Top Movie Stars of the 1940s

Who were the Top Movie Stars of the 1940s statistically?  This page will attempt to answer that question.  Our main source of information was our massive Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) that looked at over 1,300 movies made from 1940 to 1949.  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.  To see that massive page…check out 1940s Box Office Grosses.

We have included four lists of information.  List one looks at the Top 15 stars by adjusted domestic box office (the Top Star might surprise you).  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 1940 – 1949

  1.      1st – Van Johnson $5,254,200,000
      2nd – William Bendix $5,144,000,000
      3rd – Bing Crosby $4,791,800,000
      4th – Dorothy Lamour $4,724,400,000
      5th – William Demarest $4,692,600,00
      6th – Thomas Mitchell $4,550,700,000
      7th – John Wayne $4,508,800,000
      8th – Edward Arnold $4,495,500,000
      9th – Walter Brennan $4,368,000,000
      10th – Bob Hope $4,322,000,000
      11th – Dennis Morgan $4,297,800,000
      12th – Dana Andrews $4,296,000,000
      13th – Ray Milland $4,200,500,000
      14th – Humphrey Bogart $3,992,500,000
      15th – Spencer Tracy $3,917,800,000

Top 15 Average Critic/Audience Rating Leaders 1940 – 1949 (min 9 movies)

1st – Teresa Wright – 79.20%
2nd – Orson Welles – 79.00%
3rd – Joseph Cotton – 76.00%
4th – Cary Grant – 75.40%
5th – Humphrey Bogart – 74.90%
6th – Edward G. Robinson – 74.90%
7th – Burt Lancaster – 74.50%
8th – Ingrid Berman – 74.00%
9th – Katharine Hepburn – 73.20%
10th – Elsa Lanchester – 73.10%
11th – Bing Crosby – 73.00%
12th – Myrna Loy – 72.70%
13th – Gary Cooper – 72.60%
14th – Judy Garland – 72.60%
15th – Claude Rains – 72.60%

Top 15 Average UMR Score Per Movie (minimum 9 movies)

1st – Katharine Hepburn
2nd – Teresa Wright
3rd – Gregory Peck
4th – Gary Cooper
5th – Ingrid Bergman
6th – Judy Garland
7th – Bing Crosby
8th – Bob Hope
9th – Greer Garson
10th – Cary Grant
11th – Clark Gable
12th – Bette Davis
13th – Olivia de Havilland
14th – Spencer Tracy
15th – Celeste Holm

