Who were the Top Movie Stars of the 1930s statistically? This page will attempt to answer that question. Our main source of information was our Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) pages that covered movie stars that made movies in the 1930s. So far we have box office grosses on 1,297 movies made between 1930 and 1939. Granted this is far from all the movies made during that time frame….but it does cover most of the major movie releases in that decade.
We have included four lists of information. List one looks at the Top 15 stars by adjusted domestic box office. List two looks at the Top 15 stars by highest average rating per movie according to critics and audiences. List three looks at the Top 15 Stars by highest average UMR score per movie. List four shows our entire table of all the stars we looked at while complying these lists.
Top 15 Adjusted Domestic Box Office Leaders 1930 – 1939
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- 1st – Clark Gable $7,151,600,000
- 2nd – Myrna Loy $5,400,000,000
- 3rd – Hattie McDaniel $4,595,000,000
- 4th – Lionel Barrymore $4,262,400,000
- 5th – Robert Young $4,027,200,000
- 6th – Thomas Mitchell $3,926,400,000
- 7th – Loretta Young $3,816,000,000
- 8th – Olivia de Havilland $3,803,400,000
- 9th – Gary Cooper $3,753,600,000
- 10th – Donald Crisp $3,713,500,000
- 11th – Wallace Beery $3,612,000,000
- 12th – Mickey Rooney $3,478,800,000
- 13th – Robert Montgomery $3,420,000,000
- 14th – William Powell $3,328,000,000
- 15th – Maureen O’Sullivan $3,315,200,000
Top 15 Average Critic/Audience Rating Leaders 1930 – 1939 (mininum 8 movies)
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- 1st – Marx Brothers 80.40%
- 2nd – Fred Astaire 76.00%
- 3rd – Thomas Mitchell 75.50%
- 4th – Marlene Dietrich 74.30%
- 5th – Robert Donat 72.80%
- 6th – Greta Garbo 72.60%
- 7th – Hattie McDaniel 72.10%
- 8th – Leslie Howard 72.10%
- 9th – Charles Laughton 72.00%
- 10th – James Stewart 71.00%
- 11th – Laurel & Hardy 70.70%
- 12th – W.C. Fields 70.60%
- 13th – Jean Arthur 70.50%
- 14th – Olivia de Havilland 70.00%
- 15th – Jean Harlow 69.70%
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Top 15 Average UMR (combining box office, reviews and awards) Score Per Movie 1930-1939 (minimum 8 movies)
1st – Fred Astaire
2nd – Marx Brothers
3rd – Tyrone Power
4th – Norma Shearer
5th – Judy Garland
6th – Greta Garbo
7th – James Stewart
8th – David Niven
9th – Charles Laughton
10th – Errol Flynn
11th – Shirley Temple
12th – Clark Gable
13th – Jean Arthur
14th – Marlene Dietrich
15th – Ginger Rogers
Top Movie Stars 1930-1939 Main Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies any way you want.
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- Sort by actor or actress
- Sort by movies made between 1930 and 1939
- Sort by total adjusted domestic box office from 1930 to 1939
- Sort by total adjusted worldwide box office from 1930 to 1939
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each performers’ movies earned
- Sort by average UMR Score
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Default setting is total adjusted domestic box office.
Rank Thespian Movies Adj. Domestic B.O. Adj. Worldwide B.O. AVG Review % Oscar Noms / Wins AVG UMR Score Clark Gable 38 $7,151,600,000 $11,430,200,000 68.7 % 040 / 17 73.13 Myrna Loy 54 $5,400,000,000 $7,305,100,000 63.9 % 031 / 06 64.56 Hattie McDaniel 25 $4,595,000,000 $6,764,700,000 72.1 % 021 / 08 71.01 Lionel Barrymore 36 $4,262,400,000 $6,368,600,000 68.0 % 023 / 05 69.82 Robert Young 48 $4,027,200,000 $4,912,600,000 59.0 % 003 / 01 60.48 Thomas Mitchell 16 $3,926,400,000 $5,756,000,000 75.5 % 043 / 13 77.46 Loretta Young 45 $3,816,000,000 $4,032,600,000 62.5 % 009 / 01 62.31 