TopTenREVIEWS presents the film career and movie reviews of Joseph Cotten.

Joseph Cotten
Birthdate: May 15, 1905
Death date: February 6, 1994

Joseph Cotten

ACTOR RANKINGS:

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CAREER SPAN

Decade
Movie Score
# Movies
1930s
No Reviews
1
1940s
3.0969
15
total ranking of 3.0969
1950s
2.7140
19
total ranking of 2.7140
1960s
2.2883
15
total ranking of 2.2883
1970s
2.2477
20
total ranking of 2.2477
1980s
0.8696
4
total ranking of 0.8696
Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews & awards.
Overall Actor Score: Joseph Cotten is ranked overall as 2.7540 of of 4 stars2.7540

Joseph Cotten Movie Rankings

1
Joseph Cotten starring in Citizen Kane
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 4 out of 4 stars for Citizen Kane4.0000
Newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion, speaking a single word: "Rosebud". A reporter tries to piece together the puzzle of Kane's life by contacting old acquaintances and find the meaning of his dying word. ...more about Citizen Kane
2
Joseph Cotten starring in Third Man
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.7039 out of 4 stars for Third Man3.7039
Novelist Holly Martins goes to post-war Vienna on the invite of his friend, Harry Lime, who promises him a job. When Martins arrives, he discovers his friend is dead. Slowly Martins learns his friend was a thief, liar and murderer; and may still be alive. ...more about Third Man
3
Joseph Cotten starring in Shadow of a Doubt
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.6888 out of 4 stars for Shadow of a Doubt3.6888
An Alfred Hitchcock film about a girl named Charlie who feels her life is becoming very mundane. Her world becomes much more interesting when she receives a surprise visit from her favorite uncle of the same name. ...more about Shadow of a Doubt
4
Touch of Evil (1958)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.6103 out of 4 stars for Touch of Evil3.6103
A Mexican government investigator and his young American wife put their honeymoon on hold in an American border town when they become embroiled in a frame-up planned by the town's chief investigator. ...more about Touch of Evil
5
F for Fake (1974)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.3504 out of 4 stars for F for Fake3.3504
The last documentary film by Orson Welles called “F for Fake” is about the trickery, fraud and lies of the famous art forger Elmyr de Hory and his biographer Clifford Irving, who also wrote a fake biography of Howard Hughes. ...more about F for Fake
6
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.0629 out of 4 stars for Tora! Tora! Tora!3.0629
In 1941 the Japanese are at odds with the United States on a number of issues which they are attempting to resolve via their Washington embassy. ...more about Tora! Tora! Tora!
7
Soylent Green (1973)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 3.0042 out of 4 stars for Soylent Green3.0042
In the year 2022, earth's face has completely changed. New York's population, for example, has grown to 40 million mouths to feed. ...more about Soylent Green
8
Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.9887 out of 4 stars for Magnificent Ambersons2.9887
The young, handsome, but somewhat wild Eugene Morgan wants to marry Isabel Amberson, daughter of a rich upper-class family, but she instead marries dull and steady Wilbur Minafer. Their only child, George, grows up a spoiled brat. ...more about Magnificent Ambersons
9
Delicate Balance, A (1973)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.9335 out of 4 stars for Delicate Balance2.9335
The setting is the comfortable Connecticut home of a well-to-do family. Agnes is a determined, powerful woman who feels she must hold her husband together and present a brave face to the world. ...more about Delicate Balance
10
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.9265 out of 4 stars for Hush... Hush2.9265
Charlotte Hollis, wealthy southern spinster, is shunned by her community for the grizzly murder some 40 years prior of her intended, John Mayhew. ...more about Hush... Hush
11
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.9146 out of 4 stars for Portrait of Jennie2.9146
Eben Adams is a struggling artist in Depression era New York who has never been able to find inspiration for a painting. ...more about Portrait of Jennie
Actor Awards
  • Venice Film Festival - Best Actor
12
Gaslight (1944)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.8850 out of 4 stars for Gaslight2.8850
