BEST PAUL NEWMAN MOVIES
“Somebody Up There Likes Me” (1956) Newman made a big leap into stardom in the story of boxer Rocky Graziano. The film is included in a Newman birthday salute Wednesday, Jan. 26, on Turner Classic Movies.
“The Long, Hot Summer” (1958) An ideally cast Newman plays Ben Quick, a reputed troublemaker who gets a mixed reception in his new locale, in this William Faulkner tale.
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) Newman makes a first-rate Brick to Elizabeth Taylor’s Maggie in the Tennessee Williams play.
“Exodus” (1960) Newman impresses as a freedom fighter helping to establish the State of Israel in director Otto Preminger’s drama. “The Hustler” (1961) One of Newman’s most memorable roles is
“Fast” Eddie Felson, a pool-playing upstart who wants to take on the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason).
“Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962) A drifter (Newman) gets involved with a former film star (Geraldine Page) in another Tennessee Williams adaptation.
“The Prize” (1963) Newman displays great humor within a thriller premise in the Irving Wallace story about an unlikely Nobel Peace Prize winner caught up in intrigue while in Sweden for the ceremony.
“Hud” (1963) Called “the man with the barbedwire soul” in ads, Newman’s character in this excellent drama is a rancher’s (Melvyn Douglas) rebellious, amoral son.
“Harper” (1966) Newman’s smooth, sly screen image largely was crystallized by this private-eye tale that boasts a great all-star supporting cast.
“Cool Hand Luke” (1967) An outstanding Newman plays an independent-minded convict who shows “a failure to communicate.” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) Newman and Robert Redford had their first teaming as the title outlaws who, at least here, stage robberies with a humorous spirit.
“The Sting” (1973) The reunited Newman and Robert Redford are great in this best picture Oscar winner as Depression-era con men out to even a score with a tough gangster (Robert Shaw).
“The Towering Inferno” (1974) Though he faces more immediate peril than any architect hopefully would, Newman makes a fine action hero in producer Irwin Allen’s disaster epic about a fire in the world’s tallest building.
“Absence of Malice” (1981) Newman is in top form as a mobster’s grandson seeking justice after a newspaper article wrongly suggests he’s involved in illegal dealings.
“The Verdict” (1982) In what many deem his career-best performance, Newman plays a down-onhis-luck Boston lawyer seeking redemption via a case against the Catholic Church.
“The Color of Money” (1986) Newman won an Oscar for reprising his “Hustler” role as Eddie Felson, now the mentor to a younger pool shark (Tom Cruise).
“Nobody’s Fool” (1994) A terrific Newman plays a small-town ne’er-do-well trying to patch things up with his estranged son (Dylan Walsh).
“Road to Perdition” (2002) Keeping his trademark charm, Newman has an atypical role as a Depression-era crime boss targeted by a vengeful exemployee (Tom Hanks).