| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Citizen Kane | Mary Kane | |
| 1942 | Journey into Fear | Mrs. Mathews | |
| The Magnificent Ambersons | Fanny Minafer | New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| The Big Street | Violette Shumberg | ||
| 1943 | The Youngest Profession | Miss Featherstone | |
| Government Girl | Adele - Mrs. Delancey Wright | ||
| Jane Eyre | Mrs. Reed | ||
| 1944 | Since You Went Away | Mrs. Emily Hawkins | |
| Dragon Seed | Third Cousin's Wife | ||
| The Seventh Cross | Madame Marelli | ||
| Mrs. Parkington | Baroness Aspasia Conti | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| Tomorrow, the World | Aunt Jesse Frame | ||
| 1945 | Keep Your Powder Dry | Lieut. Colonel Spottiswoode | |
| Our Vines Have Tender Grapes | Bruna Jacobson | ||
| Her Highness and the Bellboy | Countess Zoe | ||
| 1947 | Dark Passage | Madge Rapf | |
| The Lost Moment | Juliana Borderau | ||
| 1948 | Summer Holiday | Cousin Lily | |
| The Woman in White | Countess Fosco | ||
| Station West | Mrs. Caslon | ||
| Johnny Belinda | Aggie MacDonald | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1949 | The Stratton Story | Ma Stratton | |
| The Great Sinner | Emma Getzel | ||
| Without Honor | Katherine Williams | ||
| 1950 | Caged | Ruth Benton | |
| Captain Blackjack | Mrs. Emily Birk | ||
| 1951 | Fourteen Hours | Christine HIll Cosick | |
| Adventures of Captain Fabian | Aunt Jezebel | ||
| Show Boat | Parthy Hawks | ||
| The Blue Veil | Mrs. Palfrey | ||
| 1952 | The Blazing Forest | Jessie Crain | |
| 1953 | The Story of Three Loves | Aunt Lydia | (segment "The Jealous Lover") |
| Scandal at Scourie | Sister Josephine | ||
| Main Street to Broadway | Mildred Waterbury | ||
| Those Redheads From Seattle | Mrs. Edmonds | ||
| 1954 | Magnificent Obsession | Nancy Ashford | |
| 1955 | Untamed | Aggie | |
| The Left Hand of God | Beryl Sigman | ||
| All That Heaven Allows | Sara Warren | ||
| 1956 | The Conqueror | Hunlun | |
| Meet Me in Las Vegas | Miss Hattie | ||
| The Swan | Queen Maria Dominika | ||
| The Revolt of Mamie Stover | Bertha Parchman | ||
| Pardners | Mrs. Matilda Kingsley | ||
| The Opposite Sex | Countess de Brion | ||
| 1957 | The True Story of Jesse James | Mrs. Samuel | |
| Jeanne Eagels | Nellie Neilson | ||
| Raintree County | Ellen Shawnessy | Laurel Award for Top Supporting Performance, Female (2nd place) | |
| The Story of Mankind | Queen Elizabeth I | ||
| 1958 | The Tempest | Vassilissa Mironova | |
| 1959 | Night of the Quarter Moon | Cornelia Nelson | |
| The Bat | Cornelia van Gorder | ||
| 1960 | Pollyanna | Mrs. Snow | |
| 1961 | Twenty Plus Two | Mrs. Eleanor Delaney | |
| Bachelor in Paradise | Judge Peterson | ||
| 1962 | Jessica | Maria Lombardo | |
| Poor Mr. Campbell | Adrice Campbell | Television movie | |
| How the West Was Won | Rebecca Prescott | ||
| 1963 | Who's Minding the Store? | Mrs. Phoebe Tuttle | |
| 1964 | Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Velma Cruther | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Laurel Award for Top Supporting Performance, Female (2nd place) Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1966 | The Singing Nun | Sister Cluny | Laurel Award for Top Supporting Performance, Female (3rd place) |
| 1969 | The Ballad of Andy Crocker | Lisa's Mother | |
| 1971 | What's the Matter with Helen? | Sister Alma | |
| Marriage: Year One | Grandma Duden | Television movie | |
| Suddenly Single | Marlene | Television movie | |
| The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove | Mrs. Pringle | Television movie | |
| 1972 | Dear Dead Delilah | Delilah Charles | |
| Rolling Man | Grandmother | Television movie | |
| Night of Terror | Bronsky | Television movie | |
| 1973 | Charlotte's Web | The Goose | Voice |
| Frankenstein: The True Story | Mrs. Blair | Television movie | |
| 1974 | Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love | Hercules's Wife | Television movie, (final film role) |