Want to know the best Barbara Hershey movies? How about the worst Barbara Hershey movies? Curious about Barbara Hershey box office grosses or which Barbara Hershey movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Barbara Hershey movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Barbara Hershey (1948-) is an Oscar® nominated American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including westerns and comedies. Barbara Hershey’s IMDb page shows over 100 acting credits since 1966. This page will rank 45 Barbara Hershey movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, movies that were not released in North American theaters and some of early 1970s movies were not included in the rankings. To do well in our overall rankings a movie has to do well at the box office, get good reviews by critics, be liked by audiences and get some award recognition. This page was requested by UMR Hall of Famer, Bob.
Barbara Hershey Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Barbara Hershey Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by co-stars of her movies
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by yearly domestic box office grosses rank
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each movie received.
- Sort Barbara Hershey movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Blue link in Co-star column takes you to that star’s UMR movie page
The Best of IMDb Trivia on Barbara Hershey
1. Acted for several years as Barbara Seagull because of a seagull that was accidentally killed during the filming of “Last Summer.” At the time, she said she felt she had absorbed the seagull’s spirit.
2. Her five favourite films of all time are The Wizard of Oz (1939), Bicycle Thieves (1948), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Raging Bull (1980) and The Ballad of Narayama (1983).
3. As of 2007, she is the only woman to be cast twice in a major role in a movie by Martin Scorsese. The two movies are The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Boxcar Bertha (1972).
4. She has one child, a son she named Free. He later changed his name to Tom. His father is David Carradine.
I’m old, went to With Six You Get Eggroll back in 1968 as a kid. I have 2 western TV series that both ran a year or less. 1 series stars Barbara Hershey called The Monroes and the other stars her future husband David Carradine called Shane (based on the Alan Ladd film). Both I believe are from the 1966/1967 season. They’re both good examples of why western series sort of died on TV back then (they’re both boring).
Barbara Hershey is # 508 on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list and here are the others on the list she appeared with.
2 HARVEY KEITEL The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
5 MICHAEL CAINE Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
9 WILLEM DAFOE The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
12 MAX VON SYDOW Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
18 JOHN GIELGUD The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
19 DENNIS HOPPER Hoosiers (1986)
19 DENNIS HOPPER Paris Trout (1991)
26 MICHAEL MADSEN The Natural (1984)
32 PETER O’TOOLE The Stunt Man (1980)
35 HARRY DEAN STANTON The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
40 ROBERT DUVALL Falling Down (1993)
40 ROBERT DUVALL The Natural (1984)
48 JOHN CARRADINE Boxcar Bertha (1972)
52 JOHN CLEESE Splitting Heirs (1993)
63 ED HARRIS Paris Trout (1991)
63 ED HARRIS The Right Stuff (1983)
66 BRUCE WILLIS Breakfast of Champions (1999)
74 GENE HACKMAN Hoosiers (1986)
75 DONALD PLEASENCE Trial by Combat (1976)
76 RON PERLMAN Frogs for Snakes (1998)
76 RON PERLMAN Uncross the Stars (2008)
80 JOHN MALKOVICH The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
83 RICHARD JENKINS Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
92 CHARLTON HESTON The Last Hard Men (1976)
99 JOHN TURTURRO Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
120 JOHN MILLS Trial by Combat (1976)
123 JEFF GOLDBLUM The Right Stuff (1983)
126 SCOTT GLENN The Baby Maker (1970)
126 SCOTT GLENN The Right Stuff (1983)
137 SHELLEY WINTERS Diamonds (1975)
137 SHELLEY WINTERS The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
159 DENNIS QUAID The Right Stuff (1983)
164 GABRIEL BYRNE A Dangerous Woman (1993)
177 LANCE HENRIKSEN The Right Stuff (1983)
180 DAVID CARRADINE Americana (1983)
180 DAVID CARRADINE Boxcar Bertha (1972)
180 DAVID CARRADINE Heaven with a Gun (1969)
180 DAVID CARRADINE You and Me (1975)
181 JAMES COBURN The Last Hard Men (1976)
184 NICOLE KIDMAN The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
186 MICHAEL DOUGLAS Falling Down (1993)
190 MIKE STARR Frogs for Snakes (1998)
190 MIKE STARR The Natural (1984)
192 KRIS KRISTOFFERSON A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries (1998)
195 NICK NOLTE Breakfast of Champions (1999)
