British Actors Smörgåsbord

British Actor 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 British Actor movies by his co-stars
  • Sort British Actor movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort British Actor movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort British Actor movies by how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each British Actor movie received.
  • Sort British Actor movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.

Steve Lensman’s John Gielgud You Tube Video

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203 thoughts on “British Actors Smörgåsbord”

  1. Jack Hawkins was the 4th biggest Brit star at the home box office in the 1950s. He was among the recognised Top 10 most popular Brit movie thespians for 7 consecutive years, from 1952-1958 inclusive, and reached the No 1 spot in the box office charts in 1954 and 1955.

    I always considered Jack as the “father figure” among the great domestic stars of the British cinema in its heyday. Bogarde, Guinness and More were noted for their classic comedy films as well as their dramatic ones but Jack usually cut a serious and reserved figure of authority, playing British Establishment figures such as senior military officers in the likes of The Cruel Sea, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia [in which he was T E Lawrence’s military mentor in the desert, the iconic General/Viscount Allenby] and of course Jack was also Chief Inspector Gideon of Scotland Yard in the 1958 Gideon’s Day. Hawkins did though often convey a droll, dry and even at times sarcastic sense of humour. Great entertainer!

    ENTRIES 35-17 – BEST POSTERS (1) Land of Fury (2) Rampage (3) Foreign language one for Masquerade (4) 2nd one for Man in the Sky (5) Fortune is a Woman [Jack getting to work with one of Hollywood’s Sex Queens](6) The 3rd Secret (7) 1st one for The Black Rose (8) foreign language one for The Elusive Pimpernel (9) Malta Story and (10) Angels One Five. ALL STILLS covered in Part 2.

    Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray who are also listed on your poster for Angels 1-5 were a husband and wife acting team who appeared together in other movies such as 1949’s The Glass Mountain and 1953’s There was a Young Lady. They also did 100 West End plays together and had been married for 60 years when Michael died in 1998 aged 82. Dulcie lived on until 2011 when she was 95. Comprehensive enough though your Brit Greats series is proving to be you will have scratched just the surface of the great reservoir of talent in the British film industry in its heyday.

    Reply

    1. Jack’s first wife from 1932-1940 was Jessica Tandy of Driving Miss Daisy (1989). In theatre Jessica worked with a number of the Golden Brits such as Olivier and Gielgud but was maybe best known in her heyday as Brando’s Blanche in the late 1940s Broadway production of Streetcar. Unfortunately she was not considered big enough movies box-office to reprise the role on screen in 1951

      A common quality shared by most of the Great Brit thespians [and the American Marlon Brando when he occasionally lapsed into an English accent] was possession of a rich spellbinding voice and Jack was no exception. I loved listening to him. However in 1965 he developed throat cancer and had to use an electronic voice box for the remainder of his career, which sounded horrible and therefore demoralised him and made him feel extremely humiliated, on top of which the affliction caused him ongoing medical difficulties. According to a close friend therefore when Jack died relatively prematurely at 62 in 1973 “He probably didn’t care, because he had had enough!” It makes your opening quote in the video highly ironic. A fine tribute to Jack’s memory and the video has a 98.5% from me

      Best POSTERS 1-16 (1) The 2 Headed Spy (2) State Secret (3) The 3rd Key (4) Mandy (5) 2 crackers for Theatre of Blood (6) both for The Cruel Sea [“which man has made more cruel.” – Hawkins in voice-over] (7) “Orance” of Arabia (8) both for Bridge on the River Kwai and (9) Land of the Pharaohs, the whole set for which was stunning.

      ALL STILLS, my own pick of which are (1) Jack in Masquerade (2) with the Great Tyrone (3) 2 with Brit legend the most sexy Joan (4) with my Jimmy (5) stunning vista shot from Waterloo (6) League of Gentlemen (7) Sir Maurice in Zulu – magazine cover? (8) and (9) with Chuck and the Hawkins solo in Hen Hur (10) The Big 3 in Kwai, Jack Golden and Obi Wan – truly a collector’s item

      Reply

      1. Hi Bob, thanks for the review, generous rating, info and trivia, much appreciated.

        Happy you liked the posters, stills and lobby cards.

        The first Zulu poster on the video was from the cover of the soundtrack album, the artwork was also used on the video and DVD. The second poster may have been on a late 60s reissue.

        There was a time when big movies were reissued all the time and audiences welcomed them, sadly very rarely now. There was a brief reissue of 2001 A Space Odyssey during the summer to celebrate its 50 years at the top of the sci-fi tree.

        I’ll bet these videos and posters are bringing back memories of your cinema going days Bob. Some of the British names on the posters are far more familiar to you than they are to me.