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in 1946’s Notorious

Top Movie Stars 1940-1949 Main Table

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

  • Sort by actor or actress
  • Sort by movies made between 1940 and 1949
  • Sort by total adjusted domestic box office from 1940 to 1949
  • Sort by total adjusted worldwide box office from 1940 to 1949
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each performers’ movies earned
  • Sort by average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
RankThespiansMoviesAdj. Domestic B.O.Adj. Worldwide B.O.AVG Review%Oscar Noms / WinsAVG UMR Score
Van Johnson27$5,254,200,000$7,508,400,00066.3 %025 / 0474.85
William Bendix40$5,144,000,000$5,237,600,00063.9 %013 / 0168.61
Bing Crosby19$4,791,800,000$5,462,700,00073.0 %032 / 0982.02
Dorothy Lamour31$4,724,400,000$4,873,400,00064.0 %011 / 0070.25
William Demarest33$4,692,600,000$4,911,800,00068.0 %019 / 0370.89
Thomas Mitchell33$4,550,700,000$5,128,400,00066.9 %039 / 0770.75
John Wayne32$4,508,800,000$5,168,400,00065.9 %029 / 0270.97
Edward Arnold37$4,495,500,000$6,035,900,00064.0 %013 / 0267.45
Walter Brennan28$4,368,000,000$5,087,400,00069.8 %045 / 0474.43
Bob Hope20$4,322,000,000$4,424,000,00070.8 %011 / 0181.21
Dennis Morgan29$4,297,800,000$5,820,000,00061.2 %012 / 0169.67
Dana Andrews30$4,296,000,000$4,967,000,00067.4 %038 / 1171.53
Ray Milland31$4,200,500,000$4,365,600,00063.9 %024 / 0669.15
Humphrey Bogart25$3,992,500,000$5,975,300,00074.9 %021 / 0778.28
Spencer Tracy19$3,917,800,000$5,542,100,00068.8 %016 / 0278.96
Barry Fitzgerald24$3,902,400,000$4,260,100,00067.5 %037 / 1573.51
Gary Cooper16$3,836,800,000$4,380,400,00072.6 %050 / 0683.35
Cary Grant20$3,804,000,000$5,198,600,00075.4 %036 / 0680.95
Judy Garland17$3,774,000,000$5,471,800,00072.6 %013 / 0282.72
Fred MacMurray32$3,763,200,000$3,927,000,00062.2 %018 / 0065.95
Walter Pidgeon23$3,707,600,000$5,567,800,00064.7 %040 / 1272.60
June Allyson18$3,706,200,000$5,369,000,00065.0 %010 / 0278.42
George Sanders27$3,688,200,000$4,004,400,00066.6 %038 / 0769.20
Paulette Goddard26$3,598,400,000$3,644,100,00061.9 %029 / 0267.63
Lionel Barrymore26$3,585,400,000$4,501,600,00066.7 %022 / 0267.35
Agnes Moorehead24$3,549,600,000$4,415,700,00069.7 %040 / 0473.93
Betty Grable20$3,512,000,000$3,511,900,00063.5 %012 / 0273.59
Maureen O'Hara23$3,512,100,000$3,735,700,00064.1 %024 / 1072.69
Eve Arden31$3,431,700,000$4,447,900,00063.3 %015 / 0265.60
Mickey Rooney19$3,429,500,000$4,740,500,00064.6 %014 / 0476.58
Anthony Quinn24$3,429,600,000$3,861,600,00067.5 %009 / 0271.52
Barbara Stanwyck22$3,390,200,000$4,012,500,00068.7 %016 / 0075.62
Sydney Greenstreet24$3,364,800,000$5,210,400,00070.4 %016 / 0372.60
Anne Baxter23$3,355,700,000$3,573,200,00067.9 %024 / 0272.80
Robert Young30$3,354,000,000$3,969,100,00065.6 %010 / 0167.70
Ingrid Bergman13$3,321,500,000$4,750,700,00074.0 %051 / 1082.75
