Richard Benjamin Movies

Want to know the best Richard Benjamin movies?  How about the worst Richard Benjamin movies?  Curious about Richard Benjamin box office grosses or which Richard Benjamin movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Richard Benjamin 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.

Richard Benjamin (1938-) is an American actor and director.  Benjamin starred in a number of well-known film productions: Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Westworld (1973), and The Sunshine Boys (1975).  After directing for television, his first film as director was the 1982 comedy My Favorite Year.  Other notable films as director include City Heat (1984),The Money Pit (1986) and Made in America (1993).  His IMDb page shows over 65 credits since 1962. This page will rank Richard Benjamin movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, cameos, and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.

The Last of Sheila (1973)

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

1973’s Westworld

Richard Benjamin 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 any way you want.

  • Sort Richard Benjamin movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Richard Benjamin movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Richard Benjamin movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Richard Benjamin 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 Benjamin movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Richard Benjamin movie won.
  • Sort Richard Benjamin 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.

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

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13 thoughts on “Richard Benjamin Movies

  1. I have seen Richard in 7 movies: Goodbye Columbus; The Last of Sheila; Catch 22; House Calls; Love at First Bite; The Sunshine Boys; and My Favourite Year. However if someone had pressed me on that matter before Bruce released this page I could probably have named just Goodbye Columbus. Thanks for the wake up call Work Horse!

    Actually My Favourite Year is the one that I like best but I didn’t know that Richard had directed it until Bruce said so above; and have always remembered most from that movie O’Toole’s tour-de-force as drunken actor Alan Swann whose character is supposed to have been inspired by the real-life antics of Errol Flynn.

    Another reason though that I have always loved that movie is that it was set in 1954 and that was the year that I first saw Brando [in On the Waterfront] and became properly aware of him. Hitherto I had simply known that some Yank had played Mark Antony in Julius Caesar the year before and I was totally oblivious to the existence of the Streetcar movie or play for that matter. Kids like me were more interested in Randy Scott/John Wayne/Roy Rogers/Rory Calhoun!

    The narrator Benjy Stone who tells us in voice over that 1954 is “my favourite year” and through whose eyes the story unfolds is supposed to have been based on both Woody Allen and Mel Brooks.

    Richard was apparently last active in any medium in 2015 in one episode of the TV series Children’s Hospital and as The Work Horse faithfully chronicles above his most recent movie was in 2008; nevertheless Wikipedia classifies him as still active. Richard that is: not The Work Horse – the Jury’s still out on HIM. Though it is good of WH to remind us of Richard’s career

    1. Hey Bob….thanks for the thoughts on Richard Benjamin. Tally counts: 19 Cogerson, 7 for Bob and PhilHoF17, 6 for Flora. I have seen 5 of the 6 you have seen….with Goodbye, Columbus being the one I missed. I love him in The Last of Sheila…..which was based on a game Anthony Perkins played with his friends. I love My Favorite Year….and I love that it was a look behind the scenes of television history. O’Toole as a Flynn actor is amazing. So 1954 is when Brando got his hooks into you…..that is closing in on 70 years of being a fan….pretty impressive. Good stuff as always.

  2. Good page on Richard Benjamin, though I see that it is still missing some possibly interesting facts, so I’ll offer a few facts (and opinions) of my own. Benjamin was quite a promising and popular leading man in the early 1970s after starring in Goodbye Columbus and holding a key supporting role in Catch-22, which I see from the table above are his two biggest box office hits. He was even co-billed with Yul Brynner in Westworld (although of course Brynner was in his declining years) and I think he had the largest part within the ensemble cast of The Last of Sheila. However, his success did not last long, and by the mid-70s, Benji already fell in less interesting roles. This may have been a good thing as he later proved himself to be a capable director, particularly with the critical success of My Favorite Year starring Peter O’Toole. I have seen 7 of the films on the list (can’t believe you saw 19!). Favorites are The Last of Sheila, Westworld, and Deconstructing Harry.

    1. Hey PhilHoF17.
      1. Thanks for your thoughts on Richard Benjamin.
      2. Tally count: 19 Cogerson, 7 PhilHoF17, 6 Flora
      3. I have seen 10 of his acting roles and 7 of his movies that he directed.
      4. As an actor…love him in Catch-22, Westworld and The Last of Sheila. As a director…love his My Favorite Year and City Heat (he replaced Blake Edwards at the last minute) I do watch his The Money Pit pretty often.
      5. Good breakdown of his career….and I of course agree with almost everything you wrote.
      As I crank out these Joel subjects….Possibly Interesting Facts is one of the areas I decided not too include.
      Good stuff.

  3. I have seen 6 Richard Benjamin movies, all in the top 10.

    The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Goodbye, Columbus.

    The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Catch-22.

    The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is The Last of Sheila.

    Favourite Richard Benjamin Movies:

    Westworld
    My Favorite Year
    The Last of Sheila

    Other Richard Benjamin Movies I Have Seen;

    Goodbye, Columbus
    The Sunshine Boys
    Love at First Bite

    1. Hey Flora…thanks for the thoughts on our Richard Benjamin page. I always liked him as an actor….and liked some of his movies that he directed. Tally count: I have seen 19 of his movie….to your 6. 6 is not too bad, since most of his career occurred after 1976. I have seen all of your favorites. Really glad to see The Last of Sheila make your favorites list…as I am pretty sure I highly recommend that one to you a few years ago. I have seen 2 of your “other” movies. I have not seen his star making role in Goodbye, Columbus. Good stuff as always.

  4. I remember seeing The Last of Sheila (1973) at the Regency revival theater in Manhattan in 1979 as part of a murder, mayhem series. It was shown with some other early 70’s picture which I don’t remember the title of.

