6 Best James Whitmore Movies

By Vlad Zakh · August 12, 2026

James Whitmore built a remarkable seven-decade career as one of Hollywood’s most respected character actors and earned multiple Oscar nominations. The Shawshank Redemption forms a friendship between a wrongly convicted banker and a fellow inmate, Planet of the Apes strands an astronaut on a planet ruled by apes, Tora! Tora! Tora! shows Pearl Harbor from both sides, and The Majestic mistakes an amnesiac screenwriter for a war hero. Them! and The Asphalt Jungle round out the list.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

IMDb ★ 9.3 RT 89% Metacritic 82

Hope as an active choice, not a passive feeling, patiently built over two and a half hours.

Directed by Frank Darabont · 2h 22m · Rated R

Nominated for 7 Oscars21 wins & 43 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, TNT, TBS, tru TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Majestic (2001)

TMDB ★ 6.8

An amnesiac blacklisted screenwriter is mistaken for a small town's long-lost war hero.

Directed by Frank Darabont · 2h 33m · Rated PG

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

TMDB ★ 7.2

The attack on Pearl Harbor is reconstructed from both the American and Japanese command perspectives.

Directed by Toshio Masuda & Kinji Fukasaku · 2h 24m · Rated G

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

Planet of the Apes (1968)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 86% Metacritic 79

Astronauts crash on a world where apes rule and humans are treated as animals.

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner · 1h 52m · Rated G

Nominated for 2 Oscars6 wins & 5 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Them! (1954)

TMDB ★ 6.8

Giant mutated ants created by nuclear testing threaten to overrun the American Southwest.

Directed by Gordon Douglas · 1h 34m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: TCM, IndieFlix, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 98% Metacritic 85

A crew of specialists pulls off a jewel heist, then watches every one of them unravel afterwards.

Directed by John Huston · 1h 53m

Nominated for 4 Oscars5 wins & 14 nominations

Where to watch

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

▶ 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 James Whitmore Movies

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Majestic (2001)

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Them! (1954)

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

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