It would be nice to go through a rundown ofDame Maggie Smith’s accomplishments on the silver screen under happier circumstances, but she hasregrettably passed away at the age of 89. The British actress has left behind quite a legacy though, as her earliest roles on stage date back to the 1950s. Prominent film roles started coming her way by the mid to late 1960s, and she remained active until 2023, with that year seeing the release ofher final movie, The Miracle Club.
Smith was much more than just a film actress, receiving acclaim on stage and also in the world of television, the latter largely thanks toDownton Abbey(2010-2015). What follows is a focus on the theatrically released movies she appeared in, taking into account both the quality of the film overall and the size/impact of the role she played (which also means no documentaries, though an honorable mention should go to the funny and heartfeltTea with the Damesfrom 2018).
10’California Suite' (1978)
Director: Herbert Ross
Maggie Smith won her second Oscarsomewhat surprisingly forCalifornia Suite, which is an impressive achievement considering such a win required her to stand out within a phenomenal cast. The number of big names in the film is the main reason to watch it, becauseCalifornia Suitealso features the likes ofJane Fonda,Alan Alda,Michael Caine,Walter Matthau,Elaine May, andRichard Pryor.
It’s a character-focused dramedy that jumps between various couples,all of them staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel and facing various personal/romantic dilemmas. Given it’s an anthology film of sorts, consistency’s not the word of the day, but there’s enough entertainment value and comedy here to make it a solid watch. Plus, it’s funny how Smith’s character is an Oscar-nominated actress preparing for the Academy Awards, and then she won one for real because ofCalifornia Suite.
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9’Travels with My Aunt' (1972)
Director: George Cukor
Even if the comedic story ofTravels with My Auntdoesn’t entirely work for you, the filmholds up owing to how it looks, as well asbecause of the fact that it featured one of six Oscar-nominated Maggie Smith performances. She plays the titular aunt, with the film revolving around how she pulls her nephew along with her to go on a series of adventures, predominantly to reconnect with an old lover.
Travels with My Auntis old-fashioned in a way that’s made it perhaps a little forgotten about as the decades have gone along, but it’s a decent enough comedic romp that holds up in enough ways for it to be more than watchable. It’s also a testament to just how much Smith’s been in that a film for which she received an Oscar nomination has been somewhat buried, as time’s marched on.
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8’The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' (2011)
Director: John Madden
LikeCalifornia Suite,The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelrevolves around a group of characters (unsurprisingly) staying at a hotel, and it also boasts an impressive ensemble cast that Maggie Smith’s one part of. She’s joined here by some other noteworthy – and older –British actors, includingBill Nighy,Tom Wilkinson, andJudi Dench.
Narratively,The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelkeeps things fairly loose, revolving around some retirees traveling to India and finding the hotel they’re staying at is less fancy than they’d been led to believe, but they predictably come around to it and find themselves charmed by the whole experience.The film hopes viewers will come away charmed, too, and most people should. It’s perhaps not a movie for the cynical or hard of heart, but anyone after something nice, breezy, and very British will likely find this one appealing.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
7’The Secret Garden' (1993)
Director: Agnieszka Holland
A fantasy film released a few years before Maggie Smith became known forstarring in another series of fantasy movies,The Secret Gardenis an adaptation of the 1911 children’s novel of the same name. Its plot concerns a young girl who’s sent to live with her uncle in his castle after her parents are killed, and the castle in question ends up being unusual and magical in nature.
It’s a very gentle film overall, and one that, though based on a children’s book, isn’t exclusively for children. Indeed,The Secret Gardenfeels like it’s from another time, given a good deal of children’s movies nowadays seem to be a little wilder and more high-energy, but younger viewers with decent attention spans – and older viewers who still feel young at heart – will likely find this one engaging.
The Secret Garden
A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle’s castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants’ boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.
6’Death on the Nile' (1978)
Director: John Guillermin
1978’sDeath on the Nileis perhaps the best film adaptation of the famedAgatha Christiestory of the same name. It’s one with the always reliably entertaining Hercule Poirot at its center, and has a distinctive setting and feel to it, thanks to taking place in Egypt. Much of it plays out on board a luxurious cruise ship, with various passengers being potential murder suspects when a wealthy young woman is mysteriously killed.
