Want to know the best Loretta Young movies? How about the worst Loretta Young movies? Curious about Loretta Young box office grosses or which Loretta Young movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Loretta Young movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information. This page comes from a request from SteinHoF16 and Chris.
Loretta Young (1913-2000) was an Oscar®-winning American actress. Young started her career acting in silent movies in uncredited roles when she was only 4 years old. By the time she was 20 she was already a movie star with over 40 IMDb acting credits. Loretta Young’s IMDb page shows 107 acting credits from 1917-1989. This page will rank 70 Loretta Young movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television roles, shorts, documentaries and numerous movies before 1933 were not included in the rankings. But every movie movie she made from 1934 to 1953 is included.
Loretta Young 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 Loretta Young movies by co-stars of her movies
- Sort Loretta Young movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Loretta Young movies by domestic yearly box office rank
- Sort Loretta Young 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 Loretta Young movie received.
- Sort Loretta Young movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Blue link in Co-star column takes you to that star’s UMR movie page
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Loretta Young Table
- Twenty-six Loretta Young movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 37.14% of her movies listed. Suez (1938) was her biggest box office hit.
- An average Loretta Young movie grosses $93.20 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 48 Loretta Young movies are rated as good movies…or 68.57% of her movies. The Stranger (1946) is her highest rated movie while Born To Be Bad (1934) is her lowest rated movie.
- Twelve Loretta Young movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 17.14% of her movies.
- Three Loretta Young movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 4.28% of her movies.
- An average “good movie” Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 60.00. 50 Loretta Young movie scored higher that average….or 71.42% of her movies. The Bishop’s Wife (1947) got the the highest UMR Score while Born To Be Bad (1934) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Loretta Young
- Gretchen Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1913.
2. At the age of 3, Loretta Young’s family moved to Hollywood. She and her two sisters quickly became child thespians.
3. During Loretta Young’s high-school years, she was educated at Ramona Convent Secondary School. She was signed to a contract by John McCormick, the husband and manager of the actress Colleen Moore, who saw the young girl’s potential. The forename Loretta was given to her by Moore, who later explained it was the name of her favorite doll.
4. Loretta Young was voted America’s Sweetheart of the 1930s.
5. Loretta Young Had an illegitimate daughter by Clark Gable. For years, this was covered up in Hollywood, and was presented as an adoption. The daughter’s resemblance to both parents is uncanny. The daughter Judy Lewis later dabbled in acting before becoming a psychologist. Judy Lewis wrote a book “Uncommon Knowledge” with the truth of her parentage.
6. Country singer Loretta Lynn was named after Loretta Young.
7. Loretta Young was married three times. She had three children.
8. Loretta Young was close friends with: Rosalind Russell, Irene Dunne, Jane Wyman, Eddie Albert, James Stewart, David Niven, Danny Thomas, John Wayne, and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Reagan. Bet those were some fun game nights!
9. Loretta Young had a low tolerance for foul language, so much in fact that whenever she went to set she brought with her a “swear box”. Her swear box was used to hold money from cast and crew members who swore within her presence who in return would put money in the box. Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Mitchum put large sums of money in the swear box on a regular basis telling Young that the amount deposited would cover them for the day.
10. After her film career slowed down….Loretta Young turned her attention to television. The Loretta Young Show was very successful….staying on air from 1953 to 1961.
Check out Loretta Young‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Adjusted Worldwide Grosses on a few Loretta Young Movies
| Hatchet Man (1932) | $143,636,484.00 |
| Eternally Yours (1939) | $134,293,718.00 |
| Ladies Courageous (1944) | $101,183,789.00 |
| Taxi (1932) | $66,750,740.00 |
| Kismet (1930) | $63,756,024.00 |
| Shanghai (1935) | $54,591,536.00 |
| The Man from Blankley’s (1930) | $49,679,987.00 |
| Loose Ankles (1930) | $49,128,017.00 |
| Employees’ Entrance (1933) | $48,582,847.00 |
| Born To Be Bad (1934) | $46,674,732.00 |
| Play Girl (1932) | $40,772,731.00 |
| I Like Your Nerve (1931) | $39,428,568.00 |
| Cause for Alarm! (1951) | $39,365,491.00 |
| The Truth About Youth (1930) | $38,777,983.00 |
| The Forward Pass (1929) | $36,518,664.00 |
| The Careless Age (1929) | $33,652,848.00 |
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globe® is a registered trademark.
I have seen 13 of Loretta Young’s movies. That’s a low total I know.
I have 4 favourites among her films:
The Bishop’s Wife
The Stranger
Along Came Jones
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back.