Charles Bickford17$3,286,100,000$3,584,200,00068.7 %033 / 0777.22
Claude Rains24$3,276,000,000$4,666,400,00072.6 %036 / 0873.58
Lana Turner16$3,270,400,000$4,832,800,00065.9 %009 / 0277.36
Alan Ladd22$3,238,400,000$3,297,700,00066.1 %005 / 0072.39
Linda Darnell24$3,180,000,000$3,179,500,00065.3 %017 / 0570.54
Fay Bainter23$3,169,400,000$3,969,200,00066.8 %012 / 0370.61
Errol Flynn20$3,152,000,000$5,280,400,00064.8 %015 / 0174.53
Jane Wyman27$3,148,200,000$3,783,700,00062.1 %027 / 0865.60
John Garfield22$3,130,600,000$4,218,200,00068.1 %022 / 0572.10
Ann Sheridan22$3,126,200,000$4,318,900,00066.6 %005 / 0072.09
Gene Tierney20$3,098,000,000$3,141,300,00067.1 %022 / 0373.67
Randolph Scott29$3,085,600,000$3,415,000,00059.4 %010 / 0064.26
Donald Crisp19$3,078,000,000$4,459,100,00070.4 %029 / 0776.09
Claudette Colbert17$3,066,800,000$3,361,100,00069.5 %023 / 0275.36
Red Skelton20$3,054,000,000$4,518,100,00061.4 %006 / 0270.20
Robert Walker15$3,034,500,000$3,995,700,00065.2 %018 / 0276.01
Walter Huston17$3,019,200,000$3,927,800,00070.0 %029 / 0776.40
Harry Morgan28$2,996,000,000$3,121,700,00066.9 %009 / 0266.97
Peter Lawford19$2,984,900,000$4,437,000,00066.8 %012 / 0373.14
Peter Lorre24$2,976,000,000$4,537,100,00072.1 %015 / 0371.29
Abbott & Costello25$2,970,000,000$3,086,200,00069.3 %000 / 0070.76
Elisha Cook Jr.27$2,959,200,000$3,388,700,00067.5 %025 / 0366.56
Hattie McDaniel21$2,937,900,000$3,561,200,00063.5 %017 / 0368.35
Gene Kelly15$2,917,500,000$4,301,500,00066.4 %018 / 0377.35
Hedy Lamarr17$2,910,400,000$3,640,200,00060.2 %009 / 0269.08
Greer Garson13$2,910,700,000$4,968,200,00068.3 %037 / 0881.11
Marsha Hunt31$2,889,200,000$4,256,000,00064.1 %022 / 0363.47
Ronald Reagan22$2,842,400,000$3,619,300,00059.5 %009 / 0163.89
Dan Duryea24$2,822,400,000$3,771,800,00072.1 %036 / 0270.08
Donna Reed21$2,801,400,000$3,793,400,00066.7 %022 / 0368.92
Gregory Peck12$2,775,600,000$3,067,900,00072.4 %035 / 0884.00
Mary Astor18$2,736,000,000$3,857,300,00066.7 %014 / 0272.54
Tyrone Power15$2,728,500,000$2,728,500,00066.4 %020 / 0576.01
Edward G. Robinson22$2,719,200,000$3,129,700,00074.9 %012 / 0173.87
Ginger Rogers16$2,718,400,000$3,331,900,00063.2 %011 / 0173.60
Esther Williams12$2,689,200,000$4,339,100,00063.7 %003 / 0177.95
Lucille Ball22$2,662,000,000$3,478,100,00063.6 %003 / 0066.58
Angela Lansbury13$2,658,500,000$3,863,700,00069.2 %024 / 0876.37
Van Heflin20$2,654,000,000$3,857,800,00069.0 %011 / 0371.09
Joseph Cotten16$2,652,800,000$3,011,900,00076.0 %046 / 0777.20
Virginia Mayo17$2,633,300,000$3,512,600,00066.3 %018 / 0870.34
Margaret O'Brien17$2,631,600,000$3,732,200,00069.9 %017 / 0173.79
Vincent Price16$2,622,400,000$2,936,500,00068.1 %036 / 1174.16
Veronica Lake20$2,608,000,000$2,608,200,00067.2 %008 / 0070.32
Bette Davis17$2,568,700,000$4,063,900,00072.5 %033 / 0379.86
Olivia de Havilland16$2,552,000,000$3,325,800,00070.7 %026 / 0779.81
