The 10 Best Roles of Ava Gardner's Career

Ava Gardner was a bombshell who combined her sultry looks with great acting chops. She never won an Oscar, but she should have because she could outact the best of them! Here are the top 10 Ava Gardner roles.

The Angel Wore Red (1960)

The Angel Wore Red is set during the Spanish Civil War. It is about a priest (Dirk Bogarde) who decides to leave the priesthood because the church seems to have an indifference to the war going on. He then meets a prostitute (Ava Gardner) who he becomes friends with and attracted to. They come in possession of a holy relic and must do whatever they can to hide it.

The Hucksters (1947)

The Hucksters is about a World War II veteran (Clark Gable) who comes home and wants to return to advertising. He enlists a noblewoman (Deborah Kerr) to be in one of the campaigns for the company he wants to work for. She agrees and then end up having an attraction to each other, but tension arises with the return of an old flame (Ava Gardner).

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is about an outlaw (Paul Newman) who comes to a Texas town and declares himself the judge. He takes the law into his own hands and serves justice however he sees fit. He is a little kooky and has a love for a woman he has never met, Lillie Langtry (Ava Gardner). Lillie eventually finds out his story and agrees that he is a bit of a character.

Mogambo

Mogambo is the story of a love triangle between a hunter (Clark Gable), a socialite (Ava Gardner), and an anthropologist’s wife (Grace Kelly). The women are crazy about the hunter and he must decide who he truly loves. There is a bit of game hunting in this film, so that is a trigger warning to those who might be sensitive to that.

The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

The Barefoot Contessa is about a washed-out director and screenwriter (Humphrey Bogart) who travels to Spain to find a new star (Ava Gardner) for his next picture. The film becomes a hit and she is a sensation. But her life isn’t perfect. The movie begins with her funeral, so unfortunately we find out how imperfect her life really was.

One Touch of Venus (1948)

One Touch of Venus is about a window dresser (Robert Walker) who decides to kiss a statue of Venus. To his surprise, the statue comes alive and is a beautiful woman (Ava Gardner). A lot of love shenanigans ensue and Venus is in the middle of them.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman is about a beautiful woman named Pandora (Ava Gardner) who all the men love but she doesn’t love them back. She comes face to face with a mysterious captain (James Mason) who happens to be the Flying Dutchman who is doomed to sail the seas because of a curse put on him after he murdered his wife and blasphemed against God. The only way to break the curse is for a woman to fall in love with him and be willing to die for him. But is Pandora the one to break the curse?

On the Beach (1959)

On the Beach is about how World War III was a nuclear war that destroyed all life in the Northern Hemisphere. Those in Australia have some time, but not much, before they meet the same demise due to radiation. There is tension in the air and death is always a topic of conversation.

The Night of the Iguana (1964)

The Night of the Iguana is a complex movie with complex characters. An ostracized Episcopal clergyman (Richard Burton) is a tour bus guide for a group of women. After being found in a compromising position with one of the young tourists, the clergyman hijacks the bus and takes it to an old hotel which used to be owned by his friend. He then has to come to terms with his past while dealing with his present.

The Killers (1946)

The Killers is about hitmen who go to kill a victim (Burt Lancaster) who is unresisting. The film then unravels the story of this mystery man who was killed and why anyone would want to kill him. All of this information is told to an insurance investigator who is trying to find the victim’s beneficiary to his life insurance.