AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars
Created by apronikoff.
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In 1999 AFI continued their "100 Years" series with "100 Years...100 Stars." This list sought to identify the top 25 greatest American actors and the 25 greatest American actresses of all time. The criteria was that the performer (or team of performers) must have made their screen debut prior to 1950 or whose death made a complete body of work.
This list was designed for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the best films of those 50 stars. Using imdb rankings, I have identified the five most highly regarded films for each performer (excluding TV as well as cameos or other very small parts). I have also excluded duplicates, so for example the five films for Fred Astaire include collaborations with Ginger Rogers that do not appear in her five films.
Enjoy!
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1 new
Casablanca
1942, in 39 top lists Check -
2 new
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1948, in 25 top lists Check -
3 new
The Maltese Falcon
1941, in 27 top lists Check -
4 new
The Big Sleep
1946, in 22 top lists Check -
5 new
To Have and Have Not
1944, in 16 top lists Check -
6 new
North by Northwest
1959, in 30 top lists Check -
7 new
Notorious
1946, in 24 top lists Check -
8 new
Bringing Up Baby
1938, in 23 top lists Check -
9 new
His Girl Friday
1940, in 22 top lists Check -
10 new
The Philadelphia Story
1940, in 22 top lists Check -
11 new
It's a Wonderful Life
1946, in 33 top lists Check -
12 new
Rear Window
1954, in 31 top lists Check -
13 new
Vertigo
1958, in 42 top lists Check -
14 new
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939, in 16 top lists Check -
15 new
Rope
1948, in 10 top lists Check -
16 new
The Godfather
1972, in 42 top lists Check -
17 new
Apocalypse Now
1979, in 37 top lists Check -
18 new
On the Waterfront
1954, in 32 top lists Check -
19 new
A Streetcar Named Desire
1951, in 15 top lists Check -
20 new
Viva Zapata!
1952, in 2 top lists Check -
21 new
Top Hat
1935, in 14 top lists Check -
22 new
Swing Time
1936, in 13 top lists Check -
23 new
The Gay Divorcee
1934, in 6 top lists Check -
24 new
Shall We Dance
1937, in 0 top lists Check -
25 new
The Band Wagon
1953, in 14 top lists Check -
26 new
12 Angry Men
1957, in 30 top lists Check -
27 new
C'era una volta il West
1968 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West, in 28 top lists Check -
28 new
The Grapes of Wrath
1940, in 24 top lists Check -
29 new
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943, in 14 top lists Check -
30 new
The Lady Eve
1941, in 20 top lists Check -
31 new
It Happened One Night
1934, in 29 top lists Check -
32 new
Gone with the Wind
1939, in 31 top lists Check -
33 new
Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ
1925 — a.k.a. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, in 6 top lists Check -
34 new
Mutiny on the Bounty
1935, in 6 top lists Check -
35 new
The Merry Widow
1925, in 6 top lists Check -
36 new
White Heat
1949, in 15 top lists Check -
37 new
Angels with Dirty Faces
1938, in 9 top lists Check -
38 new
One, Two, Three
1961, in 4 top lists Check -
39 new
The Public Enemy
1931, in 13 top lists Check -
40 new
The Roaring Twenties
1939, in 8 top lists Check -
41 new
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961, in 7 top lists Check -
42 new
Inherit the Wind
1960, in 4 top lists Check -
43 new
Fury
1936, in 12 top lists Check -
44 new
Libeled Lady
1936, in 3 top lists Check -
45 new
Captains Courageous
1937, in 6 top lists Check -
46 new
City Lights
1931, in 34 top lists Check -
47 new
Modern Times
1936, in 30 top lists Check -
48 new
The Great Dictator
1940, in 25 top lists Check -
49 new
The Kid
1921, in 17 top lists Check -
50 new
The Gold Rush
1925, in 29 top lists Check
Last updated on Jan 9, 2013; source