# Elia Kazan's films, ranked

Method acting on screen, from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to The Last Tycoon: Kazan's films ordered from Gold Derby, Collider and Flickchart, with On the Waterfront on top.

- 569 votes · 15 items
- Jan 11, 2024 · Mitchell King
- https://even.best/en/l/3405/elia-kazan-s-films-ranked

## Top 15

1. **On the Waterfront (1954)** (51 · ▲57 ▼6) — Marlon Brando on the docks; eight Oscars including Best Picture.
2. **A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)** (47 · ▲51 ▼4) — Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando in Tennessee Williams's play.
3. **A Face in the Crowd (1957)** (39 · ▲43 ▼4) — Andy Griffith as a drifter turned media demagogue.
4. **A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)** (38 · ▲39 ▼1) — His first feature, a family in the Brooklyn slums.
5. **East of Eden (1955)** (32 · ▲36 ▼4) — James Dean's first starring role, from Steinbeck.
6. **America America (1963)** (32 · ▲34 ▼2) — His uncle's journey from Anatolia to New York.
7. **Splendor in the Grass (1961)** (28 · ▲35 ▼7) — Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in 1920s Kansas.
8. **Baby Doll (1956)** (24 · ▲29 ▼5) — Carroll Baker in a Tennessee Williams scandal.
9. **Viva Zapata! (1952)** (24 · ▲28 ▼4) — Marlon Brando as Emiliano Zapata; Oscar for Anthony Quinn.
10. **Wild River (1960)** (22 · ▲28 ▼6) — Montgomery Clift and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
11. **Gentleman's Agreement (1947)** (22 · ▲26 ▼4) — Gregory Peck exposes antisemitism; Best Picture and Best Director.
12. **Boomerang! (1947)** (21 · ▲24 ▼3) — A prosecutor doubts the case against his own suspect.
13. **Panic in the Streets (1950)** (9 · ▲20 ▼11) — A plague carrier loose in New Orleans.
14. **Pinky (1949)** (9 · ▲19 ▼10) — Jeanne Crain as a light-skinned Black woman in the South.
15. **The Last Tycoon (1976)** (7 · ▲18 ▼11) — Robert De Niro, from Fitzgerald; his last film.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.