Want to know the best Jeff Chandler movies? How about the worst Jeff Chandler movies? Curious about Jeff Chandler box office grosses or which Jeff Chandler movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Jeff Chandler movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place.
Jeff Chandler (1918-1961) was an Oscar® nominated American actor. His IMDb page shows 52 acting credits from 1945-1962. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks 42 of his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles, shorts and uncredited roles were not included in the rankings. This page was requested by Bob and Dan a very long time ago. Sorry for the delay.
Jeff Chandler 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 Jeff Chandler movies by movie titles and trailers
- Sort Jeff Chandler movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Jeff Chandler movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Jeff Chandler movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Jeff Chandler movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Jeff Chandler movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Jeff Chandler movie won.
- Sort Jeff Chandler 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.
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Jeff Chandler Table
- Five Jeff Chandler movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 11.90% of his movies listed. Broken Arrow (1950) was his biggest box office hit.
- An average Jeff Chandler movie grossed $63.00 million in adjusted domestic box office gross.
- That translates to a career adjusted box office of $2.64 billion.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 25 Jeff Chandler movies are rated as good movies…or 59.52% of his movies. Man in the Shadow (1957) is his highest rated movie while War Arrow (1953) is his lowest rated movie.
- One Jeff Chandler movie received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 2.38% of his movies. Zero Jeff Chandler movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 0.00% of his movies.
- A “good movie” Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 60.00. 18 Jeff Chandler movies scored higher that average….or 42.85% of his movies. Broken Arrow (1950) got the the highest UMR Score while A Story of David:The Hunted (1960) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting About Jeff Chandler
1. Ira Grossel was born and in New York City, New York in 1918.
2. After serving in World War II, Jeff Chandler began his entertainment career in radio.
3. How did Ira Grossel become Jeff Chandler? He got “Chandler” from the 1946 Van Johnson and Esther Williams movie… Easy to Wed. Fellow actor Gerald Mohr suggested “Jeff.”
4. Jeff Chandler possessed a fine singing voice, at the height of his film fame, he recorded several successful albums for Liberty Records.
5. The Jonny Quest character “Race Bannon” was modeled on Jeff Chandler.
6. Jeff Chandler never appeared in a movie nominated for the Best Picture Oscar®.
7. Jeff Chandler was married one time and had two children.
8. Jeff Chandler’s Yearly Box Office Rankings: 22nd in 1952, 18th in 1953, 16th in 1954, 20th in 1955, 18th in 1956 and 22nd in 1957.
9. While working on Merrill’s Marauders, Chandler injured his back while playing baseball with U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers who served as extras in the film. He had injections to deaden the pain and enable him to finish the production. Later he entered a hospital and had surgery for a spinal disc herniation. There were severe complications; an artery was damaged and Chandler hemorrhaged. A seven-and-a-half-hour emergency operation over-and-above the original surgery, he was given 55 pints of blood. A third operation followed, where he received an additional 20 pints of blood. He died on June 17, 1961. The cause was a blood infection complicated by pneumonia.
10. Check out Jeff Chandler’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
I liked Jeff Chandler, he had a good voice (which I believe he narrated a few of the above films. My favorite pic of his was Sign of The Pagan. Nothing like those Universal and Columbia cheapie costume adventures of that time. Had a whole bunch of them but in the paint the apartment purge of a couple of months ago about 300 movies and series were given away or tossed if I had recorded them from TV.