George Brent28$2,525,600,000$3,116,900,00062.8 %005 / 0063.27
Lee J. Cobb17$2,519,400,000$2,547,200,00064.5 %020 / 0670.23
Clark Gable11$2,502,500,000$3,454,100,00069.3 %002 / 0079.97
Henry Fonda20$2,502,000,000$2,639,300,00068.4 %010 / 0271.97
Susan Hayward22$2,492,600,000$2,767,600,00062.7 %016 / 0166.43
Cornel Wilde18$2,422,800,000$2,474,200,00065.6 %014 / 0169.24
Robert Mitchum20$2,420,000,000$3,085,000,00064.7 %011 / 0168.13
Herbert Marshall20$2,418,000,000$3,025,300,00068.8 %033 / 0168.50
Judith Anderson16$2,393,600,000$2,894,100,00072.0 %022 / 0374.23
Rita Hayworth18$2,392,200,000$2,580,500,00067.4 %020 / 0371.87
Roddy McDowall14$2,371,600,000$2,884,100,00068.8 %019 / 0575.34
Ida Lupino20$2,360,000,000$3,189,700,00067.0 %005 / 0068.61
Loretta Young18$2,356,200,000$2,597,800,00067.2 %017 / 0272.17
Jeanne Crain12$2,349,600,000$2,349,200,00067.4 %015 / 0476.56
Betty Hutton14$2,321,200,000$2,320,900,00063.9 %006 / 0073.67
Robert Preston20$2,306,000,000$2,366,300,00062.8 %014 / 0265.33
Paul Henreid16$2,264,000,000$3,548,700,00070.8 %014 / 0469.03
Gail Russell18$2,262,600,000$2,262,800,00063.4 %007 / 0068.04
Teresa Wright10$2,249,000,000$3,097,700,00079.2 %044 / 1485.37
Glenn Ford23$2,242,500,000$2,354,000,00063.0 %003 / 0063.96
Kathryn Grayson12$2,235,600,000$3,493,800,00060.9 %008 / 0171.58
Victor Mature17$2,135,200,000$2,233,400,00063.6 %012 / 0366.07
Lena Horne11$2,129,600,000$2,947,700,00063.8 %005 / 0074.29
Joan Fontaine13$2,129,400,000$2,417,400,00069.8 %023 / 0578.37
Elsa Lanchester15$2,119,500,000$2,565,900,00073.1 %020 / 0274.96
Rosalind Russell18$2,091,600,000$2,398,100,00063.1 %012 / 0068.62
Don Ameche22$2,090,000,000$2,090,500,00061.4 %011 / 0063.67
Katharine Hepburn10$2,081,000,000$2,972,800,00073.2 %011 / 0385.97
James Cagney12$2,076,000,000$2,714,100,00068.5 %014 / 0477.12
Leo G. Carroll15$2,052,000,000$2,393,600,00070.0 %025 / 0571.26
Shirley Temple15$2,052,000,000$2,273,700,00064.8 %012 / 0267.85
Irene Dunne11$2,044,900,000$2,605,900,00072.5 %020 / 0276.77
Basil Rathbone26$2,038,400,000$2,493,400,00064.7 %003 / 0161.33
Fred Astaire11$2,026,200,000$2,975,600,00070.4 %016 / 0176.42
James Stewart15$1,992,000,000$2,404,600,00071.5 %012 / 0375.10
Robert Taylor15$1,975,500,000$3,222,000,00061.7 %008 / 0269.78
Cyd Charisse13$1,976,000,000$2,988,000,00060.9 %006 / 0168.99
Myrna Loy12$1,948,800,000$2,782,400,00072.7 %009 / 0874.42
Robert Cummings21$1,942,500,000$2,299,800,00066.1 %011 / 0164.85
Charles Laughton18$1,935,000,000$2,236,100,00064.1 %006 / 0166.96
Dean Stockwell13$1,924,000,000$2,586,200,00068.6 %018 / 0470.60
George Raft17$1,912,500,000$2,159,200,00059.6 %003 / 0063.63
Pat O'Brien24$1,855,200,000$2,122,000,00059.9 %004 / 0060.07
Elizabeth Taylor10$1,820,000,000$2,775,500,00066.6 %012 / 0375.28
Monty Woolley10$1,807,000,000$2,136,600,00070.5 %019 / 0278.65
Dick Powell18$1,794,600,000$1,930,600,00062.1 %004 / 0064.27
