Edward Arnold Movies

Want to know the best Edward Arnold movies?  How about the worst Edward Arnold movies?  Curious about Edward Arnold box office grosses or which Edward Arnold movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Edward Arnold 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.

Edward Arnold (1890-1956) was an American actor.  Arnold was one of the best supporting actors working for 60 years.  Some how, he never received a single Oscar® nomination.   His IMDb page shows 148 acting credits from 1916 to 1956. This page will rank Edward Arnold movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings. Sadly we were unable to find any box office information on any of his silent movies.

Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Edward Arnold in 1938’s You Can’t Take It with You

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

Edward Arnold and Mae West in 1933’s I’m No Angel

Edward Arnold 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 Edward Arnold movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Edward Arnold movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Edward Arnold movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Edward Arnold 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 Edward Arnold movie received.
  • Sort Edward Arnold movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Cary Grant, Frances Farmer and Edward Arnold in 1937’s The Toast of New York

Best IMDb trivia on Edward Arnold

  1. Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider was born in New York City in 1890.

2.  Edward Arnold made his first stage appearance at the age of 12 as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. Arnold made his professional stage debut in 1907. He found work as an extra for Essanay Studios and World Studios, before landing his first significant role in 1916’s The Misleading Lady. In 1919, he left film for a return to the stage, and did not appear again in movies until he made his talkie debut in Okay America! (1932).

3.  Edward Arnold was labeled “box office poison” in 1938 by an exhibitor publication (he shared this dubious distinction with Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn)

4. Edward Arnold was a lifelong conservative Republican and staunch anti-Communist, he was nonetheless an early and ardent opponent of the studio blacklisting of suspected Communists.

5. Edward Arnold was  one of the first actors to seriously consider running for public office.  Arnold ran for Los Angeles City Alderman in the mid-1940s. He lost, in a close election, and expressed his views afterward that entertainment and politics were incompatible. Of course, he has been proven wrong numerous times since then.

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

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16 thoughts on “Edward Arnold Movies

  1. I enjoyed Edward as the corrupt Washington guy in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and as Daniel Webster in the Devil and Daniel Webster aka All That Money Can Buy. Eddie never made the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. Here is on the list he appeared with.

    48 JOHN CARRADINE Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
    119 DEAN STOCKWELL The Mighty McGurk (1947)
    142 MARC LAWRENCE Johnny Apollo (1940)
    172 MICKEY ROONEY Hide-Out (1934)
    172 MICKEY ROONEY The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
    182 BURGESS MEREDITH Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    193 WILLIAM HOLDEN Dear Ruth (1947)
    193 WILLIAM HOLDEN Dear Wife (1949)
    227 KEENAN WYNN Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
    227 KEENAN WYNN No Leave, No Love (1946)
    227 KEENAN WYNN The Hucksters (1947)
    227 KEENAN WYNN Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
    227 KEENAN WYNN Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
    230 JEFF COREY The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
    241 AKIM TAMIROFF Okay, America! (1932)
    241 AKIM TAMIROFF Sadie McKee (1934)
    241 AKIM TAMIROFF The Barbarian (1933)
    242 AVA GARDNER The Hucksters (1947)
    269 JOHN WAYNE The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
    297 HENRY FONDA Lillian Russell (1940)
    309 ROBERT TAYLOR Johnny Eager (1941)
    309 ROBERT TAYLOR The Crowd Roars (1938)
    467 PAUL FIX The Crowd Roars (1938)
    487 MARCEL DALIO Unholy Partners (1941)
    501 RAY MILLAND Easy Living (1937)
    501 RAY MILLAND The Glass Key (1935)
    605 LIONEL STANDER Meet Nero Wolfe (1936)
    605 LIONEL STANDER Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    605 LIONEL STANDER The Crowd Roars (1938)
    613 BRODERICK CRAWFORD Slightly Honorable (1939)
    656 CAMERON MITCHELL Command Decision (1948)
    656 CAMERON MITCHELL The Hidden Eye (1945)
    656 CAMERON MITCHELL The Mighty McGurk (1947)
    661 ANN DORAN Big Jack (1949)
    661 ANN DORAN Meet John Doe (1941)
    661 ANN DORAN Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    661 ANN DORAN Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
    661 ANN DORAN You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    672 WALTER PIDGEON Command Decision (1948)
    672 WALTER PIDGEON Design for Scandal (1941)
    672 WALTER PIDGEON Mrs. Parkington (1944)
    672 WALTER PIDGEON Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
    687 FRANK SINATRA Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
    691 DUB TAYLOR Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
    691 DUB TAYLOR You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    782 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Unholy Partners (1941)
    784 CESAR ROMERO Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
    784 CESAR ROMERO Diamond Jim (1935)
    801 BETTE DAVIS Three on a Match (1932)
    805 CHARLES LANE Johnny Apollo (1940)
    805 CHARLES LANE Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    805 CHARLES LANE Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
    805 CHARLES LANE The Yellow Cab Man (1950)
    805 CHARLES LANE You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    854 PAT O’BRIEN Slightly Honorable (1939)
    867 PETER LAWFORD Mrs. Parkington (1944)
    867 PETER LAWFORD My Brother Talks to Horses (1947)
    867 PETER LAWFORD Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
    877 LLOYD NOLAN Johnny Apollo (1940)
    909 JAMES STEWART Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
    909 JAMES STEWART You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    970 YVONNE DE CARLO Kismet (1944)
    970 YVONNE DE CARLO Standing Room Only (1944)

