Want to know the best George Brent movies? How about the worst George Brent movies? Curious about George Brent box office grosses or which George Brent movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which George Brent 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.
George Brent (1904-1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. Brent was one of the busiest actors working in movies in the 1930s and 1940s. His IMDb page shows 105 acting credits between 1924 and 1978. This page will rank George Brent movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles, and movies that we unable to find box office grosses on were not included in the rankings. This page comes from a request by UMR Hall of Famer Flora.
George Brent Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
George Brent 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 any way you want.
- Sort George Brent movies by his co-stars
- Sort George Brent movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort George Brent movies by domestic yearly box office rank
- Sort George Brent 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 George Brent movie received.
- Sort George Brent 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 George Brent
1. George Patrick Nolan was born in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland in 1904.
2. George Brent fled Ireland with a bounty set on his head by the British government, although he later claimed only to have been a courier for guerrilla leader and tactician Michael Collins.
3. George Brent and Bette Davis starred in eleven feature films together: So Big! (1932), The Rich Are Always with Us (1932), Housewife (1934), Front Page Woman (1935), Special Agent (1935), The Golden Arrow (1936), Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), The Great Lie (1941) and In This Our Life (1942).
4. George Brent was a licensed pilot. You can see him landing an airplane in The Great Lie (1941).
5. Warner Bros. tested George Brent for the title role in Captain Blood (1935) after Robert Donat turned it down. Despite his reliable tenure at the studio, he was better known as a ladies’ man in tearjerkers than a swashbuckler, so newcomer Errol Flynn got the part. It made him an instant star.
Check out George Brent’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Added bonus – George Brent Worldwide Grosses On Some Of His Movies
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Emmy®, Tony® and Golden Globe® have also registered trademarks.
For those that love billing, George Brent was 4th billed in the 1931 serial, The Lightning Warrior. Top billed was Rin-Tin-Tin, the dog star.
George was never top billed in a # 1 film. His ex-wife Ruth Chatterton was top billed in 6 # 1 movies and another ex-wife Ann Sheridan was top billed in 2. Just found a few episodes of Anne’s TV series Pistols and Petticoats lying around the house on a collection.
George is top billed in 1948’s The Kid From Cleveland. He’s billed higher than baseball hall of famers Bill Veeck (as an owner), Lou Boudreau (manager and MVP that year), Tris Speaker (now a coach), Hank Greenberg (now general manager), Bob Feller, Satchel Paige, Bob Lemon, Joe Gordon and Larry Doby. Since it’s about the Indians beating the Braves in the series, Warren Spahn, another hall of famer is featured in archive footage along with Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn. Also featured is Bill McKechnie a coach with the Indians and also a hall of famer. He is one of only 2 managers to manage 3 teams to the world series. He won the world championship managing the 1925 Pirates and the 1940 Reds. He won the pennant with the 1928 Cardinals too.
George was never on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000. Matter of fact there are only 13 people on the current list he has appeared with including Bette Davis who he appeared with 11 times.
102 ORSON WELLES Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
126 HENRY FONDA Jezebel (1938)
154 MARC LAWRENCE The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940)
266 PETER CUSHING They Dare Not Love (1941)
344 JOHN WAYNE Baby Face (1933)
368 CESAR ROMERO FBI Girl (1951)
372 LLOYD BRIDGES Red Canyon (1949)
372 LLOYD BRIDGES They Dare Not Love (1941)
406 LIONEL STANDER More Than a Secretary (1936)
597 PAUL FIX Living on Velvet (1935)
628 GEORGE SANDERS Death of a Scoundrel (1956)
784 BETTE DAVIS Dark Victory (1939)
784 BETTE DAVIS Front Page Woman (1935)
784 BETTE DAVIS Housewife (1934)
784 BETTE DAVIS In This Our Life (1942)
784 BETTE DAVIS Jezebel (1938)
784 BETTE DAVIS So Big! (1932)
784 BETTE DAVIS Special Agent (1935)
784 BETTE DAVIS The Golden Arrow (1936)
784 BETTE DAVIS The Great Lie (1941)
784 BETTE DAVIS The Old Maid (1939)
784 BETTE DAVIS The Rich Are Always with Us (1932)
805 KEYE LUKE The Painted Veil (1934)
837 BRODERICK CRAWFORD Slave Girl (1947)
He did appear with 25 Oscar winners.
