How many of these 11 hit movies of the 1970s can you guess from the image? Remember your number, because we’ll tell you how you scored at the end.
1970
This was the No. 2 top-grossing movie of 1970, with an all-star cast that included Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Jean Seberg and Jacqueline Bisset. It earned more than $106 million at the box office.
Want a hint? Note the background of the shot, and where our stars are.
Ready for the answer? OK. It is… scroll down…
1970 Answer: Airport
Coming in just behind the top-grossing film of 1970s, Love Story, Airport followed a formula that The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and other 1970s disaster movies would follow:
Take a bunch of A-list stars, put them in peril, and watch the sparks fly.
Burt Lancaster once dismissed Airport as “the biggest piece of junk ever made,” but it inspired three sequels and was later satirized, of course, by 1980’s Airplane.
1971
This story of a Vietnam veteran, part-Navajo hapkido master was one of the biggest hits to come out in 1971 — especially after its re-release — and even beat Dirty Harry, the first of Clint Eastwood’s five films about San Francisco cop Harry Callahan.
Okay, one more huge hint: It starred Tom Laughlin in the title role, and was known for the song “One Tin Soldier.”
Ready? Scroll down for the answer…
1971 Answer: Billy Jack
Warner Bros.
Yes, we know it’s crazy, but Billy Jack really did beat Dirty Harry. Of course, Billy Jack had the advantage of being based on a character audiences already knew: Billy Jack had made his debut in the 1967 outlaw biker hit The Born Losers (above).
Billy Jack remains one of the cult favorite movies of the 1970s.
1972
Marlon Brando starred in two of the Top 10 movies at the box office in 1972. The first, as you probably guessed, was The Godfather.
Can you guess the second one, in which he starred with Maria Schneider (above)?
Hint: It has a city in its title.
And the film is…
1972 Answer: Last Tango in Paris
United Artists
Yep, it’s Last Tango in Paris, a film that has been castigated in recent years because of Schneider’s allegations that she was mistreated by Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci during a crucial scene involving butter.
It’s one of the movies of the 1970s that also made our list of Sex Scenes Someone Should Have Stopped.
1973
This one looks like a classic film from the 1940s, not one of the hit movies of the 1970s, and that’s very much by design.
If you’ve seen this absolute charmer, featuring the star of the biggest hit of 1970 and his real-life daughter, you certainly remember it.
It’s sad, but also an absolute charmer.
Scroll down for its title…
1973 Answer: Paper Moon
Paramount Pictures
Paper Moon starred Ryan O’Neal, who also topped the box office opposite Ali MacGraw in 1970’s Love Story. For Paper Moon, a Depression-era story of a con man on a road trip with a cantankerous child who just might be his daughter.
Director Peter Bogdanovich wisely paired O’Neal with his real-life daughter, Tatum, who deservedly won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
1974
1974 was a very good year for Mel Brooks: He released not only the Western satire Blazing Saddles, the top film of the year, but also another comedy, satirizing another genre.
We know, for comedy fans, this is an easy one.
By the way, here are some Behind the Scenes Stories of Blazing Saddles.
And now, scroll down for the answer.
1974 Answer: Young Frankenstein
The comedy classic Young Frankenstein was still playing in theaters through 1975, when members of Aerosmith saw it and borrowed one of the best jokes in the film for the title of their hit “Walk This Way,” as we detail in this list of Classic Rock Songs Inspired by Movies We Love.
So it isn’t just one of the hit movies of the 1970s — it also helped inspire one of the biggest hit songs of the 1970s.
1975
This one is a cult hit that still plays in theaters all over the country today.
If you don’t know what it is, please go see it immediately. Preferably at midnight.
And scroll down for the title…
1975 Answer: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
20th Century Fox
Yep, it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry, and many more.
Rocky Horror isn’t just a cult hit, but also a legit hit: It was solidly in the Top 10 movies of 1975, behind hits like Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Shampoo.
