Gardner was just 18 when her photo caught the eye of MGM execs, landing her a contract and a string of bit parts. Known more for her beauty than her acting, Gardner had already married (and divorced) Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw by the time she made her first splash as a leading lady, opposite Burt Lancaster in 1946's The Killers.
After notable performances in films such as Show Boat and The Barefoot Contessa -- and a failed marriage to Frank Sinatra -- Gardner moved to Europe, where she would spend the rest of her life. Two of her finest roles came in George Cukor's Bhowani Junction (1956) and The Night of the Iguana (1964).
On the BeachIn this 1959 doomsday classic, a U.S. submarine led by Capt. Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) surfaces near Melbourne, where the passengers learn that nuclear war has wiped out most of humanity. And it won't be long before radiation kills the Australians as well. The tense drama features standout... Read More
The Night of the IguanaWorking as a tour guide in Mexico, the defrocked alcoholic Rev. Shannon (Richard Burton) steers a group of visiting American teachers to Maxine Faulk's (Ava Gardner) rundown hotel, where he soon becomes entangled in relationships with three very different women. Based on the Tennessee Williams play,... Read More
The KillersErnest Hemingway's short story "The Killers" was turned into two memorable films that bookended the high period of the noir genre. Disc 1 contains the original 1946 Robert Siodmak version starring Burt Lancaster as "the Swede," an aging boxer who's brought in for an underground job. To view the 1964... Read More
The Sun Also RisesUnable to satisfy the libido of winsome Lady Brett Ashley (Ava Gardner), American expatriate Jake Barnes (Tyrone Power) -- a veteran of the world's first Great War -- must accept her decision to marry another man (Errol Flynn) in this drama based on Ernest Hemingway's first major novel. This classic... Read More
Show BoatMarried entertainers (Ava Gardner and Robert Sterling) are forced to leave the showboat Cotton Blossom because of the wife's mixed blood. The captain's daughter (Kathryn Grayson) and gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Keel) take over the act, fall in love, marry and leave the boat for Chicago. There,... Read More
NR | ||
A.D. (1988) | NR | |
Regina (1982) | R | |
Priest of Love (1981) | R | |
R | ||
The Sentinel (1977) | R | |
The Cassandra Crossing (1976) | R | |
Earthquake (1974) | PG | |
PG | ||
PG | ||
Mayerling (1968) | NR | |
G | ||
The Night of the Iguana (1964) | NR | |
Seven Days in May (1964) | NR | |
55 Days at Peking (1963) | UR | |
On the Beach (1959) | NR | |
The Sun Also Rises (1957) | NR | |
The Barefoot Contessa (1954) | NR | |
Knights of the Round Table (1954) | NR | |
Mogambo (1953) | NR | |
NR | ||
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) | PG | |
Show Boat (1951) | NR | |
NR | ||
East Side, West Side (1949) | NR | |
One Touch of Venus (1948) | NR | |
The Killers (1946) | NR | |
Ghosts on the Loose (1943) | NR | |
NR | ||
 | | |