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
- 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
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.
| Rank | Thespians | Movies | Adj. Domestic B.O. | Adj. Worldwide B.O. | AVG Review% | Oscar Noms / Wins | AVG UMR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Johnson | 27 | $5,254,200,000 | $7,508,400,000 | 66.3 % | 025 / 04 | 74.85 | |
| William Bendix | 40 | $5,144,000,000 | $5,237,600,000 | 63.9 % | 013 / 01 | 68.61 | |
| Bing Crosby | 19 | $4,791,800,000 | $5,462,700,000 | 73.0 % | 032 / 09 | 82.02 | |
| Dorothy Lamour | 31 | $4,724,400,000 | $4,873,400,000 | 64.0 % | 011 / 00 | 70.25 | |
| William Demarest | 33 | $4,692,600,000 | $4,911,800,000 | 68.0 % | 019 / 03 | 70.89 | |
| Thomas Mitchell | 33 | $4,550,700,000 | $5,128,400,000 | 66.9 % | 039 / 07 | 70.75 | |
| John Wayne | 32 | $4,508,800,000 | $5,168,400,000 | 65.9 % | 029 / 02 | 70.97 | |
| Edward Arnold | 37 | $4,495,500,000 | $6,035,900,000 | 64.0 % | 013 / 02 | 67.45 | |
| Walter Brennan | 28 | $4,368,000,000 | $5,087,400,000 | 69.8 % | 045 / 04 | 74.43 | |
| Bob Hope | 20 | $4,322,000,000 | $4,424,000,000 | 70.8 % | 011 / 01 | 81.21 | |
| Dennis Morgan | 29 | $4,297,800,000 | $5,820,000,000 | 61.2 % | 012 / 01 | 69.67 | |
| Dana Andrews | 30 | $4,296,000,000 | $4,967,000,000 | 67.4 % | 038 / 11 | 71.53 | |
| Ray Milland | 31 | $4,200,500,000 | $4,365,600,000 | 63.9 % | 024 / 06 | 69.15 | |
| Humphrey Bogart | 25 | $3,992,500,000 | $5,975,300,000 | 74.9 % | 021 / 07 | 78.28 | |
| Spencer Tracy | 19 | $3,917,800,000 | $5,542,100,000 | 68.8 % | 016 / 02 | 78.96 | |
| Barry Fitzgerald | 24 | $3,902,400,000 | $4,260,100,000 | 67.5 % | 037 / 15 | 73.51 | |
| Gary Cooper | 16 | $3,836,800,000 | $4,380,400,000 | 72.6 % | 050 / 06 | 83.35 | |
| Cary Grant | 20 | $3,804,000,000 | $5,198,600,000 | 75.4 % | 036 / 06 | 80.95 | |
| Judy Garland | 17 | $3,774,000,000 | $5,471,800,000 | 72.6 % | 013 / 02 | 82.72 | |
| Fred MacMurray | 32 | $3,763,200,000 | $3,927,000,000 | 62.2 % | 018 / 00 | 65.95 | |
| Walter Pidgeon | 23 | $3,707,600,000 | $5,567,800,000 | 64.7 % | 040 / 12 | 72.60 | |
| June Allyson | 18 | $3,706,200,000 | $5,369,000,000 | 65.0 % | 010 / 02 | 78.42 | |
| George Sanders | 27 | $3,688,200,000 | $4,004,400,000 | 66.6 % | 038 / 07 | 69.20 | |
| Paulette Goddard | 26 | $3,598,400,000 | $3,644,100,000 | 61.9 % | 029 / 02 | 67.63 | |
| Lionel Barrymore | 26 | $3,585,400,000 | $4,501,600,000 | 66.7 % | 022 / 02 | 67.35 | |
| Agnes Moorehead | 24 | $3,549,600,000 | $4,415,700,000 | 69.7 % | 040 / 04 | 73.93 | |
| Betty Grable | 20 | $3,512,000,000 | $3,511,900,000 | 63.5 % | 012 / 02 | 73.59 | |
| Maureen O'Hara | 23 | $3,512,100,000 | $3,735,700,000 | 64.1 % | 024 / 10 | 72.69 | |
| Eve Arden | 31 | $3,431,700,000 | $4,447,900,000 | 63.3 % | 015 / 02 | 65.60 | |
| Mickey Rooney | 19 | $3,429,500,000 | $4,740,500,000 | 64.6 % | 014 / 04 | 76.58 | |
| Anthony Quinn | 24 | $3,429,600,000 | $3,861,600,000 | 67.5 % | 009 / 02 | 71.52 | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | 22 | $3,390,200,000 | $4,012,500,000 | 68.7 % | 016 / 00 | 75.62 | |
| Sydney Greenstreet | 24 | $3,364,800,000 | $5,210,400,000 | 70.4 % | 016 / 03 | 72.60 | |
| Anne Baxter | 23 | $3,355,700,000 | $3,573,200,000 | 67.9 % | 024 / 02 | 72.80 | |
| Robert Young | 30 | $3,354,000,000 | $3,969,100,000 | 65.6 % | 010 / 01 | 67.70 | |
| Ingrid Bergman | 13 | $3,321,500,000 | $4,750,700,000 | 74.0 % | 051 / 10 | 82.75 | |
| Charles Bickford | 17 | $3,286,100,000 | $3,584,200,000 | 68.7 % | 033 / 07 | 77.22 | |
| Claude Rains | 24 | $3,276,000,000 | $4,666,400,000 | 72.6 % | 036 / 08 | 73.58 | |
| Lana Turner | 16 | $3,270,400,000 | $4,832,800,000 | 65.9 % | 009 / 02 | 77.36 | |
| Alan Ladd | 22 | $3,238,400,000 | $3,297,700,000 | 66.1 % | 005 / 00 | 72.39 | |
