Actor Rankings
Best Orson Welles Movies Ranked
Explore the best Orson Welles movies ranked by Movie Rankings users. The current top-ranked movie here is Citizen Kane. Browse 1 ranked acting credits, then jump into the full filmography and each movie page.
Top Ranked Orson Welles Movies
Orson Welles Top Ranked Movies (1)
What is the best Orson Welles movie?
Citizen Kane is currently the highest-ranked Orson Welles movie on Movie Rankings based on aggregate head-to-head results from the community.
How many Orson Welles movies are ranked here?
This page currently tracks 1 ranked movies starring Orson Welles.
How often do Orson Welles rankings update?
These rankings refresh whenever Movie Rankings recomputes global results. This page was last generated from site data on May 4, 2026.
Explore More Rankings
Sources & freshness
Last refreshed from site data on May 4, 2026.
Orson Welles Acting Filmography (290)
Proust Palimpsesto: Pastiches e Misturas
2026·Self / The Director / Sir John Falstaff (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Scorpion and the Frog
2025·Narrator (archive footage)
Human Nature in Eleven Parts
2025·Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
WeirdWorld
2025·Troy2000 (Archive footage)
Othelo The Great
2024·Self (archive footage)
The Battle of Grovers Mill
2024·Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
Aliens Uncovered: Close Encounters
2024·Self
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024·Self (archive footage)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
2023·Falstaff
Looking Back Before You Leap
2023·General Zaroff (voice)
It's Pretty, but is it Art?
2023·Self (voiceover)
American: An Odyssey to 1947
2022·Self (archive footage)
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022·Self (archive footage)
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
2022·Self (archive footage)
The Welles Raft
2022·Himself (Archive Footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021·Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Parkinson at 50
2021·Self (archive footage)
Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
2021·Self
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
2021·Self (archive footage)
The Real Charlie Chaplin
2021·Self (archive footage)
Morceaux de Cannes
2021
Hopper/Welles
2020·Self
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
2020·Self (archive footage)
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
2019·(archive footage)
The Other Side of the Wind
2018·Journalist (uncredited)
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2018·Self (archive footage)
The Eyes of Orson Welles
2018·Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
2018·Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Magic History of Cinema
2017
Embers & Dust
2016·Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
This Is Orson Welles
2015·Self
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
2014·Self (archive footage)
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
2014·Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Jodorowsky's Dune
2013·Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012·(archive footage)
The Shadow Knows
2012·Self (archive footage)
Magic Mirror Maze
2012
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
2011·Self
Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
2010·Himself
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010·Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
Lucifer et moi
2009·(archive footage 1982)
Hollywood sul Tevere
2009
The Deep
2007·Russ Brewer
The Well
2005
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
2005·Self (archive footage)
The Other Side of Welles
2005·Self (archive footage)
Lost in "The Thinking"
2005·Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles Talks With Roger Hill
2005·(Self)
Orson Welles Uncut
2005
The Hitch Hiker
2004·Ronald Adams
The UFO Conspiracy
2004·Self (archive sound)
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
2003·Self (archive footage)
Lost in La Mancha
2002·Self (archive footage)
Heart of the Festival
2002·Self (archive footage)
The Movie Movie (An Excerpt)
2002·Archival Footage
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
2001·Self (Archive footage)
A Huey P. Newton Story
2001·Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
2001·Narrator
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
2000·Self (Archive footage)
Moby Dick
2000·Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
Lon Chaney: A thousand faces
2000·Self (archive footage)
According to Occam's Razor
1999
Hi-Fi
1999
One Man Band
1999·Presenter / Various
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1998·Self - Roaster (archive footage)
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
1997·Self
It's All Brazil
1997·Self (archive footage)
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997·Self (archive footage)
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
1996·Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
1995·Self (archive footage)
It's All True
1993·Self
Working with Orson Welles
1993·Himself (Archive Footage)
La Classe américaine
1993·Self (archive footage)
Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
1993
Don Quixote
1992·Self
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
1991·Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
The Complete 'Citizen Kane'
1991·Self (archive footage)
Welles' Language
1990·Self (archive footage)
Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
1990·Self (archive footage)
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
1990·Self (archive footage)
On the tracks of a filmmaker
1988·Orson Welles
Someone to Love
1987·Danny's Friend
The Transformers: The Movie
1986·Unicron (voice)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986·Self (archive footage)
It's Not All True
1986·Himself (archive footage)
Unseen Lollo
1986·Himself
The Dreamers
1985·Marcus Kleek
Orson Welles' Magic Show
1985·Self
Where Is Parsifal?