Olivia de Havilland 18 $3,803,400,000 $6,489,900,000 70.0 % 041 / 18 71.63 Gary Cooper 32 $3,753,600,000 $3,848,800,000 65.0 % 034 / 06 69.24 Donald Crisp 35 $3,713,500,000 $5,796,900,000 63.3 % 043 / 08 66.61 Wallace Beery 30 $3,612,000,000 $4,969,000,000 66.0 % 014 / 07 70.61 Mickey Rooney 26 $3,478,800,000 $4,848,600,000 66.1 % 017 / 06 70.37 Robert Montgomery 40 $3,420,000,000 $4,410,300,000 61.2 % 012 / 03 62.51 William Powell 32 $3,328,000,000 $4,738,500,000 67.5 % 022 / 05 67.57 Maureen O'Sullivan 32 $3,315,200,000 $5,112,500,000 65.1 % 008 / 00 66.74 Leslie Howard 20 $3,314,000,000 $5,268,000,000 72.1 % 028 / 10 68.27 Dick Powell 31 $3,307,700,000 $4,453,200,000 62.5 % 014 / 03 65.87 Fredric March 29 $3,306,000,000 $3,816,900,000 64.4 % 036 / 07 68.87 Tyrone Power 16 $3,289,600,000 $3,469,200,000 64.9 % 030 / 04 76.86 Edward Arnold 33 $3,280,200,000 $3,747,100,000 66.0 % 022 / 04 64.99 Joan Blondell 41 $3,206,200,000 $4,049,700,000 62.5 % 003 / 00 60.94 Ginger Rogers 30 $3,204,000,000 $4,833,500,000 68.7 % 026 / 02 68.92 Spencer Tracy 26 $3,127,800,000 $4,621,300,000 65.7 % 021 / 04 67.03 Joan Crawford 25 $3,095,000,000 $4,712,500,000 61.7 % 004 / 01 68.44 Shirley Temple 22 $3,049,200,000 $3,048,600,000 69.5 % 001 / 00 73.70 James Cagney 32 $2,963,200,000 $4,145,500,000 65.8 % 011 / 02 65.75 Carole Lombard 35 $2,943,500,000 $2,996,500,000 63.1 % 006 / 00 62.97 Pat O'Brien 39 $2,917,200,000 $3,883,800,000 61.0 % 008 / 00 60.38 Robert Taylor 24 $2,872,800,000 $4,455,000,000 61.4 % 008 / 01 67.26 Claudette Colbert 22 $2,864,400,000 $3,030,200,000 67.7 % 018 / 06 71.69 Melvyn Douglas 33 $2,864,400,000 $3,500,500,000 62.6 % 012 / 01 62.21 Jean Harlow 22 $2,860,000,000 $3,962,200,000 69.7 % 004 / 00 70.47 Cary Grant 28 $2,758,000,000 $3,235,300,000 69.7 % 014 / 01 66.41 James Stewart 20 $2,706,000,000 $3,565,900,000 70.9 % 024 / 03 72.94 Alice Faye 21 $2,685,900,000 $2,686,900,000 64.8 % 015 / 03 68.20 Jeanette MacDonald 19 $2,667,600,000 $4,520,200,000 66.4 % 015 / 03 69.74 George Brent 36 $2,649,600,000 $3,653,200,000 64.4 % 016 / 03 61.68 Don Ameche 18 $2,595,600,000 $2,595,000,000 61.7 % 013 / 03 68.69 Humphrey Bogart 30 $2,592,000,000 $3,550,500,000 63.9 % 011 / 00 63.78 John Barrymore 30 $2,589,000,000 $3,816,500,000 65.8 % 015 / 01 64.22 Barbara Stanwyck 32 $2,556,800,000 $2,829,500,000 63.1 % 005 / 00 62.06 George Raft 30 $2,532,000,000 $2,766,600,000 64.1 % 003 / 00 63.28 Bette Davis 36 $2,520,000,000 $3,567,800,000 63.7 % 017 / 03 62.08 Kay Francis 41 $2,488,700,000 $3,485,900,000 62.9 % 003 / 01 59.10 Claude Rains 20 $2,460,000,000 $3,391,100,000 69.3 % 025 / 08 70.25 Basil Rathbone 27 $2,421,900,000 $3,706,300,000 70.5 % 021 / 03 67.24 Ray Milland 31 $2,396,300,000 $2,436,500,000 62.8 % 007 / 00 61.80 Victor McLaglen 29 $2,354,800,000 $2,820,300,000 65.4 % 011 / 04 62.85 Joel McCrea 29 $2,349,000,000 $2,493,000,000 63.5 % 013 / 01 62.69 Jean Arthur 19 $2,350,300,000 $2,477,000,000 70.5 % 026 / 04 71.15 David Niven 16 $2,347,200,000 $3,022,300,000 68.1 % 024 / 03 75.28 Vivien Leigh 6 $2,238,600,000 $3,848,600,000 72.4 % 013 / 08 71.34 Boris Karloff 34 $2,199,800,000 $2,391,800,000 67.2 % 006 / 00 61.33 Charles Laughton 17 $2,125,000,000 $2,765,000,000 72.0 % 020 / 02 73.07 Henry Fonda 20 $2,096,000,000 $2,371,100,000 63.1 % 012 / 02 64.81 Irene Dunne 24 $2,035,200,000 $2,256,000,000 63.9 % 021 / 05 64.88 Douglas Fairbanks Jr. 26 $2,020,200,000 $2,620,200,000 67.0 % 009 / 02 62.63 Miriam Hopkins 23 $1,996,400,000 $2,105,400,000 65.5 % 009 / 01 64.54 Janet Gaynor 19 $1,995,000,000 $2,104,200,000 63.6 % 012 / 01 67.24 Rosalind Russell 20 $1,990,000,000 $2,837,800,000 63.7 % 006 / 00 65.47 Fay Wray 32 $1,980,800,000 $2,496,400,000 63.0 % 009 / 01 58.14 Lew Ayres 36 $1,936,800,000 $2,180,900,000 59.0 % 008 / 02 56.58 Constance Bennett 25 $1,922,500,000 $2,262,400,000 63.2 % 013 / 00 61.32 Mary Astor 28 $1,920,800,000 $2,251,100,000 65.3 % 012 / 01 61.42 Marie Dressler 14 $1,883,000,000 $2,432,800,000 64.7 % 005 / 01 72.35 Errol Flynn 13 $1,846,000,000 $3,173,200,000 69.7 % 017 / 04 73.65 Fred MacMurray 19 $1,810,700,000 $1,831,500,000 65.4 % 004 / 00 65.72 Lyle Talbot 31 $1,807,300,000 $2,104,800,000 59.1 % 008 / 02 57.00 Randolph Scott 15 $1,804,500,000 $2,041,900,000 64.2 % 003 / 00 67.79 Will Rogers 19 $1,795,500,000 $1,844,500,000 62.8 % 002 / 00 64.42 Edward G. Robinson 24 $1,795,200,000 $2,373,000,000 64.4 % 004 / 00 62.09 Norma Shearer 13 $1,794,000,000 $2,750,700,000 65.4 % 018 / 02 75.9 Walter Brennan 17 $1,785,000,000 $1,973,600,000 65.8 % 012 / 03 67.65 Fred Astaire 11 $1,756,700,000 $2,891,400,000 76.0 % 019 / 03 81.87 Joan Bennett 24 $1,756,800,000 $1,990,900,000 61.8 % 006 / 01 60.49 Walter Pidgeon 25 $1,740,000,000 $2,508,500,000 60.3 % 000 / 00 58.00 Ronald Colman 15 $1,734,000,000 $1,863,500,000 66.4 % 020 / 02 70.53 Nelson Eddy 10 $1,706,000,000 $2,908,700,000 66.0 % 007 / 01 73.66 Bing Crosby 20 $1,686,000,000 $1,725,800,000 65.6 % 005 / 02 64.06 Herbert Marshall 26 $1,682,200,000 $1,897,000,000 65.2 % 008 / 01 60.35 Sylvia Sidney 20 $1,586,000,000 $1,713,300,000 67.1 % 006 / 00 64.04 Monty Woolley 15 $1,543,500,000 $1,880,000,000 66.8 % 001 / 00 67.11 Marlene Dietrich 13 $1,535,300,000 $1,535,900,000 75.3 % 009 / 01 72.61 Greta Garbo 13 $1,534,000,000 $3,428,000,000 72.6 % 013 / 01 75.31 Joe E. Brown 25 $1,532,500,000 $1,917,200,000 57.7 % 004 / 02 56.71 William Demarest 16 $1,507,200,000 $1,723,500,000 66.8 % 011 / 01 64.74 Charles Bickford 21 $1,493,100,000 $1,779,000,000 60.7 % 007 / 00 59.98 Ralph Bellamy 24 $1,478,400,000 $1,700,200,000 62.3 % 009 / 01 58.71 Ann Sheridan 21 $1,430,100,000 $1,846,900,000 56.9 % 004 / 00 56.90 Laurel and Hardy 15 $1,423,500,000 $1,595,600,000 70.7 % 003 / 00 67.71 Judy Garland 8 $1,421,600,000 $2,017,600,000 68.7 % 009 / 02 74.13 Paul Muni 13 $1,378,000,000 $2,409,400,000 68.3 % 024 / 08 70.96 Elisha Cook Jr. 14 $1,356,600,000 $1,428,500,000 63.5 % 001 / 00 63.68 Priscilla Lane 11 $1,345,300,000 $1,663,800,000 63.9 % 001 / 00 68.72 Dorothy Lamour 13 $1,337,700,000 $1,337,500,000 62.5 % 003 / 01 65.58 Bela Lugosi 24 $1,320,000,000 $1,627,100,000 63.5 % 004 / 00 58.46 Walter Huston 20 $1,312,000,000 $1,671,000,000 63.9 % 011 / 01 60.95 Paul Lukas 19 $1,311,000,000 $1,581,800,000 63.7 % 010 / 02 61.46 Madeleine Carroll 14 $1,265,600,000 $1,327,900,000 65.0 % 009 / 00 64.66 Luise Rainer 8 $1,252,000,000 $2,094,500,000 65.8 % 015 / 06 74.48 Mae West 8 $1,249,600,000 $1,249,200,000 66.6 % 002 / 00 72.58 Jane Wyman 17 $1,229,100,000 $1,452,000,000 58.5 % 001 / 00 58.61 Leo G. Carroll 16 $1,224,000,000 $1,745,300,000 67.8 % 019 / 02 64.13 Ruth Hussey 11 $1,196,800,000 $1,446,000,000 64.3 % 000 / 00 66.53 Deanna Durbin 6 $1,182,600,000 $1,182,800,000 70.5 % 017 / 01 81.65 Ethel Merman 9 $1,167,300,000 $1,167,000,000 61.9 % 007 / 01 64.49 W.C. Fields 17 $1,159,400,000 $1,307,200,000 70.6 % 001 / 01 64.05 Ronald Reagan 17 $1,157,700,000 $1,435,500,000 54.8 % 004 / 00 56.51 Eleanor Powell 6 $1,144,200,000 $1,638,800,000 62.0 % 005 / 01 76.30 Katharine Hepburn 15 $1,140,000,000 $1,622,100,000 67.8 % 012 / 02 65.07 Claire Trevor 12 $1,125,600,000 $1,348,900,000 64.4 % 011 / 02 65.96 George Burns 13 $1,114,100,000 $1,178,100,000 62.1 % 003 / 01 62.62 Sonja Henie 6 $1,099,200,000 $1,098,900,000 54.3 % 002 / 00 70.58 Marx Brothers 8 $1,094,400,000 $1,355,400,000 80.4 % 001 / 00 78.52 Fay Bainter 12 $1,082,400,000 $1,325,100,000 66.7 % 007 / 02 67.22 Colin Clive 17 $1,079,500,000 $1,249,800,000 65.8 % 