6 Best John Miljan Movies

By Vlad Zakh · September 14, 2026

Drama intense

John Miljan was a prolific Hollywood character actor whose career ran from the silent era through the 1950s, often cast as a suave villain, and who appeared in nearly two hundred films. Glorious Betsy is an early Vitaphone talkie, Free and Easy chases Hollywood stardom with a beauty contest winner, Susan Lenox flees an abusive home, and Night Court tears apart a family under a corrupt judge. M and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid round out the list.

Glorious Betsy (1928) 01

Glorious Betsy (1928)

TMDB ★ 6.0

John Miljan appears in this early Vitaphone talking picture from Warner Bros., among the first features to include synchronised dialogue.

Directed by Alan Crosland · 1h 20m · Rated NR

Free and Easy (1930) 02

Free and Easy (1930)

TMDB ★ 6.1

John Miljan features in this Buster Keaton comedy about a beauty contest winner and her hapless small-town suitor who chase Hollywood stardom together.

Directed by Edward Sedgwick · 1h 32m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Artiflix · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, YouTube, Fandango At Home

Susan Lenox (1931) 03

Susan Lenox (1931)

TMDB ★ 6.1

John Miljan appears in this Garbo and Gable drama about a young woman fleeing an abusive home and an arranged marriage who struggles to find lasting happiness with the engineer she loves.

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard · 1h 16m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: TCM

Night Court (1932) 04

Night Court (1932)

TMDB ★ 6.5

John Miljan features in this drama about a corrupt night court judge who tears apart an innocent family while trying to escape a special prosecutor's investigation.

Directed by W.S. Van Dyke · 1h 32m

M (1951) 05

M (1951)

TMDB ★ 6.5

John Miljan is in this American remake of the Fritz Lang classic, where a city gripped by a child murderer sees police and criminals alike racing to catch the killer first.

Directed by Joseph Losey · 1h 28m · Rated NR

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) 06

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

TMDB ★ 6.6

John Miljan features in this parody noir where a private eye investigates a cheese scientist's suspicious death using clips of classic films.

Directed by Carl Reiner · 1h 29m · Rated PG

Where to watch

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

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

Vlad Zakh

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.