List of American films of 1972

A list of American films released in 1972.
Cabaret won 8 Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Actress. The Godfather won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
==A–C==
Title 	Director 	Cast 	Genre 	Note
1776 	Peter H. Hunt 	William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Donald Madden, Ken Howard, John Cullum, Ron Holgate, Blythe Danner	Musical 	Columbia; adapted from stage musical
Across 110th Street 	Barry Shear 	Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Tony Franciosa 	Crime drama 	United Artists
Another Nice Mess 	Bob Einstein 	Rich Little, Herb Voland 	Comedy 	
Avanti! 	Billy Wilder 	Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill 	Comedy 	based on Samuel A. Taylor play
Bad Company 	Robert Benton 	Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown 	Western 	Paramount
Ben 	Phil Karlson 	Meredith Baxter, Joseph Campanella 	Horror 	sequel to Willard
Behind the Green Door 	Artie Mitchell, Jim Mitchell	Marilyn Chambers, Johnnie Keyes 	Adult 	
Beware! The Blob 	Larry Hagman 	Robert Walker Jr., Dick Van Patten 	Sci-fi 	
The Big Bird Cage 	Jack Hill 	Pam Grier, Anitra Ford, Sid Haig 	Exploitation 	New World
Black Rage 	Chris Robinson 	Ted Cassidy, Phyllis Robinson 	Drama 	
Blacula 	William Crain 	William Marshall, Vonetta McGee 	Horror 	based on Dracula
Bluebeard 	Edward Dmytryk 	Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, Joey Heatherton, Virna Lisi, Nathalie Delon 	Thriller 	Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Bone 	Larry Cohen 	Yaphet Kotto, Andrew Duggan, Joyce Van Patten 	Crime drama 	
Boxcar Bertha 	Martin Scorsese 	Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, John Carradine, Bernie Casey 	Drama 	American International
Buck and the Preacher 	Sidney Poitier 	Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee 	Western 	Columbia
Butterflies Are Free 	Milton Katselas 	Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart, Paul Michael Glaser 	Comedy 	Oscar for Heckart
Cabaret 	Bob Fosse 	Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York 	Musical 	Allied Artists; Oscars for Fosse and Minnelli; 8 total
The Candidate 	Michael Ritchie 	Robert Redford, Melvyn Douglas, Peter Boyle 	Drama 	Warner Bros.; Oscar for screenplay
The Carey Treatment 	Blake Edwards 	James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill 	Mystery 	based on novel by Michael Crichton
Chato's Land 	Michael Winner 	Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite, Simon Oakland 	Western 	United Artists
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things	Bob Clark 	Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches 	Horror 	
Child's Play 	Sidney Lumet 	James Mason, Robert Preston, Beau Bridges 	Mystery 	Paramount
Cisco Pike 	Bill L. Norton 	Kris Kristofferson, Gene Hackman, Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton 	Drama 	Sony Pictures
Come Back, Charleston Blue 	Mark Warren 	Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques 	Comedy 	sequel to Cotton Comes to Harlem
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes 	J. Lee Thompson 	Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalbán, Hari Rhodes 	Science fiction	3rd sequel to Planet of the Apes
Cool Breeze 	Barry Pollack 	Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace 	Crime 	MGM
A Cop 	Jean-Pierre Melville 	Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve 	Crime 	Allied Artists
Corky 	Leonard Horn 	Robert Blake, Charlotte Rampling, Patrick O'Neal, Christopher Connelly 	Action 	MGM
The Cowboys 	Mark Rydell 	John Wayne, Bruce Dern, Roscoe Lee Browne, Robert Carradine, A Martinez 	Western 	Warner Bros.; became TV series
The Culpepper Cattle Co. 	Dick Richards 	Gary Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Luke Askew, Bo Hopkins 	Western 	20th Century Fox
==D–G==
Title 	Director 	Cast 	Genre 	Note
Deep Throat 	Gerard Damiano 	Linda Lovelace, Harry Reems 	Adult 	
Deliverance 	John Boorman 	Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox 	Drama 	James Dickey novel; 3 Oscar nominations