These are the other films I have seen in UMR order:
The Farmer’s Daughter
Suez
Rachel and the Stranger
Platinum Blonde
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Key to the City
Taxi
The Devil to Pay
Clive of India
Hey Flora…..thanks for stopping by, commenting and sharing your Loretta tally count. 13 tops Steve and my combined total….so kudos for having seen that many of her movies. I have only seen one of your Top 4…The Bishop’s Wife. I need to re-watch that one….I have only seen that Cary Grant movie once…..and it has been years since I saw it. I have seen two of the other ones you have seen….The Farmer’s Daughter and Platinum Blonde. Good feedback as always.
Loretta Young has never been on my personal list of favorite actresses, too often did she have mere “decorative” parts, showing off lovely gowns (as she did for years on her TV show) and looking stunningly beautiful opposite her male costar. Yet, every so often, there was a movie like Zoo in Budapest, The Bishop’s Wife, Come to the Stable, Rachel and the Stranger, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Stranger, The Accused and that neat little B picture that was on german television in numerous reruns when I was a young man, Cause for Alarm, that showed that she could act if given the proper vehicle. Other Young movies I enjoyed are Alexander Graham Bell, and Platinum Blonde, showing off Jean Harlow to great advantage. Looking at my favorite Young performances, it seems that Mr. Hirschhorn and I only disagree on her performance in Come to the Stable, which I would include and The House of Rothchild, which I wouldn’t. Haven’t seen the other movies Joel mentions. I do agree with BOB ROY, though, that Miss Young is among the great stars of the 30’s and 40’s whose profile on this site has been missing- upto now, that is 😉
Hey Lupino…..thanks for sharing your thoughts on Loretta Young. Glad to see somebody backing up Joel and his Rating The Movie Stars book. I think….though Bob would argue…..he does a good job of picking out the best of somebody’s career. I will have to check out Cause For Alarm…especially with you and Joel giving it such high praise. Loretta Young was a machine in the 1930s…..making almost 65 movies BEFORE 1939…..not too bad for a young actress. Glad you like that we have added Loretta Young to our UMR library.
Not very familiar with Loretta Young and her movie output.
Looking at the chart I’ve only seen 6 of the 70 films listed – Suez, Taxi, Platinum Blonde, The Bishop’s Wife, Born to be Bad and The Crusades. None of them favorites.
Looking at the charts it struck me as funny that none of the movies included in the worldwide grosses chart are amongst her biggest US grossers. A fluke in available data.
Good work Bruce. Vote Up!
1 I very much welcome this Loretta Young page as in my view she is another of those almost forgotten A list stars of the classic era who has been sadly missing from the Cogerson index until now but richly deserves to be on it.
2 There is in fact a lot more I could say about Miss Young but I see that a God among critics has again given us his usual definitive view in the matter and when the Deity have spoken what is there left for a mere mortal to say? – except that I would love to have given that God’s name to Vincent Price’s Edward Lionheart in Theatre of Blood!
Hey Bob Roy
1. Thanks for the feedback on Loretta Young
2. I agree she is pretty forgotten……when I was looking for trailers to include in the page….I was striking out on many of her movies….but the fact that most of her movies were from 1927 and 1939….I guess that is not too surprising.
3. Just because Dan has commented does not mean we are not interested in what you have to say….lol.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Hey Steve….thanks for checking out our Loretta Young page…..your 6…though a small tally …actually almost doubles my total of 4….. I think I might have the bottom already locked up. I have seen both Grant movies, The Farmer’s Daughter and Platinum Blonde. So I have seen 3 of the 6 you have watched.
Good observation on her worldwide grosses….I think that her early Warner Brothers days represent many of her worldwide grosses……is the reason for that difference….when she was a bigger star she was making movies with studios that have limited information on worldwide grosses….good feedback.
The Greatest Show on Earth was her biggest picture?????
Hey Dan…..I forget to hit save after doing that part of the page…which meant I had to go back and do that information again…..The Greatest Show On Earth is no longer her biggest hit…..lol. Thanks for the catch.