| Linda Darnell | 24 | $3,180,000,000 | $3,179,500,000 | 65.3 % | 017 / 05 | 70.54 | |
| Fay Bainter | 23 | $3,169,400,000 | $3,969,200,000 | 66.8 % | 012 / 03 | 70.61 | |
| Errol Flynn | 20 | $3,152,000,000 | $5,280,400,000 | 64.8 % | 015 / 01 | 74.53 | |
| Jane Wyman | 27 | $3,148,200,000 | $3,783,700,000 | 62.1 % | 027 / 08 | 65.60 | |
| John Garfield | 22 | $3,130,600,000 | $4,218,200,000 | 68.1 % | 022 / 05 | 72.10 | |
| Ann Sheridan | 22 | $3,126,200,000 | $4,318,900,000 | 66.6 % | 005 / 00 | 72.09 | |
| Gene Tierney | 20 | $3,098,000,000 | $3,141,300,000 | 67.1 % | 022 / 03 | 73.67 | |
| Randolph Scott | 29 | $3,085,600,000 | $3,415,000,000 | 59.4 % | 010 / 00 | 64.26 | |
| Donald Crisp | 19 | $3,078,000,000 | $4,459,100,000 | 70.4 % | 029 / 07 | 76.09 | |
| Claudette Colbert | 17 | $3,066,800,000 | $3,361,100,000 | 69.5 % | 023 / 02 | 75.36 | |
| Red Skelton | 20 | $3,054,000,000 | $4,518,100,000 | 61.4 % | 006 / 02 | 70.20 | |
| Robert Walker | 15 | $3,034,500,000 | $3,995,700,000 | 65.2 % | 018 / 02 | 76.01 | |
| Walter Huston | 17 | $3,019,200,000 | $3,927,800,000 | 70.0 % | 029 / 07 | 76.40 | |
| Harry Morgan | 28 | $2,996,000,000 | $3,121,700,000 | 66.9 % | 009 / 02 | 66.97 | |
| Peter Lawford | 19 | $2,984,900,000 | $4,437,000,000 | 66.8 % | 012 / 03 | 73.14 | |
| Peter Lorre | 24 | $2,976,000,000 | $4,537,100,000 | 72.1 % | 015 / 03 | 71.29 | |
| Abbott & Costello | 25 | $2,970,000,000 | $3,086,200,000 | 69.3 % | 000 / 00 | 70.76 | |
| Elisha Cook Jr. | 27 | $2,959,200,000 | $3,388,700,000 | 67.5 % | 025 / 03 | 66.56 | |
| Hattie McDaniel | 21 | $2,937,900,000 | $3,561,200,000 | 63.5 % | 017 / 03 | 68.35 | |
| Gene Kelly | 15 | $2,917,500,000 | $4,301,500,000 | 66.4 % | 018 / 03 | 77.35 | |
| Hedy Lamarr | 17 | $2,910,400,000 | $3,640,200,000 | 60.2 % | 009 / 02 | 69.08 | |
| Greer Garson | 13 | $2,910,700,000 | $4,968,200,000 | 68.3 % | 037 / 08 | 81.11 | |
| Marsha Hunt | 31 | $2,889,200,000 | $4,256,000,000 | 64.1 % | 022 / 03 | 63.47 | |
| Ronald Reagan | 22 | $2,842,400,000 | $3,619,300,000 | 59.5 % | 009 / 01 | 63.89 | |
| Dan Duryea | 24 | $2,822,400,000 | $3,771,800,000 | 72.1 % | 036 / 02 | 70.08 | |
| Donna Reed | 21 | $2,801,400,000 | $3,793,400,000 | 66.7 % | 022 / 03 | 68.92 | |
| Gregory Peck | 12 | $2,775,600,000 | $3,067,900,000 | 72.4 % | 035 / 08 | 84.00 | |
| Mary Astor | 18 | $2,736,000,000 | $3,857,300,000 | 66.7 % | 014 / 02 | 72.54 | |
| Tyrone Power | 15 | $2,728,500,000 | $2,728,500,000 | 66.4 % | 020 / 05 | 76.01 | |
| Edward G. Robinson | 22 | $2,719,200,000 | $3,129,700,000 | 74.9 % | 012 / 01 | 73.87 | |
| Ginger Rogers | 16 | $2,718,400,000 | $3,331,900,000 | 63.2 % | 011 / 01 | 73.60 | |
| Esther Williams | 12 | $2,689,200,000 | $4,339,100,000 | 63.7 % | 003 / 01 | 77.95 | |
| Lucille Ball | 22 | $2,662,000,000 | $3,478,100,000 | 63.6 % | 003 / 00 | 66.58 | |
| Angela Lansbury | 13 | $2,658,500,000 | $3,863,700,000 | 69.2 % | 024 / 08 | 76.37 | |
| Van Heflin | 20 | $2,654,000,000 | $3,857,800,000 | 69.0 % | 011 / 03 | 71.09 | |
| Joseph Cotten | 16 | $2,652,800,000 | $3,011,900,000 | 76.0 % | 046 / 07 | 77.20 | |
| Virginia Mayo | 17 | $2,633,300,000 | $3,512,600,000 | 66.3 % | 018 / 08 | 70.34 | |
| Margaret O'Brien | 17 | $2,631,600,000 | $3,732,200,000 | 69.9 % | 017 / 01 | 73.79 | |
| Vincent Price | 16 | $2,622,400,000 | $2,936,500,000 | 68.1 % | 036 / 11 | 74.16 | |
| Veronica Lake | 20 | $2,608,000,000 | $2,608,200,000 | 67.2 % | 008 / 00 | 70.32 | |
| Bette Davis | 17 | $2,568,700,000 | $4,063,900,000 | 72.5 % | 033 / 03 | 79.86 | |
| Olivia de Havilland | 16 | $2,552,000,000 | $3,325,800,000 | 70.7 % | 026 / 07 | 79.81 | |
| George Brent | 28 | $2,525,600,000 | $3,116,900,000 | 62.8 % | 005 / 00 | 63.27 | |
| Lee J. Cobb | 17 | $2,519,400,000 | $2,547,200,000 | 64.5 % | 020 / 06 | 70.23 | |
