Jane Russell Movies

Jane Russell

Want to know the best Jane Russell movies?  How about the worst Jane Russell movies?  Curious about Jane Russell box office grosses or which Jane Russell movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Jane Russell 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 Russell (1921-2011) was an American film actress and one of Hollywood’s leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. Her IMDb page shows 32 acting credits from 1943-1986. This page will rank 24 Jane Russell movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Her 7 television appearances and her cameo in Road to Bali were not included in the rankings.

Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Jane Russell 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 Russell films by co-stars of her movies
  • Sort Jane Russell films by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Jane Russell films by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Jane Russell 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 Russell film received.
  • Sort Jane Russell 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.

Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Jane Russell Table

  1. Eight Jane Russell movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark.  That is a percentage of 33.33% of her movies listed.  Her biggest hit was The Outlaw (1943)
  2. An average Jane Russell movie grosses an average of $96.70 million in adjusted domestic gross.
  3. Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 11 Jane Russell movies are rated as good movies…or 45.83% of her movies.  Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) was her highest rated movie while Cauliflower Cupids (1970) was her lowest rated movie.
  4. Two Jane Russell movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 8.33% of her movies.
  5. One Jane Russell movie won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 4.16% of her movies.
  6. An average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 40.00. 12 Jane Russell movies scored higher than that average….or 50.00% of her movies. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) got the the highest UMR Score while Cauliflower Cupids (1970) got the lowest UMR Score.

Jane Russell in 1943’s The Outlaw

Possibly Interesting Facts About Jane Russell

  1. Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell was born in Bemidji, Minnesota in 1921.

2. In 1940, Howard Hughes signed Jane Russell to a seven-year contract.  She made her debut in Hughes’ The Outlaw (1943).

3. Howard Hughes and his aircraft engineers designed a special cantilevered bra to enhance the appearance of Jane Russell’s bust in 1940’s The Outlaw. She never wore it, but this movie was the reason the famous bra was designed.

4. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe got along great when making 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  Russell called Monroe “Blondl,” according to her 1985 autobiography, and was often the only person on the set who could coax Monroe out of her trailer to begin the day’s filming.

5. Jane Russell was married three times.  Unable to have children of her own…she adopted three children.

6. Jane  Russell championed the passage of the Federal Orphan Adoption Amendment of 1953, which allowed children of American servicemen born overseas to be placed for adoption in the United States.

7. Jane Russell founded Waif in 1955.  Waif was the first international adoption program.

8. Jane Russell was the spokeswoman for Playtex “‘Cross-Your-Heart Bras‘ for us full-figured gals”.  *That is where I first became aware of Ms. Russell.

9.  Jane Russell was a very accomplished singer.  She recorded many songs throughout the years…..including “Kisses and Tears” with Frank Sinatra.  She debuted in a successful solo nightclub act at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas

10. Check out Jane Russell’s movie career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

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29 thoughts on “Jane Russell Movies

    1. THanks for the information Flora. Jane was a big part of my growing up. I’ll watch those Monday night’s movies for old time’s sake.

        1. FLORA:

          We normally get those kinds of runs of movies a few weeks after US/Canada so I’ll look out for Jane’s turn coming up. Thanks again therefore for putting me on the alert.

  1. MR HIRSCHHORN
    1 We have seen Mr. Cogerson’s reproduction of your rather unkind comments about our Jane and feel that you have fallen into the trap of many earlier critics of Robert Mitchum who were deceived by his casual style and failed to see the real clever acting going on underneath that superficially lazy persona. [“Robert Mitchum crept up on us” – Katie Hepburn]

    2 Of course we realise that your professional background is not in the analysis of the movie trade but in nightclub entertaining and rock music and we therefore hope you find helpful the spread of opinions from veteran reviewers and movie sites that we have produced in a 2nd post about some of Jane’s performances.

    3 Directly quoting the views of critics is generally speaking a new departure for this site – certainly WE have not noticed it on any consistent scale before – and now that Mr. Cogerson has commenced the practice it is hoped that to provide his viewers with a balanced insight he will quote the opinions of other critics as well as putting you on a pedestal.

    4 It is really meaningless after all to give just one reviewer’s comments all the time as if they were a definitive take on a movie or a performer whereas the opinions voiced in the 2nd post indicate that there many others have a different opinion of Jane from yours.

  2. Thank you for doing a page on the wonderful and beautiful Jane Russell.
    She was always underrated because of her extraordinary physical gifts bu t she was an accomplished at light comedy and as a singer. She did not take herself seriously as a sex symbol and it was refreshing she used humor to enliven all her films. She was an excellent dark lady in of film noir and had perfect co-stars in those films such as Victor Mature and Robert Mitchum. She was the perfect foil for macho leading men like Clark Gable and Richard Egan; and the comedic foil for Bob Hope.
    Her work in private life on behalf of orphans and charities was commendable. She is an all-time icon from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

  3. There are only 3 actors on the 2016 Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list who have worked with Jane. Only William Smith stands. Jane herself has never been on the list.

    571 WILLIAM SMITH Darker Than Amber (1970)
    809 ROBERT MITCHUM His Kind of Woman (1951)
    809 ROBERT MITCHUM Macao (1952)
    912 ARTHUR TOVEY Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

    These are the people who were on the original list back in 2000 who have since fallen off but appeared in a film with Jane. Rank is for 2000 and the list is rather sparse.