        I’m sure I watched some of these on TV with my parents on our black & white telly decades ago, never realising I’d be cleaning and restoring digitized posters of those films for my videos in the distant future. 🙂

        As you may know John Ford directed ‘Gideon of Scotland Yard’ in 1958, a long way from his beloved Monument Valley. There is a faded photo of John Wayne visiting the set to see his ‘pappy’ I’ll post a link to the photo after I post this reply.

        Four Jack Hawkins films scored 10 out of 10 from my sources, and they are the top 4 on my video –

        Lawrence of Arabia
        Bridge on the River Kwai ,The
        Ben-Hur
        Zulu

        Two scored 9 – The Cruel Sea and League of Gentlemen. 10 more scored 8.

        No.1 Hawkins film at IMDb is Lawrence of Arabia, tops at Rotten Tomatoes is Bridge on the River Kwai.

        “All of us in the film were sure that we were making something quite unusual, and a long way removed from the Errol Flynn-taking-Burma-single-handed syndrome. This was the period of some very indifferent American war movies, whereas The Cruel Sea (1953) contained no false heroics. That is why we all felt that we were making a genuine example of the way in which a group of men went to war.”

        “I think that no actor should take Hollywood too seriously; but at the same time it would be wrong to underestimate its professionalism. Really, Hollywood is a caricature of itself, and in particular this is true of the front-office types at the studios. Their enthusiasm towards you is measured precisely to match the success of your last film.”

        Kenneth More delivering the address at the memorial for Jack Hawkins in 1973 – “The man who gave . . . he was always ready to help, listen, sympathize, advise and he always picked up the chips. He was popular and loved by the British public, and he earned and held their respect. He lost a gallant fight to recapture an actor’s most precious gift, his voice.”

        Reply

          1. HI STEVE Thanks for usual comprehensive reply, the Sir Maurice explanation, some great quotes and the Duke link. I see he wasn’t wearing his “rug”! According to Hope, Bing avoided socialising at times because everyone knew he wore a toupee on screen, he didn’t like wearing it off set but didn’t want to be seen in public without it.

            Yes your Brit posters featuring long forgotten stars giving me a lovely trip down Nostalgia Lane. Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray were minor Brit household names in the early 50s when I started watching movies. I suppose that you could say that they were “big fish in a small pond.”

            I hasten to add though that I am comparing the “small pond” of the British film industry with the giant pond of the Hollywood one as I’m sure that our fellow Brexiteers wouldn’t like it being said that country-wise they were “taking back control” of just a small pond! Other”blasts from the past” that hit me as they slid by in your video are the likes of Elizabeth Allan, Elizabeth Sellars and Phyllis Calvert. Elizabeth Sellars is still alive at 97

            ADDITIONAL HAWKINS TRIVIA
            1/Although Sir Alec got the Oscar for Bridge on River Kwai because Col Nicholson was undoubtedly the more “showy” role not everyone agreed that Sir Alec’s was the best performance. Glenn Ford stated publicly about Holden “Bill’s was the most perfect performance that I have ever seen in a movie,” whereas Margaret Hinxman Britain’s lead film critic in the 1950s [a sort of Joel in drag if you like] thought that the top honours went to Hawkins.

            2/As the top Hollywood star of the time Bill Holden not only was paid a fortune for his role in Kwai but has always gotten top billing on all of the posters. However in the initial release posters Hawkins and Guinness rotated 2nd billing between them

  2. Hey Bob….thanks for explaining your thoughts on sharing this information. I bet you will find out you agree with Joel way more than you think. WoC and I enjoyed the last couple of days. You sharing Joel knowledge is the icing on the cake……and now I lay my head down to rest. Will get Candice comments done in the morning,

    Reply

  3. My thoughts on Steve’s John Mills You Tube video….which will be added here on Tuesday or Wednesday.

    Nice video. Doing this comment from Rocket City (Huntsville, Alabama). First match is #31 Zulu Dawn…good cast weak movie. #27 The End of the Affair…good drama. #22 The Wrong Box….fun movie. #14 Swiss Family Robinson…probably his biggest hit. #9 King Rat….ok movie but not a favorite #7 Ryan’s Daughter….love how this movie looks. #2 Gandhi…good movie very small Mills part #1 Great Expectations…my favorite version of this story. So that is 8 seen….almost 33%. Will share video on UltimateMovieRankings.com when I get back home. Voted up.

    Reply

    1. Hi Bruce, your tally 8, mine 12 and Flora 13. I listed my favorites in my reply to Flora, they were Operation Crossbow, Ice Cold in Alex, Dunkirk, The Wrong Box, Great Expectations and Ryan’s Daughter. It’s been years since I last watched Swiss Family Robinson maybe it’s time to watch it again, probably at Xmas. Thanks again for commenting, always appreciated.