197 OLIVER PLATT THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX (2016)
205 PETER FALK Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
206 STANLEY TUCCI The Public Eye (1992)
209 KEANU REEVES Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
212 DAVID STRAITHAIRN A Dangerous Woman (1993)
213 DANNY DEVITO Tin Men (1987)
219 OWEN WILSON Breakfast of Champions (1999)
229 CHARLES DURNING Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)
229 CHARLES DURNING The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
234 TOM BERENGER Last of the Dogmen (1995)
240 RICHARD E. GRANT The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
248 WOODY ALLEN Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
256 TIM ROTH A World Apart (1988)
257 PAUL SORVINO Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)
265 ROBBIE COLTRANE Frogs for Snakes (1998)
268 CAROL KANE The Pallbearer (1996)
274 MIA FARROW Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
276 SEYMOUR CASSEL Tin Men (1987)
287 GLENN CLOSE The Natural (1984)
295 WILL PATTON Breakfast of Champions (1999)
303 MARK MARGOLIS Black Swan (2010)
303 MARK MARGOLIS The Pallbearer (1996)
306 JOHN LEGUIZAMO Frogs for Snakes (1998)
307 DAN HEDAYA Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
308 GLENN FORD Heaven with a Gun (1969)
320 BOB GUNTON The Public Eye (1992)
325 ALBERT FINNEY Breakfast of Champions (1999)
326 BRUCE DAVISON INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018)
326 BRUCE DAVISON Last Summer (1969)
329 JOHN HEARD Beaches (1988)
329 JOHN HEARD SISTER (2014)
334 ROBERT REDFORD The Natural (1984)
342 EDDIE ALBERT Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
348 KEITH CARRADINE You and Me (1975)
352 BRIAN KEITH With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)
361 JOHN LITHGOW Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)
387 LIN SHAYE Insidious (2010/I)
387 LIN SHAYE Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
387 LIN SHAYE INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY (2018)
404 SCOTT WILSON The Right Stuff (1983)
406 GARY BUSEY You and Me (1975)
436 JANE BIRKIN A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES (1998)
439 RICHARD ROUNDTREE Diamonds (1975)
444 DEBI MAZAR Frogs for Snakes (1998)
466 CHRISTIAN BALE Swing Kids (1993)
466 CHRISTIAN BALE The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
480 KEVIN CORRIGAN The Pallbearer (1996)
493 SAM WATERSTON Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
499 NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan (2010)
503 MICHAEL PARKS The Last Hard Men (1976)
510 ALLEN GARFIELD The Stunt Man (1980)
515 JOE MANTEGNA Childless (2008)
521 ROYAL DANO Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
521 ROYAL DANO The Right Stuff (1983)
522 WINONA RYDER Black Swan (2010)
525 FRED WARD The Right Stuff (1983)
529 ERIC IDLE SPLITTING HEIRS (1993)
536 KIM BASINGER The Natural (1984)
547 RICHARD DREYFUSS Tin Men (1987)
553 ANTHONY ZERBE The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
569 RICHARD RIEHLE A Dangerous Woman (1993)
569 RICHARD RIEHLE The Public Eye (1992)
570 CLIFF ROBERTSON Riding the Bullet (2004)
573 RICHARD SCHIFF The Public Eye (1992)
574 ROBERT SHAW Diamonds (1975)
579 ALEX ROCCO The Entity (1983)
579 ALEX ROCCO The Stunt Man (1980)
586 GEOFFREY RUSH Lantana (2001)
609 MARTIN SCORSESE Boxcar Bertha (1972)
615 JOE DON BAKER The Natural (1984)
623 VIGGO MORTENSEN The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
626 GWYNETH PALTROW The Pallbearer (1996)
636 TONI COLLETTE THE PALLBEARER (1996)
659 SAM SHEPARD Defenseless (1991)
659 SAM SHEPARD The Right Stuff (1983)
670 J.T. WALSH Defenseless (1991)
670 J.T. WALSH Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
670 J.T. WALSH Tin Men (1987)
691 DUB TAYLOR The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
695 ROBERT PROSKY The Natural (1984)
706 RICHARD PORTNOW Tin Men (1987)
706 RICHARD PORTNOW Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
708 JOHN DEHNER The Right Stuff (1983)
737 PAUL FREEMAN A WORLD APART (1988)
738 JARED HARRIS The Public Eye (1992)
742 DIANNE WIEST HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)
745 HARRY SHEARER The Right Stuff (1983)
755 PAUL DOOLEY A Dangerous Woman (1993)
759 NEHEMIAH PERSOFF The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
763 ROSCOE LEE BROWNE The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
773 PRUITT TAYLOR VANCE Shy People (1987)
795 HENRY GIBSON Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
798 LOIS SMITH Falling Down (1993)
839 DAVID SUCHET A WORLD APART (1988)
848 DONALD MOFFAT The Right Stuff (1983)
851 E.G. MARSHALL The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
856 VICTOR ARGO Boxcar Bertha (1972)
856 VICTOR ARGO Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)
856 VICTOR ARGO The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
868 JOHN DIEHL Falling Down (1993)
