Jane Powell Movies

Jane Powell

Want to know the best Jane Powell movies?  How about the worst Jane Powell movies?  Curious about Jane Powell box office grosses or which Jane Powell movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Jane Powell movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Jane Powell (1929-2021) was an American singer, dancer and actress who rose to fame in the mid-1940s with roles in various musicals Her IMDb page shows 43 acting credits from 1944-2002. This page will rank 20 Jane Powell movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Her many television appearances and her Picture Perfect (not released in theaters) were not included in the rankings.  This comes from a request by Samantha.

Jane Powell in 1954’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Jane Powell Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Jane Powell Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Jane Powell films by co-stars of her movies
  • Sort Jane Powell films by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Jane Powell films by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Jane Powell films by how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Jane Powell film received.
  • Sort Jane Powell films by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Jane Powell and Fred Astaire in 1951’s Royal Wedding

Possibly Interesting Facts About Jane Powell

  1.  Suzanne Lorraine Burce was born in Portland, Oregon in 1929.

2. In 1943,Suzanne Burce won a talent contest on Janet Gaynor’s radio show Hollywood Showcase: Stars over Hollywood.  After winning the contest she signed a 7 year contract with MGM without even taking a screen test.

3. In 1944, Suzanne Burce was loaned out to United Artist for her first movie role.  She played a character named Jane Powell in Song of the Open Road.  Her stage name was taken from this movie.

4. Although Jane Powell was one of the best singers of her time, she never learned to play an instrument or read music.

5. Jane Powell was married five times.  She has three children.

6. Jane Powell was bridesmaid for Elizabeth Taylor for her first marriage. Taylor was bridesmaid for Powell’s first marriage.

7. When Jane Powell’s The Female Animal (1958) hit theaters it was the A side of a double bill.  The B side?  A little film starring Charlton Heston as a Mexican…1958’s Touch of Evil.

8. Jane Powell’s Tubby the Tuba (1975) was the first animated movie to use computers during production.  Two of the crew members were Edwin Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, the future founders of Pixar Studios.

9. Parts Jane Powell was seriously considered for or turned down:  Doris Day’s role in 1955’s Love Me or Leave Me, Mitzi Gaynor’s role in 1958’s South Pacific and Debbie Reynolds’ role in 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain.

10. Check out Jane Powell’s movie career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.  Also highly recommended is Steve Lensman’s Jane Powell video.

Jane Powell’s Adjusted World Wide Box Office Grosses 

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34 thoughts on “Jane Powell Movies

  1. HI STEVE

    1 I wouldn’t change a thing in your video as I think you got right both the balance of movies and the length of the video. Just as important is the fact that JUSTICE was done by giving Clint an extended selection of movies. The number of stand-alone above- the-title movies that Clint made is staggering and whilst I haven’t done precise counts my immediate thought is among males maybe only Elvis in the classic era and Tom Cruise today could equal Clint for personal star-domination of his movies and even then Clint might come out on top regarding ARTISTIC QUALITY especially in comparison with Elvis’ movies.highly entertaining though they were

    2 Certainly it pains me when I see an uncredited actress in an ensemble getting the same credit for a movie as Clint got for each of the stand-alone billed-above-title 29 movies, some of which he directed, that I mentioned in my earlier post [though in the case concerned YOUR video avoided that pitfall.] It compounds the perception of unfairness when one learns that the actress was initially down for a leading part in the movie but was demoted and hidden in an ensemble because the producers thought she couldn’t cut a proper part at that stage of her career.

    3 I am familiar with many of the movies covered on this site and in your videos but of course there are many others with which I am unfamiliar and in relation to those whilst perfection is usually impossible viewers rely on the organizers of the material presented on a movies site to go as far as those organizers can to ensure that no performer/movie is being either over-valued or under-valued so that one can be reasonably confident in consistence in relation to such things as comparisons, ratings,rankings.and commercial performance.

    1. Hey Bob. Good review on Steve’s latest video. I will be checking that video out when we get back home. Clint is one of my all-time favorite actors. Good feedback.

    2. Good post Bob, thanks. When it’s a subject like Clint Eastwood who has an impressive body of work it just didn’t seem right to pick and choose a selection of his best films, I needed to expand. I toyed with only including his starring roles but that meant leaving out important movies like Mystic River and American Sniper and that wasn’t going to happen. 50 seemed to be about right.

