Henry Fonda is among the elite of Hollywood royalty. The legendary actor began his screen career in 1935 and amassed 124 credits up until 1981, starring in some of the most beloved movies ever made during that span. Yet despite being recognized as one of the finest actors of all time, it wasn't until his performance in the 1981 film On Golden Pond that Fonda finally received an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
In addition to his lasting screen legacy, Fonda also passed the torched to his two children, Jane and Peter Fonda, both of whom became recognized as talented as their father.
My Name Is Nobody (1973) 100%
In the comedic spaghetti western My Name is Nobody, Fonda plays Jack Beauregard, an effete gun-slinger who wants nothing more than to retreat to Europe and retire peacefully.
Once Jack arrives overseas, however, he's approached a young sharp-shooter who calls himself "Nobody" (Terrence Hill). "Nobody" idolizes Jack so much that he forces him to face The Wild Bunch, a gang of 150 men with bad intentions. The film was written by Sergio Leone and directed by Tonino Valerii.
Madigan (1968) 100%
In Don Siegel's gritty crime film Madigan, Harry Guardino and Richard Widmark play a pair of veteran detectives given a short amount of time to catch a homicidal maniac in Spanish Harlem. Fonda plays their Police Commissioner Anthony Russell, who runs into several bureaucratic hurdles in the process.
When Russell gives Detectives Madigan (Widmark) and Bonaro (Guardino) 72 hours to catch a killer that has been terrorizing Brooklyn. However, there's one caveat. Neither policeman has a gun, as the suspected killer confiscated their firearms upon confrontation.
Sometimes A Great Notion (1971) 100%
Paul Newman directed six films in his career, the second of which was the adaptation of Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion. Newman also costars in the film alongside Fonda and Lee Remick.
The story tracks a family of autonomous Oregon loggers, The Stampers, who struggle to operate their business when their small-town goes bust. Hank Stamper (Newman) wants to continue chopping trees despite the town's furor, while Hank's father Henry (Fonda) is more reluctant to do so. Hank's wife Viv (Remick) opposes the plan, and when his brother Leeland (Michael Sarrazin) suddenly arrives, even more trouble ensues.
Fort Apache (1948) 100%
Fonda goes toe-to-toe with the mighty John Wayne in Fort Apache, John Ford's American-Indian western. Fonda plays disgraced Civil War Lt. Colonel Owen Thursday, who along with his daughter Philadelphia (Shirley Temple), makes his way to the native Fort Apache war outpost.
When Owen arrives at the fort, he tangles horns with Captain Kirby York (Wayne), an expert on Apache life who teaches the Colonel and his daughter a thing or two.
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) 100%
The early, pre-Presidential upbringing of Abraham Lincoln is the subject of John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln. Fonda plays the idealistic future 16th President of the United States in the film.
The film spans ten years in the early life of Lincoln, as he moves from Kentucky to Illinois to become a lawyer and begin to start his own legal practice. As Lincoln defends two men accused of murder, he also deals with the death of his girlfriend Ann and begins to woo his future wife, Mary Todd. The film ends with Lincoln deciding on a future in politics.
My Darling Clementine (1946) 100%
In yet another unanimously praised John Ford western, Fonda plays the legendary Wyatt Earp as he and his kin square off with the Clanton family in the battle of the OK Corral.
Set in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp discover that their fellow brother James has been killed and their cattle were stolen. Wyatt decrees himself the town Sheriff and deputizes his brothers in the effort to find James' killer and bring him to swift justice. Soon the Earps meet the boozy Doc Holliday and the Clanton clan who show major resistance.
You Only Live Once (1937) 100%
The oldest film of Fonda's to make the list of his 1o best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is Fritz Lang's film noir You Only Live Once.
The plot revolves around Joan Graham (Sylvia Sidney), a public defender's secretary in a major metropolis. Joan tries to use her legal connections to clear her lover Eddie's (Fonda) name, but circumstances lead to their evasion from the law and living life on the run.
The Lady Eve (1941) 100%
Preston Sturges's duplicitous rom-com The Lady Eve finds Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in a trickly love triangle struck up while on a ship returning from the Amazon.
Charles Pike (Fonda) is a witless brewery heir worth millions of dollars. When he meets sophisticated con-artist Jean Harrington (Stanwyck), they tentatively fall in love. However, circumstances force them to separate on poor terms. To get revenge and bilk Pike out of his fortune, Jean poses as an English woman and fools him once more.
The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) 100%
John Ford's adaptation of John Steinbeck's seminal novel The Grapes of Wrath is a unanimously hailed classic. Fonda takes center stage as Tom Joad, the existentially tormented young man determined to leave his family during the dust bowl and find a better future for all involved.
In addition to its 96/100 Metascore and 8.0/10 IMDB-rating, the film earned John Ford the second of four career Oscar Awards for Best Director. As Ma Joad, Jane Darwell also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
12 Angry Men (1957) 100%
Sidney Lumet's debut feature 12 Angry Men is one of the most widely-praised movies ever made. The story about a prejudicial jury panel that slowly changes their mind in the wake of new evidence was not only nominated for three Oscars but it also currently ranks #5 on IMDB's Top 250.
Among a star-studded cast, Fonda plays the crucial Juror #8, who will not comply with his 11 fellows juror's verdict that a young man is guilty of murdering his father. Slowly but surely, Juror #8 presents overwhelming evidence that proves the young man's innocence.