Arthur Kennedy17$1,795,200,000$2,516,800,00070.0 %013 / 0269.37
Ralph Bellamy21$1,768,200,000$1,956,000,00062.9 %004 / 0060.91
Robert Ryan18$1,764,000,000$2,171,000,00063.4 %013 / 0165.63
Jennifer Jones8$1,740,800,000$1,793,400,00072.6 %030 / 0679.73
Gig Young12$1,738,800,000$2,749,500,00065.0 %007 / 0172.52
William Holden18$1,720,800,000$1,749,000,00059.7 %000 / 0062.21
Claire Trevor17$1,710,200,000$2,090,500,00066.6 %007 / 0166.56
Jack Benny11$1,708,300,000$1,948,100,00070.0 %002 / 0074.09
Joan Bennett21$1,703,100,000$1,857,100,00062.5 %002 / 0061.53
June Haver10$1,701,000,000$1,763,000,00060.5 %003 / 0072.64
Ruth Hussey14$1,698,200,000$2,087,200,00066.8 %009 / 0269.40
William Powell12$1,693,200,000$2,400,300,00068.2 %004 / 0071.50
Dan Dailey14$1,649,200,000$1,902,300,00062.5 %006 / 0266.96
Joel McCrea16$1,640,000,000$1,874,300,00068.3 %013 / 0168.18
Merle Oberon15$1,551,000,000$1,776,500,00060.9 %011 / 0063.06
Charles Boyer13$1,548,300,000$2,084,500,00070.6 %018 / 0272.77
Alice Faye10$1,546,000,000$1,545,500,00064.8 %005 / 0273.12
Melvyn Douglas17$1,540,200,000$1,915,500,00062.3 %002 / 0063.01
Norman Lloyd14$1,521,800,000$1,604,900,00067.4 %012 / 0166.16
Deanna Durbin15$1,512,000,000$1,511,800,00066.3 %011 / 0067.14
Lloyd Bridges15$1,504,500,000$1,589,800,00065.3 %006 / 0064.81
Joan Crawford12$1,504,800,000$2,140,200,00067.6 %009 / 0171.08
Fredric March12$1,488,000,000$1,913,800,00069.8 %014 / 0769.17
Wallace Beery16$1,476,800,000$1,630,300,00058.5 %000 / 0061.60
Ethel Barrymore12$1,466,400,000$1,675,900,00067.8 %015 / 0372.86
Celeste Holm9$1,451,700,000$1,452,100,00071.4 %024 / 0679.86
Jessica Tandy7$1,439,200,000$1,841,100,00066.0 %005 / 0074.57
Victor McLaglen17$1,416,100,000$1,645,200,00063.0 %004 / 0161.60
Edmond O'Brien15$1,393,500,000$1,635,200,00067.0 %010 / 0264.94
Danny Kaye6$1,339,800,000$1,853,900,00073.0 %006 / 0182.39
Johnny Weissmuller12$1,326,000,000$2,276,500,00059.4 %002 / 0062.72
Dorothy McGuire7$1,318,800,000$1,385,700,00071.3 %012 / 0483.19
Boris Karloff21$1,318,800,000$1,533,300,00063.5 %003 / 0057.84
Marlene Dietrich10$1,303,000,000$1,555,500,00061.4 %009 / 0069.45
Frank Sinatra8$1,260,000,000$1,736,000,00063.4 %009 / 0272.41
Broderick Crawford23$1,248,900,000$1,291,100,00062.1 %007 / 0358.28
Burt Lancaster9$1,205,100,000$1,204,700,00074.5 %005 / 0075.97
Joan Blondell13$1,199,900,000$1,338,000,00064.0 %004 / 0162.43
Robert Montgomery13$1,184,300,000$1,422,300,00065.3 %012 / 0365.44
Dean Jagger12$1,172,400,000$1,340,000,00066.3 %012 / 0266.84
Lizabeth Scott9$1,169,100,000$1,169,500,00064.3 %001 / 0069.31
Dorothy Malone9$1,168,200,000$1,643,000,00061.9 %000 / 0067.55
Donald O'Connor17$1,156,000,000$1,155,700,00065.5 %002 / 0061.31
Eleanor Parker10$1,146,000,000$1,613,400,00062.5 %002 / 0064.67
Rhonda Fleming7$1,145,200,000$1,186,900,00068.4 %007 / 0175.48
Ava Gardner12$1,098,000,000$1,294,000,00062.5 %004 / 0063.16