Jeff never was on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list, I mean he was dead 38 years when the first list appeared. But there are people on the 2016 list who appeared with him and they are;
40 HARRY DEAN STANTON The Jayhawkers! (1959)
323 DONALD PLEASENCE A Story of David (1960)
434 CLINT EASTWOOD Away All Boats (1956)
478 JOHN SAXON The Plunderers (1960)
548 HENRY SILVA The Jayhawkers! (1959)
622 RALPH MORATZ JEANNE EAGELS (1957)
681 ANTHONY QUINN East of Sumatra (1953)
762 JACK WARDEN Red Ball Express (1952)
781 SHELLEY WINTERS Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
897 TONY CURTIS Six Bridges to Cross (1955)
897 TONY CURTIS Son of Ali Baba (1952)
912 ARTHUR TOVEY Jeanne Eagels (1957)
912 ARTHUR TOVEY The Tattered Dress (1957)
966 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)
Outside of Clint and John Saxon they have all passed on. People on the 2000 list who appeared with and have since fallen off are (some he just narrates);
9 ORSON WELLES Man in the Shadow (1957/I)
26 JACK PALANCE Sign of the Pagan (1954)
26 JACK PALANCE Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)
27 MARC LAWRENCE Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
27 MARC LAWRENCE The Desert Hawk (1950)
77 JOSE FERRER Return to Peyton Place (1961)
146 MIKE MAZURKI Abandoned (1949)
155 ROYAL DANO Flame of Araby (1951)
155 ROYAL DANO Man in the Shadow (1957/I)
192 YVONNE DE CARLO The Desert Hawk (1950)
222 BESS FLOWERS Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
222 BESS FLOWERS Return to Peyton Place (1961)
225 PAUL SMITH (I) Pillars of the Sky (1956)
225 PAUL SMITH (I) The Battle at Apache Pass (1952)
231 SIDNEY POITIER Red Ball Express (1952)
236 LEE MARVIN Pillars of the Sky (1956)
270 FRANK SINATRA Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
272 VITO SCOTTI Deported (1950)
290 GEORGE WALLACE Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
301 LEE J. COBB Johnny O’Clock (1947)
301 LEE J. COBB Yankee Pasha (1954)
344 JAMES STEWART Broken Arrow (1950)
353 PETER GRAVES A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
353 PETER GRAVES East of Sumatra (1953)
356 PHIL BROWN Johnny O’Clock (1947)
404 JACK ELAM Bird of Paradise (1951)
404 JACK ELAM The Battle at Apache Pass (1952)
421 MICHAEL ANSARA Pillars of the Sky (1956)
421 MICHAEL ANSARA Sign of the Pagan (1954)
421 MICHAEL ANSARA Smuggler’s Island (1951)
421 MICHAEL ANSARA The Desert Hawk (1950)
421 MICHAEL ANSARA Yankee Buccaneer (1952)
423 BRETT HALSEY Return to Peyton Place (1961)
451 DANA ANDREWS Sword in the Desert (1949)
459 DABBS GREER Away All Boats (1956)
459 DABBS GREER Because of You (1952)
459 DABBS GREER Foxfire (1955)
460 SCATMAN CROTHERS East of Sumatra (1953)
467 VAN JOHNSON Thrill of a Romance (1945)
483 MURRAY HAMILTON Jeanne Eagels (1957)
506 DOUGLAS FOWLEY Roses Are Red (1947)
520 WILLIAM SCHALLERT Man in the Shadow (1957/I)
520 WILLIAM SCHALLERT The Tattered Dress (1957)
524 RICHARD WATTIS Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)
532 JIM BACKUS Iron Man (1951)
542 PAUL FIX Man in the Shadow (1957/I)
544 LEO GORDON Man in the Shadow (1957/I)
544 LEO GORDON Sign of the Pagan (1954)
544 LEO GORDON The Jayhawkers! (1959)
562 PAUL BRYAR Because of You (1952)
564 HARRY GUARDINO Son of Ali Baba (1952)
571 CHARLES LANE Roses Are Red (1947)
589 ROCK HUDSON Iron Man (1951)
589 ROCK HUDSON Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)
589 ROCK HUDSON The Desert Hawk (1950)
599 JOHN DOUCETTE Broken Arrow (1950)
606 ALBERTO MORIN Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
606 ALBERTO MORIN Pillars of the Sky (1956)
682 RAY TEAL Roses Are Red (1947)
690 PARLEY BAER Away All Boats (1956)
690 PARLEY BAER Drango (1957)
697 DON GORDON Girls in the Night (1953)
731 JOHN HOYT Merrill’s Marauders (1962)
746 HERB VIGRAN Iron Man (1951)
765 LOUIS JOURDAN Bird of Paradise (1951)
806 NINA FOCH Johnny O’Clock (1947)
821 PIPER LAURIE Son of Ali Baba (1952)
824 FRANK WILCOX The Jayhawkers! (1959)
863 ALAN HALE JR. The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958)
867 RORY CALHOUN The Spoilers (1955)
