Burt Lancaster

Biography

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). Later he took roles that went against his initial "tough guy" image. In the late 1950s Lancaster abandoned his "all-American" image and came to be regarded as one of the best actors of his generation.

Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once — for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood of the 1950s, making movies such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

Lancaster also directed two films: The Kentuckian (1955) and The Midnight Man (1974).

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Lancaster nineteenth among the greatest male stars of all time.

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CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Burt Lancaster

The Bitter Perfume of Ambition: Decoding Sweet Smell of Success

on Sweet Smell of Success | Jul 19, 2025

In Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success (1957), the neon-lit underbelly of 1950s Manhattan pulses as a character in its own right, a glittering stage for a morally corrosive dance of power a... Read more

Whispering Ghosts in the Corn: The Timeless Allure of Field of Dreams

on Field of Dreams | Jul 19, 2025

Field of Dreams (1989), directed by Phil Alden Robinson, is a cinematic elegy that transforms a simple Iowa cornfield into a sacred space where memory, regret, and hope converge. Adapted from W.P. Kin... Read more