Andy Hardy7$1,094,800,000$1,611,900,00061.8 %000 / 0073.29
Janet Leigh10$1,092,000,000$1,649,900,00065.1 %004 / 0167.59
Paul Lukas14$1,080,800,000$1,426,300,00067.8 %007 / 0164.68
Elia Kazan5$1,071,500,000$1,174,500,00073.3 %014 / 0488.49
Lauren Bacall5$1,070,000,000$1,572,900,00084.0 %001 / 0188.19
Raymond Burr18$1,069,200,000$1,294,200,00063.3 %002 / 0158.83
Orson Welles10$1,067,000,000$1,099,000,00079.0 %015 / 0274.97
Ed Begley8$1,064,000,000$1,063,600,00066.5 %006 / 0071.83
Jean Arthur8$1,060,000,000$1,220,700,00071.3 %018 / 0176.10
Clifton Webb5$1,045,000,000$1,044,900,00077.2 %010 / 0286.99
Gloria Grahame9$1,031,400,000$1,303,200,00069.0 %010 / 0069.71
Ronald Colman7$1,019,900,000$1,635,600,00071.9 %022 / 0275.62
Burgess Meredith11$996,600,000$1,108,400,00056.9 %008 / 0061.57
Lew Ayres12$993,600,000$1,062,800,00064.2 %013 / 0162.97
Laurence Olivier8$989,600,000$1,068,500,00075.9 %030 / 0979.62
Natalie Wood9$983,700,000$983,300,00065.7 %005 / 0367.97
Maria Montez22$981,200,000$1,204,900,00056.0 %006 / 0054.32
Oscar Levant7$960,400,000$1,299,000,00061.9 %007 / 0069.62
Priscilla Lane11$943,800,000$1,188,500,00065.0 %003 / 0062.3
Kirk Douglas8$937,600,000$995,700,00071.4 %012 / 0372.71
Ann Miller15$937,500,000$1,150,200,00065.5 %002 / 0159.62
David Niven10$912,000,000$1,034,100,00067.2 %005 / 0165.53
Eleanor Powell6$895,800,000$1,259,100,00062.9 %005 / 0169.84
Jane Powell6$888,000,000$1,287,800,00051.2 %002 / 0066.06
Rex Harrison11$887,700,000$887,700,00070.8 %009 / 0365.09
Ruth Gordon7$863,100,000$1,303,500,00073.2 %007 / 0273.69
Yvonne De Carlo11$845,900,000$932,500,00063.8 %001 / 0061.58
Jeanette MacDonald8$826,400,000$1,386,500,00060.3 %003 / 0064.54
Betty Garrett5$819,000,000$1,196,800,00068.8 %002 / 0277.40
Lillian Gish5$805,500,000$805,300,00070.2 %005 / 0171.14
Kay Francis10$791,000,000$953,900,00060.3 %001 / 0059.68
Richard Widmark6$762,600,000$762,300,00069.9 %002 / 0073.64
Jane Russell3$759,900,000$760,000,00063.8 %001 / 0176.50
Bela Lugosi20$724,000,000$742,600,00058.5 %001 / 0053.16
Thelma Ritter5$698,000,000$698,000,00075.5 %007 / 0578.94
Farley Granger6$692,400,000$915,700,00070.9 %006 / 0070.35
Madeleine Carroll9$684,900,000$685,000,00065.5 %006 / 0162.46
Sonja Henie5$674,000,000$764,900,00056.0 %003 / 0066.09
James Mason8$668,800,000$781,900,00071.2 %003 / 0166.65
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.8$660,800,000$661,100,00062.7 %003 / 0062.48
Constance Bennett10$661,000,000$758,300,00062.9 %003 / 0059.66
Maureen O'Sullivan6$655,200,000$1,071,600,00070.1 %001 / 0170.04
Arlene Dahl5$643,000,000$831,000,00057.5 %001 / 0065.13
Joe E. Brown7$639,800,000$826,300,00062.3 %000 / 0059.85
Dorothy Dandridge8$636,000,000$751,800,00055.6 %009 / 0058.37
Nelson Eddy8$630,400,000$850,300,00062.1 %010 / 0261.94
Burl Ives4$625,200,000$680,100,00064.8 %002 / 0071.63
Gene Autry28$624,400,000$623,600,00064.3 %001 / 0053.54