873 MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL A Dangerous Woman (1993)
874 DAVID KEITH Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
875 PATRICIA CLARKSON Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
877 LLOYD NOLAN Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
881 ELIZABETH MCGOVERN Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
882 PETER GALLAGHER Tune in Tomorrow… (1990)
884 WILFORD BRIMLEY LAST OF THE DOGMEN (1995)
884 WILFORD BRIMLEY THE NATURAL (1984)
901 JAY O. SANDERS Defenseless (1991)
915 DAVID ARQUETTE RIDING THE BULLET (2004)
920 VINCENT CASSEL BLACK SWAN (2010)
930 DANIEL STERN Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
948 MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (1999)
956 YAPHET KOTTO The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
972 ROGER ASHTON – GRIFFITHS THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996)
973 LUKAS HAAS BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (1999)
983 MARTIN DONOVAN THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996)
HM (961) DAVID BOWIE THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988)
HM (963) TIMOTHY BOTTOMS The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974)
HM (974) KURTWOOD SMITH Last of the Dogmen (1995)
HM (996) BRIAN DOYLE-MURRAY Love Comes Lately (2007)
HM (999) BUCK HENRY Breakfast of Champions (1999)
Barbara appeared with 20 Oscar winners.
ART CARNEY Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES Splitting Heirs (1993)
CHARLTON HESTON The Last Hard Men (1976)
CHRISTIAN BALE Swing Kids (1993)
CLIFF ROBERTSON Riding the Bullet (2004)
DIANNE WIEST HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)
GENE HACKMAN Hoosiers (1986)
GEOFFREY RUSH Lantana (2001)
GWYNETH PALTROW The Pallbearer (1996)
JAMES COBURN The Last Hard Men (1976)
JOHN GIELGUD The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
JOHN MILLS Trial by Combat (1976)
KIM BASINGER The Natural (1984)
MICHAEL CAINE Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
MICHAEL DOUGLAS Falling Down (1993)
NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan (2010)
NICOLE KIDMAN The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
RICHARD DREYFUSS Tin Men (1987)
ROBERT DUVALL Falling Down (1993)
ROBERT DUVALL The Natural (1984)
SHELLEY WINTERS Diamonds (1975)
SHELLEY WINTERS The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
Hey Dan.
1. As always….thanks for sharing these epic lists filled with trivia nuggets.
2. Good mini-reviews on The Monroes (never heard of this one) and Shane (I knew about the show and of course the classic western).
3. Before writing this page I had no idea she and David Carradine were a couple….and now it seems I keep seeing them together….the most recently was your comment when you describe their early shows.
4. 508 is higher than I would have guessed…but she has been a steadily working actress for 50 plus years now.
5. First list…always good to see my favorites like Bruce and Michael getting some notice….her most frequent co-star looks to be….David Carradine….there it goes again…lol.
6. 20 Oscar winning co-stars seems to be on the low side….but still lots of great names on this list.
Good information as always…thanks for taking the time to include this info.
Barbara Hershey is, along with Joan, Deanna, Doris, Babs Streisand and Julia Roberts, in my group of all-time favourite actresses, except that they all achieved major stardom and she had to settle for being a prestigious, and for the most part supporting, actress. Indeed Barbara and Doris were like “ships that pass in the night” because Doris’ final film With Six You Get Eggroll was the 20 year old Hershey’s first one. Her second one was icing on the cake too for me as her leading man was the great Charley Bill Stuart.
My favourite Hershey movies are (1) Hoosiers [aka Best Shot] with Hackman (2) Beaches with Bette Midler, one of the few mainstream movies in which Barbara had a lead role, in fact one of the two joint female leads along with Midler, and which was a commercial success (3)The Natural co-starring Redford.
After 1988’s Beaches she got among other movie parts the lead roles in 1990’s TV movie A Killing in a Small Town and a 1992 thriller Defenceless. She won for Killing in a Small Town both a Golden Globe for Best Actress and a Primetime Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Actress. However as your table above shows Defenceless was not a critical or commercial success. IMDB credits her overall with 15 acting awards and 21 noms and her reported net worth is a comfortable $12 million. Sadly though no Master recognition but your own summary of appreciation of her career is pleasing.
In the Bette Midler theme song from Beaches that Flora refers to Barbara’s character is the one that Bette [Hershey’s lifelong friend in the film] is singing about:
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that’s your way.