| Clark Gable | 11 | $2,502,500,000 | $3,454,100,000 | 69.3 % | 002 / 00 | 79.97 | |
| Henry Fonda | 20 | $2,502,000,000 | $2,639,300,000 | 68.4 % | 010 / 02 | 71.97 | |
| Susan Hayward | 22 | $2,492,600,000 | $2,767,600,000 | 62.7 % | 016 / 01 | 66.43 | |
| Cornel Wilde | 18 | $2,422,800,000 | $2,474,200,000 | 65.6 % | 014 / 01 | 69.24 | |
| Robert Mitchum | 20 | $2,420,000,000 | $3,085,000,000 | 64.7 % | 011 / 01 | 68.13 | |
| Herbert Marshall | 20 | $2,418,000,000 | $3,025,300,000 | 68.8 % | 033 / 01 | 68.50 | |
| Judith Anderson | 16 | $2,393,600,000 | $2,894,100,000 | 72.0 % | 022 / 03 | 74.23 | |
| Rita Hayworth | 18 | $2,392,200,000 | $2,580,500,000 | 67.4 % | 020 / 03 | 71.87 | |
| Roddy McDowall | 14 | $2,371,600,000 | $2,884,100,000 | 68.8 % | 019 / 05 | 75.34 | |
| Ida Lupino | 20 | $2,360,000,000 | $3,189,700,000 | 67.0 % | 005 / 00 | 68.61 | |
| Loretta Young | 18 | $2,356,200,000 | $2,597,800,000 | 67.2 % | 017 / 02 | 72.17 | |
| Jeanne Crain | 12 | $2,349,600,000 | $2,349,200,000 | 67.4 % | 015 / 04 | 76.56 | |
| Betty Hutton | 14 | $2,321,200,000 | $2,320,900,000 | 63.9 % | 006 / 00 | 73.67 | |
| Robert Preston | 20 | $2,306,000,000 | $2,366,300,000 | 62.8 % | 014 / 02 | 65.33 | |
| Paul Henreid | 16 | $2,264,000,000 | $3,548,700,000 | 70.8 % | 014 / 04 | 69.03 | |
| Gail Russell | 18 | $2,262,600,000 | $2,262,800,000 | 63.4 % | 007 / 00 | 68.04 | |
| Teresa Wright | 10 | $2,249,000,000 | $3,097,700,000 | 79.2 % | 044 / 14 | 85.37 | |
| Glenn Ford | 23 | $2,242,500,000 | $2,354,000,000 | 63.0 % | 003 / 00 | 63.96 | |
| Kathryn Grayson | 12 | $2,235,600,000 | $3,493,800,000 | 60.9 % | 008 / 01 | 71.58 | |
| Victor Mature | 17 | $2,135,200,000 | $2,233,400,000 | 63.6 % | 012 / 03 | 66.07 | |
| Lena Horne | 11 | $2,129,600,000 | $2,947,700,000 | 63.8 % | 005 / 00 | 74.29 | |
| Joan Fontaine | 13 | $2,129,400,000 | $2,417,400,000 | 69.8 % | 023 / 05 | 78.37 | |
| Elsa Lanchester | 15 | $2,119,500,000 | $2,565,900,000 | 73.1 % | 020 / 02 | 74.96 | |
| Rosalind Russell | 18 | $2,091,600,000 | $2,398,100,000 | 63.1 % | 012 / 00 | 68.62 | |
| Don Ameche | 22 | $2,090,000,000 | $2,090,500,000 | 61.4 % | 011 / 00 | 63.67 | |
| Katharine Hepburn | 10 | $2,081,000,000 | $2,972,800,000 | 73.2 % | 011 / 03 | 85.97 | |
| James Cagney | 12 | $2,076,000,000 | $2,714,100,000 | 68.5 % | 014 / 04 | 77.12 | |
| Leo G. Carroll | 15 | $2,052,000,000 | $2,393,600,000 | 70.0 % | 025 / 05 | 71.26 | |
| Shirley Temple | 15 | $2,052,000,000 | $2,273,700,000 | 64.8 % | 012 / 02 | 67.85 | |
| Irene Dunne | 11 | $2,044,900,000 | $2,605,900,000 | 72.5 % | 020 / 02 | 76.77 | |
| Basil Rathbone | 26 | $2,038,400,000 | $2,493,400,000 | 64.7 % | 003 / 01 | 61.33 | |
| Fred Astaire | 11 | $2,026,200,000 | $2,975,600,000 | 70.4 % | 016 / 01 | 76.42 | |
| James Stewart | 15 | $1,992,000,000 | $2,404,600,000 | 71.5 % | 012 / 03 | 75.10 | |
| Robert Taylor | 15 | $1,975,500,000 | $3,222,000,000 | 61.7 % | 008 / 02 | 69.78 | |
| Cyd Charisse | 13 | $1,976,000,000 | $2,988,000,000 | 60.9 % | 006 / 01 | 68.99 | |
| Myrna Loy | 12 | $1,948,800,000 | $2,782,400,000 | 72.7 % | 009 / 08 | 74.42 | |
| Robert Cummings | 21 | $1,942,500,000 | $2,299,800,000 | 66.1 % | 011 / 01 | 64.85 | |
| Charles Laughton | 18 | $1,935,000,000 | $2,236,100,000 | 64.1 % | 006 / 01 | 66.96 | |
| Dean Stockwell | 13 | $1,924,000,000 | $2,586,200,000 | 68.6 % | 018 / 04 | 70.60 | |
| George Raft | 17 | $1,912,500,000 | $2,159,200,000 | 59.6 % | 003 / 00 | 63.63 | |
| Pat O'Brien | 24 | $1,855,200,000 | $2,122,000,000 | 59.9 % | 004 / 00 | 60.07 | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | 10 | $1,820,000,000 | $2,775,500,000 | 66.6 % | 012 / 03 | 75.28 | |
| Monty Woolley | 10 | $1,807,000,000 | $2,136,600,000 | 70.5 % | 019 / 02 | 78.65 | |
| Dick Powell | 18 | $1,794,600,000 | $1,930,600,000 | 62.1 % | 004 / 00 | 64.27 | |