    I saw How to Beat the High Co$t of LIving as a sneak preview with Nothing Personal which starred Donald Sutherland and Suzanne Sommers in her first and last lead role in a theatrical film.

    Richard Benjamin has never been on the Oracle of Bacon list. I didn’t realize his first picture is in 1969, while Paula Prentiss his wife (married 59 years come October) was in films in the early 60’s. He seemed to disappear from films around 1980, though he has a great line in Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) when Neil Diamond shows up. These are the folks on the 2020 list he appeared with.

    6 MARTIN SHEEN Catch-22 (1970)
    39 RODDY MCDOWELL Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    50 ALAN ARKIN Catch-22 (1970)
    68 JOHN CARRADINE Portnoy’s Complaint (1972)
    85 F. MURRAY ABRAHAM The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    99 RIP TORN First Family (1980)
    102 ORSON WELLES Catch-22 (1970)
    108 JAMES MASON The Last of Sheila (1973)
    115 IAN MCSHANE THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973)
    128 ROBERT MORLEY Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    170 JON VOIGHT Catch-22 (1970)
    175 GEORGE SEGAL The Last Married Couple in America (1980)
    188 FRANK LANGELLA Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
    189 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    192 STANLEY TUCCI Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    196 CLORIS LEACHMAN Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    196 CLORIS LEACHMAN The Steagle (1971)
    200 MARTIN BALSAM Catch-22 (1970)
    208 ROBIN WILLIAMS Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    223 JAMES COBURN The Last of Sheila (1973)
    230 WOODY ALLEN Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    275 CAROL KANE The Shrink Is In (2001)
    280 AUSTIN PENDLETON Catch-22 (1970)
    280 AUSTIN PENDLETON First Family (1980)
    285 BOB BALABAN Catch-22 (1970)
    285 BOB BALABAN Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    314 PAUL GIAMATTI Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    343 PETER BOYLE Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
    370 DARYL HANNAH Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
    385 EDDIE ALBERT How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980)
    388 DEMI MOORE Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    392 KAREN BLACK Portnoy’s Complaint (1972)
    441 TERI GARR Witches’ Brew (1980)
    461 JEFFREY TAMBOR Saturday the 14th (1981)
    472 JON POLITO The Shrink Is In (2001)
    480 DIANE LADD The Steagle (1971)
    491 LARRY MILLER Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
    519 JAMES BROLIN Westworld (1973)
    525 RAQUEL WELCH The Last of Sheila (1973)
    549 VINCENT PRICE Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    580 YUL BRYNNER Westworld (1973)
    583 DAVID ARQUETTE THE SHRINK IS IN (2001)
    604 LUKE WILSON Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
    606 TONY PLANA First Family (1980)
    613 DABNEY COLEMAN How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980)
    657 RICHARD MASUR Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    675 DOM DELUISE The Last Married Couple in America (1980)
    677 ANTHONY PERKINS Catch-22 (1970)
    706 JEREMY PIVEN Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
    719 WALTER MATTHAU House Calls (1978)
    719 WALTER MATTHAU The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    775 GEORGE HAMILTON Love at First Bite (1979)
    788 MARCEL DALIO Catch-22 (1970)
    865 PHILIP BOSCO Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    887 MADELINE KAHN First Family (1980)
    908 BETH GRANT Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
    920 HOWARD HESSEMAN The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    927 CHRISTINE BARANSKI MARCI X (2003)
    942 BILLY CRYSTAL Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    954 DORIS ROBERTS KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS (2006)
    956 LEE GRANT Portnoy’s Complaint (1972)
    1000 FRED WILLARD FIRST FAMILY (1980)
    1000 FRED WILLARD How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980)

    Dick appeared with 16 Oscar winners in films.

    ALAN ARKIN Catch-22 (1970)
    ART CARNEY House Calls (1978)
    CLORIS LEACHMAN Scavenger Hunt (1979)
    CLORIS LEACHMAN The Steagle (1971)
    F. MURRAY ABRAHAM The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    GEORGE BURNS The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    GLENDA JACKSON House Calls (1978)
    JAMES COBURN The Last of Sheila (1973)
    JESSICA LANGE How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980)
    JON VOIGHT Catch-22 (1970)
    LEE GRANT Portnoy’s Complaint (1972)
    MARTIN BALSAM Catch-22 (1970)
    ROBIN WILLIAMS Deconstructing Harry (1997)
    RUTH GORDON SCAVENGER HUNT (1979)
    VIOLA DAVIS THE SHRINK IS IN (2001)
    WALTER MATTHAU House Calls (1978)
    WALTER MATTHAU The Sunshine Boys (1975)
    YUL BRYNNER Westworld (1973)

    1. Hey Dan. As always…thanks for these awesome trivia lists. So you mentioned seeing The Last Of Sheila….did you like it? I love that movie….as I have now seen it 4 times…most recently with WoC. That is an outstanding accomplishment on the long marriage of Benjamin and Paula Prentiss….you do not see that in Hollywood too often. Benjamin pretty much left acting to direct….for awhile he was on a roll…..My Favorite Year, City Heat(it made money), The Money Pit and Racing With The Moon (starring youngsters Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage).

      First list….5 way tie with 2 movies with an Oracle co-star….at least there is one big names… Walter Matthau. Only 16 Oscar winning co-stars…a little on the low side…but as an actor….he did not really make many movies. Good stuff as always.

    1. Thanks Mike. One day Paula will pop up on the New Pages list. Too bad she was not in the Joel book….or it would be coming soon. FYI….it looks like Gene Autry will be the hardest to do…as almost all of his box office grosses are unknown. I am headed to ODU (Old Dominion University) tomorrow as they have three books about Republic Studios…..hoping to unlock some of those B westerns from Autry.

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