1984·Klingsor
The Road to Bresson
1984·Self
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
1984·himself
The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
1984·Narrator
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
1984·Self
In Our Hands
1984·Himself
Almonds and Raisins
1984·Narrator
The Witching
1983·Mr. Cato
Hot Money
1983·Sheriff Paisley
Notre Dame de la Croisette
1983·Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
1983·Himself
The Psychic Connection
1983·Narrator
King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
1983·Self - Narrator
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?
1983·Magician (uncredited)
Butterfly
1982·Judge Rauch
Slapstick of Another Kind
1982·Aliens' Father (voice) (uncredited)
Magic with the Stars
1982·Self - Host
The Quest for Fire Adventure
1982·Narrator
Genocide
1982·Narrator (voice)
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
1982·Self - Narrator
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
1982·Self
Doug Henning's World of Magic
1982·Self - Special Guest
Let Poland Be Poland
1982·Self
Wagner e Venezia
1982·Richard Wagner (voice)
Night of 100 Stars
1982·Self
The Orson Welles Story
1982·Self
History of the World: Part I
1981·Narrator (voice)
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
1981·Presenter / Narrator (voice)
Filming 'The Trial'
1981·Self
Search for the Titanic
1981·Self - Host
The New Deal for Artists
1981·Narrator (voice)
A Gift of Harvest
1981·Narrator
Brasil
1981·Self (archive footage)
The Secret of Nikola Tesla
1980·J.P. Morgan
A Step Away
1980·English Narrator
The Greenstone
1980·Narrator (voice)
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
1980·Narrator
Filming Othello
1979·Host
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
1979·Narrator
The Muppet Movie
1979·Lew Lord
The Orson Welles Show
1979·Self
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
1979·Self
To Try Again... and Succeed
1979·Narrator (voice)
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
1979·Narrator
The Double McGuffin
1979·Narrator (voice)
The Biggest Battle
1978·Narratore
The Late Great Planet Earth
1978·Self
Mysterious Castles of Clay
1978·Narrator
Tut: The Boy King
1978·Himself - Host
Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
1978·Himself
Orson Welles at The Magic Castle
1978·Self
Hot Tomorrows
1977·Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
The Force Beyond
1977·Himself (archive footage)
It Happened One Christmas
1977·Henry F. Potter
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
1977·Narrator
From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
1977·Narrator
The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
1977·Narrator
The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?
1977·Self
Voyage of the Damned
1976·José Estedes
Bugs Bunny Superstar
1976·Narrator (voice)
NBC: The First Fifty Years
1976·Self / Narrator
A Mother's Tale
1976·Narrator
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
1975·Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Who's Out There?
1975·Host
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975·Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles - Das vermarktete Genie
1975·Self
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
1975·Narrator
And Then There Were None
1974·Voice on Tape
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
1974·Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
1974·Narrator
A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
1974
F for Fake
1973·Self
The Cave: a parable told by Orson Welles
1973·Narrator
The Battle of Sutjeska
1973·Winston Churchill
The Cave
1973·Narrator
Kelly Country
1973·Narrator
Power and Corruption
1973·Himself
Treasure Island
1972·Long John Silver
Necromancy
1972·Mr. Cato
Malpertuis
1972·Cassavius
Future Shock
1972·Narrator
Get to Know Your Rabbit
1972·Mr. Delasandro
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1972·Sheridan Whiteside
Jeanne Moreau : Vive le cinéma !
1972·Self
A Safe Place
1971·The Magician
Ten Days' Wonder
1971·Théo Van Horn
Sentinels of Silence
1971
Flame of Persia
1971·Narrator
Directed by John Ford
1971·Narrator (voice)
Freedom River
1971·Narrator
Catch-22
1970·Brigadier General Dreedle
Waterloo
1970·Louis XVIII
The Kremlin Letter
1970·Bresnavitch
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
1970·Narrator
Upon This Rock
1970·Michelangelo (voice)
Start the Revolution Without Me
1970·The Narrator
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
1970
A Horse Called Nijinsky
1970·Narrator
The Enemy Before Us
1970·Narrator
The Merchant of Venice (Rushes)
1970·Shylock
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Happy Prince
1970
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. I – Selections from George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain
1970
An Evening with Orson Welles: American Heritage, Vol. II – Clarence Darrow
1970
An Evening with Orson Welles: Two Wise Old Men – Socrates and Noah
1970
An Evening with Orson Welles: My Little Boy
1970
Twelve Plus One
1969·Markan
The Battle of Neretva
1969·Četnik
The Southern Star
1969·Plankett
Tepepa
1969·Colonel Cascorro
To Build a Fire
1969·Narrator (voice)
The Merchant of Venice
1969·Shylock
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
1969·Narrator (voice)
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
1969·Justinian
House of Cards
1968·Leschenhaut
The Immortal Story
1968·Charles Clay
The Fight for Rome
1968·Justinian
Vienna
1968·Himself
Portrait: Orson Welles
1968·Self
Oedipus the King
1968·Tiresias
Around the World of Mike Todd
1968·Self - Narrator
Casino Royale
1967·Le Chiffre
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
1967·Jonathan Lute
The Sailor from Gibraltar
1967·Louis de Mozambique
Ten Days That Shook the World
1967·Narrator
Disorder Is 20 Years Old
1967·Self
Beggars Would Ride
1967·Narrator
A Man for All Seasons
1966·Cardinal Wolsey
Is Paris Burning?