| Arthur Kennedy | 17 | $1,795,200,000 | $2,516,800,000 | 70.0 % | 013 / 02 | 69.37 | |
| Ralph Bellamy | 21 | $1,768,200,000 | $1,956,000,000 | 62.9 % | 004 / 00 | 60.91 | |
| Robert Ryan | 18 | $1,764,000,000 | $2,171,000,000 | 63.4 % | 013 / 01 | 65.63 | |
| Jennifer Jones | 8 | $1,740,800,000 | $1,793,400,000 | 72.6 % | 030 / 06 | 79.73 | |
| Gig Young | 12 | $1,738,800,000 | $2,749,500,000 | 65.0 % | 007 / 01 | 72.52 | |
| William Holden | 18 | $1,720,800,000 | $1,749,000,000 | 59.7 % | 000 / 00 | 62.21 | |
| Claire Trevor | 17 | $1,710,200,000 | $2,090,500,000 | 66.6 % | 007 / 01 | 66.56 | |
| Jack Benny | 11 | $1,708,300,000 | $1,948,100,000 | 70.0 % | 002 / 00 | 74.09 | |
| Joan Bennett | 21 | $1,703,100,000 | $1,857,100,000 | 62.5 % | 002 / 00 | 61.53 | |
| June Haver | 10 | $1,701,000,000 | $1,763,000,000 | 60.5 % | 003 / 00 | 72.64 | |
| Ruth Hussey | 14 | $1,698,200,000 | $2,087,200,000 | 66.8 % | 009 / 02 | 69.40 | |
| William Powell | 12 | $1,693,200,000 | $2,400,300,000 | 68.2 % | 004 / 00 | 71.50 | |
| Dan Dailey | 14 | $1,649,200,000 | $1,902,300,000 | 62.5 % | 006 / 02 | 66.96 | |
| Joel McCrea | 16 | $1,640,000,000 | $1,874,300,000 | 68.3 % | 013 / 01 | 68.18 | |
| Merle Oberon | 15 | $1,551,000,000 | $1,776,500,000 | 60.9 % | 011 / 00 | 63.06 | |
| Charles Boyer | 13 | $1,548,300,000 | $2,084,500,000 | 70.6 % | 018 / 02 | 72.77 | |
| Alice Faye | 10 | $1,546,000,000 | $1,545,500,000 | 64.8 % | 005 / 02 | 73.12 | |
| Melvyn Douglas | 17 | $1,540,200,000 | $1,915,500,000 | 62.3 % | 002 / 00 | 63.01 | |
| Norman Lloyd | 14 | $1,521,800,000 | $1,604,900,000 | 67.4 % | 012 / 01 | 66.16 | |
| Deanna Durbin | 15 | $1,512,000,000 | $1,511,800,000 | 66.3 % | 011 / 00 | 67.14 | |
| Lloyd Bridges | 15 | $1,504,500,000 | $1,589,800,000 | 65.3 % | 006 / 00 | 64.81 | |
| Joan Crawford | 12 | $1,504,800,000 | $2,140,200,000 | 67.6 % | 009 / 01 | 71.08 | |
| Fredric March | 12 | $1,488,000,000 | $1,913,800,000 | 69.8 % | 014 / 07 | 69.17 | |
| Wallace Beery | 16 | $1,476,800,000 | $1,630,300,000 | 58.5 % | 000 / 00 | 61.60 | |
| Ethel Barrymore | 12 | $1,466,400,000 | $1,675,900,000 | 67.8 % | 015 / 03 | 72.86 | |
| Celeste Holm | 9 | $1,451,700,000 | $1,452,100,000 | 71.4 % | 024 / 06 | 79.86 | |
| Jessica Tandy | 7 | $1,439,200,000 | $1,841,100,000 | 66.0 % | 005 / 00 | 74.57 | |
| Victor McLaglen | 17 | $1,416,100,000 | $1,645,200,000 | 63.0 % | 004 / 01 | 61.60 | |
| Edmond O'Brien | 15 | $1,393,500,000 | $1,635,200,000 | 67.0 % | 010 / 02 | 64.94 | |
| Danny Kaye | 6 | $1,339,800,000 | $1,853,900,000 | 73.0 % | 006 / 01 | 82.39 | |
| Johnny Weissmuller | 12 | $1,326,000,000 | $2,276,500,000 | 59.4 % | 002 / 00 | 62.72 | |
| Dorothy McGuire | 7 | $1,318,800,000 | $1,385,700,000 | 71.3 % | 012 / 04 | 83.19 | |
| Boris Karloff | 21 | $1,318,800,000 | $1,533,300,000 | 63.5 % | 003 / 00 | 57.84 | |
| Marlene Dietrich | 10 | $1,303,000,000 | $1,555,500,000 | 61.4 % | 009 / 00 | 69.45 | |
| Frank Sinatra | 8 | $1,260,000,000 | $1,736,000,000 | 63.4 % | 009 / 02 | 72.41 | |
| Broderick Crawford | 23 | $1,248,900,000 | $1,291,100,000 | 62.1 % | 007 / 03 | 58.28 | |
| Burt Lancaster | 9 | $1,205,100,000 | $1,204,700,000 | 74.5 % | 005 / 00 | 75.97 | |
| Joan Blondell | 13 | $1,199,900,000 | $1,338,000,000 | 64.0 % | 004 / 01 | 62.43 | |
| Robert Montgomery | 13 | $1,184,300,000 | $1,422,300,000 | 65.3 % | 012 / 03 | 65.44 | |
| Dean Jagger | 12 | $1,172,400,000 | $1,340,000,000 | 66.3 % | 012 / 02 | 66.84 | |
| Lizabeth Scott | 9 | $1,169,100,000 | $1,169,500,000 | 64.3 % | 001 / 00 | 69.31 | |
| Dorothy Malone | 9 | $1,168,200,000 | $1,643,000,000 | 61.9 % | 000 / 00 | 67.55 | |
| Donald O'Connor | 17 | $1,156,000,000 | $1,155,700,000 | 65.5 % | 002 / 00 | 61.31 | |
| Eleanor Parker | 10 | $1,146,000,000 | $1,613,400,000 | 62.5 % | 002 / 00 | 64.67 | |
