Ginger Rogers Movies

The AFI listed Ginger Rogers as the 14th Greatest Screen Legend Actress
The AFI listed Ginger Rogers as the 14th Greatest Screen Legend Actress

Want to know the best Ginger Rogers movies?  How about the worst Ginger Rogers movies?  Curious about Ginger Rogers’s box office grosses or which Ginger Rogers movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Ginger Rogers movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information and much more.

Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) was an Oscar® winning American actress, singer and dancer.  On American Film Institute’s Top 50 Screen Legends list, Rogers was ranked as the 14th best actress.  Right behind #13 Grace Kelly and right before #15 Mae West.  She appeared in movies from 1929 to 1965.   Rogers appeared opposite Fred Astaire in 10 movies.  Those movies revolutionized the musical genre. She also achieved great success on her own in a variety of film roles and won a Best Actress Oscar® for 1940’s Kitty Foyle.

Her IMDb page shows 92 acting credits from 1929-1987. This page will rank Ginger Rogers movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Television appearances, shorts, documentaries and many of her B movies from 1929-1933 were not included in the rankings.

It is hard not to think of Fred Astaire when you hear the name Ginger Rogers. They made 10 movies together.
It is hard not to think of Fred Astaire when you hear the name Ginger Rogers. They made 10 movies together.

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

Ginger Rogers 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 Ginger Rogers movies by co-stars of her movies
  • Sort Ginger Rogers movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Ginger Rogers movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Ginger Rogers 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 Ginger Rogers movie received.
  • Sort Ginger Rogers movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
  • Use the sort and search buttons to make this table very interactive.  For example…if you type in “Fred Astaire” in the search box….the 10 Rogers/Astaire movies will pop right up.
  • * Sadly Worldwide box office is not available for all of the Ginger Rogers’ movies ranked but we have added the ones we do have at the bottom of the page
Ginger Rogers in 1940's Kitty Foyle.
Ginger Rogers in 1940’s Kitty Foyle.

Possibly Interesting Facts About Ginger Rogers

1. Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri.  She became “Ginger” when a relative had a hard time saying Virginia.  She became “Rogers” when her mother remarried and became a Rogers.

2. Ginger Rogers’ road to stardom Cliff Notes style….She entered and won a Charleston dance contest which allowed her to tour and dance for six months.  When the tour got to New York City, she stayed, getting radio singing jobs and then her Broadway theater debut in a musical called 1929’s Top Speed.  Rogers was then chosen to star George and Ira Gershwin’s Girl Crazy. Her appearance in Girl Crazy made her an overnight star at the age of 19.  This lead to a 7 year movie contract with Paramount.   She appeared with Fred Astaire in supporting roles in 1933’s Flying Down To Rio.  Their dance scenes were the highlight of the movie…and was beginning of one of the greatest screen teams in the history of movies.

3.  Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire starred in 10 movies together.  During those 10 movies they had 33 partnered dance sequences.  Some of their more famous dance sequences would be “I’ll Be Hard to Handle” from 1935’s Roberta, “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” from 1936’s Follow The Fleet,   and “Pick Yourself Up” from 1936’s Swing Time and “Cheek to Cheek” from Top Hat.

4. Ginger Rogers was nominated for one Oscar® (Kitty Foyle) and one Golden Globe® (Monkey Business).  She won the Best Actress Oscar® for Kitty Foyle.

5. According to the American Film Institute, Ginger Rogers is the 14th greatest female star of all-time.

6. Ginger Rogers was married five times in her life.  Sadly all five of her marriages ended in divorce.  She did not have any children.

7. Roles Ginger Rogers turned down or was seriously considered for:  It’s A Wonderful Life (Donna Reed role), His Girl Friday (Rosalind Russell role), Now, Voyager (Bette Davis role), and The Heiress and To Each His Own (Olivia de Havilland Oscar® winning roles) and Ball of Fire (Barbara Stanwyck role).

8. On our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page…Ginger Rogers’ 15 adjusted $100 million movies is tied in 4th place for most of all actresses that have a UMR page.

9.  Ginger Rogers did many paintings, sculptures and sketches in her free time but could never bring herself to sell any of them.  She was a near-champion tennis player, a topline shot and loved going fishing.

10.  Ginger Rogers was one of the celebrities whose picture Anne Frank placed on the wall of her bedroom in the “Secret Annex” while in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, Holland.

Ginger Rogers Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses

America Film Institutes’ Top 25 Screen Legend Actress and UMR’s Links That Rank All Of Their Movies.

