TopTenREVIEWS presents the film career and movie reviews of Walter Matthau.

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Birthdate: October 1, 1920

Death date: July 1, 2000

Walter Matthau

ACTOR RANKINGS:

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All-time

of 196,448

86
All-time Actor

of 38,418

59
Decades
- 1950s
  
  of 7,577
  
  344
- 1960s
  
  of 10,860
  
  32
- 1970s
  
  of 21,066
  
  90
- 1980s
  
  of 44,733
  
  1,246
- 1990s
  
  of 71,585
  
  348
- 2000s
  
  of 82,712
  
  32,034
Genres
- Action
  
  of 41,620
  
  14,403
- Adventure
  
  of 25,536
  
  14,531
- Biography
  
  of 11,944
  
  1,352
- Comedy
  
  of 84,829
  
  85
- Crime
  
  of 34,310
  
  128
- Documentary
  
  of 9,413
  
  556
- Drama
  
  of 107,166
  
  446
- Family
  
  of 15,342
  
  1,084
- Fantasy
  
  of 17,837
  
  5,643
- History
  
  of 5,929
  
  782
- Musical
  
  of 10,828
  
  471
- Mystery
  
  of 16,955
  
  267
- Romance
  
  of 37,232
  
  379
- Scifi
  
  of 24,983
  
  1,472
- Sports
  
  of 9,438
  
  90
- Teen
  
  of 8,454
  
  382
- Thriller
  
  of 49,529
  
  1,021
- War
  
  of 9,729
  
  1,469
- Western
  
  of 7,069
  
  668

CAREER SPAN

Decade

Movie Score

# Movies

1950s

2.4152

1960s

2.8056

1970s

2.6647

1980s

2.0843

1990s

2.6711

2000s

1.1512

Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews & awards.

Overall Actor Score: Walter Matthau is ranked overall as 3.1280 of of 4 stars

3.1280

Walter Matthau Movie Rankings

Charade (1963)

3.3154

Regina returns home to find her house empty and her husband dead. The police inform her her husband had stolen $250,000 from the government. Now, his former associates begin harassing her, assuming she knows where the money is hidden. ...more about Charade

DVD from $2.42

(13 sellers)

JFK (1991)

3.2375

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, begins investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Skeptical of the FBI's report Garrison presents a list of possible conspirators and motives, including Vice President Johnson. ...more about JFK

DVD from $1.45

(16 sellers)

Walter Matthau starring in Cactus Flower

Cactus Flower (1969)

2.9940

Toni Simmons believes that the only reason her married lover won't leave his wife is because of the children. In truth, her lover, dentist Julian Winston, doesn't have any children. ...more about Cactus Flower

DVD from $3.95

(10 sellers)

Sunshine Boys, The (1975)

2.8906

Lewis and Clark were famous comedians during the vaudeville era; off-stage, though, they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years. ...more about Sunshine Boys

Actor Awards

Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Awards - Best Actor
Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy

DVD from $9.76

(10 sellers)

Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The (1998)

2.8743

The story of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg is told through archival film footage and interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish fans, his former teammates, his friends, and his family. ...more about Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

DVD from $6.39

(8 sellers)

Face in the Crowd, A (1957)

2.8618

Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes is a hobo. Discovered by Marcia Jeffries, he will become a very famous TV star. His success gives him more and more power. ...more about Face in the Crowd

DVD from $8.00

(12 sellers)

Odd Couple, The (1968)

2.8430

Felix Ungar has just broken up with his wife. Despondant, he goes to kill himself but is saved by his friend Oscar Madison. With nowhere else to go, Felix is urged by Oscar to move in with him, at least for a while. ...more about Odd Couple

DVD from $3.90

(12 sellers)

Bad News Bears, The (1976)

2.8352

First of a trilogy of films takes an unflinching look at the underbelly of little league baseball in Southern California. Former minor leaguer Morris Buttermaker is a lazy, beer swilling swimming pool cleaner who takes money to coach the Bears. ...more about Bad News Bears

Actor Awards

BAFTA Awards - Best Actor

DVD from $5.75

(12 sellers)

King Creole (1958)

2.8343

Danny Fisher, young delinquent, flunks out of high school. He quits his job as a busboy in a nightclub, and one night he gets the chance to perform. ...more about King Creole

DVD from $5.64

(11 sellers)

Candy (1968)