868 LEX BARKER Away All Boats (1956)
889 ROBERT BROWN A Story of David (1960)
894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Because of You (1952)
894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Son of Ali Baba (1952)
894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Yankee Pasha (1954)
903 JACK KRUSCHEN Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
903 JACK KRUSCHEN The Jayhawkers! (1959)
917 ROBERT J. WILKE The Desert Hawk (1950)
925 RAYMOND BURR Abandoned (1949)
925 RAYMOND BURR Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
930 BING RUSSELL Drango (1957)
961 NICKY BLAIR Away All Boats (1956)
961 NICKY BLAIR Six Bridges to Cross (1955)
963 FRANK FERGUSON Thrill of a Romance (1945)
969 BYRON FOULGER The Spoilers (1955)
972 RICHARD BOONE Away All Boats (1956)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA Flame of Araby (1951)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA War Arrow (1953)
Jeff appeared with 16 Oscar winners;
ANNE BAXTER The Spoilers (1955)
ANTHONY QUINN East of Sumatra (1953)
CHARLES COBURN A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
DONALD CRISP DRANGO (1957)
DOROTHY MALONE Pillars of the Sky (1956)
FRANK SINATRA Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
JACK PALANCE Sign of the Pagan (1954)
JACK PALANCE Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)
JAMES STEWART Broken Arrow (1950)
JOAN CRAWFORD Female on the Beach (1955)
JOSE FERRER Return to Peyton Place (1961)
LEE MARVIN Pillars of the Sky (1956)
LORETTA YOUNG Because of You (1952)
MARY ASTOR A Stranger in My Arms (1959)
MARY ASTOR Return to Peyton Place (1961)
SHELLEY WINTERS Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
SIDNEY POITIER Red Ball Express (1952)
SUSAN HAYWARD Thunder in the Sun (1959)
Hey Dan
1. Thanks for sharing the lists.
2. Good to see your favorite Chandler movie “Sign of The Pagan” got a Top 5 spot in my rankings.
3. Thanks for the description of his Universal and Columbia movies….I have not seen any of them but know I have an idea of what I have been missing.
4. So Clint is one of his last remaining living connections….I like that.
5. Only 2 Bessie Flowers movies…..I guess they were not hanging out at the same studios.
6. 16 Oscar winners in 41 movies….not a great ratio at all.
7. Henry Silva has a message for you……”I am still here…had coffee with my Joe Kidd friends just the other day”…..lol.
Fun lists……thanks for the efforts.
I have seen 4 Jeff Chandler movies.
My favourite movie is Broken Arrow. It is a favourite of my Jimmy Stewart films too.
The other three Chandler films in UMR are:
Return to Peyton Place
Jeanne Eagles
Merrill’s Mauraders
My order of preference for these would be
Merrill’s Mauraders – great war movie
Jeanne Eagles – interesting bio-pic on a woman I had known little before
Return to Peyton Place – not anywhere near the quality of Peyton Place
I have long been aware of his back injury and the botched surgeries that led to his tragic death.
Hey Flora
1. Our tally counts are very very low. Steve 5, you 4 and me 1. A combined 10? Not sure that has happened before…especially with a guy with over 40 movies.
2. Broken Arrow is my favorite and least favorite Chandler movie….as it is the only one that I have seen.
3. You have seen 3 of the Top 4 UMR movies.
4. Thanks for the mini-reviews of his movies.
5. So Broken Arrow is your favorite Stewart movie….never would have guessed that….especially with him having so many Hitchcock classics on his resume.
Good feedback as always.
Broken Arrow is my favourite Jimmy Stewart western. My favourite Jimmy Stewart film overall is Rear Window. Sorry for the confusion.
Hey Flora…..now it makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
“Actor, Roman, Soldier, Boxer, Pilot, Cowboy and Apache Chief.” The subtitle to my Jeff Chandler video of 6 months ago. If I’m in the mood I like to give my video subjects interesting and sometimes silly subtitles, Maria Montez was the “The Caribbean Cyclone and Queen of Technicolor”. Kirk Douglas – “Hollywood Legend, Harpoonist, Boxer, Soldier, Cowboy, Dutch Painter, Viking Prince and Thracian Slave.”
