6 Best Dean Jagger Movies

By Vlad Zakh · January 24, 2026

Dean Jagger brought steady, dependable warmth to American film across five decades, as comfortable in wartime drama as in holiday musical comedy. White Christmas has two entertainers helping save their old general’s Vermont inn, Bad Day at Black Rock sends a one-armed stranger into a desert town with a dark secret, The Nun’s Story pits a nurse’s calling against her vows, and Elmer Gantry makes a con man a travelling evangelist. Twelve O’Clock High and Brigham Young round out the list.

Elmer Gantry (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A charismatic, opportunistic con man ingratiates himself into a travelling evangelist's revival ministry.

Directed by Richard Brooks · 2h 26m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Sky Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Nun's Story (1959)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A devoted young woman's years as a nun test her faith against her own independent conscience.

Directed by Fred Zinnemann · 2h 31m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

White Christmas (1954)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 76% Metacritic 56

Two performers stage a show to save a struggling Vermont inn run by their old army general.

Directed by Michael Curtiz · 2h 00m · Rated NR

Nominated for 1 Oscar3 wins & 2 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A one-armed stranger arrives in a hostile desert town with a dark secret about a missing Japanese-American farmer.

Directed by John Sturges · 1h 21m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Dean Jagger features in this war film about a demanding general who takes command of a demoralised bomber unit suffering heavy losses.

Directed by Henry King · 2h 12m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Brigham Young (1940)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Mormon settlers led by a determined religious leader endure hardship on their journey to found a new home.

Directed by Henry Hathaway · 1h 54m · Rated NR

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Dean Jagger Movies

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The Nun's Story (1959)

White Christmas (1954)

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Brigham Young (1940)

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