1.  Katharine Hepburn  43 Movies Ranked..On Golden Pond (1981) to Grace Quigley (1985)
2.  Bette Davis 79 Movies Ranked…from All About Eve (1950) to Wicked Stepmother (1989)
3.  Audrey Hepburn 24 Movies Ranked…from My Fair Lady (1964) to The All Laughed (1981)
4.  Ingrid Bergman  32 Movies Ranked..Gaslight(1944) to Files of Mrs. Basil E.Frankweiler(1973)
5.  Greta Garbo 24 Movies Ranked.. from Ninotchka (1939) to Torrent (1928)
6.  Marilyn Monroe 23 Movies Ranked…from Some Like It Hot (1959) to Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
7.  Elizabeth Taylor 47 Movies Ranked..Who’s Afraid of Va.Woolf?(1966) to A Little Night Music(1977)
8.  Judy Garland 31 Movies Ranked…from A Star Is Born (1954) to I Could Go On Singing (1963)
9.  Marlene Dietrich 30 Movies Ranked…from Shanghai Express (1932) to Just A Gigolo (1978)
10. Joan Crawford 72 Movies Ranked…from Mildred Pierce (1945) to The Law of the Range (1928)
11. Barbara Stanwyck 72 Movies Ranked.. Double Indemnity (1944) to The Bride Walks Out (1936)
12. Claudette Colbert 48 Movies Ranked..It Happened One Night(1934) to Royal Affairs(1954)
13. Grace Kelly 11 Movies Ranked.. from The Country Girl (1954) to Green Fire (1954)
14. Ginger Rogers 54 Movies Ranked.. from Kitty Foyle (1940) to The Groom Wore Spurs (1951)
15. Mae West 12 Movies Ranked.. from She Done Him Wrong (1933) to Sextette (1978)
16. Vivien Leigh 15 Movies Ranked.. from Gone With The Wind (1939) to Dark Journey (1937)
17. Lillian Gish 31 Movies Ranked.. from Intolerance (1916) to Hambone and Hillie (1983)
18. Shirley Temple 37 Movies Ranked.. from Since You Went Away (1944) to Honeymoon (1947)
19. Rita Hayworth 35 Movies Ranked.. from Gilda (1946) to The Naked Zoo (1970)
20. Lauren Bacall 36 Movies Ranked.. from To Have and Have Not (1944) to Diamonds (1999)
21. Sophia Loren 29 Movies Ranked.. from El Cid (1961) to Firepower (1979)
22. Jean Harlow 22 Movies Ranked.. from The Public Enemy (1931) to Riffraff (1936)
23. Carole Lombard 39 Movies Ranked from My Man Godfrey (1936) to It Pays To Advertise(1931)
24. Mary Pickford 31 Movies Ranked.. from The Little Princess (1917) to Rosita (1923)
25. Ava Gardner 40 Movies Ranked.. from The Killers (1946) to City on Fire (1979)
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.  Golden Globes® are the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.
(Visited 26,289 times)

95 thoughts on “Ginger Rogers Movies”

  1. Hi Bruce
    Are you sure about the box office on Harlow? As I remember there were two films named Harlow that year (the other featured Carroll Baker & Red Buttons)
    As always, great work.

    Reply

    1. You know you might be right…..let me check. Yep got the right one. Variety Jan 5th 1966 page 9…shows Harlow directed by Gordon Douglas as 26th biggest hit with box office rentals of 3.00 million. Her Harlow came out in June….the other Harlow came out in May. Granted this assumes that Variety has the right Harlow listed…I am sure the two movies have gotten mixed up lots of times over the years. Thanks for stopping Soren….By the way….starting researching one of your requested pages…Sir Larry Olivier.

      Reply

  2. Hi

    Because of her partnership with Fred Astaire, her talent as a comedian and actress has been a bit underrated. The first film I seen her in without Astaire was Bachelor Mother with David Niven. Although Monkey Business isn’t a great movie, she herself is excellent in it.
    Kitty Foyle, although she won the Oscar, I always felt was overlong and over praised.
    My favourite Ginger and Astaire movie has to be Top Hat and then Barkley’s of Broadway.

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris….I agree with you about the Astaire movies making her underrated. Although her biggest hits came after the first 9 Astaire/Rogers movies.

      As for Monkey Business….that one is not one of my favorites either….but Rogers probably comes out the best in that movie. I have not it in years….but maybe it will be better on a repeat viewing.