Paula's aunt Alice Alquist, a famous entertainer, is murdered in her home. Paula, who lives with her aunt finds the body. Police fail to find the killer and Paula is sent away to school. Ten years later, Paula returns to London with her new husband. ...more about Gaslight
13
Petulia (1968)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.8149 out of 4 stars for Petulia2.8149
San Francisco physician, Archie Bollen, is divorcing, sorting out new relationships with his ex, her new man, his sons, and friends who knew him as part of a couple. ...more about Petulia
14
Duel in the Sun (1946)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.7711 out of 4 stars for Duel in the Sun2.7711
When her father is hanged for shooting his wife and her lover, half-breed Pearl Chevez goes to live with distant relatives in Texas. ...more about Duel in the Sun
15
Niagara (1953)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.7664 out of 4 stars for Niagara2.7664
George and Rose Loomis are honeymooning at a Niagara Falls motel. She plots with Ted Patrick to do him in, but all does not go smoothly. ...more about Niagara
16
Under Capricorn (1949)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.7386 out of 4 stars for Under Capricorn2.7386
In 1831, Irishman Charles Adare travels to Australia to start a new life with the help of his cousin who has just been appointed governor. When he arrives he meets powerful landowner and ex-convict Sam Flusky, who wants to do a business deal with him. ...more about Under Capricorn
17
Beyond the Forest (1949)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.6665 out of 4 stars for Beyond the Forest2.6665
Rosa Moline is bored with life in a small town. She loves Chicago industrialist Neil Latimer who has a hunting lodge nearby. ...more about Beyond the Forest
  • Not Available on DVD
18
Journey Into Fear (1943)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.6323 out of 4 stars for Journey Into Fear2.6323
A US Navy engineer, returning to the US with his wife from a conference, finds himself pursued by Nazi agents, who are out to kill him. ...more about Journey Into Fear
  • Not Available on DVD
19
Killer Is Loose, The (1956)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.5130 out of 4 stars for Killer Is Loose2.5130
A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies teller Leon Poole as inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance against Wagner. ...more about Killer Is Loose
  • Not Available on DVD
20
Heaven's Gate (1980)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.5049 out of 4 stars for Heaven's Gate2.5049
Michael Cimino's bleak anti-western based on events in 1890s Wyoming. ...more about Heaven's Gate
21
From the Earth to the Moon (1958)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.3577 out of 4 stars for From the Earth to the Moon2.3577
Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotton) invents a new source of power called Power X. He plans to use it to power rockets, and to show it's potential he plans to send a rocket to the moon. ...more about From the Earth to the Moon
  • Not Available on DVD
22
I'll Be Seeing You (1944)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.3287 out of 4 stars for I'll Be Seeing You2.3287
Ginger Rogers is a convict released from state penitentiary for a Christmas leave. On the train, she meets Sergeant Joseph Cotton who has been released from a mental hospital and she invites him home for dinner. ...more about I'll Be Seeing You
23
Lydia (1941)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.2465 out of 4 stars for Lydia2.2465
  • Not Available on DVD
24
Oscar, The (1966)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.0651 out of 4 stars for Oscar2.0651
Frankie Fane has clawed his way to the top of the Hollywood heap. Now, as he's preparing to win his Oscar, his friend Hymie Kelly reminisces over their life together, and Frankie's ruthless struggle to the top and the people he's stepped on (i.e. ...more about Oscar
  • Not Available on DVD
25
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.0062 out of 4 stars for Twilight's Last Gleaming2.0062
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War ...more about Twilight's Last Gleaming
  • Not Available on DVD
26
Love Letters (1945)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 2.0045 out of 4 stars for Love Letters2.0045
When a man asks another man more facile with words to do his wooing for him, there are always complications. The man with no talent for writing marries the girl, confesses one night he didn't write the letters and ends up with a knife in his back. ...more about Love Letters
  • Not Available on DVD
27
