Want to know the best John Garfield movies? How about the worst John Garfield movies? Curious about John Garfield’s box office grosses or which John Garfield movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which John Garfield movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place …. because we have all of that information.
Before Steve McQueen before Marlon Brando….the rebel of Hollywood was John Garfield. John Garfield (1913-1952) was a 2 time Oscar® nominated actor. During his Warner Brothers contract days, Garfield was suspended by the studio an amazing 11 times. His IMDb page shows 34 acting credits since from 1938-1951. This page will rank 31 of his movies from Best to Worst in 6 different columns of sortable information. The missing three movies were either shorts or uncredited roles.
John Garfield Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In The Table Below
The really cool thing about ther table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort John Garfield movies by Co-Star
- Sort John Garfield movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort John Garfield movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions) *** If domestic and worldwide are the same then worldwide is unknown
- Sort John Garfield movies by critic reviews and audiences voting. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each John Garfield movie received.
- Sort John Garfield movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (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 John Garfield Table
1. Fifteen John Garfield movies crossed the magical $100 million mark. That is a percentage of 48.38% of her movies listed. Hollywood Canteen (1944) was his biggest box office hit.
2. An average John Garfield movie grosses $120.40 million in adjusted box office gross.
3. Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 27 John Garfield movies are rated as good movies…or 87.09% of his movies. Body and Soul (1947) was his highest rated movie while The Fallen Sparrow (1943) was his lowest rated movie.
4. Eleven John Garfield movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 35.48% of her movies.
5. Three John Garfield movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 9.67% of his movies.
6. An average Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 40.00. 24 John Garfield movies scored higher that average….or 77.41% of his movies. Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) got the the highest UMR Score while Out of the Fog (1941) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About John Garfield
1. This page was suggested by a John Garfield fan ….remember we here at UMR are happy to take recommendations for the next UMR page. Coming soon….Bill Murray, Montgomery Clift, Seth Rogen and Bob Hope.
2. John Garfield was born and raised in New York City.
3. John Garfield received two Oscar® nominations for acting. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for 1938’s Four Daughters and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for 1947’s Body and Soul.
4. John Garfield was married to his childhood sweetheart, Roberta Seidman, from 1935 until his death in 1952. They had three children…..Katherine (1938-1945), David (1942-1995) and actress Julie (1946-).
5. Famous roles that almost went to John Garfield. William Holden’s role in Golden Boy, Gary Merrill’s role in All About Eve, Marlon Brando’s role in A Streetcar Named Desire, Marlon Brando’s role in On The Waterfront and Frank Sinatra’s role in The Man With The Golden Arm.
6. John Garfield said “No actor can really be good until he’s reached forty.” Sadly he died of a heart attack at age 39….so we will never know how good an actor John Garfield would have been.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
1 STEVE John always struck me as epitomising what Hollywood wanted us to think the ordinary American man in the street was like so that if I had lived in America I would have bumped into the Garfield kind of character daily in places like pubs or bookmaker’s shops, wisecracking and with fag dangling from his mouth at least in his own day when smoking restrictions in public places were not as tight as they certainly are over here nowadays.
2 Force of Evil is said by some historians to be one of the bleakest movies ever made and indeed John’s films tended to be bleak a lot so you don’t look for colourful posters to advertise them but rather for the darker artwork that is compatible with a good black and white film-noir and you have provided a fine range of such posters here – He Ran All the Way, Force of Evil itself, Dangerously They Live, Nobody Lives Forever and Out of the Fog.
“Somebody’s always out to get you and your dame.East of the River.” Typical Garfield poster tagline!
3 There were beautifully nostalgic stills [for me at least] of Garfield and Joan in Humoresque and him and Lana [2 in number] in Postman Always Rings Twice. I also liked the lackadaisical one of Garfield, Angela Lansbury [sorry Hedy Lamarr] and Old Cantankerous from Tortilla Flat.
3 You and WH agree on 3 of your Top 5. and I praise him for ranking as No 3 my own favourite Garfield movie Force of Evil compared with your slightly lower placing of 5, and why on earth did you do a Cogerson and include those irrelevant ensembles Hollywood Canteen and Thank Your Luck Stars?. Overall though you get it very much right and I thought this video was a high 9.5/10.especially as your selections clearly illustrate that John had a great many stand-alone movies with at least 19 of your choices being undeniably true ‘John Garfield’ flicks and most of the remainder giving him an equal share of the spotlight. A profile that was both comprehensive and entertaining. Great stuff.
Thanks Bob, your review, rating, observation and comment always appreciated.
The reason I included Thank Your Lucky Stars and Hollywood Canteen is that Garfield only appeared in 31 films altogether and I wanted to include them all. Bruce has done the same.
