48. KIRK DOUGLAS
Paths of Glory (1957)

The barrel-chested star brings his always dependable combination of dimpled-chin ruggedness and Everyman pragmatism to the role of Colonel Dax, the unflinchingly reasonable defender of three French soldiers unjustly executed for cowardice during World War I. And damned if he doesn't dominate Stanley Kubrick's wartime fable — even though he's not in it a whole lot. Douglas' work here is simply one of cinema's purest portrayals of nobility and honor.