Blueprint for Murder, A (1953)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.9529 out of 4 stars for Blueprint for Murder1.9529
Two orphans, Polly and Doug, live with their stepmother Lynne; Polly collapses with the same mystery symptoms that killed her father. ...more about Blueprint for Murder
  • Not Available on DVD
28
Farmer's Daughter, The (1947)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.9055 out of 4 stars for Farmer's Daughter1.9055
Swedish-American farmer's daughter Katrin 'Katie' Holstrom leaves the farm to study nursing in the big, wicked city. Thanks to a chiseling acquaintance, her tuition and expense money disappears the first day, and she's forced to get a job... ...more about Farmer's Daughter
  • Not Available on DVD
29
Wild Heart, The (1952)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.8524 out of 4 stars for Wild Heart1.8524
A re-editing of _Gone to Earth (1950)_ (qv) after a disagreement and court case between director 'Michael Powell (I)' (qv) and producer 'David O. Selznick' (qv). Selznick's changes are mainly:- (1) Adding a prologue. ...more about Wild Heart
  • Not Available on DVD
30
Walk Softly, Stranger (1950)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.7885 out of 4 stars for Walk Softly1.7885
A charming, smooth-talking gambler calling himself Chris Hale arrives in Ashton, home of the Corelli shoe factory. Claiming to have lived there as a boy, he soon ingratiates himself with the townspeople... ...more about Walk Softly
  • Not Available on DVD
31
Last Sunset, The (1961)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.7820 out of 4 stars for Last Sunset1.7820
Brendan O'Malley arrives at the Mexican home of old flame Belle Breckenridge to find her married to a drunkard getting ready for a cattle drive to Texas. ...more about Last Sunset
32
Money Trap, The (1965)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.7729 out of 4 stars for Money Trap1.7729
  • Not Available on DVD
33
Airport '77 (1977)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.7715 out of 4 stars for Airport '771.7715
A luxury 747 carrying valuable art work is hijacked and lands in the ocean, submerged in shallow water. ...more about Airport '77
34
Guyana: Crime of the Century (1979)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.5807 out of 4 stars for Guyana: Crime of the Century1.5807
Reverend James Johnson, the priest of an independent church in Guyana in South America, orders his followers to suicide. But not all follow him blindly and begin to think on their own... ...more about Guyana: Crime of the Century
35
Baron Blood (1972)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.5578 out of 4 stars for Baron Blood1.5578
A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of an ancestor, a sadistic Baron who was cursed to a violent death by a witch whom the Baron had burned at the stake. ...more about Baron Blood
36
The Concorde Affair (1979)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.5441 out of 4 stars for The Concorde Affair1.5441
Reporter Moses Brody investigates a big business conglomerate which wants to destroy plans for a new Concord passenger jet which will disrupt their South American passenger airlines business which leads to Brody being on a new Conford flight to London ...more about The Concorde Affair
  • Not Available on DVD
37
Halliday Brand, The (1957)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.5054 out of 4 stars for Halliday Brand1.5054
As a man returns home to see his dying father, the story of the alienation between father and son is told in flashback. ...more about Halliday Brand
  • Not Available on DVD
38
Something Waits in the Dark (1979)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.4072 out of 4 stars for Something Waits in the Dark1.4072
After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on a seemingly deserted island. They soon discover a strange couple, who invite them to stay at their house. ...more about Something Waits in the Dark
  • Not Available on DVD
39
Since You Went Away (1944)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.3744 out of 4 stars for Since You Went Away1.3744
While husband Tim is away during World War II, Anne Hilton copes with problems on the homefront. ...more about Since You Went Away
40
Caravans (1978)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.3113 out of 4 stars for Caravans1.3113
  • Not Available on DVD
41
Survivor, The (1981)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 1.2373 out of 4 stars for Survivor1.2373
  • Not Available on DVD
42
Hearse, The (1980)
Joseph Cotten scores a combined 0.6635 out of 4 stars for Hearse0.6635