001 / 00 59.56 Joan Fontaine 9 $1,033,200,000 $1,564,800,000 65.8 % 007 / 01 67.23 Merle Oberon 13 $1,032,200,000 $1,032,700,000 66.5 % 018 / 05 65.42 Lucille Ball 9 $1,032,300,000 $1,487,400,000 65.2 % 006 / 00 68.33 Eve Arden 13 $1,032,200,000 $1,375,200,000 62.0 % 005 / 00 60.94 George Sanders 10 $1,029,000,000 $1,137,000,000 62.4 % 003 / 00 64.70 Charles Boyer 13 $1,027,000,000 $1,478,500,000 63.6 % 015 / 01 63.66 Paulette Goddard 5 $1,024,000,000 $1,110,400,000 78.9 % 003 / 00 82.51 Anthony Quinn 8 $911,200,000 $910,900,000 63.6 % 004 / 01 67.97 George Arliss 18 $907,200,000 $1,211,000,000 58.3 % 001 / 00 55.64 Ann Miller 8 $893,600,000 $1,062,000,000 66.5 % 011 / 02 67.42 Robert Cummings 11 $861,300,000 $861,400,000 63.7 % 004 / 00 62.36 Elsa Lanchester 7 $800,800,000 $1,056,600,000 73.6 % 005 / 02 73.66 Charles Chaplin 2 $796,200,000 $796,100,000 92.2 % 000 / 00 94.05 Margaret Sullavan 9 $772,200,000 $988,600,000 69.6 % 001 / 00 66.49 Lana Turner 9 $765,000,000 $893,400,000 63.4 % 000 / 00 62.57 Broderick Crawford 6 $749,400,000 $810,200,000 65.5 % 003 / 00 68.93 Jack Benny 10 $742,000,000 $874,600,000 59.6 % 004 / 01 59.45 Ida Lupino 12 $736,800,000 $815,100,000 60.8 % 002 / 00 58.73 Helen Hayes 9 $727,200,000 $931,800,000 63.4 % 009 / 03 64.49 Laurence Olivier 10 $727,000,000 $726,600,000 58.6 % 008 / 01 60.5 John Garfield 6 $715,200,000 $944,600,000 67.2 % 002 / 00 71.67 Robert Donat 9 $709,200,000 $1,129,000,000 72.8 % 013 / 02 69.28 Charles Farrell 7 $704,200,000 $704,500,000 58.5 % 000 / 00 63.51 Peter Lorre 14 $702,800,000 $717,600,000 65.6 % 000 / 00 58.58 Barry Fitzgerald 8 $680,000,000 $885,200,000 67.3 % 000 / 00 63.55 Bob Hope 7 $665,000,000 $664,800,000 64.5 % 001 / 01 65.18 John Wayne 15 $648,000,000 $842,400,000 58.9 % 007 / 02 54.53 Dennis Morgan 10 $629,000,000 $659,500,000 58.5 % 001 / 00 57.87 Marsha Hunt 10 $625,000,000 $727,300,000 59.1 % 000 / 00 57.67 Betty Grable 8 $605,600,000 $748,800,000 59.1 % 001 / 00 59.75 Ralph Richardson 14 $599,200,000 $817,600,000 64.9 % 005 / 00 57.80 Dean Jagger 9 $550,800,000 $550,500,000 57.1 % 000 / 00 56.38 Johnny Weissmuller 4 $535,600,000 $1,190,600,000 73.0 % 000 / 00 74.55 Buster Keaton 9 $520,200,000 $751,500,000 49.9 % 000 / 00 52.79 Robert Preston 4 $498,400,000 $498,200,000 71.8 % 003 / 00 72.35 Frances Farmer 8 $489,600,000 $518,300,000 64.4 % 002 / 01 59.78 Burgess Meredith 5 $457,000,000 $554,400,000 57.6 % 006 / 00 63.70 Tallulah Bankhead 7 $433,300,000 $433,600,000 61.4 % 000 / 00 58.97 Donald O'Connor 5 $429,000,000 $429,200,000 68.0 % 002 / 00 65.24 Hedy Lamarr 3 $411,000,000 $549,100,000 67.8 % 005 / 00 73.77 Maureen O'Hara 2 $408,600,000 $668,200,000 68.5 % 002 / 00 80.77 Rex Harrison 6 $355,800,000 $574,500,000 62.1 % 004 / 00 59.69 Gene Autry 20 $346,000,000 $346,900,000 58.2 % 001 / 00 50.09 Susan Hayward 4 $311,200,000 $323,900,000 68.0 % 002 / 00 62.08 Greer Garson 2 $297,400,000 $541,800,000 67.3 % 007 / 01 78.93 Edmond O'Brien 1 $244,400,000 $504,100,000 83.5 % 002 / 00 91.00 Paul Henreid 1 $224,700,000 $425,500,000 79.5 % 007 / 01 94.80 Robert Morley 1 $221,600,000 $401,100,000 76.5 % 004 / 00 94.60 Rita Hayworth 2 $212,800,000 $212,700,000 75.8 % 002 / 00 71.43 Linda Darnell 2 $212,200,000 $212,100,000 61.0 % 000 / 00 65.14 Gloria Swanson 6 $193,200,000 $192,900,000 58.6 % 000 / 00 53.47 
Joan Crawford sits in 10th place when looking at the top adjusted worldwide box office leaders of 1930-1939 *Our worldwide box office grosses are hugely dependent on the studio the star worked for. Those working at RKO, Warner Brothers and MGM have the most worldwide grosses in our database. Poor Gary Cooper, he spent many years at Paramount so we have very little when it comes to his worldwide grosses.
