served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

3.  Martin Balsam was the first to record the voice of the computer HAL-9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), but was passed over in favor of Douglas Rain because Kubrick thought that Balsam’s voice sounded “too colloquially American” for HAL.

4.  Martin Balsam has appeared in six films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant: On the Waterfront (1954), 12 Angry Men (1957), Psycho (1960), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Little Big Man (1970) and All the President’s Men (1976).

5. Martin Balsam is the father of actress Talia BalsamTalia Balsam has over 100 acting credits on her IMDb page.

6. Martin Balsam would express frustration when fans asking for autographs would only seem to remember him falling backwards down the stairway in Psycho (1960). He felt there were so many other challenging roles he would rather be remembered for. Always charming, he simply smiled and provided the signature, just the same.

Check out Martin Balsam’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

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22 thoughts on “Martin Balsam Movies

  1. A hidden and little unseen gem co-starring Martin Balsam is “Me, Natalie”. Check it out if you can . . . it is also one of Patty Duke’s better on-screen showings.

    I’ve been trying to get a hold of Truman Capote’s “Trilogy” (Balsam with Maureen Stapleton). I am most anxious to see this movie as I’m a big fan of both of these actors.

    I loved Martin Balsam’s performance in “Little Big Man” and “All the President’s Men”, but for me his all-time best movie presence is in “Psycho”.

  2. I saw 20 incuding 12 of top 13. 10s and favorites: all the presidents men, 12 angry men, seven days in may. 10s not favorites: on the waterfront. 9s not favorites: psycho, murder on the orient express, little big man, Bedford incident, cape fear 91. hidden gems Bedford incident, cape fear 62 , taking of Pelham, hombre. he seemed to make every role his and improved every movie he appeared in. Yea Lensman.

    1. Hey bob cox….thanks for sharing your movie thoughts on Martin Balsam. Glad to see All The Presidents Men getting a 10…as that is one of my all-time favorite movies. My mom always talks about the ending of The Bedford Incident….let’s just say that is not one of her all-time favorite endings. I agree that Balsam seemed to make every movie better than he appeared in. Good stuff as always.

  3. “Some actors have a personality that imposes itself on every role. Others disappear totally into whatever part they play. Martin Balsam falls into the latter category. His mon-on-the-street face and physique are ideally suited for heroes, weaklings, and villains–anything the script requires.”

    Rating The Movie Stars 4 Star Martin Balsam Performances – (book 1983)
    1957’s 12 Angry Men
    1957’s Time Limit
    1960’s Psycho
    1965’s A Thousand Clowns
    1969’s Me Natalie
    1973’s Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

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