Jane Hardy decides to stay the summer in the house her aunt left her when she died, to try and recoup from a bad divorce. Little does she know, her aunt practiced witchcraft and is still thought of very badly by the town's citizens. ...more about Hearse
43
Angel Wore Red, The (1960)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
44
Bottom of the Bottle, The (1956)
No Reviews Available
Patrick Martin (Joseph Cotten), known as P.M., is a wealthy attorney and rancher big-man-in-town in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. He returns home to find his brother Donald (Van Johnson)hiding in his garage. ...more about Bottom of the Bottle
  • Not Available on DVD
45
Brighty of the Grand Canyon (1967)
No Reviews Available
46
White Comanche (1968)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
47
Hellbenders, The (1967)
No Reviews Available
48
Delusion (1980)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
49
Doomsday Voyage (1972)
No Reviews Available
A political extremist (John Gabriel, The Curse of the Werewolf), on the run after assassinating a corrupt politician, poses as a French sailor in hopes of fleeing the country. ...more about Doomsday Voyage
50
Egypt by Three (1953)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
51
Lady Frankenstein (1971)
No Reviews Available
When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant Marshall continue his experiments. ...more about Lady Frankenstein
52
Gangster '70 (1968)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
53
Syndicate Sadists (1975)
No Reviews Available
A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families. ...more about Syndicate Sadists
  • Not Available on DVD
54
Grasshopper, The (1970)
No Reviews Available
Christine Adams, at 19, leaves her small town in British Columbia to follow her boy-friend to L.A., where he works for a bank, to live with him and have babies. ...more about Grasshopper
  • Not Available on DVD
55
Great Sioux Massacre, The (1965)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
56
Half Angel (1951)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
57
Hers to Hold (1943)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
58
Latitude Zero (1969)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
59
The Perfect Crime (1978)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
60
Jack of Diamonds (1967)
No Reviews Available
The protege of a famous cat burglar reluctantly agrees to join forces with a lesser criminal in the daring heist of several famous jewels from a seemingly impenetrable vault. ...more about Jack of Diamonds
  • Not Available on DVD
61
Journey to Murder (1971)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
62
Man with a Cloak, The (1951)
No Reviews Available
In 1848, a young Frenchwoman, Madeline Minot, goes to New York City to see Thevenet, the grandfather of her fiance. Thevenet had been with Napoleon and may be sympathetic to the political aims of his grandson. ...more about Man with a Cloak
  • Not Available on DVD
63
Last In, First Out (1978)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
64
Peking Express (1951)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
65
The Scopone Game (1972)
No Reviews Available
An old American millionairess comes to Rome every year with her chaffeur to play a game of cards with a destitute ragman Peppino and his wife Antonia. She gives them the initial stakes and the game can begin. ...more about The Scopone Game
  • Not Available on DVD
66
September Affair (1950)
No Reviews Available
An industrialist (Joseph Cotton) and a pianist (Joan Fontaine) meet on a trip and fall in love. Through a quirk of fate, they are reported dead in a crash though they weren't on the plane. ...more about September Affair
  • Not Available on DVD
67
Some May Live (1967)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
68
Steel Trap, The (1952)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
69
Whisper in the Dark, A (1976)
No Reviews Available
70
Too Much Johnson (1938)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
71
Two Flags West (1950)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
72
Untamed Frontier (1952)
No Reviews Available
The Denbow family hope to freeze out homesteaders by denying access across their land; but to evade a murder charge, Glenn Denbow marries the only witness, Jane, who's conveniently in love with him, but favors the settlers. ...more about Untamed Frontier
  • Not Available on DVD
73
Tramplers, The (1966)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD
74
Special Delivery (1955)
No Reviews Available
  • Not Available on DVD