Want to know the best Randolph Scott movies? How about the worst Randolph Scott movies? Curious about Randolph Scott’s box office grosses or which Randolph Scott movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Randolph Scott 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.
Randolph Scott (1898-1987) was one of the icons of the cinema’s West. Scott’s rise to fame had some interesting crossroads. After graduating from the University of North Carolina with a degree in textile engineering and manufacturing, Scott had chance encounter with mogul Howard Hughes. Hughes got him some work as an extra in Hollywood in the late 1920s. This got Scott interested in acting. After taking some acting classes, Scott signed a movie contract with Paramount. Slowly Scott began appearing in better movies with bigger roles. His pinnacle was from 1950 to 1953 when he was a Top Ten Box Office Star every year during that four year stint.
His IMDb page shows 106 acting credits from 1928-1962. This page ranks Randolph Scott movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, and movies not released in North America and many of his movies that barely made a dent at the box office were not included in the rankings.
Randolph Scott Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Randolph Scott 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 Randolph Scott movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Randolph Scott movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
- Sort Randolph Scott movies by domestic yearly box office rank
- Sort Randolph Scott 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 Randolph Scott movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Randolph Scott movie won.
- Sort Randolph Scott 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 button to make this page very interactive.
Adjusted Randolph Scott Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses
Possibly Interesting Facts About Randolph Scott
2. At 19 Randolph Scott served in France as an artillery observer during World War I.
3. Randolph Scott played college football for Georgia Tech……but his football career was cut short due to injury.
4. Randolph Scott was best friends with Cary Grant and Fred Astaire. For many years he and Grant shared a house in Hollywood.
5. Randolph Scott was married twice. First first marriage was to Mariana duPont Somerville from 1936 to 1939. His second marriage was to Patrica Stillman from 1944 until his death in 1987….they had two children.
6. Randolph Scott formed Ranown Productions with producer Harry Joe Brown and produced several films.
7. Randolph Scott was reportedly worth around $100 million when he passed away….this was due to the fact that he was a great businessman who made many shrewd financial investments.
8. Randolph Scott was among Hollywood’s Top 10 box office stars from 1950 to 1953: He ranked 10th in 1950, 7th in 1951, 10th in 1952 and 10th in 1953.
9. Randolph Scott was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1975.
10. Randolph Scott was Margaret Mitchell’s choice to play Ashley Wilkes in the movie version of her novel Gone with the Wind….Leslie Howard got the part.
Check out Randolph Scott‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Steve’s Randolph Scott You Tube Video
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. Golden Globe® is a registered trademark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.
For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.
I mentioned how few color movies Montgomery Clift made.
Randolph Scott is at the other end of the color movie spectrum. I have been been digging into which stars made color movies during the studio era, and Scott is all by himself as the #1 man in appearances in color movies prior to 1959.
By 1959, Scott had appeared in 36 color movies. (he would add two more in the sixties for a total of 38).
So far, the closest I have found anyone coming to him in this regard is Gary Cooper at 21. Errol Flynn had 19.
Eventually, Henry Fonda and John Wayne would surpass Scott’s total because of many color movies in later years. But in his own day, Scott was all by himself.
Hey John….that is good information. I would think of all the classic performers I know the best Cary Grant would come to mind…..(a) I can not even think of his first color movie…though I would guess Night and Day (I will check that after this comment) ….but if I exclude his few 1960s movies….I think his total would be single digits. Your comment has my brain working…..I like comments that do that.