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HI STEVE 1 Good weekend? Anyway appreciations of stars always hype up their achievements and for example Mae West. Deanna Durbin and many others have been endlessly credited with “saving her studio from bankruptcy and even Mumbles’ Godpop was said to have increased the value of Paramount’s stock on Wall Street.
2 It’s not just that Loy mostly got second billing [and even third billing in Manhattan Melodrama and Wife V Secretary – Myrna wasn’t even the King’s leading lady when another big star like Harlow in this one was in the movie] it was the identity of some of the great stars to whom she was billed below that suggest that there should be caution in concluding that the grosses of the movies that she happened to be in entitled her to be called the most successful female box office star of all time.
3 In relation to stardom how can anyone “worship at the shrine” as you express it of an actresses whose box office totals are largely derived from the roster of great stars whom WH quotes in para 7. On the one hand Bruce boasts about the numerous massive stars whom Loy had buttressing her in her movies and yet on the other hand he declares her “the most successful box office actress of all time As the song says ”Fools rush where wise men fear to tread”
3 Also it is ok for you to quote hyperbolic passages such as your current one for Myrna as there is, as I have just said, a lot of hype surrounding movie stars you but you have to at least be comprehensive and display consistency by showing how ALL PARTS of the quote stack up. For example we have long questioned how definitive the Quigley polls are and yet you make reference to them in your post as a further feather in Loy’s box office cap. Fair enough if YOU see it that way but then for me you must demonstrate that her Quigley placings compare favourably with those of other stars who many movie experts think were far greater female stars than Loy. Here’s one snapshot-
Doris Day/10 entries
Liz Taylor/9 entries
Betty Grable/7 entries
Joan Crawford/5 entries
Bette Davis/4 entries
Myrna Loy/ 2 entries.
5 And as for all that Queen of Hollywood nonsense just like millions of those actresses it seems “saved her studio from bankrupency” Hollywood appears to have had many Queens. Fairbanks and “America’s Sweetheart” were once dubbed its King and Queen and look at these article from the internet –
(1) POSTED ONJULY 12, 2013 by AURORA
Gable and Crawford: King and Queen of Hollywood
This is the story of Hollywood royalty. Sparks flew and embers are still visible in their movie pairings – eight in total – all at Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Of all the stars in the heavens they were the two brightest.
(2) IMPACT POSTERS GALLERY”Gable And Crawford” King And Queen Of Hollywood Fine Art Print Poster (16×20)[Not possible to download the poster]
(3) IMPACT POSTERS GALLERYClark Gable and Carole Lombard : “King & Queen of Hollywood …https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210965563767057093/
6 In short you guys simply “cherry pick” and I have never known any of you to bring in the AFI’s legends list in makingof your favourable Loy comparisons. As Hank Fonda in 12 Angry Men said to the one juror who was still holding out for a conviction, “We are not convinced. We want to hear your further arguments.”
STEVE CORRECTION TO MY LAST POST AND APOLOGY
Betty Grable had 10 Quigley top 10 entries and not 7. Sorry I can’t increase Myrna’s total for you!
Hey Bob….as we have discussed before the Quigley polls are fun but not based on actual box office grosses. Loy might have only cracked their Top 10 twice….but she does make their 25…..at least 5 times.
Your other comment did not go through right away because of the link you included….and not because of your Loy issues…lol. Thank the spammers for that.
BRUCE
1 I have repeatedly said that Quigley should be taken with a large pinch of salt and indeed see par 4 of my 12.30pm post to you where I again pour cold water on their polls.
2 My point to Steve was that HE DID make an issue of Myrna’s Quigley success in his post to me and I was simply saying that if she was to be commended on that then comparisons should be made with the Quigley performances of other actresses so that we could get her Quigley achievements into perspective. As Steve mentioned only Myrna’s top 10 entries I confined all of my own stats to the Top 10.
🙂
Hey Bob….I have always thought Loy was wrongly left off the AFI list…..which is why I included her in my Top 50 actress list.
Loy was an above the title actress for most of her 1930s career. Regardless of her billing 1st, 2nd or 3rd.
Anyway….I think we all know where we stand on Loy….this page is a lot more than Loy. Maybe I have some thoughts on that?
HI BRUCE
1 I would agree with you if you said that Myrna deserved to be on the AFI list more than Loren, Gardner Bacall and even Grace Kelly none of whom CARRIED many films and yet whilst glamorous and talented in a limited way did not have Loy’s all round ability.
2 But that’s just my opinion and for me the problem with challenging AFI is that I don’t know what their criteria was when making their selections.