Dirty Little Billy 	Stan Dragoti 	Michael J. Pollard, Lee Purcell 	Western 	Columbia
The Doberman Gang 	Byron Chudnow 	Julie Parrish, Hal Reed 	Crime, Action 	inspired 2 sequels
Dr. Phibes Rises Again 	Robert Fuest 	Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry, Beryl Reid, Fiona Lewis, Terry-Thomas 	Horror 	A.I.P.; sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Dynamite Chicken 	Ernest Pintoff 	Richard Pryor, Al Goldstein 	Comedy 	
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds 	Paul Newman 	Joanne Woodward 	Drama 	based on a play by Paul Zindel
Elvis on Tour 	Pierre Adidge, Robert Abel	Elvis Presley 	Documentary 	MGM; won Golden Globe for Best Documentary
Endless Night 	Sidney Gilliat 	Hayley Mills, Britt Eklund 	Mystery 	based on a book by Agatha Christie
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)	Woody Allen 	Woody Allen, Gene Wilder, Burt Reynolds, Tony Randall, Louise Lasser, Lynn Redgrave, Heather MacRae, Lou Jacobi, Regis Philbin 	Comedy 	based on a book by David Reuben
Fat City 	John Huston 	Jeff Bridges, Stacy Keach, Susan Tyrrell 	Drama 	based on a novel by Leonard Gardner
Fillmore 	Richard T. Heffron 	Santana, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane 	Documentary 	Concert film
The Final Comedown 	Oscar Williams 	Billy Dee Williams, Celia Kaye 	blaxploitation 	
Five Summer Stories 	Greg MacGillivray 	Eddie Aikau 	Documentary 	
Fritz the Cat 	Ralph Bakshi 	Skip Hinnant 	Animated, Adult	first animated film Rated X
Frogs 	George McCowan 	Ray Milland, Sam Elliott 	Horror 	AIP
Fuzz 	Richard A. Colla 	Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Yul Brynner, Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt 	Action comedy 	United Artists
Get to Know Your Rabbit 	Brian De Palma 	Tom Smothers, Katharine Ross, Orson Welles 	Comedy 	Warner Bros.
The Getaway 	Sam Peckinpah 	Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Al Lettieri, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Jack Dodson, Bo Hopkins, Dub Taylor, Slim Pickens 	Crime drama 	based on a novel by Jim Thompson; remade in 1994
The Godfather 	Francis Ford Coppola 	Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Richard Castellano, Richard Conte, Sterling Hayden, Al Lettieri, Gianni Russo, Abe Vigoda, John Marley, Alex Rocco, Al Martino	Crime drama 	Paramount; won 3 Oscars; top-grossing film of 1972; based on novel by Mario Puzo
Grave of the Vampire 	John Hayes 	William Smith, Lyn Peters 	Horror 	
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid 	Philip Kaufman 	Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall 	Western 	Universal
==H–M==
Title 	Director 	Cast 	Genre 	Note
Hammer 	Bruce D. Clark 	Fred Williamson, Bernie Hamilton, Vonetta McGee 	Action 	United Artists
Hammersmith Is Out 	Peter Ustinov 	Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Ustinov 	Comedy 	Cinerama Corp.
The Heartbreak Kid 	Elaine May 	Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Eddie Albert, Audra Lindley 	Comedy 	script by Neil Simon; 2 Oscar nominations; remade in 2007
Heat 	Paul Morrissey 	Joe Dallesandro, Sylvia Miles 	Drama 	produced by Andy Warhol
Hickey & Boggs 	Robert Culp 	Bill Cosby, Robert Culp 	Crime 	United Artists
Hit Man 	George Armitage 	Bernie Casey, Pam Grier 	Crime 	MGM
The Hot Rock 	Peter Yates 	Robert Redford, George Segal, Zero Mostel 	Crime 	William Goldman script; from book by Donald Westlake
Images 	Robert Altman 	Susannah York, René Auberjonois 	Thriller 	Columbia
J.W. Coop 	Cliff Robertson 	Cliff Robertson, Geraldine Page 	Western 	Columbia
Jeremiah Johnson 	Sydney Pollack 	Robert Redford, Will Geer 	Western 	Warner Bros.
Joe Kidd 	John Sturges 	Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon 	Western 	Universal; script by Elmore Leonard
Journey Back to Oz 	Hal Sutherland 	Milton Berle, Herschel Bernardi, Margaret Hamilton 	Animation 	based on Oz book
Junior Bonner 	Sam Peckinpah 	Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Barbara Leigh, Ben Johnson 	Western 	Cinerama Releasing Corp.