2.7836

Not Available on DVD

Fail-Safe (1964)

2.7650

A technical malfunction in the Pentagon's strategic control system causes an erroneous order to be sent to a B-58 squadron on a routine training mission instructing the bombers to fly beyond their fail safe distance. ...more about Fail-Safe

DVD from $13.34

(12 sellers)

Fortune Cookie, The (1966)

2.6828

A cameraman is knocked over during a football game. His brother in law as the king of the ambulance chasing lawyers starts a suit while he's still knocked out. The cameraman is against it until he hears that his ex-wife will be coming to see him. ...more about Fortune Cookie

Actor Awards

Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Supporting Actor

DVD from $5.99

(14 sellers)

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

2.6743

In order to free his best friend Bondi, Jack Burns lets himself be imprisoned only to find out that Bondi does not want to escape. Thus Burns breaks out on his own and is afterwards being chased by sheriff Johnson with helicopters and jeeps. ...more about Lonely Are the Brave

Not Available on DVD

Hopscotch (1980)

2.6723

Ex-CIA agent Kendig decides to get back into 'the game' by sending his memoirs, chapter by chapter, to the world's intellegence agencies. ...more about Hopscotch

Actor Awards

Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy

DVD from $17.76

(11 sellers)

I.Q. (1994)

2.6094

Edward Walters, an auto mechanic, falls for the intelligent and beautiful Catherine Boyd. It is love at first sight. There is however a problem, she's engaged to jerk James Moreland. ...more about I.Q.

DVD from $3.90

(11 sellers)

I'm Not Rappaport (1996)

2.5963

Old Nat Moyer is a talker, a philosopher, and a troublemaker with a fanciful imagination. His companion is Midge Carter, who is half-blind, but still the super of an apartment house. When he is threatened with retirement, Nat battles on his behalf. ...more about I'm Not Rappaport

DVD from $5.95

(9 sellers)

Bigger Than Life (1956)

2.5960

Schoolteacher and family man Ed Avery, who's been suffering bouts of severe pain and even blackouts, is hospitalized with what's diagnosed as a rare inflammation of the arteries. ...more about Bigger Than Life

Not Available on DVD

Hello, Dolly! (1969)

2.5828

A matchmaker named Dolly Levi takes a trip to Yonkers, New York to see the "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder. While there, she convinces him, his two stock clerks and his niece and her beau to go to New York City. ...more about Hello

Actor Awards

BAFTA Awards - Best Actor

DVD from $4.86

(14 sellers)

California Suite (1978)

2.5636

4 totally different and seperated stories of guests in a hotel. ...more about California Suite

DVD from $3.92

(11 sellers)

Earthquake (1974)

2.5516

Construction Engineer Stuart Graff is estranged from his jealously possessive wife, Remy, and has an affair with Denise Marshall, the widow of a co-worker. ...more about Earthquake

DVD from $5.95

(10 sellers)

Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (1974)

2.5324

Four armed men hijack a New York City subway train and demand 1 million dollars - which must be delivered in 1 hour - for the train and the lives of the passengers held hostage. Lt. ...more about Taking of Pelham One Two Three

DVD from $9.27

(10 sellers)

New Leaf, A (1971)

2.4779

Examines the vapid life of a born to wealth New Yorker. After he spends all of what was left to him, his questing after more (without bothersome labor) changes him. The main agent of change is a phenomenally passive and unassuming Elaine May. ...more about New Leaf

Not Available on DVD

Charley Varrick (1973)

2.4325

Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves, they are surprised to discover a very LARGE amount of money. ...more about Charley Varrick

Actor Awards

BAFTA Awards - Best Actor

DVD from $3.92

(11 sellers)

Grass Harp, The (1995)

2.4042

After his mother's death, Collin Fenwick goes to live with his father's cousins, the wealthy, avaricious, and controlling Verena Talbo, and her compliant, earthy sister Dolly. ...more about Grass Harp

DVD from $7.00

(12 sellers)

Grumpier Old Men (1995)

2.3676

Things don't seem to change much in Wabasha County: Max and John are still fighting after 35 years, Grandpa still drinks, smokes, and chases women , and nobody's been able to catch the fabled "Catfish Hunter", a gigantic catfish that actually smiles at ...more about Grumpier Old Men

DVD from $1.45

(15 sellers)

Grumpy Old Men (1993)