Hey Bob…not knowing their criteria and not knowing the ones that just missed the cut is one of the frustrating things about the AFI list….but like the Quigley polls it is a fun list to look at….even if I do not agree with it 100%.
Thanks for the link Bob….sorry it got trapped in my Spam folder….but I did approve it.
The 1930s – Clark Gable and Myrna Loy are crowned King and Queen of the Box Office. That should make Bob’s blood boil. But like it or not Bob, Myrna was a leading lady, not a supporting actress, doesn’t matter if Gable or Powell is billed first she is still the lead actress in that movie.
IMO Donald Crisp is the odd one out in the Box Office Leaders list, like Walter Brennan he was a supporting actor and a good one but did he ever top line a movie?
Myrna doesn’t do as well on the UMR main chart, way down the list and nearly tied with Hollywood diva Joan Crawford.
Btw the box office average has someone named Charles Farrell at the top, never heard of this chap, a glitch?
Another fascinating movie page which should interest some of the UMR regulars. And it’s good to see box office queen Myrna topping all those AFI legends. Vote Up!
And it’s great to see my favorite comedy team – The Marx Brothers – doing so well on those charts, wow, didn’t expect that. [thumbs up]
Hey Steve….I figured you would be happy about Groucho and his company of brothers. I was equally surprised…..the total of only 8 movies really helped them (that is only 35 less movies than Loy) keep their averages up…..but the 1930s was easily their most successful and productive time period. The review rating carried them to this victory…as they are only ranked 70th when looking at the box office totals. 🙂
Hey Steve
1. Yep they (Gable and Loy) seem deserving of those “King” and “Queen” titles they won back in that massive 1930s fan poll.
2. I think this table page shows evidence for both Bob’s and mine point on her….(a) statistically she made a lot of movies that probably makes her the successful “box office” actress of all-time…..but on Bob’s side…(b) the fact that her other averages tumble down the rankings show that other than box office…..critics, audiences and the Oscar voters did not think as highly of her movies.
3. Still….I can hear Bob cringing all the way across North America.
4. Speaking of Bob….the very small total of 4 nominations and 1 Oscar win….pretty much says the same think about Joan and her 1930s movies…..when it comes to Oscar love….I did include 2 Joan pictures to help ease Bob’s pain.
5. Yep Donald Crisp is a supporting actor….which is why I included Ginger Rogers in the first total….that way if you want to throw him out….you will still have a Top 15.
6. Charles Farrell was Janet Gaynor’s favorite leading man….he made the Quigley list of top stars a few times…..but him being first in average was indeed a glitch that has been fixed. I had his total switched with his average.
As always thanks for the visit and the sharing of your movie thoughts. And for the record that is now 3 new pages in 5 days…..so slacker no more? 🙂
Yes you have been productive these past few days, it’s good to see the UMR buzzing with activity again.
Looking at the top 30 box office leaders, I’ve done videos on 25 of them. So proud. [wipes tear]
Errol Flynn last in that group, a bit of a surprise but he only had one biggie that decade, Robin Hood, not sure how popular Captain Blood was. Even more surprising is Cary Grant’s poor showing in that decade.
The Marx Brothers, no.1 on one of your charts, I’m still impressed. But by the 40s they were superseded by Abbott and Costello and they in turn were ousted by Martin and Lewis in the 50s.
Hey Steve….you have done an awesome job of catching up and lately surpassing me on classic pages/videoes.
As for Grant, most of the 1930s were average at best for Grant….he only really took off at the end of the 1930s.
Looking at these three decade pages…one performer has been outstanding in all the decades …..Mr. James Stewart.
Yep the Marx Brothers got replaced by A & C….but there 1930s were so awesome that they made AFI’s Top Screen Legends list.
🙂
STEVE
1 It has been said that doing the same thing in the same way and getting the same old wrong results is one definition of madness. Continually regurgitating the stats of Gable/Powell/Asta movies and crediting their grosses in full to Loy brings nothing new and fresh to the debate and will not cut it for the more discerning movie buff who looks at the whole picture.
EDWARD LIONHEART [HAM SHAKESPEAREAN ACTOR]
“I gave you another great Shakespearean performance and yet you gave the Award to William Walderhove a mumbling twitching boy”
PEREGRINE DEVLIN [CAPTIVE THEATRICAL CRITIC]
“William Walderhove brought innovation and freshness tohis roles. You still play Shakespeare in the tired old way he has been played by everybodyfor centuries.
LIONHEART
“Say I’m the greatest and I’ll set you free.”
DEVLIN
“Never! You’re a ham!
[From Theatre of Blood starring Vincent Price and Ian Hendry]
2 I recently gave to WH examples of a new way that I have devised that enables one to “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” and he said it was a bit subjective. He is correct as nothing’s perfect but then fully crediting Walter Brennan with the grosses of the movies of Wayne,Stewart, Bogie and many other big stars isn’t perfect either; and certainly it’s difficult to see how my method is more out of sync than giving a box office giant like Gable just the same credit as Myrna Loy over numerous movies.
3 However it is too nice a day here to think over much about Myrna nice lady though she seems to have been in private. So I’m off to take in the sun and will leave you, WH and Stonewall Torrey in peace to enjoy your delusions -“Better a fool’s paradise than no paradise at all.”
