Though highly fictionalized and more than a bit fantastical, this biographical drama offers a fascinating look at the life and work of magician Harry Houdini. Starring Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher. Screenplay by Philip Yordan, based on the novel by Harold Kellock. Image Credit: Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstockĭirected by George Marshall. Tour our photo gallery of Curtis’s 15 greatest films, including the titles listed above, as well as “Some Like It Hot,” “Spartacus,” “Operation Petticoat” and more. Selznick in “The Scarlett O’Hara War” (1980).Ĭurtis is the father of actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis with his first wife, fellow thespian Janet Leigh, proving that sometimes talent runs in the family. On the TV side, he competed at the Emmys as Best Movie/Mini Actor for playing mega producer David O. His final brush with awards recognition came for playing against type as a serial killer in Richard Fleischer‘s “The Boston Strangler” (1968), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination as Best Drama Actor. The film brought him additional noms at the Golden Globes and BAFTA. He earned his one and only Oscar bid the following year as Best Actor for Stanley Kramer‘s “The Defiant Ones” (1958), which centered on two escaped convicts (Curtis and fellow Best Actor nominee Sidney Poitier) who must set their racial animosity aside in order to survive. The film brought him a BAFTA nomination as Best Actor. He first gained attention as a serious actor thanks to Alexander Mackendrick‘s searing drama “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957), in which he played an unscrupulous publicist who agrees to do the bidding of an amoral Broadway critic ( Burt Lancaster). But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.īorn in 1925 in The Bronx, New York, Curtis got his start in movies thanks mainly to his good looks. Tony Curtis was an Oscar-nominated performer who starred in dozens of movies throughout his career, becoming famous as the charismatic leading man of romantic comedies, action films, and prestige dramas.

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