And that’s my 50 word Jeff Chandler comment finished. Byeee!
Oh alright… let me see… I’ve seen 5 of the 41 films on the chart, not an impressive total. They are – Broken Arrow, Sign of the Pagan, Thunder in the Sun, Pillars of the Sky and The Plunderers.
Broken Arrow no.1 on the UMR chart but Man in the Shadows tops it on the critics chart, hmm not even sure I included that on my video. [Bruce gasps]
Looking at the trivia. His death was tragic and unexpected. He was only 42.
Good work Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve
1. You are the leader in the clubhouse as your tally count of 5 has Flora by 1 and me by 4…..overall a disappointing total of 10 for the three of us……one of her smallest combined tally counts ever.
2. I like the subtitle….making a mental note to include that video here.
3. You have not seen Man In The Shadows…but it has Orson Welles in it….I thought he was one of your favorites……actually…..other than seeing it here and a few other UMR tables…..I know nothing about Man In The Shadows….the prequel to The Third Man….the sequel to Citizen Kane?
4. His death was very tragic…….those dominoes fell in a very unusual way…..healthy….playing baseball….hurting back…….doctor visits……..suggested operation…..unsuccessful operation…..nick an artery…..blood transfusions…..infection….death. Just shows you never know what is coming down the road.
Good feedback as always.
What was the Jeff Chandler movie where he played a Indiana Jones type character? Looking at the list of Chandler movies I can not remember which movie it was.
Hey George V. I have not seen many Jeff Chandler movies……so I sadly can not answer that question for you. Pretty sure Chandler is one of Bob’s favorite actors.
So Mr. Bob and Mr. Dan….any idea on George’s question? Your input would be appreciated.
HI YOUR MAJESTY Jeff made several films in which he was an action hero in foreign parts [eg East of Sumatra with Tony Quinn in 1953] but for my money the nearest to the Indie character was his Jason Starbuck, mountaineer and fur trapper in the 1954 Yankee Pasha
In that one Jeff travels to places as far apart as Salem Massachusetts and Morocco and becomes involved with piracy, slavery and harems and almost “takes over” Morocco. In fact the tagline on the original posters was “The Strange Romantic Adventure of the Yank who Ruled Morocco.”
At the end of the movie Starbuck leads a prison escape in the way that Indie led the children to freedom in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Just as Indie was an expert with weaponry such as his whip and pistol Starbuck was a keen marksman with a rifle in Yankee Pasha.
If that IS the one you’re thinking of it was Universal International’s first Cinemascope film and Jeff recorded and released the theme song from it “I should Care”. As the table above suggests, with an $39 million adjusted gross the film was one of those “programmers” that Universal churned out at a low cost and which made reasonable profits. I saw Yankee Pasha on a double bill with western Rails into Laramie starring John Payne and Dan Duryea.
The film also marked Universal’s first major attempt to market Mamie Van Doren as a “blonde bombshell” rival to Monroe and publicity photos were released of Jeff standing between Mamie and Rhonda Fleming both in harem girl outfits. I remember reading recently that one Rhonda Fleming fan from the fifties is still alive and has a personally autographed photo of Rhonda in her harem girl outfit. Lucky guy!
Thank you Bob. Your educated guess is greatly appreciated. I tried to find some trailers on Yankee Pasha and East of Sumatra but they do not currently seem to be on You Tube. I will be sure to let George (we work together) know that you have responded to his question. Glad you were able to check out one of your requested movie subjects. Turns out many of his movies had easy to find box office numbers….at least when it comes to domestic numbers. Once again thank you for responding to this question…and sharing your expertise.
Hey Bob. The Yankee Pasha is indeed the movie I was trying to remember. Thanks for answering that question. You have proven to be know your classic movies. Trying to find The Yankee Pasha on my firestick. Thanks again.
Just realized I did not do a complete section will fix that in the morning before going to work.
Now fixed….and just a quick note on the lowest rated movie in the rankings. A Story of David:The Hunted (1960) was actually one of the very first made for television movies ever made….after his passing…it was given a limited release in theaters in 1962. Which is one of the reason it was so lowly rated.