Best wishes.
BOB
Bob, it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get you to worship at the ‘Shrine of Loy’. [wink] You’re taking this billing business far too seriously just because she’s not billed first over the lead actor doesn’t diminish her star status, she’s still a leading actress.
From TCM.com –
“Myrna Loy was one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses of the 1930s and maintained that stardom for decades. Her popularity peaked in the late 30s, and when Gable was voted “King of Hollywood” in a popularity poll, Myrna Loy was right beside him as elected “Queen.” Myrna Loy twice made the annual nationwide exhibitors poll of top ten boxoffice stars, placing 10th in 1937 and 8th in 1938. ”
Btw I’m a big fan of Theater of Blood, one of Vinnie’s greatest roles, thanks for posting that quote. 🙂
Hey Steve….well you gotta respect Bob’s difference of opinion with regards to Loy. It has always amazed that my suggestion that she might be the greatest BOX OFFICE actress has bothered him so much.
My suggestion was based on looking at the stats and not some personal preference.
To me the greatest actresses of this decade is Greta Garbo….and her box office results do not evrn remotely back up that thought.
😉
HI BRUCE Seeing you mention to Steve that Garbo was in your opinion the greatest ACTRESS of the1930s suggested to me that it is just possible we have been arguing at cross purposes over Loy.
1 I think that your UMR scores are a great idea because they combine achievements such as box office and audience/critic approval which in my view is the sensible way to do it and obviously AFI took numerous factors into account in compiling its lists and one magazine that I saw even took into account good and bad press publicity which means that whilst Newman was No 2 on the list Russell Crowe would have been lucky to have gotten on it even if it had gone down to 100! – but in that poll and within its criteria Loy for her personal qualities and humanitarian activities would have deserved a high spot.
2 However I did not like Garbo but I would not quarrel with an opinion that she was the greatest actress in the 1930s because that is a totally subjective and one opinion is as good as anyone’s. Indeed if you had said that Myrna was the greatest ACTRESS I would not have questioned your claim despite her lack of Oscar success because as I have said before Grant was all but ignored by Oscar and yet I think he was greatly underrated.
3 It should go without saying that I am not even challenging your stats about Loy, and I am merely disagreeing with your INTERPRETATION of those stats, but naturally that too is a highly subjective challenge. But it relates only to the box office because I too in serious mode have said in posts that Loy was a fine performer.
4 Most journalists and other authorities who rank movie stars don’t make a wide ranging comprehensive analysis of the careers and qualities of the stars that your site does and usually therefore keep ranking lists of box office stars separate from those that assess acting skills so that it would be rare to discover many of the same actors/actresses on both kinds of lists with usually the Duke, Gable, Grant and Cooper for example being high up on box office lists and the likes of Day-Lewis, Nicholson, Brando, DeNIro, and Olivier normally featuring prominently in the ACTORS’ lists and Tracy normally doing well in either. Unfortunately though when talking about box office champs journalists often tend to treat Quigley as the Bible and accept without question that Doris was the greatest box office star of 1962 if Quigley says so.
Hey Bob…all good points in your 12:36 post. I like my UMR formula as well….as overall I think it does a good job of getting the cream to the top.
Yes indeed picking the Top Star is very subjective….my UMR score would say it was Norma Shearer…..box office would say Myrna Loy…..Oscar love would say Olivia de Havilland…..review average would say Marlene Dietrich…..which leaves out Crawford, Davis, Garbo and Colbert to name some missing performers.
We are 100% thinking the same way about Quigley and journalists…..we all look at this puzzle with snapshots….not thinking anybody will ever put this puzzle together….but it sure is fun trying….lol.
Hey Bob…funny quotes…..and funny comment…..which the beauty of that comment it can be turned around on you as well….as we are both set in our ways.
I have never ever claimed my stats where the be all final answer…I actually have said that these numbers are not exact….just the best current numbers….which if a better number pops up I am willing to change my numbers right away.
These are the stats…the reader can interpret them how they want to…..we choose to interpret them differently. Variety is the spice of life.
Hope you have a peaceful day.
Since November 1992 when I saw the #8000 film of my life till the end of last year I saw 1530 1930’s films. Since about 2011 I stopped listing the casts and since we see more obscurities these days like B westerns, their stars probably would have more members. Hey I’ve seen a lot of Tom Tyler starring pictures in the past year and 3 Rex Bell films this year. Anyways my most seen top billed credited actors for this period is more conventional with a number you have done pages on and the influence of all those old Warner Brothers epics on TCM. Here are the people I had logged 10 or more top billed performances from the 1930’s I’ve seen over the last 25 years. I remember seeing 1939’s Each Dawn I Die with The Roaring Twenties at the Regency in NYC, The Good Earth (1937) at a short lived revival theater on the East side of Manhattan that was owned by the NYPD, a combo of 2 from 1930 from Paramount, Laughter and Honey at some forgotten theater. Other revivals I remember were You Can’t Take it With You (1938) with Twentieth Century (1934) at same Regency and Cimarron (1931) with Cavalcade (1933) together at a Regency Oscar winning series. Do you know Cavalcade has the fewest people who have rated it on the IMDb. Of course saw Gone with the Wind, dragged to it as a kid by my mother who declared it was the best movie ever made on one of it’s many reissues. I digress from my stars below;