You always walked a step behind.
So I was the one with all the glory,
while you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
Did you ever know that you’re my hero,
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Hey Bob….thanks for sharing the lyrics to the song Flora mentioned…I have somehow managed not to see that movie.
Hey Bob….glad you like our look at Barbara Hershey’s career. I feel relieved that we now have UMR pages on your all-time favorite actresses….though I am confused that Cameron Diaz is not on your list….lol. Interesting that her first movie was Doris’ last movie. I have seen two of your 3 favorite Hershey movies. Beaches has escaped me. I guess I will have to check that one out in the near future. I noticed many television roles when I was researching this page….looks Killing in a Small Town is one to check out.
I would say my favorite Hershey movie is Tin Men. So….either you did not like it….or it is a movie that you have not seen that I highly recommend. Fun fun movie with good to great performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito and of course Ms. Barbara. Her career was just getting going when Joel published his book…I bet if he had written it in 1993 she would have made the book. Good stuff as always.
FYI….for some reason…I sometimes get Barbara Hershey and Madeline Stowe mixed up….both are brunettes, roughly the same age and both starred with Dreyfuss in two of my favorite movies of his…Tin Men and Stakeout.
HI BRUCE: Thanks for the feedback and I need now add only that-
1/You were right to have assumed that Cam should have been listed. Indeed when I wrote my manuscript drafts out in France, she WAS mentioned but when I was furiously transcribing the drafts to my laptop on return, I obviously missed her out. Alternatively maybe my subconscious was influencing me with taunts like “Bruce won’t heed you as he never has about Cam. Bruce is a bit like the juror in 12 Angry Men about whom Hank Fonda said to another juror who was becoming agitated by the other juror’s prejudices ‘He can’t hear you. He never will.’”
Whatever! – you recently conceded when The Master made a mistake that even the Greats make those. Maybe when you have a spare moment after your break you could include the following amended wording in my Hershey post “Barbara Hershey is, along with Joan, Deanna, Doris, Babs Streisand, Cam Diaz and Julia Roberts, in my group of all-time favourite actresses” Meanwhile thanks for pointing out the omission.
2/I have seen, and agree with you about, Tin Men and it is just marginally outside my very fave Hershey movies. Indeed almost ANY Dreyfuss movie has appealed to me and I like DeVito too.
3/I also agree with you about Madeline Stowe – whatever happened to her? After the Travolta 1999 hit The General’s Daughter she made just 4 more films between 2001 and 2003 only one of which was a reasonable success: Gibson’s We were Soldiers [Cogerson adjusted worldwide gross of approx. $180 million]. Avenging Angelo with Stallone went straight to DVD in the US and received a theatrical release in only Italy when it came out. I have often wondered if appearing with Sly was what brought Maddy’s career to an abrupt halt. If so, it’s a pity Tennessee wasn’t still then around to have a pre-contract word in her ear. Certainly one time she was the new hottest young thing around in movies.
I have seen 3 Barbara Hershey movies.
The Natural is a favourite movie.
I have also seen Beaches and Boxcar Bertha. I remember Beaches mostly for the Bette Midler song “Wind Beneath My Wings” which my school choir sang that year.
Hey Flora….thanks for sharing your thoughts on Barbara Hershey. I have seen 15 of her movies….which includes The Natural….but I have not seen either Beaches or Boxcar Bertha. I have seen copies of Beaches to watch many times…but I have resisted so far…Boxcar Bertha is not an easy movie to find…and I would like to see that one. Cool about your school choir singing “Wind Beneath My Wings”. Good stuff as always.
Okay let’s see I count 11 seen of the 45 films on the chart. Favorites are – The Right Stuff, The Stunt Man and Falling Down.
The Entity was interesting but not something I watch often, supposedly based on real events about a woman claiming that she was raped repeatedly by an invisible entity.
The Right Stuff beaten by Hannah and her sisters on all the charts… hmmm and starring Mikhail Kane eh… [Bruce blushes, Bob grins, Steve winces] 😉
An interesting subject Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve….thanks for checking out our Barbara Hershey page. I have seen 15 of her movies. I am right there with you on The Right Stuff, The Stunt Man and Falling Down…..with Tin Men and Hannah and Her Sisters. With 90% and 88% both Hannah and Right Stuff are pretty impressive when looking at critics and audience reviews. Barbara’s appearance with Bruce Willis lands in last place. I was so excited when I read that Bruce was going to bring Kurt Vonnegut, Jr’s book to the big screen. It is a horrible movie…even with one of my favorite actors and writers involved. A second viewing was even worse. Thanks for the vote up.