| Rhonda Fleming | 7 | $1,145,200,000 | $1,186,900,000 | 68.4 % | 007 / 01 | 75.48 | |
| Ava Gardner | 12 | $1,098,000,000 | $1,294,000,000 | 62.5 % | 004 / 00 | 63.16 | |
| Andy Hardy | 7 | $1,094,800,000 | $1,611,900,000 | 61.8 % | 000 / 00 | 73.29 | |
| Janet Leigh | 10 | $1,092,000,000 | $1,649,900,000 | 65.1 % | 004 / 01 | 67.59 | |
| Paul Lukas | 14 | $1,080,800,000 | $1,426,300,000 | 67.8 % | 007 / 01 | 64.68 | |
| Elia Kazan | 5 | $1,071,500,000 | $1,174,500,000 | 73.3 % | 014 / 04 | 88.49 | |
| Lauren Bacall | 5 | $1,070,000,000 | $1,572,900,000 | 84.0 % | 001 / 01 | 88.19 | |
| Raymond Burr | 18 | $1,069,200,000 | $1,294,200,000 | 63.3 % | 002 / 01 | 58.83 | |
| Orson Welles | 10 | $1,067,000,000 | $1,099,000,000 | 79.0 % | 015 / 02 | 74.97 | |
| Ed Begley | 8 | $1,064,000,000 | $1,063,600,000 | 66.5 % | 006 / 00 | 71.83 | |
| Jean Arthur | 8 | $1,060,000,000 | $1,220,700,000 | 71.3 % | 018 / 01 | 76.10 | |
| Clifton Webb | 5 | $1,045,000,000 | $1,044,900,000 | 77.2 % | 010 / 02 | 86.99 | |
| Gloria Grahame | 9 | $1,031,400,000 | $1,303,200,000 | 69.0 % | 010 / 00 | 69.71 | |
| Ronald Colman | 7 | $1,019,900,000 | $1,635,600,000 | 71.9 % | 022 / 02 | 75.62 | |
| Burgess Meredith | 11 | $996,600,000 | $1,108,400,000 | 56.9 % | 008 / 00 | 61.57 | |
| Lew Ayres | 12 | $993,600,000 | $1,062,800,000 | 64.2 % | 013 / 01 | 62.97 | |
| Laurence Olivier | 8 | $989,600,000 | $1,068,500,000 | 75.9 % | 030 / 09 | 79.62 | |
| Natalie Wood | 9 | $983,700,000 | $983,300,000 | 65.7 % | 005 / 03 | 67.97 | |
| Maria Montez | 22 | $981,200,000 | $1,204,900,000 | 56.0 % | 006 / 00 | 54.32 | |
| Oscar Levant | 7 | $960,400,000 | $1,299,000,000 | 61.9 % | 007 / 00 | 69.62 | |
| Priscilla Lane | 11 | $943,800,000 | $1,188,500,000 | 65.0 % | 003 / 00 | 62.3 | |
| Kirk Douglas | 8 | $937,600,000 | $995,700,000 | 71.4 % | 012 / 03 | 72.71 | |
| Ann Miller | 15 | $937,500,000 | $1,150,200,000 | 65.5 % | 002 / 01 | 59.62 | |
| David Niven | 10 | $912,000,000 | $1,034,100,000 | 67.2 % | 005 / 01 | 65.53 | |
| Eleanor Powell | 6 | $895,800,000 | $1,259,100,000 | 62.9 % | 005 / 01 | 69.84 | |
| Jane Powell | 6 | $888,000,000 | $1,287,800,000 | 51.2 % | 002 / 00 | 66.06 | |
| Rex Harrison | 11 | $887,700,000 | $887,700,000 | 70.8 % | 009 / 03 | 65.09 | |
| Ruth Gordon | 7 | $863,100,000 | $1,303,500,000 | 73.2 % | 007 / 02 | 73.69 | |
| Yvonne De Carlo | 11 | $845,900,000 | $932,500,000 | 63.8 % | 001 / 00 | 61.58 | |
| Jeanette MacDonald | 8 | $826,400,000 | $1,386,500,000 | 60.3 % | 003 / 00 | 64.54 | |
| Betty Garrett | 5 | $819,000,000 | $1,196,800,000 | 68.8 % | 002 / 02 | 77.40 | |
| Lillian Gish | 5 | $805,500,000 | $805,300,000 | 70.2 % | 005 / 01 | 71.14 | |
| Kay Francis | 10 | $791,000,000 | $953,900,000 | 60.3 % | 001 / 00 | 59.68 | |
| Richard Widmark | 6 | $762,600,000 | $762,300,000 | 69.9 % | 002 / 00 | 73.64 | |
| Jane Russell | 3 | $759,900,000 | $760,000,000 | 63.8 % | 001 / 01 | 76.50 | |
| Bela Lugosi | 20 | $724,000,000 | $742,600,000 | 58.5 % | 001 / 00 | 53.16 | |
| Thelma Ritter | 5 | $698,000,000 | $698,000,000 | 75.5 % | 007 / 05 | 78.94 | |
| Farley Granger | 6 | $692,400,000 | $915,700,000 | 70.9 % | 006 / 00 | 70.35 | |
| Madeleine Carroll | 9 | $684,900,000 | $685,000,000 | 65.5 % | 006 / 01 | 62.46 | |
| Sonja Henie | 5 | $674,000,000 | $764,900,000 | 56.0 % | 003 / 00 | 66.09 | |
| James Mason | 8 | $668,800,000 | $781,900,000 | 71.2 % | 003 / 01 | 66.65 | |
| Douglas Fairbanks Jr. | 8 | $660,800,000 | $661,100,000 | 62.7 % | 003 / 00 | 62.48 | |
| Constance Bennett | 10 | $661,000,000 | $758,300,000 | 62.9 % | 003 / 00 | 59.66 | |
| Maureen O'Sullivan | 6 | $655,200,000 | $1,071,600,000 | 70.1 % | 001 / 01 | 70.04 | |
| Arlene Dahl | 5 | $643,000,000 | $831,000,000 | 57.5 % | 001 / 00 | 65.13 | |