Loretta was never on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood list (she had not made a film in 47 years when the first list came out). There are only 4 people on the 2016 list who appeared in a film with her and they have all passed on;
245 MICKEY ROONEY The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
809 ROBERT MITCHUM Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
937 ROBERT EASTON Cause for Alarm! (1951)
966 KATHLEEN FREEMAN Cause for Alarm! (1951)
These are the people on the first list in 2000 who have since fallen off and appeared in a film with her;
9 ORSON WELLES The Stranger (1946)
14 JOHN CARRADINE Clive of India (1935)
14 JOHN CARRADINE Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
14 JOHN CARRADINE LOVE UNDER FIRE (1937)
14 JOHN CARRADINE Ramona (1936)
14 JOHN CARRADINE The Crusades (1935)
50 JEFF COREY The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
56 HENRY FONDA The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
76 EDDIE ALBERT The Perfect Marriage (1947)
100 IAN WOLFE Clive of India (1935)
102 DAVID NIVEN Eternally Yours (1939)
102 DAVID NIVEN Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
102 DAVID NIVEN The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
102 DAVID NIVEN The Perfect Marriage (1947)
102 DAVID NIVEN Three Blind Mice (1938)
146 MIKE MAZURKI Come to the Stable (1949)
151 CESAR ROMERO Clive of India (1935)
151 CESAR ROMERO Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)
158 JOSEPH COTTEN Half Angel (1951)
158 JOSEPH COTTEN The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
179 JOHN WAYNE The Forward Pass (1929)
179 JOHN WAYNE The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
179 JOHN WAYNE Three Girls Lost (1931)
187 RAY MILLAND The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940)
207 WILLIAM HOLDEN Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
219 ELISHA COOK JR. Love Is News (1937)
219 ELISHA COOK JR. Three Blind Mice (1938)
219 ELISHA COOK JR. Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937)
222 BESS FLOWERS Eternally Yours (1939)
222 BESS FLOWERS Grand Slam (1933)
222 BESS FLOWERS Road to Paradise (1930)
222 BESS FLOWERS Shanghai (1935)
222 BESS FLOWERS The Accused (1949)
222 BESS FLOWERS The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
222 BESS FLOWERS Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)
234 AKIM TAMIROFF The Devil’s in Love (1933)
241 BRODERICK CRAWFORD Eternally Yours (1939)
255 ALEXANDER KNOX Paula (1952)
271 PETER BROCCO Key to the City (1950)
278 KEYE LUKE Shanghai (1935)
302 RICHARD ANDERSON Cause for Alarm! (1951)
323 GEORGE SANDERS Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
323 GEORGE SANDERS Love Is News (1937)
362 BARRY SULLIVAN And Now Tomorrow (1944)
362 BARRY SULLIVAN Cause for Alarm! (1951)
379 ANN DORAN Paula (1952)
379 ANN DORAN The Accused (1949)
379 ANN DORAN The Perfect Marriage (1947)
384 GILBERT ROLAND Life Begins (1932)
393 CHARLES BOYER Caravan (1934/I)
393 CHARLES BOYER Shanghai (1935)
404 JACK ELAM Key to the City (1950)
410 GEORGE RAFT Taxi! (1932)
459 DABBS GREER Because of You (1952)
463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON The Hatchet Man (1932)
463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON The Slippery Pearls (1931)
463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON The Stranger (1946)
467 VAN JOHNSON Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
506 DOUGLAS FOWLEY Private Number (1936)
520 WILLIAM SCHALLERT Paula (1952)
532 JIM BACKUS Half Angel (1951)
532 JIM BACKUS The Truth About Youth (1930)
542 PAUL FIX Life Begins (1932)
542 PAUL FIX Three Girls Lost (1931)
542 PAUL FIX Zoo in Budapest (1933)
562 PAUL BRYAR Because of You (1952)
571 CHARLES LANE Employees’ Entrance (1933)
571 CHARLES LANE Grand Slam (1933)
571 CHARLES LANE Kentucky (1938)
571 CHARLES LANE Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
571 CHARLES LANE She Had to Say Yes (1933)
571 CHARLES LANE The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940)
571 CHARLES LANE The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
606 ALBERTO MORIN Café Metropole (1937)
606 ALBERTO MORIN Suez (1938)
651 MELVYN DOUGLAS He Stayed for Breakfast (1940)
682 RAY TEAL Along Came Jones (1945)
723 MICKEY KNOX The Accused (1949)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER A Night to Remember (1942)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER She Had to Say Yes (1933)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
744 DEAN JAGGER The Men in Her Life (1941)
746 HERB VIGRAN Half Angel (1951)
767 PHILIP AHN China (1943)
767 PHILIP AHN Shanghai (1935)
783 JAMES FLAVIN Bedtime Story (1941)
783 JAMES FLAVIN Key to the City (1950)
783 JAMES FLAVIN Ladies Courageous (1944)
824 FRANK WILCOX Key to the City (1950)
832 DON BRODIE Midnight Mary (1933)
832 DON BRODIE The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
868 LEX BARKER The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Because of You (1952)
925 RAYMOND BURR Key to the City (1950)
