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John Wayne Movies

Jump To John Wayne Links: 1. Box Office 2. Oscar Movies 3. Reviews 4. Trailers 5. Trivia 6. UMR Table

John Wayne made 88 movies before becoming a star in 1939’s Stagecoach. From Stagecoach to 1976’s The Shootist, Wayne made another 82 movies. That is a grand total of 170 movies in his career. John Wayne was the first movie star that I became aware of as a child. I still remember the shock of watching him die in The Alamo (my older brother had told me he was going to survive…he obviously lied to me). For nearly forty years, Wayne was one of the most popular stars making movies.

John Wayne’s IMDb page shows 180 acting credits from 1926-1976.  The following table only lists about half of John Wayne’s movies.  Cameos, television appearances, and almost all of his B westerns from the 1930s were not included in the rankings.  His remaining 94 movies are ranked by 6 different columns of sortable information.

Dean Martin, Walter Brennan & John Wayne in 1959's Rio Bravo
Dean Martin, Walter Brennan & John Wayne in 1959’s Rio Bravo

John Wayne 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
1952 The Quiet Man (1952)
AA Best Picture Nom
1939 Stagecoach (1939)
AA Best Picture Nom
1962 How the West Was Won (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
1956 The Searchers (1956)
1959 Rio Bravo (1959)
1948 Red River (1948)
1969 True Grit (1969)
AA Best Actor Win
1948 Fort Apache (1948)
1949 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
1945 They Were Expendable (1945)
1944 The Fighting Seabees (1944)
1965 The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
1953 Hondo (1953)
1960 The Alamo (1960)
AA Best Picture Nom
1959 The Horse Soldiers (1959)
1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
1949 Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
AA Best Actor Nom
1963 McLintock! (1963)
1962 The Longest Day (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
1962 Hatari! (1962)
1946 Without Reservations (1946)
1930 The Big Trail (1930)
1944 Tall in the Saddle (1944)
1967 El Dorado (1967)
1945 Back to Bataan (1945)
1972 The Cowboys (1972)
1948 3 Godfathers (1948)
1953 Island in the Sky (1953)
1942 Flying Tigers (1942)
1951 Flying Leathernecks (1951)
1951 Operation Pacific (1951)
1950 Rio Grande (1950)
1943 A Lady Takes a Chance (1943)
1955 The Sea Chase (1955)
1954 The High and the Mighty (1954)
1947 Tycoon (1947)
1960 North to Alaska (1960)
1942 The Spoilers (1942)
1967 The War Wagon (1967)
1947 Angel and the Badman (1947)
1942 Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
1943 In Old Oklahoma (1943)
1976 The Shootist (1976)
1940 The Long Voyage Home (1940)
AA Best Picture Nom
1948 Wake of the Red Witch (1948)
1953 Trouble Along the Way (1953)
1970 Chisum (1970)
1965 In Harm's Way (1965)
1968 The Green Berets (1968)
1971 Big Jake (1971)
1957 The Wings of Eagles (1957)
1961 The Comancheros (1961)
1952 Big Jim McLain (1952)
1963 Donovan's Reef (1963)
1955 Blood Alley (1955)
1941 The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
1970 Rio Lobo (1970)
1949 The Fighting Kentuckian (1949)
1958 The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)
1956 The Conqueror (1956)
1940 Seven Sinners (1940)
1940 Dark Command (1940)
1957 Legend of the Lost (1957)
1939 Allegheny Uprising (1939)
1942 Pittsburgh (1942)
1942 Reunion in France (1942)
1969 The Undefeated (1969)
1975 Rooster Cogburn (1975)
1942 Lady For A Night (1942)
1973 Cahill United States Marshal (1973)
1933 Baby Face (1933)
1945 Flame of Barbary Coast (1945)
1945 Dakota (1945)
1968 Hellfighters (1968)
1942 In Old California (1942)
1966 Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
1973 The Train Robbers (1973)
1974 McQ (1974)
1940 Three Faces West (1940)
1964 Circus World (1964)
1941 A Man Betrayed (1941)
1941 Lady from Louisana (1941)
1937 I Cover The War! (1937)
1937 Idol of the Crowds (1937)
1931 Three Girls Lost (1931)
1939 New Frontier (1939)
1933 The Man from Monterey (1933)
1957 Jet Pilot (1957)
1933 Somewhere in Sonora (1933)
1933 The Telegraph Trail (1933)
1932 Haunted Gold (1932)
1935 Westward Ho (1935)
1929 Words and Music (1929)
1932 Ride Him Cowboy (1932)
1932 The Big Stampede (1932)
1975 Brannigan (1975)

