Donald Crisp Movies

crispWant to know the best Donald Crisp movies?  How about the worst Donald Crisp movies?  Curious about Donald Crisp box office grosses or which Donald Crisp movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Donald Crisp movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Donald Crisp (1882-1974) was an Oscar® winning actor and film director. His IMDb page shows 171 acting and 72 directing credits from 1908-1964. This page ranks Donald Crisp movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Many of his silent movie credits were not included in the rankings.

Drivel part:  A few years ago I decided to watch every major Oscar® winning (Picture, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Director) movie.  So far I have been able to track down and watch over 97% of those 500 plus movies.  It was during that Oscar® pilgrimage that I discovered Donald Crisp.  At one point it seemed like he was in every movie I was watching….and like all great character actors he made every movie he appeared in so much better.  Well finally we are giving Mr. Crisp his moment in the UMR sunlight.

Clark Gable and Donald Crisp in 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty
Clark Gable and Donald Crisp in 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty

Donald Crisp Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Donald Crisp 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 Donald Crisp movies by co-stars of his movies
  • Sort Donald Crisp movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Donald Crisp movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Donald Crisp movies 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 Donald Crisp movie received.
  • Sort Donald Crisp movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Donald Crisp

1. George William Crisp was born in London, England in 1882.

2.  Donald Crisp was educated at Oxford University and fought in the British Army during the Boer War in South Africa.

3. Donald Crisp’s first big show business break occurred when he was traveling on a ship to America in 1906.  Crisp was singing and noticed by opera star John C. Fisher.  Fisher offered him a job on the boat.  Now that is a great way to get your new life started!

4. In New York, Donald Crisp became friends with D.W. Griffith.  When Griffith decided to try his fortunes in Hollywood….Crisp accompanied him.

5. From 1908 to 1930, Donald Crisp appeared in nearly 100 silent films.  His most famous role was playing General Grant in 1915’s Birth Of A Nation.

6. Donald Crisp won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for 1941’s How Green Was My Valley.

7. Donald Crisp was married three times…..he did not have any children.

8. Donald Crisp appeared in three Best Picture Academy Award® winners: 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty, 1937’s The Life of Emile Zola and 1941’s How Green Was My Valley.

9.  Donald Crisp became a highly valued adviser whose clear-headed forward thinking proved invaluable to the Bank of America….this included being the chairman of the company.

10. Check out Donald Crisp’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Some Donald Crisp Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses

Check out Steve’s Donald Crisp YouTube Video

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

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25 thoughts on “Donald Crisp Movies”

  2. Added Steve’s Donald Crisp YouTube Video to our Donald Crisp page. Our thoughts found on his channel are found below.

    “Catch up time at Top Ten Charts. Good ole Donald Crisp. Good video. Good subject. Good posters. Good Steve. Let’s see…. I have seen 16 of the Top 40 listed here and an additional 3 Crisp movies not in your video. Favorites would include: #11 National Velvet….he is really good as the dad. #4 The Sea Hawk…great adventure movie and #3 Mutiny on the Bounty….the best version of that story. Not a huge fan of his #1 movie…How Green Is My Valley…..he is good in the movie…heck he won the Oscar for it…..but the movie is slow and not too exciting. voted up and shared.”

    Reply

    1. Hi Bruce, I’ve done all the major Hollywood stars and so I’ve turned to the great supporting actors and lesser known leading men, your index page has come in useful. 😉

      Your tally 16 of the 40 on the video, I’ve seen 16 too, Flora ahead with 29.

      Thanks for the vote, share and comment, it is appreciated.

      Reply

  3. The 10 movies that I most remember seeing Donald in are Wuthering Heights/Elizabeth and Essex/Brother Orchid/The Sea Hawk/How Green was My Valley/Ramrod/Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde/Whispering Smith/The Man from Laramie/and Saddle the Wind opposite The Cowboy of the Century. Best STILLS in Steve’s video.
    1/Gay Sisters
    2/Juarez
    3/Oklahoma Kid
    4/two for Jekyll and Hyde
    5/Long Grey Line
    6/Liz and Essex
    7/Lassie Come Home
    8/Valley of Decision
    9/City for Conquest
    10/Dawn Patrol
    11/Charge of the Light Brigade
    12/National Velvet
    13/The Uninvited
    14/The Navigator
    15/The Black Pirate
    16/Broken Blossoms
    17/two for The Sea Hawk
    18/Mutiny on the Bounty
    19/Wuthering Heights
    20/How Green was My Valley***
    21/Red Dust