Kansas City Bomber 	Jerrold Freedman 	Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy 	Drama 	MGM
The King of Marvin Gardens 	Bob Rafelson 	Jack Nicholson, Ellen Burstyn, Bruce Dern 	Drama 	Columbia
Lady Sings the Blues 	Sidney J. Furie 	Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor 	Biography 	story of Billie Holiday; 5 Oscar nominations
The Last House on the Left 	Wes Craven 	Sandra Cassel, David A. Hess 	Horror 	
Last of the Red Hot Lovers 	Gene Saks 	Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss 	Comedy 	Paramount; based on Neil Simon play
Left Hand of Gemini 	 	Ian McShane, Richard Egan 	Sci-fi 	
The Legend of Black Charley 	Martin Goldman 	Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin 	Western 	Paramount
The Legend of Boggy Creek 	Charles B. Pierce	William Stumpp 	Mystery 	
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean	John Huston 	Paul Newman, Anthony Perkins, Victoria Principal, Jacqueline Bisset, John Huston, Ava Gardner	Western, Biography	Oscar, Golden Globe for Song
Limbo 	Mark Robson 	Kathleen Nolan, Kate Jackson, Stuart Margolin 	Drama 	
Los Amigos 	Paolo Cavara 	Anthony Quinn, Franco Nero, Pamela Tiffin 	Western 	MGM
The Magnificent Seven Ride 	George McGowan 	Lee Van Cleef, George Kennedy, Stefanie Powers 	Western 	third sequel to The Magnificent Seven
The Man 	Joseph Sargent 	James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, Barbara Rush 	Drama 	script by Rod Serling
Man of La Mancha 	Arthur Hiller 	Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco 	Musical 	based on Dale Wasserman play; 2 Golden Globes
The Mechanic 	Michael Winner 	Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent 	Action 	United Artists; remade in 2011
Melinda 	Hugh A. Robertson	Calvin Lockhart, Vonetta McGee 	Drama 	MGM
==N–S==
Title 	Director 	Cast 	Genre 	Note
Napoleon and Samantha 	Bernard McEveety 	Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster 	Adventure 	Disney
Necromancy 	Bert I. Gordon 	Orson Welles, Lee Purcell 	Horror 	
The New Centurions 	Richard Fleischer 	George C. Scott, Stacy Keach 	Crime drama 	based on a novel by Joseph Wambaugh
Night of the Lepus 	William F. Claxton 	Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh 	Horror 	MGM
Now You See Him, Now You Don't	Robert Butler 	Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn 	Sci-fi, Comedy 	Disney
The Offence 	Sidney Lumet 	Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant 	Drama 	United Artists
One Is a Lonely Number 	Mel Stuart 	Trish Van Devere, Monte Markham, Janet Leigh 	Drama 	MGM
The Other 	Robert Mulligan 	Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, John Ritter 	Horror 	20th Century Fox; from Tom Tryon novel
Painters Painting 	Emile de Antonio 	Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning 	Documentary 	
Pancho Villa 	Eugenio Martin 	Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Chuck Connors 	Western 	filmed in Spain
Payday 	Daryl Duke 	Rip Torn, Ahna Capri 	Drama 	Cinerama Releasing
Pete 'n' Tillie 	Martin Ritt 	Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, Geraldine Page 	Comedy, Drama 	Universal; 2 Oscar nominations
Pink Flamingos 	John Waters 	Divine 	Comedy 	cult film
Play It Again, Sam 	Herbert Ross 	Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Susan Anspach 	Comedy 	Paramount; based on Allen's play
Play It as It Lays 	Frank Perry 	Tuesday Weld, Anthony Perkins, Adam Roarke 	Drama 	Universal; from Joan Didion novel
Pocket Money 	Stuart Rosenberg 	Paul Newman, Lee Marvin 	Western, Comedy 	Terrence Malick script
Pope Joan 	Michael Anderson 	Liv Ullmann, Olivia de Havilland 	Drama 	Columbia
Portnoy's Complaint 	Ernest Lehman 	Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, Lee Grant 	Comedy, Drama 	Warner Bros.; from novel by Philip Roth
The Poseidon Adventure 	Ronald Neame 	Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Carol Lynley, Pamela Sue Martin, Red Buttons, Jack Albertson	Disaster film, Adventure	based on Paul Gallico novel; won 2 Oscars
The Possession of Joel Delaney	Waris Hussein 	Shirley MacLaine, Perry King, Michael Hordern 	Horror 	Paramount
Prime Cut 	Michael Ritchie 	Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek, Angel Tompkins 	Drama, Action 	National General
Private Parts 	Paul Bartel 	Stanley Livingston 	Horror 	
Rage 	George C. Scott 	George C. Scott, Martin Sheen 	Drama 	Warner Bros.