John Wayne 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.

  • If movie title is a blue, then there is a John Wayne movie trailer attached to the page link
  • Sort John Wayne movies by co-stars or in some cases directors
  • Sort John Wayne movies by adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort John Wayne movies by box office rank in the year of release
  • Sort John Wayne movies by how the movie was 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 John Wayne movie received.
  • Sort John Wayne 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.
  • Use the search and sort buttons to make this table very interactive.

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
2 The Quiet Man (1952)
AA Best Picture Nom
Maureen O'Hara &
Directed by John Ford
10.60 239.9 366.20 10 84 07 / 02 99.4
3 Stagecoach (1939)
AA Best Picture Nom
Thomas Mitchell &
Directed by John Ford
5.00 221.8 346.40 30 83 07 / 02 99.3
1 How the West Was Won (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
Henry Fonda &
Gregory Peck
36.10 601.5 1,434.90 2 76 08 / 03 99.0
4 The Searchers (1956) Natalie Wood &
Directed by John Ford
14.00 318.2 430.60 14 89 00 / 00 98.7
6 Rio Bravo (1959) Dean Martin &
Walter Brennan
16.40 342.3 599.90 11 85 00 / 00 98.2
8 Red River (1948) Montgomery Clift 11.80 368.0 368.00 1 83 02 / 00 98.1
9 True Grit (1969)
AA Best Actor Win
Robert Duvall 40.70 358.4 358.40 7 81 02 / 01 97.9
8 Fort Apache (1948) Henry Fonda &
Shirley Temple
8.30 260.3 365.10 17 81 00 / 00 97.3
9 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Victor McLaglen &
Directed by John Ford
7.60 222.1 302.80 23 78 01 / 01 97.2
10 They Were Expendable (1945) Robert Montgomery &
John Ford
8.90 326.8 453.20 25 78 02 / 00 97.1
10 The Fighting Seabees (1944) Susan Hayward 5.90 230.5 230.50 55 78 01 / 00 96.8
16 The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) Dean Martin 16.20 198.7 198.70 15 78 00 / 00 96.5
11 Hondo (1953) Geraldine Page &
Ward Bond
11.50 240.1 343.40 12 75 02 / 00 96.4
13 The Alamo (1960)
AA Best Picture Nom
Richard Widmark 22.60 409.4 821.40 5 63 07 / 01 96.3
14 The Horse Soldiers (1959) William Holden 10.90 226.2 226.20 21 76 00 / 00 96.1
19 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) James Stewart &
Lee Marvin
10.10 169.0 333.30 22 84 01 / 00 96.0
15 Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
AA Best Actor Nom
John Agar 13.90 403.7 403.70 3 70 04 / 00 95.6
22 McLintock! (1963) Maureen O'Hara 12.90 187.9 187.90 22 77 00 / 00 95.4
15 The Longest Day (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
Sean Connery &
Richard Burton
31.30 521.4 521.40 3 60 05 / 02 95.4
17 Hatari! (1962) Directed by Howard Hawks 20.00 333.3 333.30 9 71 01 / 00 95.2
20 Without Reservations (1946) Claudette Colbert 7.40 265.4 331.10 44 70 00 / 00 94.6
23 The Big Trail (1930) Tully Marshall 2.90 181.7 228.30 24 75 00 / 00 94.4
20 Tall in the Saddle (1944) Ward Bond 5.90 231.9 305.60 54 69 00 / 00 94.2