    Ed appeared with 41 Oscar winners. Considering he passed away in 1956 I think that’s pretty good.

    BETTE DAVIS Three on a Match (1932)
    CHARLES COBURN Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    CLARK GABLE Command Decision (1948)
    CLARK GABLE Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    CLARK GABLE The Hucksters (1947)
    CLARK GABLE The White Sister (1933)
    DON AMECHE Lillian Russell (1940)
    DONNA REED Eyes in the Night (1942)
    DOROTHY MALONE Janie Gets Married (1946)
    EDMUND GWENN The Earl of Chicago (1940)
    ETHEL BARRYMORE Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
    FRANK SINATRA Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
    GARY COOPER Meet John Doe (1941)
    GARY COOPER Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
    GEORGE ARLISS Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
    GIG YOUNG City That Never Sleeps (1953)
    GINGER ROGERS Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
    GREER GARSON Mrs. Parkington (1944)
    HATTIE MCDANIEL I’M NO ANGEL (1933)
    HATTIE MCDANIEL JANIE (1944)
    HATTIE MCDANIEL JANIE GETS MARRIED (1946)
    HELEN HAYES The White Sister (1933)
    HENRY FONDA Lillian Russell (1940)
    HUMPHREY BOGART Three on a Match (1932)
    JAMES STEWART Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
    JAMES STEWART You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    JANE DARWELL All That Money Can Buy (1941)
    JANE DARWELL Jennie Gerhardt (1933)
    JANE DARWELL Roman Scandals (1933)
    JANE DARWELL Three Wise Fools (1946)
    JANE WYMAN The Crowd Roars (1938)
    JOAN CRAWFORD Sadie McKee (1934)
    JOHN WAYNE The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
    JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT IDIOT’S DELIGHT (1939)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE Let Freedom Ring (1939)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Penalty (1941)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE Three Wise Fools (1946)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE You Can’t Take It with You (1938)
    LORETTA YOUNG The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
    LORETTA YOUNG The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
    MARY ASTOR Jennie Gerhardt (1933)
    NORMA SHEARER He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
    NORMA SHEARER Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND The Ambassador’s Daughter (1956)
    PATRICIA NEAL John Loves Mary (1949)
    PAUL LUKAS Secret of the Blue Room (1933)
    PAUL MUNI I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
    RAY MILLAND Easy Living (1937)
    RAY MILLAND The Glass Key (1935)
    RONALD COLMAN Kismet (1944)
    THOMAS MITCHELL MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
    THOMAS MITCHELL THREE WISE FOOLS (1946)
    VAN HEFLIN Johnny Eager (1941)
    VICTOR MCLAGLEN Let Freedom Ring (1939)
    WALLACE BEERY Big Jack (1949)
    WALLACE BEERY The Mighty McGurk (1947)
    WALTER BRENNAN Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)
    WALTER BRENNAN Come and Get It (1936)
    WALTER BRENNAN Meet John Doe (1941)
    WALTER HUSTON All That Money Can Buy (1941)
    WILLIAM HOLDEN Dear Ruth (1947)
    WILLIAM HOLDEN Dear Wife (1949)