BETTE DAVIS Dark Victory (1939)
BETTE DAVIS Front Page Woman (1935)
BETTE DAVIS Housewife (1934)
BETTE DAVIS In This Our Life (1942)
BETTE DAVIS Jezebel (1938)
BETTE DAVIS So Big! (1932)
BETTE DAVIS Special Agent (1935)
BETTE DAVIS The Golden Arrow (1936)
BETTE DAVIS The Great Lie (1941)
BETTE DAVIS The Old Maid (1939)
BETTE DAVIS The Rich Are Always with Us (1932)
BRODERICK CRAWFORD Slave Girl (1947)
CHARLES COBURN In This Our Life (1942)
CLAUDETTE COLBERT Bride for Sale (1949)
CLAUDETTE COLBERT Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
DONALD CRISP JEZEBEL (1938)
DONALD CRISP THE GAY SISTERS (1942)
DONALD CRISP THE OLD MAID (1939)
ETHEL BARRYMORE The Spiral Staircase (1945)
FAY BAINTER JEZEBEL (1938)
GEORGE SANDERS Death of a Scoundrel (1956)
GIG YOUNG The Gay Sisters (1942)
GINGER ROGERS 42nd Street (1933)
GINGER ROGERS In Person (1935)
HATTIE MCDANIEL IN THIS OUR LIFE (1942)
HATTIE MCDANIEL THE GREAT LIE (1941)
HENRY FONDA Jezebel (1938)
HUMPHREY BOGART Dark Victory (1939)
HUMPHREY BOGART Racket Busters (1938)
JAMES CAGNEY The Fighting 69th (1940)
JANE DARWELL Desirable (1934)
JANE DARWELL Red Canyon (1949)
JANE DARWELL The Rains Came (1939)
JANE WYMAN Honeymoon for Three (1941)
JOAN FONTAINE The Affairs of Susan (1945)
JOHN WAYNE Baby Face (1933)
JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT THE RAINS CAME (1939)
LORETTA YOUNG They Call It Sin (1932)
LORETTA YOUNG Week-end Marriage (1932)
MARY ASTOR The Great Lie (1941)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND Gold Is Where You Find It (1938)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND In This Our Life (1942)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND Wings of the Navy (1939)
PAUL LUKAS Experiment Perilous (1944)
PAUL LUKAS Temptation (1946)
PAUL LUKAS They Dare Not Love (1941)
WALTER BRENNAN Baby Face (1933)
WALTER BRENNAN Lilly Turner (1933)
WALTER BRENNAN Miss Pinkerton (1932)
WALTER BRENNAN The Painted Veil (1934)
WALTER HUSTON In This Our Life (1942)
WARNER BAXTER 42nd Street (1933)
Hey Dan. Thanks for all the information on George Brent’s billing. I did not realize he was married to those thespians. I knew about his 2 year fling with Bette Davis. Sounds like he only got top billing at the end of his career when the movies were C movies. I have heard of all of the baseball players you mentioned with the exception of Bill McKechnie.
There might not be many names on the two lists….but there are plenty of legends on those lists: Wayne, Davis, De Havilland, Welles, Fonda and others. Good information as always.
When teamed with any of the mega female stars of those days George would be listed 2nd or lower: to Garbo in Painted Veil; Davis in Special Agent and Jezebel and their other films together; Stanwyck in The Gay Sisters; Colbert in Tomorrow is Forever; and -goodness gracious! – even to The Thin Woman in Stamboul Quest and The Rains Came.
I always felt that whilst the Gable-type moustache made both Brent and James Craig look more “manly” and in Brent’s case it was well suited to his role in for example the sinister Spiral Staircase the moustache extensively hid their especially fine features. Indeed Joan Crawford once said that to truly appreciate how handsome even Gable was you had to see him without the moustache; and I feel that the montage of Brent/Craig photos on IMDB illustrates the accuracy of what I am saying about George and James in that resoect.
However not everybody could be Clark Gable or else being Gable would have been meaningless [one might as well be Joel Hirschhorn] and George Brent in his own niche was a big part of the Hollywood history of the early talkie decades as the leading man/second fiddle/ “3rd wheel” roles in which he specialised were greatly in demand in those days and his special success in those roles is what distinguishes George from other ‘Gable look-alikes’ such as James Craig.
This new page is therefore “Voted Up!” and I am glad Flora pressed the Work Horse to provide it. Left to his own devices he most likely would never have thought of it: HE probably has never been able to get past Clark Gable – or James Craig! Nevertheless no matter how it came about this new page is as with most of WH’s stuff comprehensive and informative. I had not realised that Brent was IRISH American until WH revealed it – there are a lot of good-looking boys over here !!