When I saw the photo of John with Joan I thought of you and added it in knowing you’re a huge Crawford fan, it’s your reward for being so nice to poor Myrna all the time. 😉
I don’t think I’ve seen Force of Evil, I will keep an eye out for it.
Look how effortlessly gorgeous Lana Turner is in those stills, super sexy smoking a cigarette, how many of todays actresses can get away with that? Garfield barely able to control himself in that scene. Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson are pretty girls but they don’t look like Lana Turner, or beautiful Hedy Lamarr in the still from Tortilla Flat. They were real deal, Hollywood Goddesses.
Just spotted John’s post below mine “John Garfield never appeared in a color movie” whoa I wonder how often that’s happened with Hollywood movie stars? Has Bela Lugosi appeared in any color movies? Maybe not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5w2O-RyOVE
HI AGAIN STEVE:
1 Given the bleak nature of many of Garfield’s films I thought your posters captured that well and that you excelled yourself in your selections and it was good that you covered all movies. Appreciate the Crawford one and glad to see her getting some coverage on this site – “Encouraged now to begin and live in a world to their liking at last.” I found Joan and Lana attractive in different ways and at any given time my choice would alternate. Athur Kennedy said it best in Stewart’s Bend of River if I may paraphrase HIM”It depends on mood. Sometimes I prefer that blonde one here but on other occasions I like that dark one over there.”
2 I’m about to sign off on Loy forever so look out for my closing special on her later.
After that I intend to ignor all further reference to her and follow the advice of Sethi in your idol’s most famous film and I will “Let the name of Myrna be unheard and unspoken”
Steve
Off the query about Bela Lugosi, he appeared in one color movie, Scared to Death, a B horror film from 1947 filmed in Cinecolor, the cheaper rival of Technicolor.
Watched your John Garfield video. Another nice job. What really jumped out at me was that Gentlemen’s Agreement did not make his top five. I find it a worthy film, but all in all unexceptional. In fairness, it was cutting edge back in 1947. While I find it interesting that GA, his one AA winner, did not make his top five, I can’t disagree. Your number one pick would be my number one pick.
As for Garfield the actor, I always think of him as the precursor of Brando and Dean.
Thanks John, appreciate the Bela Lugosi info and video comment.
Looking at my Greg Peck video, Gentlemen’s Agreement didn’t even make the top 10 on there. It won the Best Picture Oscar of 1947 but it doesn’t seem to be a highly rated movie, there are Steve Reeves peplum epics with a higher rating than Gentlemen’s Agreement. I watched it once, didn’t like it.
Bruce hasn’t even bothered to include it on his chart… oh wait there it is at no.10. 🙂
John Garfield never appeared in a color movie.
Hey John….the fact that Garfield never appeared in a color movie is nowhere near as surprising as Robert Montgomery….probably because Garfield passed away at such a young age…..thanks for sharing this information.
Great to see the box office updates from the Warner Bros. Ledger, however it seems that Four Wives is missing from the list. Is this an oversight?
Hey Kevin. Garfield’s role was archived footage so we did not include it…we do have the box office numbers for that one….Domestic (adjusted) gross = $131.90 million Worldwide (adjusted) gross = $165.90 million. It got a critic score of 65.00%. It got no Oscar love. It got a UMR score of 50.99. Which would put it in 14th place if you sort it by UMR Score.
So I guess the question is…do you think it needs to be included?…I did notice for the first time that the Four Wives poster including Garfield….so it seems they were using Garfield to push the movie. Thanks for noticing it was missing.
BRUCE:
1 You mention the Brando/Garfield “rebels” linkage but I think that there are limits to how far ANYONE can be compared with Brando although you point to Garfield’s considered suitability for the Streetcar/Waterfront roles and some historians credit John with being the first method actor to achieve stardom, with yet others giving that distinction to Paul Muni. ***
2 John’s perceived ‘rebel’ behaviour may have cost him his life as he had fundamental heart problems that it is claimed were aggravated by attracting the attentions of the un-American Activities Committee {Force of Evil in particular being regarded as anti-capitalist] which ultimately induced his fatal heart attack. Brando for all his outspoken comments ** seemed to escape the scrutiny of the Committee though his sister Jocelyn is said to have been blacklisted.
** MILDRED “Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” JOHNNY “Whatta you got?” – The Wild One (1953)
3 Also you have said in your Brando page that Marlon “owned the 1950s” and of course John was never a dominant Box Office star in any year or era. Also Brando lasted for 51 years as a star who could command large fees for even lazy performances in supporting roles, whereas even had John lived his career longevity might have been doubtful given that his films tended to be melancholy even bleak so that their popularity might not have survived the early 50s.
4 But I liked Garfield who was unique in his own way and I greatly admired his performances – especially Body and Soul and Force of Evil – which should be cherished as fine works of art. A good update which again illustrates that normally in the Classic Era domestic grosses greatly exceed foreign ones with the split over Garfield movies averaging 73%/27% respectively.
