Want to know the best James Dunn movies? How about the worst James Dunn movies? Curious about James Dunn box office grosses or which James Dunn movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which James Dunn 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.
James Dunn (1901-1967) was an Oscar®-winning American actor. Dunn’s screen debut in 1931’s Bad Girl made him an overnight box-office star. In 1934, he co-starred with Shirley Temple in her first three films. In 1935, at the height of his popularity, he broke his studio contract two years before it expired and became a free agent. That was not a good decision as he spent most of the remaining part of his career in B movies. His IMDb page shows 105 acting credits from 1929 to 1968. This page will rank James Dunn movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, many of his B movies were not included in the rankings. This page comes from a request by MikeHoF2020.
James Dunn Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews, and awards.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1945
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
AA Best Supp Actor Win
1934
Bright Eyes (1934)
1931
Bad Girl (1931)
AA Best Picture Nom
1947
Killer McCoy (1947)
1943
Government Girl (1943)
1934
Baby Takes a Bow (1934)
1960
The Bramble Bush (1960)
1932
Dance Team (1932)
1931
Over The Hill (1931)
1934
Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
1933
Take A Chance (1933)
1934
Change of Heart (1934)
1933
Sailor's Luck (1933)
1935
George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
1931
Sob Sister (1931)
1932
Handle With Care (1932)
1934
365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)
1935
Welcome Home (1935)
1962
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
1933
Hello Sister! (1933)
1932
Society Girl (1932)
1935
The Payoff (1935)
1946
That Brennan Girl (1946)
1936
Mysterious Crossing (1936)
1933
Arizona to Broadway (1933)
1936
Come Closer Folks (1936)
1933
Hold Me Tight (1933)
1933
The Girl In 419 (1933)
1937
Living On Love (1937)
1966
The Oscar (1966)
1943
The Ghost and the Guest (1943)
James Dunn 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 James Dunn movies by his co-stars
- Sort James Dunn movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort James Dunn movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort James Dunn 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 James Dunn movie received.
- Sort James Dunn movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews, and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Elia Kazan & Joan Blondell |
8.30 | 306.4 | 306.40 | 28 | 86 | 02 / 01 | 98.6 | |
| 2 | Bright Eyes (1934) | Shirley Temple & Jane Darwell |
5.80 | 317.3 | 317.30 | 1 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 95.7 | |
| 3 | Bad Girl (1931) AA Best Picture Nom |
Directed by Frank Borzage | 3.30 | 193.7 | 193.70 | 18 | 62 | 03 / 02 | 95.0 | |
| 4 | Killer McCoy (1947) | Mickey Rooney | 5.90 | 201.0 | 291.40 | 52 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 92.6 | |
| 5 | Government Girl (1943) | Olivia de Havilland & Agnes Moorehead |
5.00 | 206.5 | 242.30 | 61 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 90.5 | |
| 6 | Baby Takes a Bow (1934) | Shirley Temple & Claire Trevor |
2.50 | 134.3 | 134.30 | 33 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 7 | The Bramble Bush (1960) | Richard Burton & Angie Dickinson |
8.60 | 155.3 | 155.30 | 32 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 85.5 | |
| 8 | Dance Team (1932) | Sally Eilers | 2.00 | 105.5 | 105.50 | 38 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 81.2 | |
| 9 | Over The Hill (1931) | Mae Marsh | 1.20 | 73.3 | 73.30 | 121 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 10 | Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) | Shirley Temple & Warner Baxter |
2.00 | 111.1 | 111.10 | 54 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 77.3 | |
| 11 | Take A Chance (1933) | June Knight | 0.90 | 44.3 | 44.30 | 122 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 70.7 | |
| 13 | Change of Heart (1934) | Janet Gaynor & Ginger Rogers |
2.10 | 113.7 | 113.70 | 51 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 68.4 | |
| 12 | Sailor's Luck (1933) | Saly Eilers | 0.90 | 45.7 | 45.70 | 117 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 63.1 | |
| 14 | George White's 1935 Scandals (1935) | Eleanor Powell | 1.20 | 64.6 | 64.60 | 111 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 62.9 | |
| 15 | Sob Sister (1931) | Linda Watkins | 0.70 | 41.1 | 41.10 | 171 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 58.3 | |
| 16 | Handle With Care (1932) | Boots Mallory | 0.80 | 42.5 | 42.50 | 135 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 57.5 | |
| 18 | 365 Nights in Hollywood (1934) | James Dunn & Alice Faye |
1.10 | 58.3 | 58.30 | 107 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 57.5 | |
| 17 | Welcome Home (1935) | Arline Judge | 0.20 | 10.8 | 10.80 | 210 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 53.1 | |
| 19 | Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962) | Paul Newman & Diane Baker |
2.70 | 45.2 | 45.20 | 88 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 50.2 | |