All of those movies are terrific, but they don’t inspire midnight singalongs across America.
1976
We can’t stress enough what a red-hot star Gene Wilder was in the 1970s.
This was the first of his four pairings with one of the greatest comics of all time, Richard Pryor.
Scroll down for the name of the film.
1976 Answer: Silver Streak
20th Century Fox
Silver Streak casts Gene Wilder as harried book editor George, who teams up with car thief Grover (Richard Pryor) after George is falsely accused of murder.
Wilder and Pryor would pair up again in 1980’s Stir Crazy, 1989’s See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and 1991’s Another You.
1977
1977 is of course a crucial year because it was the year of the original Star Wars, a movie that changed forever what type of movies get the green light in Hollywood and was perhaps had the greatest cultural impact of all the hit movies of the 1970s.
The movie above, while less popular, got a lot of attention in 1977, thanks in large part to its female lead.
We’ll give you another hint: It was co-written by Peter Benchley, the writer of the novel Jaws and co-writer of the film.
Scroll down for its title…
1977 Answer: The Deep
The Deep, starring Jaqueline Bissett and Nick Nolte, is about a pair of divers who uncover treasure and then have to defend it.
The marketing focused heavily on underwater shots of Bissett.
It earned $47.3 million, making it No. 6 on the list of the 10 top movies of 1977, by domestic box office, not adjusted for inflation.
1978
This is a very easy one if you were around in 1978. It’s one of the biggest hit movies of the 1970s.
It starred a the Not Ready for Prime Time Player above, who is also one of the subjects of the recent Jason Reitman film Saturday Night.
Scroll down for this very easy answer.
1978 Answer: Animal House
This John Landis-directed National Lampoon film was a breakout hit for John Belushi, the Saturday Night Live star who became an instant movie star for his portrayal of the hard-partying Bluto.
In the same year he appeared in Animal House, Belushi also appeared in Goin’ South, which Jack Nicholson starred in and directed.
Belushi felt like he didn’t have enough to do in Goin’ South, which Animal House trounced at the box office.
1979
Margot Kidder starred in both the No. 1 and No. 2 movies at the 1979 box office.
The No. 1 movie was Superman.
Can you guess the No. 2 movie, above?
Scroll down for its name…
1979 Answer: The Amityville Horror
Margot Kidder starred with James Brolin in the Stuart Rosenberg-directed Amityville Horror, based on Jay Anson’s 1979 book of the same name about the Lutz family, who said they endured paranormal activity while living in a home where Ronald DeFeo murdered his family in 1974.
It was one of many films about the Amityville story, which remains haunting today — whether or not you believe the house is haunted.
And that ends the movies of the 1970s. Or does it?
1980
We’re counting this one for those of you who contend that a decade ends in its 10th year. And because we’re having fun and don’t want this list of hit movies of the 1970s to end.
Though Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was easily the No. 1 movie, the film above, directed by Robert Redford, won Best Picture at the Oscars. Can you remember its title?
Scroll down if you like…
1980 Answer: Ordinary People
Ordinary People earned a very respectable $55 million in domestic box office in 1980, and cleaned up at the Oscars.
Besides winning Best Picture, it earned Best Director for Robert Redford, a Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton, and Best Screenplay for Allen Sargent.
It has aged very well.
How’d You Score?
How many of these hits of the 1970s did you recognize? Here’s how you score:
9 or more correct… The Godfather
7 or more correct… Cleopatra Jones
5 or more correct… Dirty Harry
3 or more correct… Fozzie Bear
Fewer than 3 correct… The Jerk
Liked Guessing These Hit Movies of the 1970s?
You might also like this video of 10 Gen X Movie Stars Gone Too Soon or this list of the 15 Best SNL Characters — several of whom are from the 1970s.
Main image: A promotional image of Jaqueline Bisset forThe Deep. Columbia Pictures.
Editor’s note: Corrects main image.
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