25 El Dorado (1967) Robert Mitchum &
James Caan
15.00 155.0 155.00 19 82 00 / 00 93.9
24 Back to Bataan (1945) Anthony Quinn 5.70 207.8 284.90 58 67 00 / 00 93.6
26 The Cowboys (1972) Bruce Dern 22.70 167.1 167.10 16 77 00 / 00 93.4
27 3 Godfathers (1948) Harry Carey, Jr. 5.50 170.9 233.60 62 75 00 / 00 93.4
28 Island in the Sky (1953) Lloyd Nolan 8.30 173.6 239.50 26 74 00 / 00 93.3
29 Flying Tigers (1942) John Carroll 4.30 184.7 184.70 62 68 03 / 00 93.1
32 Flying Leathernecks (1951) Robert Ryan 7.40 185.7 282.10 22 70 00 / 00 93.0
36 Operation Pacific (1951) Patricia Neal 7.30 183.1 275.90 25 69 00 / 00 92.5
36 Rio Grande (1950) Maureen O'Hara 6.40 167.4 167.40 31 74 00 / 00 92.4
30 A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) Jean Arthur 6.50 270.8 337.50 36 62 00 / 00 91.9
31 The Sea Chase (1955) Lana Turner 17.10 412.1 499.90 11 62 00 / 00 91.9
33 The High and the Mighty (1954) Claire Trevor 17.40 473.6 618.50 7 55 06 / 01 91.8
34 Tycoon (1947) Laraine Day &
Anthony Quinn
7.60 257.9 349.30 32 61 00 / 00 91.7
37 North to Alaska (1960) Stewart Granger 13.40 243.3 243.30 14 60 00 / 00 91.1
39 The Spoilers (1942) Marlene Dietrich &
Randolph Scott
5.00 215.5 215.50 44 59 01 / 00 91.0
39 The War Wagon (1967) Kirk Douglas 15.20 157.0 276.30 18 73 00 / 00 90.9
41 Angel and the Badman (1947) Gail Russell 5.00 168.9 168.90 67 68 00 / 00 90.4
40 Reap the Wild Wind (1942) Paulette Goddard &
Susan Hayward
11.40 492.6 492.60 6 52 03 / 01 89.8
40 In Old Oklahoma (1943) Martha Scott 7.10 297.6 297.60 29 51 02 / 00 88.6
45 The Shootist (1976) James Stewart &
Ron Howard
18.10 106.5 106.50 38 81 01 / 00 88.5
43 The Long Voyage Home (1940)
AA Best Picture Nom
Thomas Mitchell &
Directed by John Ford
1.90 83.8 135.90 106 78 06 / 00 88.4
47 Wake of the Red Witch (1948) Gig Young 5.50 172.7 172.70 59 61 00 / 00 88.4
46 Trouble Along the Way (1953) Donna Reed 7.40 154.7 192.60 32 66 00 / 00 88.2
48 Chisum (1970) Forrest Tucker 18.20 146.6 234.60 20 67 00 / 00 87.5
50 In Harm's Way (1965) Kirk Douglas &
Dana Andrews
11.50 140.8 140.80 18 67 01 / 00 87.2
47 The Green Berets (1968) Jim Hutton 27.90 265.8 483.90 11 48 00 / 00 87.0
51 Big Jake (1971) Maureen O'Hara 22.70 172.2 172.20 16 55 00 / 00 86.3
52 The Wings of Eagles (1957) Maureen O'Hara &
Directed by John Ford
6.40 143.5 229.60 34 64 00 / 00 86.1
51 The Comancheros (1961) Lee Marvin 7.00 118.2 118.20 32 71 00 / 00 85.6
53 Big Jim McLain (1952) James Arness 7.20 164.1 205.50 26 56 00 / 00 85.5
53 Donovan's Reef (1963) Lee Marvin &
Directed by John Ford
8.90 128.7 236.70 33 66 00 / 00 85.2
57 Blood Alley (1955) Lauren Bacall 6.30 151.1 188.10 49 58 00 / 00 84.9
58 The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) Harry Carey 3.20 143.4 143.40 74 60 00 / 00 84.5
55 Rio Lobo (1970) Jorge Rivero 12.90 103.9 103.90 31 72 00 / 00 84.3
59 The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) Philip Dorn 4.30 125.2 125.20 74 63 00 / 00 83.5
60 The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) Directed by John Huston 7.10 148.8 148.80 34 55 00 / 00 83.2
