Stacy Keach was the best Luther

I'd stick with Niall McGinnis in Martin Luther (1953), by far. Stacy Keach's portrayal was in a movie that felt more like TV-Movie quality, which does have advantages, since TV has a way of feeling more immediate and intimate, but his Luther didn't feel the most authentic of the extant portrayals of Martin Luther. For me, McGinnis hit it right on the button.

That movie was a masterful thing, really. I've never seen it on any of the old movie channels on Cable-TV, but I found it in the DVD collection of the New York Public Library while searching for resources on Martin Luther. Yes, they released that movie on DVD. Check it out.

I have since sought and found several other of Niall McGinnis' performances in movies, and have found that he was a very good and very underrated actor, especially here in America. Nobody here really remembers him at all (unless they are a fan of science fiction/fantasy/mythology, because he was a playful, approachable Zeus in Jason and the Argonauts (1963)), and that's a shame.

I am a fan of Stacy Keach, and of his performance as Martin Luther, but in my opinion, Niall McGinnis is just better than Stacy Keach in a battle of the Martin Luthers.