Top Fifteen Grumpy Old Men
AMC Movie List

Top Fifteen Grumpy Old Men

They're bold, they're old, and you'd better get off their lawn. How do you rank these classic movie curmudgeons?

rank title points votes your vote
1 Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) and John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon), Grumpy Old Men
Long into their careers, Matthau and Lemmon took on roles as cranky senior citizens. This was their sixth movie pairing. 142 228
2 Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), Gran Torino
As a disgruntled Korean War vet with one prized possession, this old man won’t win any Neighbor of the Year awards. 140 236
3 Mickey Goodmill (Burgess Meredith), Rocky
Rocky’s trainer is a crotchety but loveable mentor. In the original script, though, he was a not-so-loveable racist. 86 174
4 Curly Washburn (Jack Palance), City Slickers
Even though the leathery cowboy drops dead, the producers brought him back, as a twin, in the sequel. 80 166
5 Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner), Up
Asner's won Emmys playing a grouchy boss, but this time he’s a crotchety widower who rediscovers his passion for life. 50 170
6 Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson), As Good As It Gets
Nicholson won an Academy Award for his role as Melvin Udall, a popular novelist who hates people. 49 173
7 Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim), A Christmas Carol
One of the world’s most famous misers. Scrooge's portrayal by Sim stands above all others. 46 174
8 Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), It’s a Wonderful Life
The ruthless Potter gets away with embezzling, and torturing one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, Jimmy Stewart. 29 165
9 Frank Slade (Al Pacino), Scent of a Woman
As a blind, retired Army colonel barking at a helpless Chris O'Donnell, Pacino is as sympathetic as he is miserly. 25 157
10 Grandpa Hoover (Alan Arkin), Little Miss Sunshine
This patriarch has a yen for profanity-laced tirades. The role won Arkin an Oscar. 9 155
11 Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney), Reservoir Dogs
According to director Quentin Tarantino, this badass mobster -- in charge of color-coded thugs -- was just as vicious offscreen. -5 129
12 Sully Sullivan (Paul Newman), Nobody’s Fool
Newman's geriatric slacker shirks responsibility, until his son moves nearby, when he (finally) begins to act his age. -6 120
13 William Forrester (Sean Connery), Finding Forrester
A reclusive novelist takes a budding writer under his wing, grumbling and grousing along the way. -13 127
14 Howard Beale (Peter Finch), Network
This American blowhard, played by a Brit, famously yells, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” -48 118
15 Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando), The Island of Dr. Moreau
Not only is Dr. Moreau grumpy, he’s also a little insane about his island of mutant animals. -48 128