59 The Conqueror (1956) Susan Hayward 12.90 292.2 292.20 16 37 00 / 00 82.0
62 Seven Sinners (1940) Marlene Dietrich 2.70 121.8 121.80 64 61 00 / 00 81.8
60 Dark Command (1940) Claire Trevor 2.10 93.8 93.80 95 67 02 / 00 81.2
65 Legend of the Lost (1957) Sophia Loren 6.30 140.3 229.60 39 51 00 / 00 79.8
63 Allegheny Uprising (1939) Claire Trevor 2.60 117.9 133.90 90 58 00 / 00 79.4
67 Pittsburgh (1942) Marlene Dietrich &
Randolph Scott
3.20 136.7 136.70 82 50 00 / 00 78.0
68 Reunion in France (1942) Joan Crawford 3.00 128.8 229.40 93 52 00 / 00 78.0
66 The Undefeated (1969) Rock Hudson 11.40 100.6 100.60 27 61 00 / 00 77.9
71 Rooster Cogburn (1975) Katharine Hepburn 24.30 148.2 148.20 26 45 00 / 00 77.4
67 Lady For A Night (1942) Joan Blondell 2.30 98.7 98.70 113 60 00 / 00 77.0
69 Cahill United States Marshal (1973) George Kennedy 12.40 87.7 132.70 28 62 00 / 00 75.6
70 Baby Face (1933) Barbara Stanwyck 0.90 47.8 70.20 119 74 00 / 00 75.3
73 Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) Ann Dvorak 3.30 121.3 121.30 92 49 02 / 00 74.9
72 Dakota (1945) Walter Brennan 3.20 116.5 116.50 94 52 00 / 00 74.8
76 Hellfighters (1968) Jim Hutton &
Katharine Ross
11.60 110.4 110.40 34 51 00 / 00 72.1
74 In Old California (1942) Bennie Barnes 2.20 94.8 94.80 120 56 00 / 00 72.0
75 Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) Frank Sinatra &
Yul Brynner
7.90 90.2 90.20 37 56 00 / 00 70.6
78 The Train Robbers (1973) Ben Johnson &
Ann-Margret
9.40 66.3 137.00 36 61 00 / 00 67.8
77 McQ (1974) Eddie Albert 12.40 83.0 133.70 37 54 00 / 00 66.4
79 Three Faces West (1940) Charles Coburn 1.00 42.4 42.40 170 63 00 / 00 61.3
82 Circus World (1964) Rita Hayworth 5.70 76.0 76.00 48 51 00 / 00 58.5
80 A Man Betrayed (1941) Frances Dee 1.00 45.1 45.10 174 60 00 / 00 57.3
81 Lady from Louisana (1941) Ona Munson 1.20 53.6 53.60 161 57 00 / 00 56.6
83 I Cover The War! (1937) Gwen Gaze 1.20 56.6 56.60 158 55 00 / 00 55.1
84 Idol of the Crowds (1937) Sheila Bromley 0.70 34.6 34.60 189 58 00 / 00 47.6
85 Three Girls Lost (1931) Loretta Young 0.50 31.5 31.50 188 56 00 / 00 41.5
86 New Frontier (1939) Jennifer Jones 0.50 22.3 22.30 219 57 00 / 00 38.7
86 The Man from Monterey (1933) Ruth Hall 0.40 21.3 30.00 172 57 00 / 00 38.0
88 Jet Pilot (1957) Janet Leigh 1.40 31.2 31.20 137 51 00 / 00 30.2
87 Somewhere in Sonora (1933) Henry B. Walthall &
Duke
0.40 21.4 30.60 171 53 00 / 00 29.2
89 The Telegraph Trail (1933) Frank McHugh &
Duke
0.40 23.8 32.50 169 52 00 / 00 28.0
90 Haunted Gold (1932) Sheila Terry &
Duke
0.40 24.7 33.90 173 50 00 / 00 25.6
91 Westward Ho (1935) Sheila Bromley 0.50 26.0 26.00 191 48 00 / 00 22.8
93 Words and Music (1929) Lois Moran 0.50 18.5 18.50 147 49 00 / 00 20.5
92 Ride Him Cowboy (1932) Ruth Hall 0.50 26.6 36.40 166 47 00 / 00 20.5
93 The Big Stampede (1932) Noah Beery 0.50 26.3 36.20 167 47 00 / 00 20.4
94 Brannigan (1975) Richard Attenborough 6.10 37.0 37.00 64 42 00 / 00 17.8

Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above John Wayne Table

1.  51 John Wayne movies crossed the magical $100 million mark.  That is a percentage of 54.26% of his movies listed.  His top domestic box office hit was The Longest Day (1963).

2.  An average John Wayne movie grosses $124.30 million in adjusted box office gross.

3.  Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter.  55 John Wayne movies are rated as good movies…or 65.47% of his movies.  His highest rated movie is 1959’s Rio Bravo.  His lowest rated movie is The Conqueror (1956).

4.  24 John Wayne movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 28.23% of his movies.

5.  9 John Wayne movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 10.71% of his movies.

6.  A “good movie” Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 60.00 or higher.  61 John Wayne movies scored higher that average….or 71.76% of his movies.  True Grit (1969) got the highest UMR Score.  Brannigan (1975) got the lowest UMR Score.

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.

Jump To John Wayne Links: 1. Box Office 2. Oscar Movies 3. Reviews 4. Trailers 5. Trivia 6. UMR Table

If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.

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285 thoughts on “John Wayne Movies”

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  1. GeorgeF says:
    March 19, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    Thanks for the history, very much appreciated!!

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      March 19, 2015 at 1:48 pm

      @George….glad you liked the page. Wayne fans are the best!

      Reply
  2. Jim Adams says:
    March 19, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    very nice work, I would have to rank all them as # 1 movies ! But then I “might” be just a little pickie and biased !

    Thanks for all you hard work !

    Jim A

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      March 19, 2015 at 1:46 pm

      @Jim Adams….thanks for the compliment. I agree with you….even Wayne’s last movie in the ranking is an entertaining movie….on my Nicolas Cage movie…the same claim can not be made.

      Reply
  3. Daniel Parker says:
    March 19, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    Very nicely done page. Bookmarked it.

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      March 19, 2015 at 1:46 pm

      @Daniel….thanks for the book mark…I search for new information all the time…it bugs me that I do not have enough information for 3 post 1939 Wayne movies…..but every time I find new info I update this page. This page has turned out to be my 3rd most popular page…so I make sure I update often.

      Reply
  4. scott says:
    March 19, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    I watched the man who shot” the other night and almost cried when Wayne was torn in two when he lost the girl.That man could act. AND was he a man or what?

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      March 19, 2015 at 1:46 pm

      Hey scott…..his acting ability was always under appreciated….I know the exact seen in the movie you talk about…it least he lost the girl to James Stewart.

      Reply
  5. Donna says:
    March 19, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    No One Knows Any Better Than The Fan And Most Critics Don’t Have A Clue That Equals That Of The Fan. So ….. What Is There A Need For The Critic ……Just Sayin!

    Reply
    1. Cogerson says:
      March 19, 2015 at 1:45 pm

      Hey Donna….glad I do not consider myself a critic…just a mathematician….lol

      Reply

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