Now is a perfect time to watch some of Shelley Duvall’s best movies to honor her memory. The actor — known best as Wendy in 1980’s The Shining or for her many collaborations with legendary filmmaker Robert Altman — passed away at the age of 75 in her sleep due to complications with diabetes. Celebrate the life and career of the acclaimed actor by watching some of her greatest hits, which we have compiled below, along with how to watch them.
Brewster McCloud (1970)
A young introvert (played by Bud Cort) who lives in the Houston Astrodome becomes embroiled in a bizarre murder investigation while attempting to construct a pair of functioning wings, with the help of his guardian angel (played by Sally Kellerman).
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall made her screen acting debut in the eccentric comedy, Brewster McCloud — her first collaboration with director Robert Altman (a filmmaker who is not talked about enough), in which she stars as an Astrodome tour guide name Suzanne Davis, who becomes the love interest of the reclusive title character.
Rent or buy Brewster McCloud on Amazon.
Buy Brewster McCloud on Blu-ray on Amazon.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
The thriving partnership between a charismatic expert card player (played by Warren Beatty) and a professional madam (played by Julie Christie, in an Academy Award-nominated role) is threatened by a generous offer from a larger company in a small mining village in the Old West.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall’s second film and second collaboration with Altman is McCabe & Mrs. Miller — an “anti-Western,” as the filmmaker called it, in which the actor plays Ida Coyle, who works as a sex worker at John McCabe and Constance Miller’s brothel.
Stream McCabe & Mrs. Miller on Tubi.
Rent or buy McCabe & Mrs. Miller on Amazon.
Buy McCabe & Mrs. Miller on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Nashville (1975)
The interconnected stories of a group of popular musicians, aspiring musicians, and other individuals on their adventures through Tennessee.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall reunited with Altman once again to join the star-studded ensemble cast of one of the best movies of the 1970s, the wonderfully satirical Nashville, as a woman named Martha, who changes her name to “L.A. Joan” and uses up all of the time she promised to spend with her dying aunt chasing after male country musicians instead.
Buy Nashville on Amazon.
Buy Nashville on Blu-ray on Amazon.
3 Women (1977)
A meek, teenage spa attendant (played by Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek), her adult colleague and new roommate (played by Duvall), and a pregnant, middle-aged bar owner and aspiring artist (played by Janice Rule) share a unique bond with one other.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall’s fourth Altman film would be an entirely different kind of tale called 3 Women — a dreamy and surreal psychological drama that analyzes the concept of identity and self-actualization in a thought-provoking and sometimes unsettling manner.
Rent or buy 3 Women on Amazon.
Buy 3 Women on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Annie Hall (1977)
A neurotic, twice divorced stand-up comic (played by Woody Allen) recalls the doomed romance he once shared with a charmingly eccentric aspiring musician (played by Diane Keaton in an Academy Award-winning performance) in New York City.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall would work with plenty more prolific filmmakers outside of Altman, such as Woody Allen in the inventively funny, charmingly romantic Best Picture Oscar winner Annie Hall in the role of Pam — a writer for Rolling Stone who has a brief, “Kafkaesque” relationship with Allen’s character, Alvy.
Stream Annie Hall on Tubi.
Rent or buy Annie Hall on Amazon.
Buy Annie Hall on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Shining (1980)
During the winter, an author (played by Jack Nicholson) and his family act as caretakers for an empty, isolated Colorado hotel that soon proves to have a mysterious and disturbing effect on his behavior.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: With much influence from the writer and director’s questionable on-set treatment, Duvall gave one of the most iconic and striking performances of her career in one of the all-time greatest horror movies, The Shining — Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel — as Wendy Torrance.
Rent or buy The Shining on Amazon.
Buy The Shining on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Popeye (1980)
The adventures of a sailor (played by Robin Williams) with a corncob-pipe and unusually large forearms and his romance with his landlord’s daughter (played by Duvall) in the port town of Sweethaven.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall would reunite with Robert Altman to play the iconic Olive Oyl in Popeye — the filmmaker’s stunningly faithful live-action adaptation of E.C. Segar’s classic comic strip and subsequent cartoon, which was not very well received upon release, but, according to WBUR, has been revisited with more admirable eyes as an influential classic.
Stream Popeye on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Popeye on Amazon.
Buy Popeye on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Time Bandits (1981)
A young boy embarks on an adventure with a group of thieves who venture through multiple eras of history searching for loot to snatch.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: In Time Bandits — a hilarious sci-fi movie classic that could have only been made by the gentlemen behind Monty Python — Duvall takes on two different roles from different time periods, each of which are named Pansy and are in a relationship with a man named Vincent (Michael Palin).
Stream Time Bandits on Max.
Buy Time Bandits on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Frankenweenie (1984)
An intelligent boy (played by Barrett Oliver) accidentally causes trouble in his neighborhood when he manages to bring his beloved dog, Sparky, back from the dead.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: Duvall stars as Susan Frankenstein, the mother of the young hero of Frankenweenie — the 29-minute horror-comedy movie favorite from co-writer and director Tim Burton, who would later expand it into an animated feature in 2012.
Stream Frankenweenie on Disney+.
Buy Frankenweenie on Amazon.
Roxanne (1987)
A fire chief with a large nose (played by Steve Martin) helps his handsome colleague (played by Rick Rossovich) win the heart of a beautiful woman (played by Darryl Hannah) while concealing his own feelings for her.
Why it is one of the best Shelley Duvall movies: One of the best Steve Martin movies, Roxanne — a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand’s play, Cyrano de Bergerac — also stars Duvall as a friend of C.D. Bales’ named Dixie, through whom he meets the title character.
Rent or buy Roxanne on Amazon.
Buy Roxanne on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Shelley Duvall won our hearts with her wonderful performances in these films. She will be dearly missed.
