Biography
Sterling Walter Hayden, born Sterling Relyea Walter, was an American actor and author. He didn't really harbor any aspirations of being an actor, dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and hired on as mate on a schooner. He was a ship's captain at 22, and in need of cash to buy his own boat, established himself as a model in New York, discovered by Paramount Studios talent scouts and offered a contract. Sterling Hayden, the handsome tall blond actor who played wholesome leading-man movie r...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Rat Pack
2022
as Self (archive footage)
In the 1950s, a small group of artists monopolized the attention of the cameras and the public. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bish...

Kubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self
A rare and transcendent journey into the life and films of the legendary Stanley Kubrick like we've never seen before, featuring a treasure trove of u...

The Albatross
2016
as Glass Man (voice) (archive footage)
In the center of a freezing, misty lake, a struggling writer's solitary fishing trip is disrupted by a strange creature from the bottom of a whiskey b...

Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
2016
as Self (archive footage)
Larry Ceplair, co-author of The Inquisition in Hollywood, and blacklisted screenwriter Walter Bernstein, a former member of the Communist Party, discu...

Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
2016
as Self (archive footage)
Critics Kent Jones, B. Ruby Rich, Joe McElhaney and Miriam Bale discuss the unique qualities of "Johnny Guitar," its lasting appeal and the influence ...

Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
2016
as Self (archive footage)
Critics Kent Jones, B. Ruby Rich, Joe McElhaney and Miriam Bale take a closer look at the feminist overtones in "Johnny Guitar."
Irving Johnson High Seas Adventurer
1985
as Himself
High Seas Adventurer highlights Johnson's exciting life, beginning with his introduction to the sea aboard the PEKING in 1929. Around Cape Horn, a Mys...

The Shipwrecker
1984
Book
Three actors portray scenes from the life of Sterling Hayden, with a particular focus on his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Commit...

Pharos of Chaos
1983
as Self - Actor
A superb, moving and thrilling interview with American actor Sterling Hayden (1916-86), held in Besançon, France, on board a dilapidated barge, when h...

At Anchor / Land Under: A Film With Sterling Hayden
1982
as Himself
A portrait cut for television using takes not used for the film “Leuchtturm des Chaos“. According to Bühler, the film was considered unsuitable: “A tw...

Venom
1981
as Howard Anderson
International terrorists attempt to kidnap a wealthy couple's child. Their plan comes unstuck when a deadly Black Mamba, sent by mistake instead of a ...

Gas
1981
as Duke Stuyvesant
Susan Anspach stars in this comedy as a news reporter who investigates a story about stolen milk causing milk and gas prices to rise. During the cours...

The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic
1981
as Capt. Mark McCluskey
The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic is a reduced, 386-minute version of the 1977 television miniseries, "Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Comple...

Nine to Five
1980
as Russell Tinsworthy
Three female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.

The Starlost: The Beginning
1980
as Jeremiah
Three farmers in Cypress Corners discover that farm life is not so simple. Discovering a hidden door in the earth, they break through it, discovering ...

The Outsider
1979
as Seamus Flaherty
Michael Flaherty (Craig Wasson), an American Vietnam veteran of Irish descent, returns to Belfast to join the cause of his grandfather, Seamus (Sterli...

Winter Kills
1979
as Z.K. Dawson
The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the...

King of the Gypsies
1978
as King Zharko Stepanowicz
Zharko, leader of the Romanis in NYC, passes his position of leadership on to his unwilling grandson, Dave, leading to infighting between Dave and hi...

1900
1976
as Leo Dalcò
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

The Cinema According to Bertolucci
1976
as Self
Documentary on the filming of Novecento by Bernardo Bertolucci

Cry, Onion!
1975
as Henry 'Jack' Pullitzer
Onion Jack has bought a piece of land on which to settle, but the property is still in possession of the orphans of the original owner and is coveted ...

Deadly Strangers
1975
as Malcolm Robarts
After she misses her train, a young woman is forced to hitch a ride back to town. After managing to get away from a lecherous trucker, she is given a ...

