Norma Shearer Movies

Want to know the best Norma Shearer movies?  How about the worst Norma Shearer movies?  Curious about Norma Shearer’s box office grosses or which Norma Shearer movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Norma Shearer movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place.

Norma Shearer (1902-1983) was one of the most popular actresses from the mid-1920s through the 1930s.  From 1929 to 1938 she picked up an incredible 6 Best Actress Oscar® nominations.  She was the third woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar®.  She won for 1930’s The Divorcee.  By 1942 she had appeared in her last movie and spent the rest of her life shunning the limelight.  Her IMDb page shows 62 acting credits from 1919-1942.   This page ranks Norma Shearer movies in 6 different columns of sortable information.  Sadly some of her silent movies did not make the table due to lack of box office grosses.

Norma Shearer in 1939's The Women
Norma Shearer in 1939’s The Women

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

Norma Shearer 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 Norma Shearer movies by co-stars or in some cases directors
  • Sort Norma Shearer movies by adjusted box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Norma Shearer movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Norma Shearer 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 Norma Shearer movie received.
  • Sort Norma Shearer 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.
Clark Gable and Norma Shearer in 1931s A Free Soul
Clark Gable and Norma Shearer in 1931s A Free Soul

Possibly Interesting Facts About Norma Shearer

1.  Norma Shearer’s childhood was spent in Montreal, Canada.  After winning a beauty contest at age 14, Shearer’s mother took Norma and her sister to New York City in 1920 to audition for Ziegfeld’s Follies.

2.  Although Shearer was rejected as a Ziegfeld Follie…she found roles as an extra in movies.  By 1923 she had secured a 5-year contract with MGM.

3.  Due to muscle weakness in her eyes…Norma Shearer had a cross-eyed stare.

4.  Norma Shearer’s sister, Athole, married legendary director, Howard Hawks.  So for 12 years, Howard Hawks was Norma’s brother-in-law.

5.  Norma Shearer’s brother, Douglas Shearer, was a 12 time Oscar® winner.  He won his Oscars® for sound recording.  Norma and Douglas were the first brother and sister to be Oscar® winners.

6.  Norma Shearer was married twice.  Her first marriage was to a movie studio executive, Irving Thalberg.  They were married from 1927 until his death in 1936. They had two children a boy and a girl. Irving Thalberg was the subject of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last novel…The Last Tycoon.  Robert DeNiro played the Thalberg character in the movie…The Last Tycoon.  Shearer’s second marriage was to Martin Arrouge.  She was married to Arrouge from 1942 until her death.

7.  Norma Shearer was offered the part of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.  Due to negative fan feedback…she decided to not accept the offer to play the part.

8.  While staying at a ski lodge, Norma Shearer noticed a photo of the receptionist’s daughter and recommended her to MGM.  The receptionist’s daughter was Jamie Lee Curtis’ mom….Janet Leigh.

9.  Norma Shearer always refused to take her wedding ring off while making her movies.  She preferred to cover it up with flesh-colored tape.

10.  Check out Norma Shearer’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

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42 thoughts on “Norma Shearer Movies”

    2. She was a Great and beautiful actress .. these so called actresses of today cannot compare to these Great actresses of yesteryear

      Reply

  2. Since Norma Shearer hadn’t made a film since 1942, I figured she would be the first person without any connections to the modern list, this being 2020. Alas she acted with 4 of them.

    268 BURGESS MEREDITH Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    512 RAY MILLAND Strangers May Kiss (1931)
    628 GEORGE SANDERS Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
    768 EDWARD G. ROBINSON The Slippery Pearls (1931)

    Norma appeared with 19 Oscar winners.

    BARRY FITZGERALD Marie Antoinette (1938)
    CHARLES COBURN Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    CHARLES LAUGHTON The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
    CLARK GABLE A Free Soul (1931)
    CLARK GABLE Idiot’s Delight (1939)
    CLARK GABLE Strange Interlude (1932)
    FREDRIC MARCH Smilin’ Through (1932)
    FREDRIC MARCH The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
    GARY COOPER The Slippery Pearls (1931)
    GEORGE SANDERS Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
    JOAN CRAWFORD The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
    JOAN CRAWFORD The Slippery Pearls (1931)
    JOAN CRAWFORD A Slave of Fashion (1925)
    JOAN CRAWFORD Pretty Ladies (1925)
    JOAN CRAWFORD The Women (1939)
    JOAN FONTAINE The Women (1939)
    JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT IDIOT’S DELIGHT (1939)
    JOSEPH SCHILDKRAUT Marie Antoinette (1938)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE A Free Soul (1931)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
    LORETTA YOUNG The Slippery Pearls (1931)
    MARIE DRESSLER Let Us Be Gay (1930)
    MARIE DRESSLER The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
    MELVYN DOUGLAS We Were Dancing (1942)
    RAY MILLAND Strangers May Kiss (1931)
    VICTOR MCLAGLEN The Slippery Pearls (1931)
    WALLACE BEERY The Slippery Pearls (1931)
    WALTER BRENNAN Riptide (1934)
    WARNER BAXTER The Slippery Pearls (1931)

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan. Thanks for the information on Norma Shearer. Has there been a major star that has no connections to the Oracle 1000? I mean 4 is close……I am sure somebody has a goose egg….but right now I am drawing a blank when it comes to remembering. She does much better when looking at the Oscar co-stars. 5 movies with Joan Crawford…I did not know that. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

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