    1. Hey Dan….thanks for these lists of trivia nuggets. I imagine in 1956, if the Oracle list was around….Edward Arnold would have a spot in the Top 1000 for sure, and possible the Top 100. I would bet Walter Brennan would be in the Top 10.

      Looking at the first list….Keenan Wynn, Ann Doran and Charles Lane leading the way with 5 movies. The list is lacking a ton of star power….granted the list does include Fonda, Davis and others.

      Looking at the second list…..you are 100% correct….41 Oscar winning co-stars is pretty impressive for somebody he passed away in 1956. Great information as always.

  2. Gunther Schneider? 80 films… and more at IMDB, he was a busy actor.

    I’ve seen 9 of the 80 films on the chart, ooh, not good. Favorites are – The Devil and Daniel Webster, Annie Get Your Gun, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, You Can’t Take it With You, Take Me Out to the Ball Game and Ziegfeld Follies.

    Good stuff. Vote Up!

    1. Hey Steve. Gunther was a busy actor for sure. His entire silent movie career was given the cold shoulder by UMR. Tally count…Flora 33, Cogerson 13 and you 9. I figured your count would be much higher. I have seen 4 of your favorites….I would say Ziegfeld Follies is my favorite of that group….if only for the Astaire/Kelly dance…and this is coming from a non-musical fan. Good stuff as always.

  3. I have seen 33 Edward Arnold movies, including 9 of the top 10 and 16 of the top 20.

    The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

    The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Dear Ruth.

    The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Biography of a Bachelor Girl.

    Favourite Edward Arnold Movies:

    You Can’t Take it With You
    Annie Get Your Gun
    The Hucksters
    I’m No Angel
    Johnny Eager
    Mrs. Parkington
    Ziegfeld Follies
    Command Decision
    Take Me Out to the Ball Game
    Kismet
    Easy Living
    The Devil and Daniel Webster
    Rasputin and the Empress
    Hide-Out
    Three on a Match
    Eyes in the Night – plays a blind detective
    Design For Scandal
    City That Never Sleeps
    Come and Get It
    The Earl of Chicago

    Other Edward Arnold Movies I Have Seen:

    Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
    Meet John Doe
    Week-end at the Waldorf (Grand Hotel remake)
    No Leave No Love
    The Crowd Roars
    Three Daring Daughters
    Idiot’s Delight
    The War Against Mrs. Hadley
    Remember Last Night?
    The Youngest Profession
    Crime and Punishment
    The Ambassador’s Daughter
    Biography of a Bachelor Girl

    1. Hey Flora…as always….thanks for the thoughts. Edward Arnold was one of the busiest character actors working during your “favorite” era of movies to watch. Your tally count has me topped by 20….as I have only seen 13. Looking at your favorite Edward Arnold movies…..I have 9 of them. I’m No Angel was the reason he got an UMR page…for Christmas I got a 5 pack of Mae West movies….and I of course re-watched one of the Cary Grant/West movies first…I’m No Angel. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is not on your favorites list? That is surprising….though it is not a movie I re-watch very often. Good stuff as always.

  4. Lee J still highlighted in the trivia section as I write?

    Edward’s career began with 42 silent movies between 1916 and 1920 and then it seems there was a lull before he appeared on the screen again in 1932 when the talkies had arrived.

    Superficially at least, it looked as if Edward might be going places in those early talkie years. In 1935 for example he had the title role of Diamond Jim; in 1936 he was the star of and billed above Joel McCrea in Come and Get It; and then back to back in 1937 he (1) shared star billing above the title with Jean Arthur in Easy Living (2) was top star and billed above Al Leach in The Toast of New York (3) and had the top billed lead again in Blossoms of Broadway.