Randolph Scott has never been on the Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list (most connectible actors for the uninitiated). There are not many people on the current list that appeared with him (I mean it’s 54 years since his last movie), they are as follows;
China Sky (1945) – 681 Anthony Quinn
Corvette K-225 (1943) – 809 Robert Mitchum, 914 Cliff Robertson
Gung Ho (1943) – 809 Robert Mitchum
Home, Sweet Homicide (1946) – 198 Dean Stockwell
Ride Lonesome (1959) – 413 James Coburn
The Bounty Hunter (1954) – 142 Ernest Borgnine
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) – 142 Ernest Borgnine
The Tall T (1957) – 548 Henry Silva
Three Lives (1953) – 247 Charlton Heston
Now it’s strange. 2000 was 38 years since his last picture but there were considerable people on that list who worked with him. 2 people connected in 2 films from 1929 with him, 71 years after the fact. One of those 1929 films had 2 Oscar winners too! Here follows all the actors who had fallen off over the past 16 years but worked with Randy;
20,000 Men a Year (1939) – 740 George Chandler
7th Cavalry (1956) – 93 Harry Carey Jr., 544 Leo Gordon, 824 Frank Wilcox, 878 Denver Pyle
A Lawless Street (1955) – 222 Bess Flowers, 326 Angela Lansbury, 963 Frank Ferguson
A Successful Calamity (1932) – 959 Leon Ames
Abilene Town (1946) – 147 Lloyd Bridges
And Sudden Death (1936) – 832 Don Brodie
Badman’s Territory (1946) – 194 Lawrence Tierney, 213 Ben Johnson, 917 Robert J. Wilke
Belle Starr (1941) – 451 Dana Andrews, 783 James Flavin
Bombardier (1943) – 76 Eddie Albert, 160 Robert Ryan, 542 Paul Fix
Born Reckless (1930) – 179 John Wayne
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) – 232 Roy Jenson, 350 L.Q. Jones
Canadian Pacific (1949) – 740 George Chandler
Captain Kidd (1945) – 14 John Carradine, 384 Gilbert Roland, 682 Ray Teal
China Sky (1945) – 767 Philip Ahn
Christmas Eve (1947) – 410 George Raft
Coast Guard (1939) – 379 Ann Doran, 507 Ralph Bellamy
Colt .45 (1950) – 147 Lloyd Bridges
Coroner Creek (1948) – 506 Douglas Fowley
Corvette K-225 (1943) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 237 Peter Lawford, 562 Paul Bryar, 783 James Flavin
Decision at Sundown (1957) – 682 Ray Teal
Fighting Man of the Plains (1949) – 542 Paul Fix
Follow the Boys (1944) – 9 Orson Welles, 410 George Raft, 824 Frank Wilcox, 982 Billy Benedict
Fort Worth (1951) – 682 Ray Teal
Frontier Marshal (1939) – 14 John Carradine, 151 Cesar Romero
Gunfighters (1947) – 989 Bruce Cabot
Hangman’s Knot (1952) – 236 Lee Marvin, 682 Ray Teal
High, Wide and Handsome (1937) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
Home on the Range (1935) – 744 Dean Jagger
Jesse James (1939) – 14 John Carradine, 56 Henry Fonda, 740 George Chandler, 783 James Flavin
Man in the Saddle (1951) – 75 Cameron Mitchell, 221 John Crawford, 255 Alexander Knox, 290 George Wallace
Paris Calling (1941) – 50 Jeff Corey, 100 Ian Wolfe, 222 Bess Flowers, 301 Lee J. Cobb, 562 Paul Bryar, 671 Eduardo Cianelli, 894 Philip Van Zandt (7 from a 59 year old film)
Pittsburgh (1942) – 179 John Wayne, 222 Bess Flowers, 506 Douglas Fowley, 542 Paul Fix
Rage at Dawn (1955) – 290 George Wallace, 296 Kenneth Tobey, 682 Ray Teal, 859 Myron Healey, 878 Denver Pyle
Return of the Bad Men (1948) – 160 Robert Ryan, 868 Lex Barker
Ride Lonesome (1959) – 180 Lee Van Cleef, 232 Roy Jenson
Ride the High Country (1962) – 165 R.G. Armstrong, 350 L.Q. Jones, 453 Warren Oates, 969 Byron Foulger, 978 John Davis Chandler
Riding Shotgun (1954) – 53 Charles Bronson, 108 Dub Taylor, 299 Fritz Feld, 963 Frank Ferguson
Santa Fe (1951) – 963 Frank Ferguson
Seven Men from Now (1956) – 54 Stuart Whitman, 236 Lee Marvin, 611 Don ‘Red’ Barry
Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) – 153 James Garner, 332 Angie Dickinson, 379 Ann Doran, 464 John Alderson, 859 Myron Healey, 894 Philip Van Zandt
Starlift (1951) – 379 Ann Doran
Sugarfoot (1951) – 256 Hank Worden
Tall Man Riding (1955) – 108 Dub Taylor, 169 John Dehner
Ten Wanted Men (1955) – 54 Stuart Whitman, 180 Lee Van Cleef, 544 Leo Gordon, 878 Denver Pyle, 972 Richard Boone
The Black Watch (1929) – 179 John Wayne
The Bounty Hunter (1954) – 108 Dub Taylor
The Desperadoes (1943) – 132 Glenn Ford
The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949) – 90 John Ireland, 506 Douglas Fowley
The Last of the Mohicans (1936) – 989 Bruce Cabot
The Man Behind the Gun (1953) – 506 Douglas Fowley, 606 Alberto Morin, 863 Alan Hale Jr.