2.3647

John and Max are elderly men living next door to each other. They're continuously arguing and insulting each other, and have been this way for over 50 years. One day, Ariel, moves into the street. ...more about Grumpy Old Men

DVD from $1.45

(15 sellers)

Front Page, The (1974)

2.2816

Hildy Johnson is the top reporter on a Chicago newspaper during the 1930s. Tired of the whole game he's determined to quit his job to get married. His scheming editor, Walter Burns, has other plans though. ...more about Front Page

DVD from $8.11

(10 sellers)

Dennis the Menace (1993)

2.2498

Dennis, everyone's favorite kid from the comics is back. When his parents have to go out of town, he stays with Mr and Mrs Wilson. The little menace is driving Mr Wilson crazy. But Dennis is just trying to be helpful. Even to the thief he bumps into. ...more about Dennis the Menace

DVD from $6.50

(10 sellers)

Hanging Up (2000)

2.2392

A trio of sisters (Ryan, Keaton, Kudrow) come together at the (possible) imminent death of their father (Matthau), to whom none of them was particularly close. ...more about Hanging Up

DVD from $3.92

(12 sellers)

Mirage (1965)

2.2057

New York City. David Stillwell struggles to recover his memory before the people who are trying to kill him succeed. ...more about Mirage

Not Available on DVD

Guide for the Married Man, A (1967)

2.2036

Robert Morse and Walter Matthau are friends. Though both are married, Matthau discovers Morris is fooling around. When asked about it, Morse passes on the oral history and guide to fooling around without your wife finding out. ...more about Guide for the Married Man

DVD from $6.99

(12 sellers)

Kotch (1971)

2.1617

Joseph Kotcher, a retired traveling salesman, lives with his son Gerald and daughter-in-law Wilma in Los Angeles. ...more about Kotch

Actor Awards

Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Leading Role
Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor

DVD from $6.62

(9 sellers)

House Calls (1978)

2.1332

Charley is a surgeon who's recently lost his wife; he embarks on a tragicomic romantic quest with one woman after another until he meets up with Ann, a singular woman, closer to his own age, who immediately and unexpectedly captures his heart. ...more about House Calls

DVD from $5.28

(11 sellers)

Couch Trip, The (1988)

2.0683

The escaped delinquent John Burn deputizes for dr. Maitlin, saying he's the psychiatrist Lawrence Baird. He scores as a radio- psygologist and is very popular. But then dr. Maitlin meats the real dr. Lawrence Baird at a congress in London... ...more about Couch Trip

DVD from $5.80

(11 sellers)

Kentuckian, The (1955)

2.0625

A frontiersman in 1820s Kentucky finds the area too civilized for his tastes, so he makes plans for he and his son to leave for the wild Texas country. ...more about Kentuckian

DVD from $5.41

(11 sellers)

Survivors, The (1983)

1.9378

Sonny Paluso and Donald Quinelle are two unfortunate people who just lost their jobs, when they meet in a bar; Sonny's gas station has been blown away and Donald has just been fired by his bosses parrot!!! But that day, their lifes change when they ...more about Survivors

DVD from $10.23

(10 sellers)

Plaza Suite (1971)

1.9003

Film version of the Neil Simon play has three seperate acts set in the same hotel suite in New York's Plaza Hotel with Walter Matthau in a triple role. ...more about Plaza Suite

DVD from $3.88

(12 sellers)

Strangers When We Meet (1960)

1.8848

Architect Larry Coe has a wife and family, but becomes embroiled in an affair with beautiful Maggie Gault, a neighbor with her own family. The two lovers are forced to face the choice between love and loyalty. ...more about Strangers When We Meet

DVD from $3.95

(9 sellers)

Indian Fighter, The (1955)

1.8615

Johnny Hawks, a former Indian fighter, returns to the West after the Civil War. He reacquaints himself with the Indian band led by Red Cloud. Red Cloud's beautiful daughter has now grown into womanhood... ...more about Indian Fighter

DVD from $5.80

(8 sellers)

Casey's Shadow (1978)

1.8158

Casey is a young boy in a family that trains racehorses. His best friend, a foal they call "Casey's Shadow", looks to be a loser, but comes out a champion. ...more about Casey's Shadow

DVD from $3.95

(8 sellers)

Odd Couple II, The (1998)