    However it seems that [like that of maybe Brodie Crawford] Edward’s at times overbearing persona whilst suitable for certain roles was not sufficient to make him a very top star overall; and certainly it goes without saying that in the long run his career as a star bears no comparison with the Great Archie’s. Indeed as Bruce mentions above Edward was labelled “box office poison” in 1938 and all but gave up the leading roles -and battling his weight! – in favour of character acting.

    However Arnold was nonetheless a reasonably important sometimes lead and often strong supporting actor in the first two decades of the talkies and any self-respecting movie buff should find his career interesting, so a Cogerson page on him is welcome to me. See also Part 2.

    1. Further to my comments in Part One, in 1954 Edward Arnold was in a television production of 12 Angry Men in which he took the bigot-supreme role of Juror No 10 later played by Ed Begley in Fonda’s 1957 classic. Arnold was in good company in that TV production because (1) Robert Cummings undertook the Fonda role of Juror No 8; Franchot Tone was in the Lee J Cobb part of Juror No 3; and 70 year old Joseph Sweeny was the elderly Juror No 9, a part which Joseph aged 73 reprised in Hank Fonda’s film.

      Whilst I have never seen Edward’s Juror No 10 performance I have little doubt that the No 10 role was highly suitable for the capacity that Edward had for blustering and bullying. I used to confuse Edward Arnold the actor with Eddy Arnold [1918-2008] the country and western singer!

      “Voted Up!” and by the way-

      “It’s very nice to go trav’ling
      To Alabama , London and Rome
      It’s oh, so nice to go trav’ling
      But it’s so much nicer
      Yes, it’s so much nicer to come home.”

      1. Hey Bob. Hmmm….sounds like tracking down that television performance would be worth the effort. I would have pegged him for Juror #10……as I could easily see Arnold in the role Lee J. Cobb played in the movie. Final thought on Edward Arnold…..I think John Goodman is the modern day Edward Arnold……both big burly men…..who excel at playing the friendly helpful men….but equaling menacing when they play men violent men. Good stuff. Today is the wedding and then the return home starts.

        1. Snap! All great minds thin alike! I too thought Edward looked like Lionel. Hurrah – we’ve found something we can agree on!!

        2. HI BRUCE:

          Good Arnold/Goodman comparison.

          I actually saw a 1997 television movie version of 12 Angry Men with Jack Lemmon and George C Scott. However I didn’t like it largely because Jack and George C were getting on and were 72 and 70 respectively and I thought their timing was off and that the movie lacked the dramatic dynamism of the Fonda classic.

          However IMDB gives it a high 79% rating [as opposed to Fonda’s even higher 89% one] so it shows you what I know!

          In the 1997 version Lemmon of course played the Fonda role of No 8 and George C was in the Lee J part of No 3. The twist was that the earlier Edward Arnold 1954 and Ed Begley 1957 role of the bigot [No 10] was acted by an African American – Mykelti Williamson, Bubba Blue in Hanks’ Forrest Gump.

          1. Hey Bob….thanks for the mini-review of the 1997 version of 12 Angry Men……I have only seen the classic Fonda version of that story….maybe I should see more. Good stuff.

    2. Hey Bob. Thanks for the catch on Lee J. Cobb. One of the issues of writing 9 pages in one day….is the speed required to do that, usually ends up creating lots of errors. In this case, I forgot to find 5 interesting facts on Edward Arnold.

      His silent movie career was mostly shorts….but I sadly could not find any box office on his full length silent movies…so those are not listed. Good comparison to Brodrick Crawford. His peak was indeed the mid 1930s you mentioned. I think the “box office poison” label he picked him up sent him to supporting roles…unless it was a low budget movie.

      I agree with you…”any self-respecting movie buff should find his career interesting”….he appeared in many great movies…..some he was pretty vital too. When collecting photos of Edward Arnold…I was struck by how much he looked like his frequent co-star Lionel Barrymore. On to part 2.

    1. Hey Carl….I was taking a short cut…..so you saw the page when it was posted….but not yet finished. Edward Arnold’s 80 movies are now on the page. Sorry for the confusion….but thanks for the catch.

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