The Final Programme
1973
as Maj. Wrongway Lindbergh
After the death of his Nobel Prize-winning father, billionaire physicist Jerry Cornelius becomes embroiled in the search for the mysterious "Final Pro...

The Long Goodbye
1973
as Roger Wade
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.

The Big Departure
1972
as M. Nature / The Leader
This is the only feature directed by the famed French painter and sculptor Martial Raysse. In keeping with the revolutionary spirit of the time, the m...

The Godfather
1972
as Captain McCluskey
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corl...

Angel's Leap
1971
as Mason / Custer
In this French crime thriller, you can leave the mob, but the mob won't leave you. Louis (Jean Yanne) has retired to a Thailand plantation with an Asi...

Sweet Hunters
1970
as Allan
An ornithologist goes on a field trip to a deserted island near the mainland with his wife and small son, and is joined by the wife's sister, who is g...

Loving
1970
as Lepridon
Brooks Wilson is in crisis. He is torn between his wife Selma and two daughters and his mistress Grace, and also between his career as a successful il...

Hard Contract
1969
as Michael Carlson
A cold hearted American hit man goes to Europe for "one last score". His encounter with a beautiful young woman casts self doubt on his lifeblood, and...

Carol for Another Christmas
1964
as Daniel Grudge
Daniel Grudge, a wealthy industrialist and fierce isolationist long embittered by the loss of his son in World War II, is visited by three ghosts on C...

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964
as Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diploma...

Old Man
1958
as Tall Convict
In the South, convicts get a temporary release to help during a flood.

Ten Days To Tulara
1958
as Scotty
Director George Sherman's 1958 western about gold thieves in Mexico stars Sterling Hayden, Grace Raynor and Rodolfo Hoyos.

Terror in a Texas Town
1958
as George Hansen
Armed with a harpoon, a Swedish whaler is out for revenge after the death of his father. A greedy oil man trying to buy up the Swede's land might be t...

Zero Hour!
1957
as Captain Martin Treleaven
In 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WW2 fighter pilot to try to land...

Gun Battle at Monterey
1957
as Jay Turner / John York
An outlaw saved by a Mexican girl hunts the holdup partner who shot him in the back.

Valerie
1957
as John Garth
After the American Civil War, former Union Major John Garth marries pretty settler Valerie but tragedy strikes and the two spouses end up in court whe...

The Iron Sheriff
1957
as Sheriff Samuel Galt
Frontier peacekeeper Sheriff Galt faces a crisis of conscience in The Iron Sheriff. In the aftermath of a robbery-murder, Galt follows the trail of ev...

Crime of Passion
1956
as Lt. William Doyle
Kathy leaves the newspaper business to marry homicide detective Bill, but is frustrated by his lack of ambition and the banality of life in the suburb...

5 Steps to Danger
1956
as John Emmett
Can a couple keep important secrets from Communist spies?

The Killing
1956
as Johnny Clay
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one la...

The Come On
1956
as Dave Arnold
A con woman tries to swindle her partner-in-crime husband with the help of one of her former marks. But is she to be trusted?

Top Gun
1955
as Rick Martin
A gunslinger returns to his hometown to warn of an impending outlaw gang attack, but he's met with hatred and fear for his previous killings.

The Last Command
1955
as Jim Bowie
During the Texas War of Independence of 1836 American frontiersman and pioneer Jim Bowie pleads for caution with the rebellious Texicans. They don't h...

Shotgun
1955
as Clay Hardin
a deputy U.S. Marshall pursue the gang of Ben Thompson after the murder of another marshall. Along with a bounty hunter and a half-breed woman they fo...

The Eternal Sea
1955
as Rear-Adm. John Madison Hoskins
Biography of Admiral John Hoskins' efforts to retain active command despite WW2 injury.

Timberjack
1955
as Tim Chipman
A young man seeks his father's killers among lumberjacks, and discovers that they are actually timber barons who also seek to control lumber mills. Ba...

