Characters in need of an intervention
by dan_dassow | created - 01 Jan 2014 | updated - 01 Jan 2014 | PublicFictional characters or real-people bios featuring people with addictions. Tobacco use not included.
Poll suggested by horn-5.
You may discuss the poll here.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Lost Weekend (1945)
Passed | 101 min | Drama, Film-Noir
The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva
Votes: 40,163 | Gross: $9.46M
Don Birnam (Ray Milland)
2. Too Much, Too Soon (1958)
Passed | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The daughter of iconic actor John Barrymore becomes reunited with her father after a ten year estrangement and engages in his self-destructive lifestyle.
Director: Art Napoleon | Stars: Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ray Danton
Votes: 766
Diana Barrymore (Dorothy Malone)
3. Too Much, Too Soon (1958)
Passed | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The daughter of iconic actor John Barrymore becomes reunited with her father after a ten year estrangement and engages in his self-destructive lifestyle.
Director: Art Napoleon | Stars: Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ray Danton
Votes: 766
John Barrymore (Errol Flynn)
4. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Alcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 31,076 | Gross: $95.46M
Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore)
5. The Country Girl (1954)
Unrated | 104 min | Drama, Music
A director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross
Votes: 6,665
Frank Elgin (Bing Crosby)
6. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Votes: 915,357 | Gross: $45.60M
Tony Montana (Al Pacino)
7. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 361,838 | Gross: $48.98M
Nick (Christopher Walken)
8. I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
Passed | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Susan Hayward stars as singer-actress Lillian Roth, whose rise to stardom was nearly destroyed by alcoholism.
Director: Daniel Mann | Stars: Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert, Jo Van Fleet
Votes: 2,483
Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward)
9. The Rose (1979)
R | 125 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 9,243 | Gross: $29.20M
Mary Rose Foster (Bette Midler)
10. All That Jazz (1979)
R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer
Votes: 35,338 | Gross: $37.82M
Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider)
11. A Star Is Born (1954)
Passed | 154 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford
Votes: 19,667 | Gross: $14.93M
Norman Maine (James Mason)
12. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Not Rated | 161 min | Drama, Mystery
An upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell
Votes: 71,271 | Gross: $11.90M
Parnell Emmett McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell)
13. To Have and Have Not (1944)
Passed | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Film-Noir
During World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan, Dolores Moran
Votes: 37,970
Eddie (Walter Brennan)
14. The African Queen (1951)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull
Votes: 84,253 | Gross: $0.54M
Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart)
15. True Grit (1969)
G | 128 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate
Votes: 51,401 | Gross: $31.13M
Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn (John Wayne)
16. W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
PG | 111 min | Biography, Drama
One of comedies true originals - the master of wit and good, mean fun, the curmudgeonly, and very original, the legendary W.C. Fields' is wonderfully portrayed by Rod Steiger in this off-beat biopic.
Director: Arthur Hiller | Stars: Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, John Marley, Jack Cassidy
Votes: 509
W.C. Fields (Rod Steiger)
17. Under the Volcano (1984)
R | 112 min | Drama
A day in the life of a self-destructive British consul in Mexico on the eve of World War II.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews, Ignacio López Tarso
Votes: 6,225 | Gross: $2.56M
Geoffrey Firmin (Albert Finney)
18. Casino (1995)
R | 178 min | Crime, Drama
In Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods
Votes: 563,247 | Gross: $42.44M
Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone)
19. My Favorite Year (1982)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
An aging, dissolute matinee idol is slated to appear on a live TV variety show in 1954, and a young comedy writer is tasked with the thankless job of keeping him ready and sober for the broadcast.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna
Votes: 10,471 | Gross: $20.12M
Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole)
20. Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
Approved | 110 min | Comedy, Romance
The sprightly young assistant of a Hollywood screenwriter helps him over his writer's block by acting out his fantasies of possible plots.
Director: Richard Quine | Stars: William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, Grégoire Aslan, Raymond Bussières
Votes: 9,447
Rick (William Holden)
21. The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
Approved | 165 min | Comedy, Western
On its way to Denver, a cargo of whiskey destined for the miners, is sought after by the Temperance League, the U.S. Cavalry, the local Indians and the miners themselves.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin
Votes: 4,424 | Gross: $8.72M
'Oracle' Jones (Donald Pleasence)
22. The Champ (I) (1931)
Passed | 86 min | Drama, Family, Sport
An alcoholic ex-boxer struggles to provide a good living for his son.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates
Votes: 3,619
Billy Flynn (Wallace Beery)
23. Cat Ballou (1965)
Not Rated | 97 min | Western
A young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.
Director: Elliot Silverstein | Stars: Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman
Votes: 16,178 | Gross: $20.67M
Shelleen-Strawn (Lee Marvin)
24. Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Romance
An emotionally remote recovering alcoholic and his dowdy, unambitious wife face a personal crisis when they take in an attractive lodger.
Director: Daniel Mann | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 5,379
Doc Delaney (Burt Lancaster)
25. Reefer Madness (1936)
PG | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.
Director: Louis J. Gasnier | Stars: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien
Votes: 9,326
Ralph Wiley (Dave O'Brien)
26. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Passed | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker, Arnold Stang
Votes: 12,200
Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra)
27. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
To treat his friend's cocaine induced delusions, Watson lures Sherlock Holmes to Sigmund Freud.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall, Nicol Williamson
Votes: 5,093
Sherlock Holmes (Nicol Williamson)
28. Ed Wood (1994)
R | 127 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette
Votes: 183,874 | Gross: $5.89M
Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau)
29. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 24,910 | Gross: $42.35M
Coach Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau)
30. Kansas City (1996)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Music
A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy
Votes: 5,412 | Gross: $1.35M
Carolyn Stilton (Miranda Richardson)
31. Narcotic (1933)
Not Rated | 57 min | Biography, Drama, Horror
Exploitation film which follows the downward spiral of an idealistic medical student whose fall from grace leads him to opium dens, a carnival freakshow, swanky drug parties, dingy brothels, and finally the barrel of his own revolver.
Directors: Dwain Esper, Vival Sodar't | Stars: Harry Cording, Joan Dix, Patricia Farley, Jean Lacy
Votes: 416
Dr. William G. Davis (Harry Cording)
32. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 709,310 | Gross: $83.47M
Photojournalist (Dennis Hopper)
33. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
R | 120 min | Drama, Western
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane
Votes: 27,604 | Gross: $8.20M
Constance Miller (Julie Christie)
34. Barney's Version (2010)
R | 134 min | Comedy, Drama
The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
Director: Richard J. Lewis | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Jake Hoffman, Macha Grenon
Votes: 26,230 | Gross: $7.50M
Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti)
35. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance
Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Director: Mike Figgis | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis
Votes: 134,493 | Gross: $32.03M
Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage)
Tell Your Friends