1966·Konsul Nordling
Orson Welles in Spain
1966·Himself
Chimes at Midnight
1965·Falstaff
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
1965·Self - Narrator (voice)
Marco the Magnificent
1965·Akerman, Marco's Teacher
A King's Story
1965·Narrator
Americans on Everest
1965·Narrator- Self
Profile No. 6: Orson Welles
1965
The Finest Hours
1964·Narrator (voice)
The V.I.P.s
1963·Max Buda
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
1963·The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
The Trial
1962·Albert Hastler
Lafayette
1962·Benjamin Franklin
River of the Ocean
1962·Narrator (English)
The Tartars
1961·Burundai
King of Kings
1961·Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
David and Goliath
1960·King Saul
Crack in the Mirror
1960·Hagolin / Lamerciere
The Battle of Austerlitz
1960·Robert Fulton
An Arabian Night
1960·Storyteller
Five Columns on the Front Page: Hong Kong as seen by Orson Welles
1960·Self (narrator)
Compulsion
1959·Jonathan Wilk
Ferry to Hong Kong
1959·Captain Hart
High Journey
1959·Narrator
Touch of Evil
1958·Police Captain Hank Quinlan
The Long, Hot Summer
1958·Will Varner
The Vikings
1958·Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Fountain of Youth
1958·the narrator
The Roots of Heaven
1958·Cy Sedgewick
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
1958·Self - Host
South Seas Adventure
1958·Narrator
Lords of the Forest
1958·Narrator (voice)
Man in the Shadow
1957·Virgil Renchler
Moby Dick
1956·Father Mapple
Out of Darkness
1956·Self - Narrator
Orson Welles and People: Camille, the Naked Lady and the Musketeers
1956·Self - Narrator (voice)
Napoleon
1955·Sir Hudson Lowe
Mr. Arkadin
1955·Gregory Arkadin
Three Cases of Murder
1955·Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
1955·Self - Host
The Land of the Basques
1955·Himself
Moby Dick—Rehearsed
1955·An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab
Trouble in the Glen
1954·Sanin Cejador y Mengues
Royal Affairs in Versailles
1953·Benjamin Franklin
Return to Glennascaul
1953·Narrator
Man, Beast and Virtue
1953·Captain Perella, the Beast
King Lear
1953·King Lear
Trent's Last Case
1952·Sigsbee Manderson
Othello
1951·Othello
The Black Rose
1950·Bayan
Disorder
1950·Self
The Miracle of St. Anne
1950·The Director
The Third Man
1949·Harry Lime
Prince of Foxes
1949·Cesare Borgia
Black Magic
1949·Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
Macbeth
1948·Macbeth
The Lady from Shanghai
1947·Michael O'Hara
The Stranger
1946·Prof. Charles Rankin
Tomorrow Is Forever
1946·John Andrew MacDonald
Duel in the Sun
1946·Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Battle for Survival
1946·Narrator
Mexico City, Old and New
1945·Narrator
Follow the Boys
1944·Orson Welles (uncredited)
Know Your Ally: Britain
1944·Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
Journey into Fear
1943·Colonel Haki
Jane Eyre
1943·Edward Rochester
Show-Business at War
1943·Self
The Magnificent Ambersons
1942·Narrator (voice)
Citizen Kane
1941·Charles Foster Kane
#4520W-4L
Swiss Family Robinson
1940·Opening Narrator (uncredited)
The Green Goddess
1939·Rajah/Narrator
Too Much Johnson
1938·Keystone Kop
The Spanish Earth
1937·Narrator (voice)
The Hearts of Age
1934·Death
Twelfth Night
1933·Narrator