The Nevadan (1950) – 50 Jeff Corey
The Spoilers (1942) – 179 John Wayne
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) – 236 Lee Marvin
The Tall T (1957) – 972 Richard Boone
The Virginian (1929) – 740 George Chandler
The Walking Hills (1949) – 90 John Ireland, 248 Arthur Kennedy
Three Lives (1953) – 179 John Wayne, 389 Leon Askin
Thunder Over the Plains (1953) – 219 Elisha Cook Jr., 868 Lex Barker
To the Last Man (1933) – 14 John Carradine
To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) – 648 Harry Morgan, 783 James Flavin, 863 Alan Hale Jr. , 975 Maureen O’Hara
Trail Street (1947) – 160 Robert Ryan
Virginia City (1940) – 542 Paul Fix, 824 Frank Wilcox
Western Union (1941) – 14 John Carradine, 740 George Chandler, 744 Dean Jagger, 783 James Flavin
When the Daltons Rode (1940) – 241 Broderick Crawford, 783 James Flavin
Ever notice there aren’t too many actresses on these lists. In addition Randolph worked with at least some 25 Academy award winners.
20, 000 Men a Year (1933) – Jane Darwell
A Successful Calamity (1932) – Mary Astor
Badman’s Territory (1946) – Ben Johnson
Born Reckless (1930) – John Wayne
Captain Kidd (1945) – Charles Laughton
China Sky (1945) – Anthony Quinn
Corvette K-225 (1943) – Cliff Robertson, Barry Fitzgerald
Follow the Fleet (1936) – Ginger Rogers
Go West Young Man (1936) – Alice Brady
Hangman’s Knot (1952) – Lee Marvin
Home on the Range (1935) – Dean Jagger
Hot Saturday (1932) – Jane Darwell
Island of Lost Souls (1932) – Charles Laughton
Jesse James (1939) – Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell
Murders in the Zoo (1933) – Jane Darwell
Pittsburgh (1942) – John Wayne
Ride Lonesome (1959) – James Coburn
Roberta (1935) – Ginger Rogers
Seven Men from Now (1956) – Lee Marvin
Starlift (1951) – Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Jane Wyman
Tall Man Riding (1955) – Dorothy Malone
The Black Watch (1929) – Victor McLaglen, John Wayne
The Bounty Hunter (1954) – Ernest Borgnine
The Desperadoes (1943) – Claire Trevor
The Nevadan (1950) – Dorothy Malone
The Spoilers (1942) – John Wayne
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) – Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Claire Trevor
The Texans (1938) – Walter Brennan
The Virginian (1929) – Gary Cooper, Walter Huston
Three Lives (1953) – Charlton Heston, John Wayne, Jane Wyman
Virginia City (1940) – Humphrey Bogart
Western Union (1941) – Dean Jagger
When the Daltons Rode (1940) – Broderick Crawford
Hey Dan….I will be updating Scott’s page in the very near future. List 1: Only 9 people still standing on the most recent list. List 2: You are right this is a pretty lengthy list for a guy not in the Top 1000. I would bet he was close to the Top 1000 in 2000. 25 Oscar winners…not too bad. Yep you are right not too many Oscar winning actresses here…..not hard to see why….as Scott was really known for his westerns…..thanks for the Randolph Scott information.
No I mean on the connectible lists. I’m guessing women make up 10 to 15% only,
Got it.
HELLO AGAIN STEVE !
1 My father was a western film fanatic and 4 of his very favourite stars naturally had featured heavily in westerns – Randy, the Duke, Glenn Ford, and Joel McCrea ** with Scott and Wayne possibly having the slight edge;so when I saw that your ‘agent’ had advertised your Scott video on this site I went straight into it.
2 It would not be Randy if there was not a preponderance of westerns but the 8 non-westerns that you have included are as reasonable a balance as can be expected in relation to Scott. I was slightly surprised though that if my notes are correct 7 of your selections are not true ‘Randolph Scott’ vehicles in that his roles in them are supporting parts with billing to match. However I think all his recognised classics are included so that overall any Scott fan should be reasonably satisfied. Ride the High Country [called Guns in the Afternoon over here] rightly takes the top spot in my opinion.
3 Another professional production with excellent poster reproduction and compelling soundtrack so in memory of my father I wish to record my appreciation of this once again easy-on-the eye treat.
**Sadly neglect by Cogerson “I have heard that in this clan/You are called the forgotten man” – Frank to Bing in High Society (1956)
Have a good day Steve BOB
Thanks again Bob. I watched a few Randy Scott westerns this summer on TCM via my tivo box, a very useful machine, which brings back memories of recording old movies on my VHS recorder a few decades ago, except I can’t keep these recordings.