** Some historians argue that Brando wasn’t a method actor but used the tag purely as a publicity gimmick; and indeed others contend that he wasn’t even really a natural movie actor but was fundamentally a stage actor who hijacked the cinema for mercenary reasons.. After they made Julius Caesar together in 1953 Sir John Gielgud asked Marlon to accompany him on an extensive theatrical tour but Bud refused saying there wasn’t enough money in it
However for a modest fee he did appear later that year with his friend William Redfield in a Boston stage production of Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, though that was his last ever stage performance. In his diaries Richard Burton adds a further twist to these arguments by claiming that MB was really a silent movie star who had missed his time and calling.
Hey Bob.
1. From Joel Hirschhorn.’s book…Rating The Movie Stars…on John Garfield…”John Garfield was “funky” long before Brando and had a street-smart exterior before McQueen”. …I think Garfield is in the group with Brando and Muni…..but Brando is the only one that has stood the test of time.
2. I agree 100% that the un-American Activities Committee had something to do with his heart attack…one of the books I read while researching this page….really connected the dots on those two incidents.
3. I have yet to see Force of Evil….or Between Two Worlds…..my vast libraries do not seem to have many Garfield movies available….and I rarely watch tv….so I am sure I have missed both of these movies on TCM.
4. So 73/27…..that seems a little low compared to other stars…..but I am not thinking many of his movies were big draws overseas….and it seems the numbers might prove that point.
5. Thanks for sharing the Brando stories….as always they are interesting.
1 Thanks for extra info on Garfield. Split in the other Classic Era cases where you have given us worldwide grosses has been around 65% domestic/35% or slightly better for foreign earnings. Rarely near 50/50 though even for Greats such as Tracy in those days and for even Spence’s last two movie blockbusters Mad Mad World and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner the split was 77%domestic/23% foreign according to IMDB and The Numbers. Bit different today with the likes of Willis engendering monstrous overseas earnings.
2 Force of Evil is one of the most fascinating but bleakest movies you will ever see and one viewing of it will make it obvious why it couldn’t draw in large audiences but COULD attract the attentions of the Un-American Activities Committee !
3 Google “Brando and William Redfield” and you will locate an iconic photo of the young Bud and William sitting together like two lost souls at a US airport and you could be forgiven for thinking that the Committee was after THEM. If many of your readers remember Redfield it will likely be for the role of Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
4 There the dots are joined up : Redfield/Brando in Arms and the Man, Brando/Nicholson in Missouri Breaks, Nicholdson/Redfield in Cuckoo’s Nest. All those sorts of guys seemed cliqueish and Bud and Jack even bought houses beside one and other and visited regularly so that it’s a wonder they were not dubbed the modern Randolph Scott/Cary Grant.
5 Speaking of your idol just last night I watched a documentary on Barbra Hutton the Woolworth millionairess and Cary didn’t come out of it too well. It was claimed that he was so stingy that he married and stayed with Hutton so that he could live off her as a ‘kept man’. The couple were derisively nicknamed Cash and Cary. It is also claimed that he gave his first wife Virginia regular hidings – sort of the Johnny Depp of yesteryear ! Still I love him as a performer – nobody can take away his greatness in that respect.
6 Anyway good that you’re back so that I can enjoy once more our “I”m a man who likes to talk …..” routine! Take care.
BOB
Hey Bob….I am slowly getting these WB ledger numbers out there….Stanwyck and Garfield were perfect because I had not gotten around to updating their pages…so it was a one time re-visit to those pages….and when I have 500 pages to flip….I appreciate the pages that cause me to do less work…lol. Now Bette Davis on the other hand….lol…..has required me to revisit and revisit her page many many times….including this morning.
1. The overseas market has exploded….with China overtaking us as the top movie country in the world.
2. I can handle bleak and depressing movies once…so I look forward to seeing Force of Evil at least once.
3. I did that Google search….I remember him in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest……but that might be the first time I have seen his name…..thanks for that enlightment.
4. Good point about Jack and Marlon.
5. Not sure I am buying what that documentary was selling….not that Grant was an angel….but of all the Hutton ex-husbands….only one of them did not take any money when they divorced and that was Cary Grant. Plus between while they were married Grant was a very busy man….making almost 3 movies a year when they were married….it sounds like he was a much in demand actor…who stayed very busy during their marriage….versus a guy out to take her money….but like I say…he was not an angel….so I am sure he had lots to do with that failed marriage.