936 JOSE NIETO Three Blind Mice (1938)
959 LEON AMES Suez (1938)
963 FRANK FERGUSON Key to the City (1950)
963 FRANK FERGUSON Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
963 FRANK FERGUSON The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
963 FRANK FERGUSON The Perfect Marriage (1947)
969 BYRON FOULGER And Now Tomorrow (1944)
969 BYRON FOULGER Bedtime Story (1941)
969 BYRON FOULGER Key to the City (1950)
982 BILLY BENEDICT A Night to Remember (1942)
982 BILLY BENEDICT Ramona (1936)
Loretta appeared with 36 Oscar winners including Jane Darwell (7 times), Don Ameche (6 times) and David Niven (5 times);
BARRY FITZGERALD Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
BRODERICK CRAWFORD Eternally Yours (1939)
CELESTE HOLM Come to the Stable (1949)
CHARLES COBURN The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
CLAIRE TREVOR Second Honeymoon (1937)
CLARK GABLE Key to the City (1950)
CLARK GABLE The Call of the Wild (1935)
DAVID NIVEN Eternally Yours (1939)
DAVID NIVEN Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
DAVID NIVEN The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
DAVID NIVEN The Perfect Marriage (1947)
DAVID NIVEN Three Blind Mice (1938)
DEAN JAGGER The Men in Her Life (1941)
DON AMECHE Clive of India (1935)
DON AMECHE Ladies in Love (1936)
DON AMECHE Love Is News (1937)
DON AMECHE LOVE UNDER FIRE (1937)
DON AMECHE Ramona (1936)
DON AMECHE The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
EDMUND GWENN The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940)
ETHEL BARRYMORE The Farmer’s Daughter (1947)
FREDRIC MARCH Bedtime Story (1941)
GALE SONDERGAARD A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1942)
GARY COOPER Along Came Jones (1945)
GARY COOPER The Slippery Pearls (1931)
GEORGE ARLISS The House of Rothschild (1934)
GEORGE SANDERS Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
GEORGE SANDERS Love Is News (1937)
HENRY FONDA The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
JAMES CAGNEY Taxi! (1932)
JANE DARWELL It Happens Every Thursday (1953)
JANE DARWELL Love Is News (1937)
JANE DARWELL Private Number (1936)
JANE DARWELL Ramona (1936)
JANE DARWELL The White Parade (1934)
JANE DARWELL Three Blind Mice (1938)
JANE DARWELL Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937)
JANET GAYNOR Ladies in Love (1936)
JOAN CRAWFORD The Slippery Pearls (1931)
JOHN WAYNE The Forward Pass (1929)
JOHN WAYNE The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
JOHN WAYNE Three Girls Lost (1931)
JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT SUEZ (1938)
JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT THE CRUSADES (1935)
MARY ASTOR The Show of Shows (1929)
MELVYN DOUGLAS He Stayed for Breakfast (1940)
NORMA SHEARER The Slippery Pearls (1931)
PAUL LUKAS Grand Slam (1933)
PAUL LUKAS Ladies in Love (1936)
RAY MILLAND The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940)
RONALD COLMAN Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)
RONALD COLMAN Clive of India (1935)
RONALD COLMAN The Devil to Pay! (1930)
SPENCER TRACY Man’s Castle (1933)
SUSAN HAYWARD And Now Tomorrow (1944)
VICTOR MCLAGLEN The Slippery Pearls (1931)
WALLACE BEERY The Slippery Pearls (1931)
WALTER BRENNAN Kentucky (1938)
WARNER BAXTER The Slippery Pearls (1931)
WARNER BAXTER Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937)
WARNER BAXTER Wife, Husband and Friend (1939)
WILLIAM HOLDEN Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
Hey Dan
1. Thanks for the visit and the comment.
2. It actually confused me for a few days as to where the comment was……but I have found it.
3. Wow…..only 4 of her co-stars….but as you say her last movie was 47 years ago.
4. Second list is filled with some stars, unknowns and favorites…..no surprise that Bess Flowers has so many Young movies on the list.
5. For some reason I like seeing her on these lists…somehow I have bonded with her.
6. 36 Oscar winners is above average for an actress….not to mention ahead of many actors. Stolen Jools is filled with Oscar winners.
Great information as always…thanks for sharing.
Beauty and elegance were Loretta Young’s trademarks on film and television. Sometimes, her wardrobe was more dramatic that her roles, but she contributed strong portrayals when given the right material.
Our 4 Star Loretta Young Performances from our Rating The Movie Stars Book
1929 The Girl In The Cage
1929 The Fast Life
1929 The Careless Age
1929 The Forward Pass
1930 Loose Ankles
1930 Road To Paradise
1932 The Hatchet Man
1933 Zoo In Budapest
1933 Midnight Mary
1933 A Man’s Castle
1934 The House of Rothchild
1936 Ladies In Love
1937 Love Is News
1946 The Stranger
1947 The Farmer’s Daughter
1948 Rachel and the Stranger
1949 The Accused
1949 Mother is a Freshman
1951 Cause For Alarm
Hey Joel….always good to get your thoughts on the website. Of your 4 star performances…we were unable to find box office grosses on three of them….The Fast Life, The Girl In The Cage and Road To Paradise….hopefully in the future we will be able to include those movies. Good stuff as always.