      Reply

  4. In the1940s and 1950s the British film industry “dined out” on the 2nd World War and the Brit studios churned out war movies on a regular basis and audiences loved to see John Mills in them, so he made quite a slew of them including Way to the Stars, Morning Departure, Above Us the Waves, Dunkirk and the brilliant Ice Cold in Alex

    He excelled too in dramas/thrillers like The Gentle Gunman, The Long Memory, Town on Trial, Flame in the Streets, and Tiger Bay [which introduced in her first CREDITED role his 13 year old daughter Hayley who became a big star in her own right.] One of his most famous roles was in 1948’s Scott of The Antarctic as real life hero-adventurer Robert Falcon Scott of the British Royal Navy.

    POSTERS in entries 40-21 of your Mills video that I most enjoyed are (1) Lady Caroline Lamb (2) The Human Factor (3) Flame in the Streets (4) Town on Trial (5) Mr Denning Drives North (6) both for Zulu Dawn (7) The Long Memory (8) The End of the Affair (9) We Dive at Dawn (10) Young Winston (11) Above Us the Waves and most exceptionally (12) the two for The Gentle Gunman.

    The Latter movie, like Cagney’s Shake Hands with the Devil, is about the Irish Republican Army over here in Northern Ireland and your posters for the movie in conjunction with the one for The Singer Not the Song chart the rise of Dirk Bogarde in the 1950s as Britain’s top star.*** In the 1952 Gentle Gunman, Mills was billed first but in 1961’s Singer not the Song it was Dirk who topped the bill despite John’s own great popularity at the British Box office from 1945 right up until 1961 – see Part 2, in which ALL my comments on the stills will be included.

    ***”A fine role for Britain’s Top Star proclaimed the trailers for Campbell’s Kingdom which I remember seeing on Easter Day 1957

    Reply

    1. Sir Johnnie Mills was one of the most popular British stars EVER at the home box office appearing in the Brit Top 10 a massive 12 times between 1945 and 1961. In the late 1950s he was slightly overshadowed by Dirk Bogarde, Alec Guinness and Kenneth More but Sir John remained a prestige actor for years to come by for example winning both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting performance in 1970’s Ryan’s Daughter. Certainly he remained in my own Top 4 Brit actors together with Dirk, Ken More and, after The Ipcress File, Sir Maurice.

      POSTERS I most enjoyed in entries 1-20 (1) all for Dunkirk (2) 1st one for Scott of Antarctic (3) Mr Polly (4) 1st one for Tiger Bay (5) Swiss Family Robinson (6) The Colditz Story (7) all the ones for Ice Cold in Alex (8)1st one for Tunes of Glory (9) King Rat (10) The Chalk Garden (11) Oh What a Lovely War and (12) the set for Great Expectations.

      My pick of the STILLS for the entire Top 20 are (1) opening one of John with Hayley (2) lobby card for We Dive at Dawn (3) Dunkirk (4) Scott of the Antarctic (5) with Hayley in Tiger Bay (6) Swiss Family Robinson (7) I was Monty’s Double (8) Way to Stars (9) Ryan’s Daughter (10) Ice Cold in Alex (11) Great Expectations and (12) solo of John in uniform in In Which We Serve, which co-starred John’s own great idol Noel Coward whom John called “The Master.”

      I wonder if Sir Noel ever wrote a book allocating stars to movie actors? Certainly he should be given a musical award equivalent to the Oscar for his highly observant song “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!”

      Your video is a superb Tribute to one of Britain’s All Time Greats and well worth a 98% rating in my book.

      Reply

      1. Hi Bob, thanks for the kind words, review, generous rating, info and comment, much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed the picture gallery.

        Sorry for the lateness of my reply, better late than never. 🙂

        What did ‘Hirsch’ think of Sir John Mills or isn’t he listed in Bruce’s book of books? Are British actors well represented in there?

        Scanning the posters Mills was top billed on 22 of the 40 films on this list which is better than some of the previous Brits in this run of videos. By comparison Kenneth More was top billed on 12 of the 25 films on my previous video.

        6 of Sir John’s films scored 10 out of 10 from my sources –

        Great Expectations
        Gandhi
        In Which We Serve
        Tunes of Glory
        This Happy Breed
        Ryan’s Daughter

        Three scored 9 – Swiss Family Robinson, I was Monty’s Double and The Colditz Story. And there are 10 films scoring 8 out of 10 including Ice Cold in Alex and Hobson’s Choice. But what ultimately matters on my charts are the final scores when everything is added up.

        Mills on winning an Oscar for Ryan’s Daughter – “It was weird. I just thought I’d been wasting my time for the past 55 years learning all these millions of lines, and then getting an Oscar for not speaking.”

        “Ryan’s Daughter is not my best film, but it is the best thing that happened to me, professionally. It brought me the Academy Award, and that meant I could finally be known again as somebody other than Hayley Mills’ father.”