      I wish I’d done the same with John Wayne, looking at my files I had 110 titles to sort thru, nearly double Clint’s output. 34 of the 110 were B-westerns made between the epic The Big Trail (1930) and John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939). Taking out those 1930s B-westerns still left 76 movies. I went for a Top 40 which left a lot of movies out. It is frustrating when dealing with the giants of cinema. Even Wayne’s B-westerns had fantastic poster art, maybe somewhere down the line I’ll do a video centering on those 34 B-westerns.

      Bruce has the luxury of including all the movies he wants on his page, including bit parts, cameos and I think he’s included a few narrations too.

        1. Hey Steve and Bob. As for why the comments are versus Clint’s page…..I guess Clint is trying to help the views for Jane.

          I think Clint fans will not mind 50 movies….non Clint fans might not like all of them….but luckily there are not many non Clint fans out there.

          As popular as my Wayne page is,…I think you could do a longer video. So get to work my friend….lol.

  2. Hi Sam,

    You have NO IDEA!!! Each time my cozy cloud passes the country that once gave me fame and fortune, seeing that mop of orange I try to get a pair of scissors from those damn angels flying around here, but those good for nothings only offer some of their feathers instead. But what is one to do with feathers when there ain’t no tar? Delilah is dying to work her magic on that orangy disaster, but even heavenly creatures like myself have their restrictions.
    Boy, I never would have thought my Sam would feel so passionate about any other woman but his Delilah…but you do have an issue here with Miss Perky Nose. Poor friend, keep calm… I can tell you that she may reign in Cogerson country, but here, her cloud has half the size of mine and she has to share it with those anglethings because she is too kind to fight them off as I always do while rewriting my autobiography. She never swam in the nude, never cut your hair and never invented anything more important than a new cocktail for her thin man. So rest assured, dear friend, am Ende kriegt jeder, was er verdient as we used to say in Austria. Sorry hun, have to go now, Joanie is just passing by and I’m DYING to hear the latest about Dietrich’s new home…my, that german broad just demands and seems to get everything she wants! Could do with some male protection here, dear friend!!!

    Luv
    D.

  3. Jane was never on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. These are the only 2 people on the 2016 who appeared with Jane in a film and they have passed on.

    914 CLIFF ROBERTSON The Girl Most Likely (1958)
    937 ROBERT EASTON Deep in My Heart (1954)

    And here are the actors who appeared on the 2000 list who have since fallen off but appeared in a flic with Jane. Rank as usual is from 2000.

    25 RODDY MCDOWELL Holiday in Mexico (1946)
    43 KEENAN WYNN Royal Wedding (1951)
    45 BURT LANCASTER Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
    68 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Athena (1954)
    77 JOSE FERRER Deep in My Heart (1954)
    100 IAN WOLFE Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
    100 IAN WOLFE Three Daring Daughters (1948)
    120 ROBERT STACK A Date with Judy (1948)
    177 MARCEL DALIO Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
    221 JOHN CRAWFORD Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
    222 BESS FLOWERS A Date with Judy (1948)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Athena (1954)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Delightfully Dangerous (1945)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Royal Wedding (1951)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Small Town Girl (1953)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
    237 PETER LAWFORD Royal Wedding (1951)
    281 ELIZABETH TAYLOR A Date with Judy (1948)
    302 RICHARD ANDERSON Hit the Deck (1955)
    302 RICHARD ANDERSON Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
    362 BARRY SULLIVAN Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
    379 ANN DORAN The Female Animal (1958)
    395 WALTER PIDGEON Deep in My Heart (1954)
    395 WALTER PIDGEON Hit the Deck (1955)
    395 WALTER PIDGEON Holiday in Mexico (1946)
    400 VALERIE PERRINE Picture This (1999)
    420 MAURICE MARSAC Athena (1954)
    451 DANA ANDREWS Enchanted Island (1958)
    459 DABBS GREER Hit the Deck (1955)
    483 MURRAY HAMILTON Song of the Open Road (1944)
    506 DOUGLAS FOWLEY Deep in My Heart (1954)
    507 RALPH BELLAMY Delightfully Dangerous (1945)
    532 JIM BACKUS Deep in My Heart (1954)
    583 PAUL STEWART 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955)
    583 PAUL STEWART Deep in My Heart (1954)
    606 ALBERTO MORIN Holiday in Mexico (1946)
    623 RUSS TAMBLYN Deep in My Heart (1954)
    623 RUSS TAMBLYN Hit the Deck (1955)
    623 RUSS TAMBLYN Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
    657 DEBBIE REYNOLDS Athena (1954)
    657 DEBBIE REYNOLDS Hit the Deck (1955)
    657 DEBBIE REYNOLDS Two Weeks with Love (1950)
    742 RICARDO MONTALBAN Two Weeks with Love (1950)
    824 FRANK WILCOX Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
    894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
    959 LEON AMES A Date with Judy (1948)
    961 NICKY BLAIR Athena (1954)

    Way to go Bess, 8 flics. Despite the fact that she worked at the studio of the stars she only appeared with 6 Oscar winners.