| 20 | Hello Sister! (1933) | Zasu Pitts | 0.20 | 10.2 | 10.20 | 186 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 46.8 | |
| 21 | Society Girl (1932) | Spencer Tracy | 0.60 | 34.7 | 34.70 | 153 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 43.5 | |
| 24 | The Payoff (1935) | Claire Dodd | 0.70 | 33.9 | 46.60 | 174 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 38.9 | |
| 22 | That Brennan Girl (1946) | Mona Freeman | 0.20 | 5.1 | 5.10 | 169 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 37.6 | |
| 23 | Mysterious Crossing (1936) | Jean Rogers | 0.60 | 26.6 | 26.60 | 190 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 37.4 | |
| 25 | Arizona to Broadway (1933) | Joan Bennett | 0.60 | 34.1 | 34.10 | 158 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 34.2 | |
| 26 | Come Closer Folks (1936) | Marian Marsh | 0.20 | 10.6 | 10.60 | 208 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 26.4 | |
| 27 | Hold Me Tight (1933) | Sally Eliers | 0.20 | 9.0 | 9.00 | 190 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 20.7 | |
| 28 | The Girl In 419 (1933) | Gloria Stuart | 0.10 | 3.4 | 3.40 | 193 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 20.4 | |
| 28 | Living On Love (1937) | Joan Woodbury | 0.40 | 20.4 | 26.00 | 203 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 17.2 | |
| 29 | The Oscar (1966) | Ernest Borgnine & Joseph Cotten |
2.00 | 22.7 | 22.70 | 100 | 42 | 02 / 00 | 14.1 | |
| 30 | The Ghost and the Guest (1943) | Florence Rice | 0.10 | 2.2 | 2.20 | 216 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 5.2 |
Check out James Dunn‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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I used to watch reruns of the TV series Naked City like in the 80’s. I liked it because it was filmed in NYC and it had pretty good guest stars. One episode James Dunn was the special guest star along with Robert Morse (remember him). Morse was believed to have committed a violent crime (he played Dunn’s son) but it turned out to be Dustin Hoffman who was the criminal (don’t remember the crime).
Jimmy Dunn never was on the oracle of Bacon lists. These are the actors on the current list he appeared with, 3 are still alive.
11 ERNEST BORGNINE The Oscar (1966)
58 ELI WALLACH Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
68 JOHN CARRADINE Bad Boy (1935)
107 MICKEY ROONEY Killer McCoy (1947)
158 SHELLEY WINTERS Killer McCoy (1947)
224 PAUL NEWMAN Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
294 RICHARD BURTON The Bramble Bush (1960)
406 LIONEL STANDER Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948)
413 JOSEPH COTTEN The Oscar (1966)
511 DIANE BAKER Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
533 ELKE SOMMER The Oscar (1966)
592 ANGIE DICKINSON The Bramble Bush (1960)
597 PAUL FIX Bad Girl (1931)
597 PAUL FIX Sob Sister (1931)
667 PETER LAWFORD The Oscar (1966)
752 SUSAN STRASBERG Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
811 MICHAEL J. POLLARD Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
837 BRODERICK CRAWFORD The Oscar (1966)
877 LLOYD NOLAN A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
Jim appeared with 15 Oscar winners, that’s what he gets for making some pictures at Republic and Monogram.
BRODERICK CRAWFORD The Oscar (1966)
CLAIRE TREVOR Baby Take a Bow (1934)
CLAIRE TREVOR Jimmy and Sally (1933)
ERNEST BORGNINE The Oscar (1966)
GINGER ROGERS Change of Heart (1934)
HATTIE MCDANIEL HELLO, SISTER! (1933)
JANE DARWELL Bright Eyes (1934)
JANE DARWELL Change of Heart (1934)
JANE DARWELL Government Girl (1943)
JANE DARWELL The Girl in 419 (1933)
JANE WYMAN George White’s 1935 Scandals (1935)
JANET GAYNOR Change of Heart (1934)
JESSICA TANDY Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND Government Girl (1943)
PAUL NEWMAN Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
SHELLEY WINTERS Killer McCoy (1947)
SPENCER TRACY Society Girl (1932)
WALTER BRENNAN The Oscar (1966)
WARNER BAXTER Stand Up and Cheer! (1934)
Hey Dan. As always thanks for sharing these lists of information. Not the biggest lists….but still filled with some big names. Interesting information on his show with Hoffman, Morse and Dunn. I bet that might be lying around somewhere on YouTube. Most frequent Oracle co-star? Mr. Paul Fix. Speaking of Paul Fix I just saw him playing an indian in Dean Martin’s Something Big…..that is not a role he would get these days. Looking at the second list…only 15 Oscar winning co-stars….but not bad when thinking about all his B movies he made…plus four movies with Jane Darwell. Good stuff as always.
I have seen 6 James Dunn movies.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Bad Girl.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Living on Love.
Favourite James Dunn movie:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Killer McCoy
Other James Dunn Movies I Have Seen:
Bright Eyes
Government Girl
That Brennan Girl
Living on Love
Hey Flora….thanks for checking out our James Dunn page. Tally count…6 for you and 2 for me. I have seen Bright Eyes and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. I really liked his role in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Good stuff as always.
Hi Mr. Cogerson,
Great UMR Page
Thx
Hey Mike….thank you.