With the passing of Robert Redford on Tuesday, Hollywood lost one of its greatest performers, and the world lost an enthusiastic environmental activist and film advocate. Redford filled the screen with his boyish good looks and subtle but engrossing stage presence.

He was a part of some of the greatest films of all time and was always the most popular actor in every scene he was in. He, of course, teamed with the great Paul Newman in two screen classics, 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and 1973’s “The Sting.” Their chemistry was electric.

Throughout his career, Redford played a bank robber, a politician, a skier, a con man, a washed-up cowboy, and many other identifying characters. Trying to choose my ten favorite Robert Redford movies was a difficult task. I could not decide on my all-time favorites, so I listed them chronologically. We’ll first review five films from the beginning of his movie career. I hope you enjoy the list and the memories.

Greg’s Favorite Robert Redford Films of All-Time

1967-Barefoot in the Park

Redford and Jane Fonda play newlyweds in this Neil Simon frolic. They play the uptight Paul and free-spirited Corrie Bratter, respectively, who rent their first New York City apartment and run into all sorts of zany troubles in this Rom-com. The building is a run-down, five-story walk-up with an assortment of odd and kooky neighbors. The kookiest neighbor is dirty-old man Victor, played superbly by Charles Boyer, who lives in the Bratters’ attic.

Victor helps Corrie acclimate to the building, prompting her to hatch a plan to hook Victor up with her mother, Ethel, played by Mildred Natwick, who won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role. A distraught Paul climbs on the roof but is saved by his beloved Corrie. Wonderful supporting roles by Boyer, Natwick, Redford, and Fonda are a beautiful pair indeed.

1969-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

The first pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, and what a pairing it is. They play the leaders of the “Hole in the Wall Gang,” a thieving group of cowboys looking to make their fortunes robbing trains and holding up banks. But something always seems to go wrong with their capers. They are often accompanied by Sundance’s love interest, schoolteacher Etta Place, played perfectly by Katherine Ross. However, the boys have trouble on their hands in the form of a posse they can’t shake, led by Joe Lefors and his tracker, Lord Baltimore.

Union Pacific head E. H. Harriman hired the posse, and they are a dogged bunch. The pair decides that it’s too hot to stay in the States, and Butch gets the crazy idea to head to Bolivia to seek their fortune. So, they head down to South America with Etta to make their riches in the “robbers’ paradise.” Trouble is, neither Butch nor Sundance speaks Spanish. With the help of Etta, they learn enough to get by and set off on a lucrative crime spree.

But Butch gets a whiff that Harriman’s gang might be in country, so they decide to go straight and become payroll guards. Their plans go awry when they themselves are robbed, and they are forced to shoot and kill the would-be outlaws. They decide that the straight life is not for them, which prompts Etta to leave Bolivia, fearing that their luck is about to run out. Sure enough, the Bolivian police lay a trap for Butch and Sundance, and the movie ends with a still shot of the boys in their last firefight. A truly classic film.

1969-Downhill Racer

Redford’s David Chappellet is a new, young, talented member of the U.S. Ski Team. He’s also aloof, arrogant, and self-centered. As he rises in the competitive ski world ranks, his worst tendencies become more prominent. His coach, played by Gene Hackman, tries to rein in his young talent and maintain team unity. A visit home to Idaho goes poorly, as David and his father do not see eye-to-eye on anything, and a meetup with an old girlfriend is just a one-night stand for the young skier.

When he returns to competition, he takes up with a European socialite and is on top of the world, winning races and hanging out with the world’s elite. Things start to go South for David when he is dumped by the jet-setting Carole Stahl, and his relationship with his teammates begins to sour, leading to an almost tragic confrontation with the team captain. The unexpected finale shows us David Chappellet on the precipice of Olympic gold, learning a valuable lesson in humility and the fragility of life.

1972-The Candidate

“The Candidate” is an American Dramedy in which Redford plays activist Bill McKay, who eschews partisan politics, much to the chagrin of his father, the former California governor, John J. McKay. The state’s Democratic Party needs someone to run against the uber-popular three-term Republican governor, Crocker Jarmon. Since no popular Democrat will enter the race against the formidable Jarmon, political consultant Marvin Lucas, devilishly played by Peter Boyle, attempts to enlist Bill McKay to enter the race.

McKay agrees to run on one condition. He will run his style of campaign and talk about the issues he is most concerned about. As the race progresses, he starts to cut into Jarmon’s lead, and McKay becomes pressured by Lucas to moderate his stances on issues, and the candidate starts to rebel. John J. McKay becomes involved in the campaign, further complicating his son’s plight. The film ends on election night and presents parables on the state of modern elections and the type of candidate they attract.

1973-The Sting

A classic movie. Redford and Newman in a redux. Redford plays a small-time Joliet, Illinois hustler, Johnny Hooker, fresh from a scam perpetrated on crime boss Doyle Lonnegan, that cost a partner his life. Before his partner died, he instructed Hooker to go to Chicago to hone his craft from an old friend, Henry Gondorff (Newman). The rest of the movie unveils the elaborate scam that Hooker, Gondorff, and a cast of characters devise to swindle Lonnegan out of $500,000.

The boys spend the movie dodging Lonnegan’s would-be assassins and trying to keep their well-crafted ruse a secret. It ends in a stylishly cunning scene with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Redford and Newman are incredible, and Robert Shaw plays a dastardly Lonnegan.

And don’t miss the subtle, but convincing portrayal of Gondorff associate Kid Twist, played to the max by Harold Gould. The film took home a score of Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for George Roy Hill, who had also directed Redford and Newman in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

What’s Next

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of my “Favorite Robert Redford Films of All-Time.” Stay tuned for part 2.