6. Back and better than ever….working on so many different things….I am finishing nothing….lol.
BRUCE
1 The argument about Grant has never been that he did not have his own money but that he loved hoarding money and economies are given by a friend of Cary’s as the real reason for his living with Scott for 5 years – ie they were both a couple of skinflints and that the desire to save money on accommodation and their genuine friendship were the ONLY dimensions to their relationship. Of course as they were both actors making it in Hollywood that would have made the financial ties and the friendship more appealing.
2 The latest information that you have brought to the table does not contradict the contentions in the previous paragraph as I personally have a friend who is ‘tight’ and yet ethical about the pursuit of money so Grant could have been intent on ‘economising’ while he was married to Hutton but felt that it was unethical to take money from her once they parted company.
3 Anyway it’s all speculation and to me it’s academic because I loved Cary and Randolph for their magical on-screen personas – and not for their money !!
BOB
John Garfield died 1952 I think. 68 years later these are the 3 people that are currently on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. 2 are still alive!
Force of Evil (1948) – 677 Beau Bridges
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) – 198 Dean Stockwell
He Ran All the Way (1951) – 781 Shelley Winters
These are the performers who appeared on the 2000 list and have fallen off over the years. Rank is for 2000.
Air Force (1943) – 248 Arthur Kennedy, 379 Ann Doran, 783 James Flavin
Between Two Worlds (1944) – 273 George Coulouris
Blackwell’s Island (1939) – 959 Leon Ames
Body and Soul (1947) – 481 Lilli Palmer
Castle on the Hudson (1940) – 41 Burgess Meredith, 783 James Flavin
Destination Tokyo (1943) – 345 William Prince, 592 Whit Bissell
Dust Be My Destiny (1939) – 27 Marc Lawrence
East of the River (1940) – 506 Douglas Fowley
Footlight Parade (1933) – 280 Billy Barty, 740 George Chandler
Force of Evil (1948) – 542 Paul Fix, 617 Paul Frees, 732 Arthur O’Connell
Four Wives (1939) – 76 Eddie Albert
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) – 156 Gregory Peck, 824 Frank Wilcox
Hollywood Canteen (1944) – 169 John Dehner, 345 William Prince, 682 Ray Teal, 783 James Flavin, 918 Bette Davis
Humoresque (1946) – 222 Bess Flowers, 508 Robert Blake
Jigsaw (1949) – 27 Marc Lawrence, 41 Burgess Meredith, 56 Henry Fonda
Juarez (1939) – 384 Gilbert Roland, 918 Bette Davis
Nobody Lives Forever (1946) – 273 George Coulouris, 783 James Flavin
Out of the Fog (1941) – 76 Eddie Albert
Pride of the Marines (1945) – 379 Ann Doran
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) – 146 Mike Mazurki, 783 James Flavin, 918 Bette Davis, 962 Olivia De Havilland, 982 Billy Benedict
The Breaking Point (1950) – 271 Peter Brocco, 599 John Doucette
The Fallen Sparrow (1943) – 975 Maureen O’Hara
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) – 555 Hume Cronyn, 959 Leon Ames, 969 Byron Foulger
The Sea Wolf (1941) – 255 Alexander Knox, 463 Edward G. Robinson
Tortilla Flat (1942) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
Under My Skin (1950) – 562 Paul Bryar
We Were Strangers (1949) – 142 John Huston, 384 Gilbert Roland, 606 Alberto Morin
Considering he died so young he appeared with 19 Oscar winners by my count.
Air Force (1943) – Gig Young
Between Two Worlds (1944) – Edmund Gwenn
Footlight Parade (1933) – James Cagney
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) – Gregory Peck, Celeste Holm
He Ran All the Way (1951) – Shelley Winters
Hollywood Canteen (1944) – Bette Davis, Dorothy Malone, Humphrey Bogart, Jane Wyman, Joan Crawford
Humoresque (1946) – Joan Crawford
Jigsaw (1949) – Henry Fonda
Juarez (1939) – Bette Davis, Paul Muni
Nobody Lives Forever (1946) – Walter Brennan
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) – Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Humphrey Bogart
The Breaking Point (1950) – Patricia Neal
The Sea Wolf (1941) – Barry Fitzgerald
Tortilla Flat (1942) – Spencer Tracy
We Were Strangers (1949) – Jennifer Jones
Hey Dan….(1) Thanks for the John Garfield lists (2) Only 3 left…and one of them is Beau Bridges….wow I did not realize that he had been in movies for so long. (3) List 2: Not sure I noticed that Burgess Meredith was ranked so high on the 2000 list…but 41st is pretty stellar. (4) Another one that sticks out on the second list is John Huston at 142nd….did they include his director jobs too?…seems his movie acting career was pretty brief…and certainly not worthy of such a high score. (5) Yep he passed away way too soon. (6) I am impressed with his 19 Oscar winning co-stars…especially considering he was at Warners…and worked with the same group for years and years. As always…..your lists are greatly appreciated.