Hey Bob. Good information on his billing throughout his career. I like you liked him in The Spiral Staircase. He is also very good in The Great Lie. Glad UMR was able to alert to his hertiage. I like his connection to Michael Collins…..that is a good trivia tidbit for sure. I admit…George Brent was not on my radar to do a page on. The last 4 months have been crazy…but I have cranked out lots of pages. Tomorrow at 11:00 AM….my last faculty meeting of the school year ends…and then it is summer break…one of the great benefits of being a teacher. Granted…WoC has some major house projects that we start this weekend….starting with rebuilding our back fence….oh the fun. Thanks for some great feedback.
“Oh, give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through that wide open country that I love
Don’t fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin? breeze
An’ listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don?t fence me in.”
Sung by Frankie Laine
Hey Bob…nice song lyrics for Frankie Laine.
My own fave George Brent performance is in The Spiral Staircase followed by Virginia Belle with Jane Russell in the title role; and I last saw him in an uncredited role as a guest at a party in George Sanders’ 1956 Death of a Scoundrel which was Georges’ penultimate film. In effect it ended James’s big screen movie career as the one more cinematic movie he made after that was nearly a quarter of a century later: 1978’s Born Again [about the Watergate Scandal] in which George had a 6th billed supporting role as a judge with Dean Jones as Nixon’s disgraced special adviser Charles “Chuck” Colson.
[In real life the press nicknamed Colson “The Grandmother Stomper” because Chuck said that he would “stomp all over my own grandmother” if President Nixon asked him to!]
George complete with moustache always struck me as being of the Clark Gable school; and in that respect I used to confuse Brent with James Craig [Our Vines Have Tender Grapes/Drums in the Deep South/ and especially While the City Sleeps with Dana Andrews].
However Gable never had to take 2nd billing again after GWTW and his name went above the great divas of his time such as the likes of Lana Turner/Jane Russell/Susan Hayward/Doris Day and Monroe; whereas George Brent would be billed first only when paired with lesser actresses such as Jane Powell in Luxury Liner and Marguerite Chapman in The Last Page. Continued in Part 2
Hey Bob….good breakdown on George Brent’s career. I think you would be able to add John Carroll to the list of Brent and Craig….as they all seemed to be copying Gable to one degree or another. Even more interesting…each has a last name that could be a first name. Carroll’s voice sounds just like Gable’s. Brent actually made two movies called Luxury Liner…the early 1930s one did not make the table. Good part 1.
HI BIG GUY:
I totally agree with you about John Carroll being a member of the “Gable look-alike” club so well-remembered on your part. John is in fact one of the first actors that I remerber seeing when I started watching moviees in the 1950s. I saw him in 3 movies in succession: Belle Le Grand; The Farmer Takes a Wife; and Randy Scott’s Decision at Sundown. Good observation about the 3 surnames.
Hey Bob…..glad we agree. Interesting that you saw Belle Le Grand; The Farmer Takes a Wife; and Randy Scott’s Decision at Sundown in succession. I was recently watching Orson Welles’ long delayed The Other Side Of The Wind, and everytime one of the characters talked I thought it sounded like Gable. Turns out it was one of John Carroll’s last roles. Good stuff.
Great UMR page
Mike
Thank you Mike.
Thank you for doing this requested page on George Brent for me. He was Bette Davis’s favourite leading man.
I have seen 45 George Brent movies, including the top 10.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Jezebel.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is The Affairs of Susan
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is The Purchase Price.
Favourite George Brent movies:
42nd Street
Jezebel
Baby Face
Dark Victory
The Spiral Staircase
The Rains Came
My Reputation
The Great Lie
In This Our Life
The Fighting 69th
Experiment Perilous
Front Page Woman
Luxury Liner (remake)
So Big
The Painted Veil
The Gay Sisters
Death of a Scoundrel
Secret Agent
More Than a Secretary
Snowed Under
Tomorrow is Forever
Other George Brent Movies I have seen:
The Old Maid
The Purchase Price
Female
Lilly Turner
The Rich are Always With Us
Golden Arrow
Living on Velvet
Housewife
The Keyhole
Racket Busters
Stamboul Quest
Gold Is Where You Find It
Submarine D-1
The Crash
Wings of the Navy
Honeymoon For Three
From Headquarters
The Goose and the Gander
Mountain Justice
Secrets of an Actress
Montana Belle
You Can’t Escape Forever
Desirable
Till We Meet Again
I had help from my letterboxd account to confirm some of the lower ranked films I have seen
Hey Flora….I was laying in bed last night…when I remembered that I needed to do the George Brent page….so I got up and completed the page….so it got released on the same day as your interview. Tally count: 45 for you …and a low total of 8 for me. I have seen the first six you listed…so maybe I watched the right ones. I am glad you are able to use Letterboxd as a reference….told you it was an awesome website. Good stuff as always.