24 WILLIAM BOYD Hoppy again)
23 GENE AUTRY
22 JOHN WAYNE
18 LORETTA YOUNG
18 ROBERT MONTGOMERY
17 JOAN BLONDELL
15 KAY FRANCIS
15 PAT O’BRIEN
15 RICHARD DIX
15 WARREN WILLIAM
14 JOAN CRAWFORD
14 JOHNNY MACK BROWN
14 ROBERT YOUNG
13 DICK POWELL
12 BETTE DAVIS
12 DICK FORAN
12 IRENE DUNNE
11 JOE E. BROWN
11 SHIRLEY TEMPLE
10 BARBARA STANWYCK
10 DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR.
10 EDWARD G. ROBINSON
10 GEORGE ARLISS
10 GEORGE BRENT
10 LIONEL BARRYMORE
Hey Dan
1. Thanks for the visit and the comment.
2. Looking at your list of 10 or more movies….I would say adding Joan Blondell, Joe E. Brown, Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Pat O’Brien are the ones missing on this rundown….I will have to get them added to the page.
3. Very interesting about Cavalcade….it is one of the few Best Picture Oscar winning movies that I have not seen.
4. GWTW is a movie that gets better and better with each new viewing…gotta admit….I did not like that movie at all…..on my first viewing….. I could not believe it was so longggggggggggg.
🙂
John’s comment on May 14th….when he guessed the results of this page…..over a week before we put the page together.
“I figure Clark Gable should win easily for the men, by a mile at the box office, also with the Oscars. Gable probably won’t be at the top for average critical ratings as he made so many movies. The bread and butter stars who ground them out for the studios and were the financial foundation of the industry are penalized here in favor of “prestige” actors who picked their spots. My guess is either Paul Muni or Charles Laughton will win the critical average column. But Gable for the male star of the decade and the overall star of the decade. I expect William Powell and Fredric March to get the place and show positions. Spencer Tracy will be in the hunt. So will Fred Astaire. I would rate James Cagney second only to Gable as a star who defined the decade, but I will be surprised if he actually rates in the top five in box office or critical ratings. Tyrone Power & Errol Flynn should do very well in the average ratings, but started too late to be near the overall top.
The women are much tougher. No one stands out. I don’t expect Garbo or Dietrich will be up there with the American box office. Claudette Colbert should finish very high. Davis & Crawford? I don’t think so, but let’s see. Shirley Temple? Perhaps at the top in average, but again didn’t really arrive until well into the decade. So I think it is going to boil down to Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow. I will go out on a limb and pick Loy, followed by Colbert and Harlow.
I judge the 1930’s as having more great stars in their primes than any other decade”
1. John was 100% correct about Clark Gable being the easy winner in box office totals….Gable almost doubled the amounts of every actor that we have in our database.
2. John’s guess on Charles Laughton being near the top was spot on…as Laughton finished 4th among actors….but wished somewhat on Paul Muni….as Muni barely missed the Top 10….when looking at actors.
3. When looking at overall…..John mentioned by Gable, Power and Astaire….all finished in the Top 8 when looking at actors….Gable slipped due to the amount of movies he made….37 movies is almost 4 movies a year for the entire decade.
4. I can see The Marx Brothers escaping his guesses…..they are more of a team than a individual actor.
5. He did not fare as well with the actressess….Loy was easily the box office champ….but her many movies…43….or over 4 a year hurt her average.
6. Overall…Norma Shearer did not get a mention…..but he did mention Temple and Colbert who finished in the Top 10 when looking at actresses.
I give him a “A-” for his forecast.
Cogerson
You are generous in your grading, but then again I hear about modern grade inflation all the time.
I expected Gable to be the star of the decade and I think he was, despite being pulled down by making so many movies. I will post on that topic I think, as I am doing some gophering into your stats.
I expected Gable’s performance, but it was Tyrone Power who is surprisingly strong. His rivals Robert Taylor and Errol Flynn were left in the dust at the box office. Gable was voted the King of Hollywood in 1938. Power won that poll in 1939. Your stats show he deserved it.
You mentioned Norma Shearer, but Jeannette MacDonald also did better than I expected.
And William Powell and Fredric March really didn’t perform at the box office nearly as well as I thought they would.
And Bob has a right to crow a bit on Loy’s relatively low average. Joan Crawford beat her out by that measurement. Although his argument that Loy rose on Powell’s coattails is deflated by Powell being far behind Loy in average gross.
Overall, this is a very difficult decade because GWTW is so far above any other movie that it distorts the totals for its stars (although Gable would be #1 anyway), and the Depression in the early thirties drags down (I think) the averages for the stars who were grinding out movies in those years.
I admit I badly underestimated the impact of the Depression.
Bottom line grading–I give myself a D.
*Still I hope you give prior warning on your next decade so I can try my luck again.
and these decade charts are really interesting.
Hey John….the next decade will be the 1960s….which I would think should be done by the end of the week….look forward to reading your guesses.
Great to see Clark Gable and Myra Loy at the top. And also seeing Robert Montgomery at number 7. I am a big fan of his.
Hey Flora….when looking at box office totals….they were indeed the King and Queen of Hollywood when it comes to the 1930s….thanks for checking out our latest page. Glad Mr. Montgomery did well in the totals.