| Joe E. Brown | 7 | $639,800,000 | $826,300,000 | 62.3 % | 000 / 00 | 59.85 | |
| Dorothy Dandridge | 8 | $636,000,000 | $751,800,000 | 55.6 % | 009 / 00 | 58.37 | |
| Nelson Eddy | 8 | $630,400,000 | $850,300,000 | 62.1 % | 010 / 02 | 61.94 | |
| Burl Ives | 4 | $625,200,000 | $680,100,000 | 64.8 % | 002 / 00 | 71.63 | |
| Gene Autry | 28 | $624,400,000 | $623,600,000 | 64.3 % | 001 / 00 | 53.54 | |
| Laurel and Hardy | 10 | $615,000,000 | $615,400,000 | 63.9 % | 000 / 00 | 58.67 | |
| W.C. Fields | 6 | $600,000,000 | $600,200,000 | 70.6 % | 004 / 00 | 68.31 | |
| Deborah Kerr | 9 | $588,600,000 | $745,100,000 | 69.0 % | 004 / 03 | 62.40 | |
| Tallulah Bankhead | 3 | $583,200,000 | $583,200,000 | 70.7 % | 005 / 00 | 72.27 | |
| Marjorie Main | 3 | $553,500,000 | $553,600,000 | 68.5 % | 001 / 00 | 71.92 | |
| Vivien Leigh | 5 | $545,500,000 | $659,500,000 | 66.0 % | 007 / 01 | 69.18 | |
| Miriam Hopkins | 5 | $529,000,000 | $710,400,000 | 69.8 % | 008 / 04 | 70.24 | |
| Paul Muni | 5 | $523,500,000 | $523,400,000 | 64.2 % | 007 / 00 | 66.97 | |
| Jean Simmons | 6 | $495,600,000 | $495,800,000 | 72.4 % | 014 / 08 | 70.13 | |
| Eva Gabor | 7 | $480,900,000 | $480,700,000 | 55.4 % | 002 / 00 | 55.79 | |
| Margaret Sullavan | 6 | $480,000,000 | $480,000,000 | 74.2 % | 002 / 00 | 66.75 | |
| Sylvia Sidney | 5 | $472,000,000 | $509,000,000 | 57.3 % | 001 / 01 | 60.06 | |
| Judy Holliday | 2 | $452,800,000 | $510,600,000 | 78.2 % | 001 / 00 | 85.08 | |
| Montgomery Clift | 3 | $447,900,000 | $448,000,000 | 86.7 % | 014 / 05 | 85.36 | |
| Barbara Bel Geddes | 4 | $443,200,000 | $520,000,000 | 70.3 % | 005 / 00 | 71.82 | |
| Karl Malden | 3 | $441,300,000 | $441,300,000 | 67.7 % | 003 / 00 | 71.05 | |
| Lyle Talbot | 5 | $433,000,000 | $433,100,000 | 62.1 % | 003 / 00 | 59.25 | |
| Ben Johnson | 3 | $401,700,000 | $581,000,000 | 75.3 % | 002 / 01 | 76.59 | |
| Charles Chaplin | 2 | $384,000,000 | $384,000,000 | 89.0 % | 006 / 00 | 89.51 | |
| Marx Brothers | 5 | $383,000,000 | $486,300,000 | 61.3 % | 000 / 00 | 60.67 | |
| Helen Hayes | 1 | $378,600,000 | $378,600,000 | 54.0 % | 002 / 00 | 77.20 | |
| Ethel Merman | 1 | $378,600,000 | $378,600,000 | 54.0 % | 002 / 00 | 77.20 | |
| Doris Day | 3 | $372,300,000 | $517,100,000 | 58.2 % | 003 / 00 | 67.04 | |
| Frances Farmer | 6 | $367,800,000 | $388,000,000 | 60.1 % | 000 / 00 | 57.40 | |
| Carole Lombard | 4 | $355,200,000 | $430,800,000 | 65.6 % | 002 / 00 | 65.23 | |
| Sterling Hayden | 5 | $351,000,000 | $350,900,000 | 59.8 % | 000 / 00 | 59.06 | |
| Shelley Winters | 5 | $336,500,000 | $336,700,000 | 67.1 % | 005 / 02 | 62.20 | |
| José Ferrer | 2 | $315,200,000 | $415,600,000 | 67.5 % | 007 / 02 | 76.72 | |
| Buster Keaton | 2 | $313,200,000 | $351,100,000 | 66.3 % | 000 / 00 | 75.36 | |
| Patricia Neal | 3 | $301,500,000 | $322,300,000 | 69.4 % | 001 / 00 | 68.84 | |
| Trevor Howard | 8 | $293,600,000 | $293,600,000 | 76.1 % | 006 / 01 | 61.20 | |
| Louis Jourdan | 4 | $288,400,000 | $350,400,000 | 68.5 % | 002 / 00 | 63.10 | |
| Red Buttons | 1 | $277,000,000 | $277,000,000 | 65.0 % | 000 / 00 | 81.60 | |
| Norma Shearer | 3 | $236,700,000 | $361,200,000 | 62.7 % | 000 / 00 | 61.69 | |
| Leslie Howard | 3 | $229,800,000 | $229,900,000 | 73.8 % | 003 / 01 | 68.35 | |
| Zero Mostel | 1 | $224,400,000 | $305,000,000 | 55.5 % | 000 / 00 | 77.10 | |
| Ralph Richardson | 6 | $219,600,000 | $219,700,000 | 70.5 % | 010 / 04 | 60.48 | |
| Jack Albertson | 1 | $211,700,000 | $326,600,000 | 72.5 % | 003 / 01 | 86.90 | |
| John Gielgud | 2 | $206,600,000 | $208,800,000 | 73.0 % | 007 / 04 | 72.56 | |
| Christopher Lee | 1 | $204,900,000 | $204,900,000 | 81.0 % | 007 / 04 | 98.05 | |
| Robert Morley | 5 | $204,500,000 | $204,300,000 | 62.3 % | 000 / 00 | 55.27 | |
| Mae West | 2 | $202,000,000 | $201,900,000 | 62.3 % | 000 / 00 | 64.90 | |
