10 Actors Whose Final Film Was TERRIBLE

10 Actors Whose Final Ever Film Was TERRIBLE

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at actors whose distinguished filmographies most notoriously ended on a critical lowlight. We’re focusing on relatively prominent roles, so cameos get a pass.

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“Year One” (2009)

Sony Pictures Releasing

Harold Ramis cameo: https://youtu.be/VYs48mwp_hc

Gene Kelly

“Xanadu” (1980)

From the beginning of Hollywood talkies, Gene Kelly was a leader in musical and dance crazes. It seems fitting that his last film role, 14 years before his retirement, would swing him into the disco era. But “Xanadu” was released as the trend was dying out, and reminded audiences why. Kelly plays a Jazz Age entertainer who is commissioned by a Greek goddess to create a roller rink with a modern artist. This tribute to pop culture history was really seen as a surreally cheesy celebration of vapid fads. “Xanadu” has since achieved cult status on its camp value and spectacular production. Even now, though, nobody considers the critical and commercial failure to be a worthy last dance for Kelly.

Patrick Swayze

“Powder Blue” (2009)

A low-profile dramatic stint after the ‘90s yielded mixed results for action and dance star Patrick Swayze. Unfortunately, he ended his iconic career on the wrong foot with “Powder Blue.” This twisted “Love Actually” follows a miserable ensemble one redemptive Christmas Eve, with Swayze portraying a cruel strip club owner and gangster. The unfortunate few who saw the dire indie largely panned its cheap melodrama, but found Swayze’s intense performance to be a highlight. The film thus became a bittersweet curiosity following his death from pancreatic cancer just four months after its release. At least “Powder Blue” managed to showcase his versatile talent, as well as how frustratingly filmmakers wasted it at times.

Bette Davis

“Wicked Stepmother” (1989)

Nobody in Old Hollywood played edgy women as sharply as Bette Davis. What an insult to turn her complexity into caricature with “Wicked Stepmother.” Davis plays a witch who terrorizes her stepchildren, until she switches places with her bio-daughter in the body of a cat. This was not an organic plot rewrite, but it was necessary. Davis left the project during production, saying she couldn’t handle the script or overall filmmaking. Let’s just say that nobody questioned this claim when the movie came out. But Davis later revealed that she quit because her cancer returned, and she feared the truth would further strain her career if she recovered. She instead passed away shortly thereafter, with her many classics as the only compensation for “Wicked Stepmother.”

Joan Crawford

“Trog” (1970)

Speaking of Bette Davis, whatever happened to Joan Crawford? Well, the Oscar-winning icon was relegated to B-thrillers through most of the 1960s. The new decade brought a new low with “Trog,” in which Crawford plays an anthropologist who studies a revived caveman to better understand human evolution. The lead performance was commended for the actress’ classic charisma and terror over this dangerous experiment. Other than that, “Trog” was panned as no better than laughably low-budget camp. The story goes that this convinced Crawford to finally call it quits and live out her final five years away from the public eye. It was a Hollywood career ending as archaic as the movie this starlet went out on.

Bruce Willis

“Assassin” (2023)

It was a cinematic tragedy when action superstar Bruce Willis became prolific in cheap, often straight-to-video genre movies. Then he announced the real tragedy of serious cognitive disorders that forced him to take this work for his family. The backlog ended on 2023’s “Assassin,” in which Willis plays a handler for a program that transfers soldiers’ consciousness to carry out high-risk hits. The promising premise winds up bogged down by pretentious, inane sci-fi that kills all suspense. With production values and action this flat, there never could've been much. There were many bafflingly bad Willis vehicles before his retirement, and about as many great ones. It’s still a shame that “Assassin” wouldn’t let him go out with more dignity.

John Candy

“Canadian Bacon” (1995)

It was hard enough to crack a smile after beloved comedian John Candy died of a heart attack in 1994. As unfunny as the Western spoof “Wagons East” was anyway, his second posthumous picture at least tried to be taken seriously. Directed by political documentarian Michael Moore, “Canadian Bacon” features Candy as a lowly sheriff who threatens to escalate hostilities between the U.S. and Canada. The satire was itself a battleground between cheap gags and overzealous, overelaborate commentary. It was a critical and commercial catastrophe, and remains Moore’s only fiction film. Although “Canadian Bacon” still has more taste than “Wagons East,” both films sadly lacked the charm of Candy’s earlier work.

Gene Hackman

“Welcome to Mooseport” (2004)

After so much renown for his dramatic presence, Gene Hackman ended his acting career on a light, lousy note. Even then, “Welcome to Mooseport” aspires to satire with the story of a former U.S. President who runs for Mayor of a small town. What audiences ended up with is a tedious comedy that offers no bite to its overarching commentary. It’s not like there was much of an audience anyway. Following this disaster, health concerns prompted Hackman to retire to a much less public profession than politics: writing. He lived another 21 years and will surely live on through his many classics, though no-one could rate his last film among his accomplishments.

Robin Williams

“Absolutely Anything” (2015)

Comedy fans were devastated by the shocking death of Robin Williams in 2014. And they got absolutely nothing out of the British production that would punctuate this Hollywood icon’s career, “Absolutely Anything.” Simon Pegg plays an ordinary guy overwhelmed by an extraordinary power to grant all his wishes, including his dog gaining the ability to talk. Williams voices the pooch with as much hammy commitment as we’d expect. Otherwise, the sci-fi farce was considered embarrassingly cheap in every way. This would sadly be the last we heard of Williams’s lively voice. And with filmmaker-actor Terry Jones retiring with neurodegenerative disease soon thereafter, “Absolutely Anything” has gained even more recognition as a tragic comedy that nobody wanted.

Sean Connery

“Sir Billi” (2012)

The sterling yet outspoken Sean Connery made a big deal about retiring after “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” disillusioned him with Hollywood. Nine years later, he briefly returned to the screen for a low point in British cinema. Actually, Connery just voices the title character in “Sir Billi,” a veterinarian who sets out to rescue a beaver banned by the government. Even more baffling than the premise of Scotland’s first CG-animated film is the crudeness of its technology, writing and camp. Connery only took the project as a favor for a friend and to support Scottish culture. But despite these good intentions and a terrible theatrical run, “Sir Billi” has gained a cult following as one of the worst animated films ever.

Bela Lugosi

“Plan 9 from Outer Space” (1959)

The seminal horror icon Bela Lugosi was hardly flattered by his later work with Ed Wood. Not even this earnestly incompetent filmmaker could salvage “The Ghoul Goes West” after the actor died of a heart attack. But test footage was used to incorporate Lugosi into “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” in which alien invaders resurrect the dead to help conquer Earth. Wood intended for this to be a loving tribute to his late friend and collaborator. But without consent, Lugosi became attached to what is universally recognized as one of the worst movies ever made. “Plan 9’s” only highlight besides its camp is that it poignantly resurrected a screen legend. Still, let’s remember that he became that through films much better than his final one.

What are some other bad movies that rounded out otherwise great acting careers? Give your rants and raves in the comments.