Laurel and Hardy10$615,000,000$615,400,00063.9 %000 / 0058.67
W.C. Fields6$600,000,000$600,200,00070.6 %004 / 0068.31
Deborah Kerr9$588,600,000$745,100,00069.0 %004 / 0362.40
Tallulah Bankhead3$583,200,000$583,200,00070.7 %005 / 0072.27
Marjorie Main3$553,500,000$553,600,00068.5 %001 / 0071.92
Vivien Leigh5$545,500,000$659,500,00066.0 %007 / 0169.18
Miriam Hopkins5$529,000,000$710,400,00069.8 %008 / 0470.24
Paul Muni5$523,500,000$523,400,00064.2 %007 / 0066.97
Jean Simmons6$495,600,000$495,800,00072.4 %014 / 0870.13
Eva Gabor7$480,900,000$480,700,00055.4 %002 / 0055.79
Margaret Sullavan6$480,000,000$480,000,00074.2 %002 / 0066.75
Sylvia Sidney5$472,000,000$509,000,00057.3 %001 / 0160.06
Judy Holliday2$452,800,000$510,600,00078.2 %001 / 0085.08
Montgomery Clift3$447,900,000$448,000,00086.7 %014 / 0585.36
Barbara Bel Geddes4$443,200,000$520,000,00070.3 %005 / 0071.82
Karl Malden3$441,300,000$441,300,00067.7 %003 / 0071.05
Lyle Talbot5$433,000,000$433,100,00062.1 %003 / 0059.25
Ben Johnson3$401,700,000$581,000,00075.3 %002 / 0176.59
Charles Chaplin2$384,000,000$384,000,00089.0 %006 / 0089.51
Marx Brothers5$383,000,000$486,300,00061.3 %000 / 0060.67
Helen Hayes1$378,600,000$378,600,00054.0 %002 / 0077.20
Ethel Merman1$378,600,000$378,600,00054.0 %002 / 0077.20
Doris Day3$372,300,000$517,100,00058.2 %003 / 0067.04
Frances Farmer6$367,800,000$388,000,00060.1 %000 / 0057.40
Carole Lombard4$355,200,000$430,800,00065.6 %002 / 0065.23
Sterling Hayden5$351,000,000$350,900,00059.8 %000 / 0059.06
Shelley Winters5$336,500,000$336,700,00067.1 %005 / 0262.20
José Ferrer2$315,200,000$415,600,00067.5 %007 / 0276.72
Buster Keaton2$313,200,000$351,100,00066.3 %000 / 0075.36
Patricia Neal3$301,500,000$322,300,00069.4 %001 / 0068.84
Trevor Howard8$293,600,000$293,600,00076.1 %006 / 0161.20
Louis Jourdan4$288,400,000$350,400,00068.5 %002 / 0063.10
Red Buttons1$277,000,000$277,000,00065.0 %000 / 0081.60
Norma Shearer3$236,700,000$361,200,00062.7 %000 / 0061.69
Leslie Howard3$229,800,000$229,900,00073.8 %003 / 0168.35
Zero Mostel1$224,400,000$305,000,00055.5 %000 / 0077.10
Ralph Richardson6$219,600,000$219,700,00070.5 %010 / 0460.48
Jack Albertson1$211,700,000$326,600,00072.5 %003 / 0186.90
John Gielgud2$206,600,000$208,800,00073.0 %007 / 0472.56
Christopher Lee1$204,900,000$204,900,00081.0 %007 / 0498.05
Robert Morley5$204,500,000$204,300,00062.3 %000 / 0055.27
Mae West2$202,000,000$201,900,00062.3 %000 / 0064.90
Alec Guinness3$200,400,000$200,500,00082.4 %005 / 0270.71
Marilyn Monroe3$188,700,000$188,600,00051.4 %000 / 0053.54

109 thoughts on “Top Movie Stars of the 1940s

  1. My parents were in the NYC TV and film business and I knew about all these folks from a young age. I was thinking of all the actors my father liked. How about Stewart Granger? Or Frank Morgan? Did I miss Errol Flynn?

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