| Alec Guinness | 3 | $200,400,000 | $200,500,000 | 82.4 % | 005 / 02 | 70.71 | |
| Marilyn Monroe | 3 | $188,700,000 | $188,600,000 | 51.4 % | 000 / 00 | 53.54 |
This list seems misleading. First of all, the biggest female box office star of the decade, Betty Grable, is nowhere to be found. Walter Brennan was usually a character actor in films; he carried almost none of the films he was in at the box office; the actual stars did. So to list him as one of the top box office leaders of the decade shows the data used to compile this list to be flawed for the conclusions it shows.
Arturo (and Cogerson)
“the biggest female box office star of the decade, Betty Grable”
On what basis is this claim made? I think this is the issue Cogerson’s fine work digging out the actual box-office stats raises. Is this judgment based on the Quigley polls? But are they accurate? Both Ingrid Bergman & Judy Garland do better on average box-office and total box-office, in the latter case despite making fewer movies. Why should we consider Grable the bigger star?
What’s wrong with the Quigley polls? Several things, but for one. If a Fox theatre owner books a Fox Grable film for a week, then a Columbia Hayworth film for a week, and then a MGM Garland film for a week, and the gross ends up with Grable in third place, might it be just possible he would still vote for the star under contract to his parent company? Just an issue I would raise.
Then there is the Bob argument. Yes, Bergman’s movies did better than Grable’s. But Bergman co-stared with Tracy, Bogart, Cooper, Crosby, Boyer, Peck, and Grant. She doesn’t deserve credit for her success. It was her co-stars who pulled in the fans. Or name directors like Hitchcock. Grable on the other hand rarely worked with top box-office stars (Power would be an exception) or top directors. Her films were more Grable films than Bergman’s were Bergman films. Some merit I suppose to this point of view, but it leads to a second-tier box-office performance being judged better than a first-tier performance. Co-starring with top stars and working with top directors is part of being a top star.
ARTURO Re JOHN’s comments.
Now you will see what I have had to stick!
BOB
Hey Arturo….this was the Top 50….Grable was 18th for the decade.
Van Johnson $4,835.20
Bing Crosby $4,613.40
Dorothy Lamour $4,349.20
Walter Brennan $4,123.90
Dana Andrews $4,053.30
John Wayne $3,986.50
Bob Hope $3,977.70
Ray Milland $3,865.10
Gary Cooper $3,818.10
Humphrey Bogart $3,675.30
Spencer Tracy $3,606.50
Judy Garland $3,528.40
Cary Grant $3,501.50
Walter Pidgeon $3,411.90
Paulette Goddard $3,311.40
Ingrid Bergman $3,304.00
Betty Grable $3,232.30
Maureen O’Hara $3,231.60
Mickey Rooney $3,156.60
Barbara Stanwyck $3,120.00
Sydney Greenstreet $3,095.70
Anthony Quinn $3,070.70
Lionel Barrymore $3,049.60
Claude Rains $3,046.20
Lana Turner $3,009.60
Alan Ladd $2,944.00
Linda Darnell $2,926.00
Errol Flynn $2,901.30
John Garfield $2,881.00
Gene Tierney $2,878.60
Claudette Colbert $2,873.30
Randolph Scott $2,850.00
Donald Crisp $2,814.50
Abbott & Costello $2,733.00
Greer Garson $2,678.20
Gene Kelly $2,671.10
Peter Lorre $2,637.70
Ronald Reagan $2,616.80
Gregory Peck $2,555.10
Donna Reed $2,538.00
Virginia Mayo $2,528.20
Tyrone Power $2,511.10
Edward G. Robinson $2,502.70
Ginger Rogers $2,501.40
Joseph Cotten $2,476.40
Esther Williams $2,466.10
Van Heflin $2,420.50
Bette Davis $2,363.40
Olivia de Havilland $2,348.40
Clark Gable $2,302.80
It’s an interesting list but a deceiving one.
Take Walter Brennan, for example, a character actor who did enjoy popularity.
But Brennan wasn’t the star of any of his big box office hits. He was a supporting player in some films that were hits that starred the likes of Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne. Yet on your list Brennan is ranked above all of them.
