The 10 Best Piper Laurie Movies and Shows, Ranked
BYJEREMY URQUHART
PUBLISHED 16 HOURS AGO
The late Piper Laurie was among the few actresses to earn an Oscar nomination for a horror picture.
Image by Federico Napoli
Piper Laurie had a remarkably lengthy career acting in film and television, with her earliest credits dating back to the 1950s and her final roles in the late 2010s. She passed away at the age of 91 in October 2023, leaving a considerable acting legacy and appearing in a huge variety of genres. Her awards success is also notable, with three Academy Award nominations, one Golden Globe from four nominations, and one Primetime Emmy Award from nine nominations.
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The following titles represent some of her most notable performances in both TV and film, taking into account both how good the films are overall and how prominently Laurie was featured. They represent her acting versatility and talent and are worth seeking out for anyone looking to celebrate her life and legacy.
10'The Faculty' (1998) ImageImage via Miramax Films
Robert Rodriguezwith, exploded onto the filmmaking scene with - appropriately enough, explosive action movies like the down-and-dirty El Mariachi and the slightly more polished Desperado. Following these, he explored the horror genre to decent success, making cult favourites like 1996's From Dusk Till Dawn and 1998's The Faculty.
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It's the latter that Piper Laurie appears in, playing a teacher at a school that appears to have been taken over by aliens, with mysterious forces controlling the teachers and making them do terrifying things. It's an outlandish but enjoyable film that screams 1990s, mixing sci-fi with horror and keeping viewers engaged.
9'Inherit the Wind' (1999) Image via Showtime
Inherit the Wind is a 1955 play that dramatises a legal case from the 1920s that's come to be known as the Scopes Trial. It revolves around an educator teaching human evolution to his students in a state-funded school, which was a no-go at the time. However, the play and the famous 1960 film adaptation use this real-life case to explore the idea of McCarthyism, then plaguing the Hollywood machine.
Though not as well-known as the 1960 version, another adaptation of Inherit the Wind was released as a TV movie in 1999, with Piper Laurie in a supporting role. She plays Sarah Brady, the wife of a man working for the prosecution of the central trial. She appears alongside a surprisingly good cast for a TV movie, including Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott.
8'The Thorn Birds' (1983) Image via ABC
An ambitious miniseries that saw Laurie get Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, The Thorn Birds runs for four episodes. It follows several generations of the Cleary family, spanning decades and showing their lives in the Australian outback, working in and around a sheep station.
The Thorn Birdsin terms of might not be particularly appealing nowadays, but it was enormously successful when it first aired in viewership and award recognition. The Thorn Birds tells the kind of story that the miniseries format was essentially created for. It's more purposeful and direct than traditional television and tells too epic a narrative to be condensed into a single movie.
7'Tim' (1979) ImageImage via Greater Union Film Distributors
Everyone knows about one particular Mel Gibson movie from 1979—the first Mad Max—but Tim isn't quite as well-known. It's expected, given this is a low-key drama about a surprising romance blossoming between two people, which might not be as immediate or eye-catching as a revenge story told in a dystopian setting.
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Gibson plays the titular Tim, a gardener who falls in love with his employer, a widowed older woman played by Laurie. Tim follows all the sorts of familiar beats expected from a romantic drama and does it fairly well, largely succeeding because Gibson and Laurie are solid and share a surprisingly intense chemistry.
6'Twin Peaks' (1990–1991) Image via ABC
Twin Peaks, an undeniably iconic TV series that ranks among the all-time greats, is is an iconic and highly influential part of 90s television. It starts as a murder mystery in a small town, combining this central story with increasingly soapy subplots and surreal horror elements.
To call Twin Peaks bizarre would be an understatement, but it's also entirely engrossing. It benefits from the creative voices of its showrunners—David Lynch and the all-too-often overlooked Mark Frost—and its immensely talented and huge cast. Laurie's role as Catherine Martell is one of many great performances and characters in the show, with Martell's entertaining rivalry with Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) and Josie Packard (Joan Chen) being a series highlight.