      Kitty Foyle is very very dated. I sure back then it was very topical…..but 75 years later….and the world she lived in back then is so long gone….it is almost like watching a science fiction movie…lol..

      Thanks for the input into my latest page.

      Reply

  3. Interesting stats here… as Lead Gingerologist, I’ll probably spend a bit of time ‘breaking these down’… if you don’t mind, could I link your post here on FB? There are quite a few Gingerologists there who would really dig this…chances are it’s already been ‘linked’…but just in case… Thanks!

    and, like we say –
    Keep It Gingery!!!

    VKMfanHuey

    Gingerology Blog

    Reply

    1. That would be greatly appreciated…..sorry I could not find worldwide box office grosses on all of her movies.

      Reply

  4. Hi, there.

    I’m not surprised you are having difficulty getting box office for Mae West.

    I still have The Tight Spot recorded and waiting for me.

    I easily beat both you and Steve even though I have yet to see Kitty Foyle. No reason why, it just hasn’t been on when I’ve been watching TV.

    Weekend at the Waldorf isn’t as good as Grand Hotel, but it was interesting to see the remake.

    Regarding her movies with Fred Astaire, my favourite is Top Hat. The last one I had to see for the first time was The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle which I finally saw last year. One I’ve not cared for is Carefree. I love Swing Time but for the annoying black face scene. Most people did them (Cagney refused) but I try to leave the room or fast forward, but in Swing Time it’s right near the end.

    As I’ve said, I haven’t seen the number 1 film.

    The lowest film I have seen is Perfect Strangers, at 51.

    As for overall totals,

    I have seen 4 of the top 5
    I have seen 7 of the top 10
    I have seen 12 of the top 15
    I have seen 17 of the top 20
    I have seen 21 of the top 25
    I have seen 23 of the top 30
    I have seen 24 films overall.

    Regarding her top 10 films, I wonder if her film with Shirley Temple will be on TCM as part of her star of the month. I haven’t seen that one. I am a Joseph Cotten fan. Other than that, I’m not sure when the ones I haven’t seen will air.

    Of her films with Cary Grant, my favourite is Monkey Business.

    My top 5 Ginger Roger films are:

    Top Hat
    42nd Street
    Gold Diggers of 1933
    Bachelor Mother
    Roberta

    Cheers,

    Flora Breen Robison

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora…..thanks for checking out my latest AFI Top Screen Legend page.
      1. On the good side of things….I only need 5 more Mae West box office totals….the bad news is that represents 41.66% of her movies
      2. I have not seen The Tight Spot….but I have read that it is a good movie….I will be curious to know what you think it about when you see it…..EGR is in it….it has to be good.
      3. Tally count….Flora 24, me 18 and Steve 15. My tally count really went up when I did my Fred Astaire page…..as I had not seen many of the Rogers/Astaire….you and Steve seemed shocked that I had missed so many classic movies….well I went and watched the 9 Rogers/Astaire…that is how I discovered Eric Blore.
      4. Thanks for your mini-reviews of the Rogers/Astaire movies….Top Hat is my favorite as well….I have seen Carefree…but having watched 9 Rogers/Astaire movies in about a month….I have to admit the storylines have become blurred in my memory.
      5. So you have seen 85% of her Top 20 and only 20% of her movies ranked between 21st and 54th….I would say my ranking system seems pretty good.
      6. Kitty Foyle is very very dated now…..but it is one of the few Ginger Rogers movies that picked up a Best Picture Oscar nomination….plus it got her the Oscar….those factors helped it reach the Top Spot in the my rankings.
      7. She actually appeared in two movies with Shirley Temple….I have seen and enjoyed I’ll Be Seeing You….I have not seen Change of Heart….but I think Shirley only has a scene or two in that one.
      8. I love Cary Grant and Howard Hawks….yet for some reason Monkey Business has never been one of my favorites….maybe it is time to revisit that movie.
      9. I have seen 3 of your Top 5…..Gold Diggers of 1933 has landed on my “movies to watch” list.
      10. Thanks again for the stopping by and talking movies.

      Reply

  5. Hello Bruce.
    Nice page on Ginger Rogers. It’s good to see another page devoted to a Hollywood Golden era actress. Thanks, Bruce.

    Reply

    1. Hey Lyle….thanks for checking out my latest Hollywood Golden era actress….that is now 15 of the 25 AFI actresses done…and 22 of the 25 AFI actors done…74% done….the last ones will be hard to find box office information on….but I will get them done!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.