        Reply

        1. HI STEVE Thanks for feedback on my Mills posts and for the explanations and quotes. My comments on your points are:

          1/When Hayley’s career took off Sir John said “Hayley’s THE star of this family now.” However in my observation she didn’t in the long run equal his level

          2/ In his heyday Sir John did do well in terms of billing within the British cinema. Where he went down in the pecking order was when he appeared in movies with the big Hollywood stars such as Fonda and A Hepburn in War and Peace and Debs Kerr and Van Johnson in End of the Affair.

          3/ Hey! Now that I have been given a copy of the Film Buff’s Necronomicon are you trying to suck me into joining the Work Horse in providing regular quotes from Joel on this site? Do you not think that The Master has been given enough limelight here as it is?

          4/However I don’t believe in censorship and anyway I am quite happy to quote to you one of the accolades bestowed on Sir John Mills by The Master – I mean OUR Master who is not to be confused with Sir John’s self-proclaimed own Master Sir Noel Coward

          “David Lean’s Great Expectations is still the best movie version of Dickens material and the major reason is John Mills. His sensitive obsessed Pip is only one characterisation in a gallery of memorable screen portrayals.” Naturally I totally agree with these statements.

          5/The Brits do get a fair run in Joel’s book from my early observations but as “needs must” he is selective and among those whom you and I have been discussing he includes Bogarde, Gielgud, Ralphy and Larry, but excludes Ken More and Jack Hawkins and the great Alastair Sim.

          Reply

          1. Hey Bob…..I can barely type this comment….as my eyes are watering so badly from reading that you are sharing Joel wisdom. Proud proud day.

            When I saw Steve inquiring about Joel and Mills I was like…I should have brought the book…but there you are picking up the slack.

            I started laughing when I read your comment and WoC wanted to know why….when I told her you were providing Joel quotes….she said “You have turned him to the Dark Side”

            Next thing you know you will be buying a non-duct taped Joel book….lol.

            From Huntsville Alabama

          2. BRUCE When Steve asked me about John Mills I was happy to convey Joel’s flattering comments because as I’ve said Sir John is one of my top 4 all-time Brit actors along with Sir Dirk, Kenneth More and Sir Maurice.

            Anyway because of the considerable respect that I have for other viewers of this site I will always try to answer any question that one of them puts to me. However it is possible that timing comes into the matter. Had I been handed a copy of the book at the outset before all the Joel controversy started, without my knowing ANY of its contents, and Steve had asked me what The Master thought of The Duke and ole Mumbles I am not sure that I wouldn’t have risked being impolite by refusing to answer him !!

            I liked W o C’s witty comment about The Dark Side but I suppose that being around a guy like you naturally results in friends and relatives ultimately speaking in “Star Wars” type lingo. After all in the TV sitcom Frasier, Noel Shempsky who is a fanatical Star Trek fan had Frasier unwittingly speaking in Klingon to an amazed circumspect audience. They were largely Jewish and Frasier thought he was speaking to them in Hebrew [episode “Star Mitzvah” Season 6, 2002]

            It’s nice to see W o C and you having a good laugh and enjoying yourselves because sadly for me today there has been much doom and gloom. Usually our TV channels show a movie in one programme but on occasions a film, say a 2 hour one, can be split into two 1 hour programmes at separate times. Today I sat down to watch Sir Maurice’s Harry Brown only to find that I had managed to record just one part of it so we will have to take a rain-check on my telling you whether I agree with your quandary about the ending. Meanwhile I have been left feeling like the character in the book who complained “The stars in their courses fight against me!”

  5. Hey Steve….I like that title….”Last Exit To Brexit”….together we made a humorous title…..great minds thinking alike…lol.

    Reply

    1. Just added your Kenneth More video to this page. My thoughts on the video.

      “Hmmmm….only seen a few of his movies..#16 The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw….movie has it’s moments….too bad they are so far apart from each other. #8 Battle of Britain…seen it…but do not remember his role in the movie #4 Sink the Bismarck!….good WW2 thriller. #2 The Longest Day…like Battle of Britain….lost his role in that star filled movie….maybe it is time to re-watch both movies. #1 Remember the Night….easily my favorite Kenneth More movie…..and my favorite Titanic movie. So I have seen a grand total of 5 of his movies….or 20%. Voted up and shared.”

      Reply

      1. Hi Bruce, Flora’s tally 10, mine 6 and yours 5. I think Bob has easily beaten our tallys on this one and the other Brits too. Ken had a humorous role in The Longest Day, he had a bulldog named Winston with him on one of the Normandy beaches. His role in Battle of Britain was longer and less humorous. Thanks again for the comment. vote and share, always appreciated.

        Reply

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