It’s awell-paced and entertaining mystery/thriller throughout, and joins 1974’sMurder on the Orient Expressas a fantastically cast 1970s Agatha Christie adaptation.You get more or less what you’d expect out of an adaptation ofDeath on the Nilehere, but it’s all very efficient and well put together, and worth it to see a whole bunch of great actors bouncing off each other.
Death On The Nile
5’Richard III' (1995)
Director: Richard Loncraine
AShakespeareadaptation andan unusually compelling war film of sortssimultaneously,Richard IIIis uniquely stylish and fantastically well-acted.Ian McKellenplays the titular role, and is admittedly the star of the show here (he was also credited with being a co-writer for the adapted screenplay).Richard IIIplays out during the 1930s, instead of the play’s original (and more historically accurate) setting of the 15th century.
It’s a Shakespearean tragedy, so there’s a ton of intrigue, betrayals, and death, some of it being somewhat darkly satirical, owing to the way it comments on the rise of fascism in the years leading up to World War II. AndMcKellen’s far from the only actor who impresses throughout, with Maggie Smith, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., and Kristin Scott Thomas all being great, too.
Richard III
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4The ‘Harry Potter’ Series (2001-2011)
Directors: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, David Yates
Look, including more than oneHarry Potterfilm in a ranking such as this would mean pushing out various other iconic movies Maggie Smith has appeared in. Also, trying to pick out a singleHarry Pottermovie would mean snubbing others, giventhe whole series is of pretty high qualityoverall. So, even if it’s cheating a little, it’s worth just shouting outall eightHarry Pottermovieshere, especially because Smith is so good in all of them.
It’s the role for which she’s perhaps most widely known today, and she’s one of the most appropriately cast actors in the whole series,embodying Professor Minerva McGonagall to the extent that it’s hard to go back and read the books without picturing her. She alternates between being warm, funny, and surprisingly intimidating shockingly well throughout, and played a key part in the entire film series working as well as it did.
Harry Potter
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3’A Room with a View' (1986)
Director: James Ivory
As far as romantic period dramas go,A Room with a Viewis often considered up there as one of the very best.It is sweeping, old-fashioned (in a good way), and very British, following a young woman who meets a man while traveling in Italy and falls for him, only for this to add complications to her return to ordinary life in England.
A Room with a ViewstarsHelena Bonham CarterandJulian Sandsin the lead roles, with strong supporting turns from an Oscar-nominated Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and avery young – and not as famous –Daniel Day-Lewis.A Room with a Viewunfolds slowly but surely, and looks beautiful throughout, all the while capturing the spirit and overall feel of its source material,E. M. Forster’s 1908 novel of the same name.
A Room with a View
2’Gosford Park' (2001)
Director: Robert Altman
Maggie Smith’s final Oscar-nominated performance was inGosford Parkwhere, like withCalifornia Suite, she ended up standing out within a massive ensemble cast. It’s impossible to properly address all the people who show up here, but that’s par for the coursewhen it comes toRobert Altman. Here, Smith isjoined bythe likes of Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles Dance, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, and Derek Jacobi, to name just a few.
Gosford Parkis technically about a mysterious murder with numerous suspects, but Altman isn’t as concerned with the mystery as you might expect from an Agatha Christie mystery, for example. A good deal of it’s an examination of class and wealth inequality, with characters of various social statuses co-existing and clashing at an English country house. It balances tones/genres well, is stuffed with great performances, and stands asone of Altman’s very best films.
Gosford Park
1’The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969)
Director: Ronald Neame
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodieis the film thatwon Maggie Smith her first Oscar, and can be looked at as a pivotal one for her movie career overall; if not a star-making role technically speaking, then it was at least one that showed she could carry a movie. She’s the titular character here, and her performance is the main reason to watch the film. For that, it has to be considered one of her best and most important.
The story ofThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodieis largely about an outspoken teacher clashing with authority figures at her school while focusing her attention on a small group of impressionable 12-year-old girls.It’s a character-centered dramawith an unusual and complex main character at its center, and the film largely works as well as it does because Smith was able to disappear into this role so effectively.