    43 KEENAN WYNN The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957)
    75 CAMERON MITCHELL The Tall Men (1955)
    93 HARRY CAREY JR. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
    96 FERDY MAYNE Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955)
    125 VINCENT PRICE His Kind of Woman (1951)
    125 VINCENT PRICE The Las Vegas Story (1952)
    160 ROBERT RYAN The Tall Men (1955)
    177 MARCEL DALIO Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
    213 BEN JOHNSON The Outlaw (1943)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
    222 BESS FLOWERS The French Line (1953)
    270 FRANK SINATRA Double Dynamite (1951)
    271 PETER BROCCO His Kind of Woman (1951)
    271 PETER BROCCO Hot Blood (1956)
    290 GEORGE WALLACE The French Line (1953)
    299 FRITZ FELD The French Line (1953)
    384 GILBERT ROLAND The French Line (1953)
    384 GILBERT ROLAND Underwater! (1955)
    389 LEON ASKIN Road to Bali (1952)
    409 ROD TAYLOR Darker Than Amber (1970)
    421 MICHAEL ANSARA Road to Bali (1952)
    451 DANA ANDREWS Johnny Reno (1966)
    459 DABBS GREER Foxfire (1955)
    532 JIM BACKUS His Kind of Woman (1951)
    534 BOB HOPE Road to Bali (1952)
    534 BOB HOPE Son of Paleface (1952)
    534 BOB HOPE The Paleface (1948)
    559 THEODORE BIKEL Darker Than Amber (1970)
    606 ALBERTO MORIN His Kind of Woman (1951)
    617 PAUL FREES His Kind of Woman (1951)
    617 PAUL FREES The Las Vegas Story (1952)
    682 RAY TEAL Montana Belle (1952)
    740 GEORGE CHANDLER Double Dynamite (1951)
    740 GEORGE CHANDLER The Paleface (1948)
    767 PHILIP AHN Macao (1952)
    777 ERIC POHLMANN Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Young Widow (1946)
    811 ROBERT NICHOLS Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
    877 JERRY LEWIS Road to Bali (1952)
    882 DEAN MARTIN Road to Bali (1952)
    890 JAMES BOOTH Darker Than Amber (1970)
    894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT His Kind of Woman (1951)
    894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Macao (1952)
    917 ROBERT J. WILKE His Kind of Woman (1951)
    917 ROBERT J. WILKE The Las Vegas Story (1952)
    925 RAYMOND BURR His Kind of Woman (1951)
    926 BILL ERWIN Double Dynamite (1951)
    980 VICTOR MATURE The Las Vegas Story (1952)

    I count a whopping 8 Oscar winners she appeared with.

    BEN JOHNSON The Outlaw (1943)
    BING CROSBY Road to Bali (1952)
    BING CROSBY Son of Paleface (1952)
    CHARLES COBURN Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
    CLARK GABLE The Tall Men (1955)
    FRANK SINATRA Double Dynamite (1951)
    GLORIA GRAHAME Macao (1952)
    THOMAS MITCHELL THE OUTLAW (1943)
    WALTER HUSTON The Outlaw (1943)

    1. Hey Dan
      1. Good lists as always.
      2. Wow…these lists are pretty small compared to some of the other ones you have shared in the past.
      3. Arthur Tovey saving the day in the first list.
      4. Keenan Wynn is her highest person on the second list….that seems pretty low…..I guess her career was too short and not too many movies.
      5. 8 Oscar winners….that might be the least yet.
      Thanks for taking the time to share this information…it is greatly appreciated.

  4. Although Jane has never been in my personal Top Ten of actresses, I always liked her. I only have seen 10 of the movies listed, and without any doubt Gentlemen prefer Blondes is my faovrite. I think she was just right as Dorothy, being the perfect antidote to Marilyn’s Lorelei and therefore setting the right mood to accept the improbabilities of a more than leightweight, albeit funny, script. Furthermore, as mentioned in the Interesting Facts, she was a good singer and ln her duets with Marilyn their voices blend together really well. Because I don’t like Bob Hope’s humor, it is hard to say that Paleface is another favorite, but it is one of the few Hope comedies I did enjoy,,,and that’s some compliment to Miss Russell. Fuzzy Pink Nightgown, Hot Blood and Underwater are ok movies, Double Dynamite is…well, an embarassement? Despite the hype of Outlaw and it’s hefty boxoffice, I never finished watching that one. I never believed Jack Beutel in his part and found the whole affair rather boring. But for her Dorothy Shaw alone, Jane Russell will always have a warm and cozy place in this movie lover’s heart.
    One piece of trivia. I recently watched the Judi Dench film Philomena, where Dench plays an elderly lady searching for the son she has given away for adoption. In one of the orphanages she visits, an picture of Jane Russell is prominently hanging on a wall. Now we all know the reason. Thanks a lot for another classic actress page.

    1. Hey Lupino
      1. Well your 10 Russell movies watched tops Flora (barely she is at 9), Steve (6) and me (3)…so once again you top our little contest.
      2. Gentlemen prefer Blondes is one of the three Russell movies I have seen…and I agree with your thoughts on that movie 100%.
      3. The Outlaw is not one of my favorite westerns either….it is almost the Transformers of Westerns…a movie that made a ton of money…yet seems to have few fans.
      4. That is good trivia from Philomena….I know when I watch movies….my eye catches things like that….I see a Pulp Fiction poster in a lot of movies too.
      Good feedback as always.

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