1.7514

It has been seventeen years now since Oscar and Felix saw each other for the last time. Oscar is living in Florida, Felix in New York. ...more about Odd Couple II

DVD from $6.39

(9 sellers)

Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)

1.7246

After robbing a bank Murphy assumes the identity of his pursuer, a famous US Marshal, when he stumbles into a town and is confronted by the local judge, Matthau. ...more about Ride a Crooked Trail

Not Available on DVD

Out to Sea (1997)

1.7182

Care-free Charlie (Walter Matthau) cons his widower brother-in-law Herb (Jack Lemmon) into an expenses-paid luxury cruise in search of rich, lonely ladies. ...more about Out to Sea

DVD from $4.11

(12 sellers)

Pirates (1986)

1.6642

Captain Red runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor. One day Capt. ...more about Pirates

Not Available on DVD

Laughing Policeman, The (1973)

1.6035

A policeman is among the victims when the passengers of a late-night bus are machine-gunned. ...more about Laughing Policeman

DVD from $6.00

(10 sellers)

Secret Life of an American Wife, The (1968)

1.5902

Actor Awards

BAFTA Awards - Best Actor

Not Available on DVD

Movers & Shakers (1985)

1.5158

Joe Mulholland, Head of Production at a Hollywood studio, makes a rather fool-hardy promise to a dying friend. He undertakes to make a major movie using the title - if not the content - of a best-selling sex manual "Love in Sex". ...more about Movers & Shakers

Not Available on DVD

Buddy Buddy (1981)

1.4875

Walter Matthau plays a professional killer going by the name of Trabucco, who is on his way to rub out gangster Rudy "Disco" Gambola, set to testify against the mob. ...more about Buddy Buddy

Not Available on DVD

First Monday in October (1981)

1.4085

Ruth Loomis (Jill Clayburg) becomes the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. A staunch conservative, she immediatly runs into conflict with Dan Snow (Walter Matthau), the high court's resident liberal. ...more about First Monday in October

Actor Awards

Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Comedy/Musical

DVD from $9.59

(5 sellers)

Ensign Pulver (1964)

No Reviews Available

1945, on an old cargo ship somewhere deep in the Pacific ocean: Captain Morton strives to become commander, so he demands the maximum quality of work from his crew, without granting them any freedom or favors - ignoring that they're thousand of miles ...more about Ensign Pulver

Not Available on DVD

Gangster Story (1960)

No Reviews Available

Gangster and cop killer Jack Martin is on the run from the law, and hides out in a small town. Low on funds, he engineers a clever bank robbery that yields him a big bundle. ...more about Gangster Story

DVD from $1.99

(5 sellers)

Gentleman Tramp, The (1975)

No Reviews Available

Not Available on DVD

Goodbye Charlie (1964)

No Reviews Available

Shot by a jealous husband, Charley falls out a porthole and is lost at sea only to find himself returned as an attractive blond woman. ...more about Goodbye Charlie

Not Available on DVD

I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)

No Reviews Available

Grandmother has nothing to say when Libby tells her that she is off to LA to look up Dad, a Hollywood screenwriter. Grandmother has been in a New York cemetery for six years and Dad has been out of Libby's life for 16 of her 19 years. ...more about I Ought to Be in Pictures

Not Available on DVD

Island of Love (1963)

No Reviews Available

Not Available on DVD

Little Miss Marker (1980)

No Reviews Available

Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in 1930's. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life will change a great deal with her arrival and his sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations. ...more about Little Miss Marker

DVD from $3.92

(10 sellers)

Onionhead (1958)

No Reviews Available

Not Available on DVD

Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)

No Reviews Available

Actor Awards

BAFTA Awards - Best Actor
Golden Globes, USA - Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy

Not Available on DVD

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)

No Reviews Available

Three men gun down Solly Pitts, 'rebel' against the racket-ridden Longshoremen's Union. Before dying, Pitts tells his wife 'Cockeye' Cook was one of the killers...but won't repeat it to the police, nor will anyone else help them. ...more about Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

Not Available on DVD

Voice in the Mirror (1958)

No Reviews Available

Jim Burton, chronic alcoholic, is cared for by Ellen, his incredibly patient, sexy, hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enough fear into him that he really wants to cure himself...but can't. ...more about Voice in the Mirror

Not Available on DVD

Who's Got the Action? (1962)

No Reviews Available

Not Available on DVD

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