Yes I should have mentioned Guns in the Afternoon as the alternative title but completely forgot and it’s written on one of the posters. Oh well.
You mentioned Joel McCrea, it’s not just Bruce that’s neglected him, I have a massive movie poster blog which includes once popular and now forgotten western heroes like Buck Jones, Tim McCoy and Tom Tyler but I don’t see any sign of McCrea, tut tut. I will make that up by doing a video on him, eventually (if I haven’t forgotten again)
http://100yearsofmovieposters.blogspot.co.uk/
Cheers,
Steve
Thanks for extra comment steve
Hey Steve and Bob….not sure I am aware of Joel McHale…was he on that tv show with Tim Conway in the 1960s?…..lol. Actually Joel McCrea has been on the request list for a little bit….so one day it will be a UMR page. Good comments.
Hello Bruce, Here is another Scott western you can add to your list. “Riding Shotgun” from 1954 did $1,400,000 in domestic rentals for a $3,080,000 gross. This one also
co-starred Charles Bronson as on of the bad guys. I’ve seen nearly all of his westerns from the 1950’s except “The Cariboo Trail” (1950), “Sugarfoot” (1951) and “The Bounty Hunter” (1954). My favorite Scott films are “Seven Men from Now”, ” Ride Lonesome” and “Ride the High Country”. But I’ve enjoyed nearly all of the Scott westerns I’ve seen. Not on this list are “Western Union” (1941), “Coroner Creek” (1948) and “The Nevadan”. All of which are first rate westerns. Except for John Wayne, Scott is my favorite western film star. I also love James Stewart in all those Anthony Mann westerns. Thanks, again for a great page.
Thanks for the box office stats on Riding Shotgun….that movie is now in the table…and ranked at 28th. About to go and update my Bronson page too. Two of my weak spots (granted there are many) are 1954 and 1955. My Variety numbers only show the top 57….and stop at 1.90 million rentals. While my 1955 Variety numbers only show the Top 60. And stop at 2.00 million in rentals.
I wish I had more movies on the table….but 52 is way more than what The Numbers.com has for him….which is a grand total of 1. I will continue to look for information on Western Union (somewhere in my house is a purple notebook with 50 or so movies with box office for 1941 movies…..it might be one of those movies), Coroner Creek and The Nevadan. Once again thanks for the information…it was greatly appreciated.
Hello Bruce. I’m happy with this Randolph Scott Movie Page. There was at least 18 of These films that I didn’t Have box office information on, including “Ride the High Country”, “Comanche Station”, “The Tall T”, Albuquerque”, “Badman’s Territory”, “She”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Trail Street”, “Return of the Badmen” and “A Lawless Street”. I had wanted the Box Office information on these films especially “Ride the High Country” for Many years. Thank you Bruce for another great movie page. My father didn’t like Randolph Scott when I was growing up so I didn’t see many of his films while growing up. But thanks to the western channel and Turner Classic Movies I’ve seen man of his films and I’ve become quite a fan. Thanks again Bruce.
Hey Lyle. Glad you like this Scott page…which has increased 8.5% since your comment as I have added 4 more movies since your comment. In my research….on his 1950s westerns….seems those movies did much better overseas than here in the states. Seems the Columbia movies had budgets around $500,000 while the Warner Brothers movies were in the range of $700,000 ….seems like the profits came from the overseas market. As most of the post 1955 movies failed to reach the 1 million box office rental number. TCM is a great place to get to know Mr. Randolph Scott. Thanks for stopping by.
Cogerson
“seems those movies did much better overseas”
The author of The Films of Randolph Scott made this point. The aim was to cover costs in the domestic market and then turn the profit overseas.
It seems that none of the Scott films westerns prior to Ride the High Country lost money. Scott wouldn’t have been making them if they had. He was an extremely shrewd businessman who ended up the modern equivalent of a billionaire. Lee Marvin noted that while his stunt double was falling off horses and engaging in furious fistfights, Scott would be sitting off to the side reading the Wall Street Journal to check how his investments were doing.
Hey John…..seems this page is due for an update. At the start of the year…we changed our formula for adjusted box office and our UMR score. Even I get this update I will have to include the worldwide grosses that I have. Your comment of the breakdown is very interesting…though I bet movies that turned a profit just with domestic gross made those executives very very happy. Good reflection from Lee Marvin on Scott. I have read that his business success was legendary in Hollywood. Thanks for the feedback.