Battle Taxi
1955
as Capt. Russ Edwards
In the Korean war, the commander of an Air Rescue helicopter team must show a hot-shot former jet pilot how important helicopter rescue work is and tu...

Naked Alibi
1954
as Joe E. Conroy
Questioned as a murder suspect, solid (but drunk) citizen Al Willis attacks his police questioners, is beaten, and swears vengeance against them. Next...

Suddenly
1954
as Sheriff Tod Shaw
The tranquility of a small town is marred only by sheriff Tod Shaw's unsuccessful courtship of widow Ellen Benson, a pacifist who can't abide guns and...

Johnny Guitar
1954
as Johnny 'Guitar' Logan
On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Anothe...

Arrow In The Dust
1954
as Bart Laish
Director Lesley Selander's 1954 western stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully, Lee Van Cleef and Jimmy Wakely.

Prince Valiant
1954
as Sir Gawain
A young Viking prince strives to become a knight in King Arthur's Court and restore his exiled father to his rightful throne.

Fighter Attack
1953
as Steve
World War II film set in German occupied Italy. A US fighter pilot is shot down in enemy territory during a raid against a German supply depot. He rec...

So Big
1953
as Pervis De Jong
A girl of wealth comes to a Dutch community outside Chicago as a schoolteacher, and while there falls in love with a poor but big-hearted farmer.

Crime Wave
1953
as Det. Lt. Sims
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then att...

Take Me to Town
1953
as Will Hall
Saloon entertainer Vermilion O'Toole and her former partner in crime Newt Cole escape from a train ride to prison and hide out in logging town Timberl...

Kansas Pacific
1953
as Capt. John Nelson
Just before the Civil War (but after the South has seceded), Southern saboteurs try to prevent railroad construction from crossing Kansas to the front...

The Star
1952
as Jim Johannsen aka Barry Lester
Actress Margaret Elliot is well past her prime but refuses to retire from the acting business. Despite entreaties from both her daughter, Gretchen, an...

Flat Top
1952
as Commander Dan Collier
A rock hard commander trains Navy Carrier Pilots during the Second World War

The Golden Hawk
1952
as Kit 'The Hawk' Gerardo
A 17th-century French pirate (Sterling Hayden) sides with an English noblewoman (Rhonda Fleming) who's posing as a pirate.

Hellgate
1952
as Lt. Tod Voorhees
A man is framed and sent to the toughest prison in the territory.

Denver and Rio Grande
1952
as McCabe
Jim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass, while a group of less scrupulous construction workers sab...

Flaming Feather
1952
as Tex McCloud
A mysterious outlaw known as the Sidewinder, phantom leader of renegade Ute Indians, terrorizes the people of the Arizona Territory in the 1870s. When...

Journey Into Light
1951
as Rev, John Burrows
John Burrows, an ordained minister from a small village in the East, envisions himself with a larger congregation. He is mortified when his wife drunk...

The Asphalt Jungle
1950
as Dix Handley
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of v...

Manhandled
1949
as Joe Cooper
Merle Kramer works as a stenographer for a psychiatrist. She is casually dating Karl Benson, a private eye and former cop. Merle mentions in passing t...

El Paso
1949
as Bert Donner
Ex-confederate officer Clay Fletcher jumps at the chance to reunite with his once lady-friend, Susan Jeffers, when his father, Judge Fletcher, sends h...

Variety Girl
1947
as Sterling Hayden
Dozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (a show-business charity) are woven into a framework about two hopeful ...

Blaze of Noon
1947
as Tad McDonald
In this aerial melodrama, four brothers working as stunt pilots for a flying circus leave their jobs to become mail pilots. Because their job requires...

Bahama Passage
1941
as Adrian Ainsworth
A girl, Carol whom the audience is quickly informed "has been around," and her father arrive to take over the business management of an island in the ...

Virginia
1941
as Norman Williams
Post-Civil War romantic drama about defeated Southerners, starring Madeleine Carroll and Fred MacMurray.