    BURT LANCASTER Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
    CLIFF ROBERTSON The Girl Most Likely (1958)
    ELIZABETH TAYLOR A Date with Judy (1948)
    JANE DARWELL Hit the Deck (1955)
    JOSE FERRER Deep in My Heart (1954)
    WALLACE BEERY A Date with Judy (1948)

    Check out Enchanted Island with Jane playing a native girl, up there with Eva Gabor’s turn as a native girl in Love Island.

    Personal, useless story/ trivia. Back in the 80’s in my pre BMI days I worked as a dispatcher for a messenger service (there’s an obsolete job) and one of our customers was an advertising agency owned by Dick Moore or Dickie Moore, the former child star and Jane’s fifth husband. We also had Columbia and Warner Brothers as customers. Warners gave us free tickets sometimes. I remember getting free tickets to Arthur 2 and the first Stephen Segall epic.

    Three Sailors and a Girl with Jane was one of 3 Warner Brothers musicals that were the last 3 films televised on the WOR TV channel 9 weekday movie in New York. The other 2 were The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady and I believe On Moonlight Bay with Doris Day. Outside of 1 Thanksgiving afterwards (they aired in the summer) WOR never again ran a weekday movie. On Thanksgivings WOR usually ran the 1933 King Kong, Son of Kong and the 1949 Mighty Joe Young.

    1. Hey Dan. Good lists. I agree that is an amazing total for Bess Flowers. Especially since Powell made so few movies. 8 Oscar winners is low….but not surprising, considering she mostly made musicals.

      Great personal stories. Thanks for sharing them. Yep dispatcher for messenger service is a thing of the past. Right there with telephone operators, video store clerks and Kodak film booth attendants.

      I will have to check out Enchanted Island. As always thanks for a great comment.

  4. HI HEDWIG 1 Nice to hear from you. You will see that the Cogerson character is going to mention that YOU were the real screen Delilah when he does a page on you under your professional name of Hedy Lamarr.

    2 Big deal! That Loy hussy gets credit for her films AND everyone else’s on just about EVERY page on this site. What’s the whole fuss over her anyway? – SHE never swam in the nude or cut my hair. Duke Wayne always talks about Real Americans, well I like Real Women and you are certainly one of those. I mean that prim and proper Myrna wouldn’t have had the gall to hide out in a b*****L and work for her keep there. Who’d have wanted her anyway?

    3 As for that broad who plays Jessica Fletcher on TV, DeMille would never have given her the Delilah part She didn’t even have the right Christian name to match the essence of the character – how could someone be convincing in cutting my hair who was called Angela and not Hedwig? Even Dorian Gray laughed at her acting ability in that film she made with that English guy who did the voice of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book back in 1967.

    4 I will admit that I used to sulk about you cutting my hair but all that changed when the Trump guy came on the scene and I saw that huge mop of hair that he had and said to myself “Am’t I the lucky one? I sure wish my Hedwig could get hold of that mop and do her thing with it.”

    5 Now that I’ve forgiven you I’ll tip you off about not getting too excited about the prospect of a page on this site because there is a often catch to that in that the joker Cogerson who runs the site often quotes some nasty comments from a failed rock star who’s out of his depth as a film critic and has found a soft berth on this site. His comments about the Duke and Bud Brando have caused the greatest uproar I’ve heard since Bette Davis got up and said Greg Peck couldn’t act. If I was a publisher of movie books I wouldn’t have that rock star guy as a customer and a reader of my books let alone a writer of one of them. Anyway as I say nice hearing from you Hedwig pet – fancy a swim?

    PS I gather that the Cogerson guy’s not too well in with the Duke at the moment because W o C [that’s his wife] seems to really run the show and as you know the Duke and Stevie McQueen don’t like that sort of thing. The Duke says that W o C seems to do everything for her husband. I wonder if she even cuts his hair?

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