Red Sun 	Terence Young 	Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress 	Western 	National General
A Reflection of Fear 	William A. Fraker 	Robert Shaw, Sondra Locke, Sally Kellerman 	Drama 	Columbia
The Revengers 	Daniel Mann 	William Holden, Ernest Borgnine 	Western 	National General
The Salzburg Connection 	Lee H. Katzin 	Barry Newman, Anna Karina, Klaus Maria Brandauer 	Thriller 	20th Century Fox
Savages 	James Ivory 	Susan Blakely, Sam Waterston 	Comedy 	
Shaft's Big Score 	Gordon Parks 	Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn 	Crime drama 	sequel to Shaft
Silent Running 	Douglas Trumbull 	Bruce Dern, Ron Rifkin 	Sci-fi 	Universal
Sitting Target 	Douglas Hickox 	Oliver Reed, Jill St. John 	Drama 	MGM
Skyjacked 	John Guillermin 	Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, James Brolin, Jeanne Crain, Walter Pidgeon, Roosevelt Grier, Leslie Uggams 	Disaster film 	MGM; Crain's final film
Slaughter 	Jack Starrett 	Jim Brown, Rip Torn, Stella Stevens 	Crime drama 	A.I.P.; followed by 1973 sequel
Slaughterhouse-Five 	George Roy Hill 	Michael Sacks, Valerie Perrine 	Sci-fi, Drama 	from Kurt Vonnegut novel
Snoopy, Come Home 	Bill Meléndez 	Voices of Chad Webber, Robin Kohn, Hilary Momberger, Johanna Baer 	Animated 	sequel to A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Snowball Express 	Norman Tokar 	Nancy Olson, Dean Jones 	Family 	Disney
Sounder 	Martin Ritt 	Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks 	Drama 	4 Oscar nominations; based on novel
Stigma 	David E. Durston 	Philip Michael Thomas 	Drama 	
The Summertime Killer 	Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi	Olivia Hussey, Christopher Mitchum, Karl Malden 	Crime drama 	
Super Fly 	Gordon Parks Junior 	Ron O'Neal, Julius Harris 	Crime drama 	Curtis Mayfield score
==T–Z==
Title 	Director 	Cast 	Genre 	Note
They Only Kill Their Masters 	James Goldstone 	James Garner. Katharine Ross 	Mystery 	MGM
The Thing with Two Heads 	Lee Frost 	Ray Milland, Roosevelt Grier 	Sci-fi 	AIP
Thumb Tripping 	Quentin Masters 	Bruce Dern, Meg Foster 	Drama 	Avco Embassy
To Find a Man 	Buzz Kulik 	Pamela Sue Martin, Darren O'Connor, Tom Bosley	Drama 	Columbia
Tomorrow 	Joseph Anthony 	Robert Duvall, Peter Masterson 	Drama 	Horton Foote script
Travels with My Aunt 	George Cukor 	Maggie Smith, Louis Gossett Jr. 	Comedy 	based on novel by Graham Greene
Treasure Island 	Hal Sutherland 	Richard Dawson, Davy Jones, Dal McKennon 	Adventure 	animated; based on the novel
Treasure Island 	John Hough 	Orson Welles, Lionel Stander, Walter Slezak 	Adventure 	live-action; based on the novel
Trouble Man 	Ivan Dixon 	Robert Hooks, Paula Kelly 	Crime drama	Marvin Gaye score
Ulzana's Raid 	Robert Aldrich 	Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Richard Jaeckel	Western 	Universal
Up the Sandbox 	Irvin Kershner 	Barbra Streisand 	Comedy 	based on Anne Roiphe novel
The Visitors 	Elia Kazan 	Patrick McVey, Patricia Joyce, James Woods 	Drama 	Woods' first film
The War Between Men and Women	Melville Shavelson 	Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris 	Comedy 	National General
What's Up, Doc? 	Peter Bogdanovich 	Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn 	Comedy 	Kahn's first film
When the Legends Die 	Stuart Millar 	Richard Widmark, Frederic Forrest 	Drama 	20th Century Fox
Winter Soldier 	Barbara Kopple 	John Kerry 	Documentary	
The Woman Hunter 	Bernard L. Kowalski	Barbara Eden, Robert Vaughn 	Mystery 	made for TV
The Wrath of God 	Ralph Nelson 	Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Rita Hayworth 	Western 	Hayworth's final film
You'll Like My Mother 	Lamont Johnson 	Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy 	Horror 	Universal
==External links==
1972 films on IMDb
1972
Films
Category:Lists of 1972 films by country or language