5'Days of Wine and Roses' (1958) Image via CBS
An uneasy yet vital exploration of alcoholism, Days of Wine and Roses might be best known from the 1962 film that starred Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. But the 1958 TV production, starring Cliff Robertsonroles, and Laurie in the lead roles - ultimately paved the way for the higher-budgeted 1962 adaptation.
Days of Wine and Roses revolves around an alcoholic man marrying a woman and getting her to drink as frequently as he does, making them both grapple with the trials and tribulations that come from addiction. It's bleak and not at all fun, feeling brutally honest by 1950s standards. However, it shouldn't be, considering it touches on a delicate and all-too-important subject.
4'The Crossing Guard' (1995) ImageImage via Miramax Films
A 1995 movie directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson in the lead role, The Crossing Guard follows a man waiting to avenge his daughter, who died in a hit-and-run incident. The culprit is released from prison, and the vengeful father tells him that, in a week, he will be dead for what he's done.
Typical of any movie directed by Sean Penn, it's aggressively blunt, but the performances undoubtedly shine through. Laurie plays the culprit's mother and helps sell the difficult and intensely emotional moments throughout the film, confirming her reputation as one of cinema's all-time greats.
3'Children of a Lesser God' (1986) ImageImage via Paramount Pictures
Piper Laurie received her third Oscar nomination for her performance in the romantic drama Children of a Lesser God. The film revolves around a young woman who's deaf and her unexpected romance with a new teacher who arrives at the school for deaf people where she works.
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Marlee Matlin, who made her debut here and won an Oscar for it, and William Hurt lead the film, with Laurie playing Matlin's character's mother. It's a well-made and exceptionally acted movie, perhaps feeling less impressive when it comes to those non-acting elements. Alas, Matlin, Hurt, and Laurie all give performances worth appreciating.
2'The Hustler' (1961) Image via 20th Century Fox
Standing as arguably one of the greatest movies of the 1960s, The Hustler is an iconic sports movie that gave Paul Newman and Piper Laurie two of their most legendary roles. Newman stars as pool hustler Fast Eddie, who challenges a more experienced player to a high-stakes match. Laurie co-stars as his girlfriend, Sarah Packard.
The Hustler is more than just a sports movie; it includes a healthy dose of drama to balance the story. Laurie earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination, her first and only mention in the leading category. The actress is the perfect companion for Newman's suave character, standing as one of the pillars upon which this timeless film rises.
1'Carrie' (1976) ImageImage via United Artists
Combining psychological drama and horror with dark coming-of-age elements, Carrie is a classic and one of the great horror movies of the 1970s. The titular character, played by Sissy Spacek, faces bullying at school and an oppressive life at home thanks to her overbearing mother, eventually leading her to snap and seek revenge using her telekinetic powers on those who wronged her.
Brian De Palma does some of his best directing in Carrieactresses,, and the two lead actresses - Spacek and Laurie, are at their best. Piper Laurie's game-changing villainunforgettable—a remains chilling and unforgettable, a rabid and terrifying religious fanatic who drives much of the film's conflict. Laurie shines brightly, with her portrayal of Margaret White easily standing as the best work she ever did.
Next:The Best R-rated Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeremy Urquhart (788 articles published)
Jeremy is an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet. He'll gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU—well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
His favourite directors include Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, John Woo, Bob Fosse, Fritz Lang, Guillermo del Toro, and Yoji Yamada. He's also very proud of the fact that he's seen every single Nicolas Cage movie released before 2022, even though doing so often feels like a tremendous waste of time. He's plagued by the question of whether or not The Room is genuinely terrible or some kind of accidental masterpiece, and it has been for more than 12 years (and a similar number of viewings).
When he's not writing lists—and the occasional feature article—for Collider, he also likes to upload film reviews to his Letterboxd profile (username: Jeremy Urquhart) and Instagram account.
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