The reason people went to see a hit like To Have and Have Not, for example, was because of Bogart and Bacall. Brennan was strictly a side order in that film. Same with Sergeant York and Pride of the Yankees, Cooper films, with Brennan in support, or Red River, with Wayne. Brennan had the luck to appear in a number of popular films during the ’40s. His participation in the films may have played some role in the films’ popularity but it was not a dominant one, I’m sure.
Ditto the inclusion, I suspect, of Dorothy Lamour so high in the rankings. Not one time in that decade was Lamour ranked as one of the top ten stars of the year. There is no way she was as huge as Bob Hope, who is ranked below her. Nor was she as big as some stars who don’t even make it on this list (ie Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, both very hot at the beginning of the decade). But she did appear in the Road films and a Crosby musical like Dixie.
I’m not quite certain how Van Johnson got in the top position here, though I know he enjoy a lot of popularity. I do know, however, that Bing Crosby was the Number One Box Office Champion of the ’40s, according to the Quigley Motion Picture Distributors annual polls.
I have traveled across the country collecting this information….and I really think it is the best estimation of box office grosses out there. The actual gross will never be known….because back then they reported financials in “rental” numbers.
As for Quigley….my granddad used to fill those surveys out every year…..John Wayne and Gary Cooper always made his list regardless if they had a down year or not. They just did not have great information back then….so the legends remained on the list every year….as well as the “Flavor of the Month”….as granddad would call stars like Sonja Henie.
Quigley is a fun list to look at….but it is not accurate portrayal of the biggest stars in a given year. In recent times George Clooney finished 8th for the year and had one movie (The American) that bombed out at $32.00 million …..yet he still got a Quigley spot.
Van Johnson $4,835.20
Bing Crosby $4,613.40
Dorothy Lamour $4,349.20
Walter Brennan $4,123.90
Dana Andrews $4,053.30
John Wayne $3,986.50
Bob Hope $3,977.70
Ray Milland $3,865.10
Gary Cooper $3,818.10
Humphrey Bogart $3,675.30
Spencer Tracy $3,606.50
Judy Garland $3,528.40
Cary Grant $3,501.50
Walter Pidgeon $3,411.90
Paulette Goddard $3,311.40
Ingrid Bergman $3,304.00
Betty Grable $3,232.30
Maureen O’Hara $3,231.60
Mickey Rooney $3,156.60
Barbara Stanwyck $3,120.00
Sydney Greenstreet $3,095.70
Anthony Quinn $3,070.70
Lionel Barrymore $3,049.60
Claude Rains $3,046.20
Lana Turner $3,009.60
Alan Ladd $2,944.00
Linda Darnell $2,926.00
Errol Flynn $2,901.30
John Garfield $2,881.00
Gene Tierney $2,878.60
Claudette Colbert $2,873.30
Randolph Scott $2,850.00
Donald Crisp $2,814.50
Abbott & Costello $2,733.00
Greer Garson $2,678.20
Gene Kelly $2,671.10
Peter Lorre $2,637.70
Ronald Reagan $2,616.80
Gregory Peck $2,555.10
Donna Reed $2,538.00
Virginia Mayo $2,528.20
Tyrone Power $2,511.10
Edward G. Robinson $2,502.70
Ginger Rogers $2,501.40
Joseph Cotten $2,476.40
Esther Williams $2,466.10
Van Heflin $2,420.50
Bette Davis $2,363.40
Olivia de Havilland $2,348.40
Clark Gable $2,302.80
Thanks for posting thread; Can you provide the top 5 movies (box office) each of these 15 actors was in during the 40s?
That would help me ‘process’ these rankings. E.g. Are the ‘Road’ pictures the primary reason for Crosby, Lamour and Hope? (I assume yes).
Hey James….not sure what your are asking for….I am sure I have the answer to your question though….thanks for stopping by.
Now it is right. Great Kate, Then Wright and Peck.
1 PIERRE/LUPINO Thanks for your feedback. Where movies are concerned “all’s grist that comes to my mill” and much of your information and comments about French films were new to me and I’m grateful to you both for sharing them with me.
2 I agree that there was a resemblance between the older Gabin and Tracy in his later years with both being stocky and white haired. I often thought that the younger Gabin while still looking to me slightly like the younger Tracy had parallels with John Garfield with regard to role choice and movie content. Certainly the material that the two selected was often bleak though notwithstanding that I admired them both. Tracy’s stuff by contrast was normally more upbeat such as Boys’ Town and Father of the Bride.
3 A documentary that I saw recently claimed that Belmondo’s movie idol was Bogart and the documentary illustrated its point with a clip from a Belmondo movie [maybe Breathless, French title A bout de soufflé] in which Jean-Paul stands outside a cinema that is displaying a poster for a Bogart film and gazing transfixed at the poster Belmondo simply whispers in awe “Bogie!” I’m sure that not too many people who use this site would take hero worship that far, though I could actually see this site’s Creator standing at a cinema gazing star struck at certain posters and whispering in a trembling voice “Cary!” or “Maurice!” or “Brucie”
4 Anyway have a good weekend and whenever you have the time keep feeding us other buffs with as much info about the French cinema as you can. Given that ‘foreign’*** films do not have as much exposure in places like the United States and my country as Yankee one do it is refreshing to see you two giving the French film world some coverage on this site. I am surprised though that Pierre feels that he learns something that is at least CONSISTENT from Steve, the man who on the one hand complains that the great classical songsters of Hollywood’s musical era sang too loudly yet on the other hand gripes about Mr Brando speaking too low!
***My late, great French friend Jean Jaques Pizet used to jokingly chide me when I visited him “Bob to me YOU are the foreigner when you are in my country!”
Kudos for sharing the memory of Jean Jaques Pizet….awesome quote.