    ***In the TV sitcom Frasier he toured the video libraries trying to find a copy of How Green was My Valley to rent.

    Reply

    1. Donald Crisp’s movie career was massive in terms of longevity [years active 1908-1963] AND output. He acted in droves of silent movie and talkies and Wikipedia lists 23 silent movies that he DIRECTED between 1914 and 1928 and one talkie that he directed in 1930: The Runaway Bride starring Mary Astor which was a “pre-code” movie; which means that they were allowed to be seen doing naughty things that could only be implied in for example the later relatively tame Al Leach screwball comedies which audiences were nevertheless encouraged to think were daring!

      BEST posters IN STEVE’s VIDEO [Overall 98% satisfaction rating]
      1/two for Son of Lassie
      2/two for The Viking
      3/Whispering Smith
      4/Don Q
      5/1st one for Saddle the Wind
      6/2nd one for The Oklahoma Kid
      7/Liz and Essex
      8/1st one for Dawn Patrol
      9/Emile Zola
      10/the set for Charge of the Light Brigade
      11/National Velvet
      12/Uninvited
      13/1st one for Jezebel
      14/The Black Pirate
      15/Broken Blossoms
      16/two for Birth of a Nation
      17/Wuthering Heights
      18/A Woman Rebels
      19/The Old Maid
      20/The Man From Laramie

      Reply

      1. Hi Bob, thanks for reviewing my Crispy Donald video, the generous rating and info is appreciated. Glad you liked the poster gallery.

        I watched How Green Was My Valley for the first time recently, it was okay, not sure I’d want to see it again in a hurry though. I didn’t notice any green valley’s though, I tried turning the colour up.

        Yep our Donald was a director too, directed Fairbanks in ‘Don Q Son of Zorro’ amongst others. And Crisp played General Ulysses S. Grant in ‘The Birth of a Nation’, over a hundred years ago!

        Ten of Crisp’s films scored 10 out of 10 from my sources, they are –

        How Green Was My Valley
        Wuthering Heights
        Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
        The Sea Hawk (1940)
        The Birth of a Nation
        National Velvet
        The Uninvited
        Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
        The Life of Emile Zola
        Lassie Come Home

        According to IMDB trivia Crisp has appeared in thirteen films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant –
        The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), The Black Pirate (1926), Red Dust (1932), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), Jezebel (1938), Wuthering Heights (1939), Knute Rockne All American (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Lassie Come Home (1943) and National Velvet (1944).
        He has also directed one film that is in the registry: The Navigator (1924).

        I’m surprised Knute Rockne All American was selected for the National Film Registry and Mutiny on the Bounty wasn’t. It’s not as highly rated as Mutiny, was it more significant?

        Reply

        1. HI STEVE

          Thanks for the interesting response and all of the extra information you have provided.

          I agree with you that How Green was my Valley being in my view “dry goods” is not one for too much repeat viewing. I saw it just once and would not have been too receptive anyway as it was on the day that I lost my job in the Belfast shipyard though that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I went on to “better things” as the saying goes.

          Keep safe – you masked devil!

          Reply

  4. Hi Bruce,

    I’m surprised to discover that I’ve seen 13 movies of this impressive list (81 movies !). I would have thought much less lol. Another great job, Bruce.

    Reply

    1. Hey Laurent….13 is pretty impressive. Crisp was a very busy man….seems he led a full life. He is one of my favorite character actors of all-time. Thanks for the tally count and the visit…both are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

  5. Hi

    Another great character actor. In so many films and he always made his mark like Jezebel or The Old Maid. But I think his two best films were How Green Was My Valley and National Velvet.
    It’s amazing that some of these characters were a lot more interesting and entertaining than the stars.

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris….in my Hall of Fame of supporting performers…Mr. Crisp is a charter member….so much movie history in his life. How Green Was My Valley and National Velvet are classics. Taylor’s mom won the Oscar for that movie….but I feel Mr. Crisp is also equally impressive. He made every movie he appeared in…even better. Thanks for the comment.

      Reply

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