Want to know the best Rita Hayworth movies? How about the worst Rita Hayworth movies? Curious about Rita Hayworth box office grosses or which Rita Hayworth movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Rita Hayworth movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which ones got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information and much more.
Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was an American actress, who the American Film Institute ranked as one of the Top 50 Screen Legends of all time. Hayworth is ranked as the 19th best actress, right behind #18 Shirley Temple and right before #20 Lauren Bacall. One of our goals is to do a movie page on all 50 Screen Legends. After completing this page we have now written movie pages on 45 (or 90%) of those performers……leaving only 4 actresses and 1 actor that still need movie pages.
Her IMDb page shows 65 acting credits from 1934-1972. This page will rank 35 Rita Hayworth movies from Best to Worst in seven different sortable columns of information. With the exception of Dante’s Inferno (1935), all of her pre-1939 movies were not included in the rankings. Most of these roles were bit parts or uncredited. In addition television movies and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.
Rita Hayworth 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 Rita Hayworth movies by co-stars of her movies
- Sort Rita Hayworth movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Rita Hayworth movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Rita Hayworth 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 Oscar® wins each Rita Hayworth movie received.
- Sort Rita Hayworth movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- Use the sort and search buttons to make this table very interactive. For example…if you type in “Glenn Ford” in the search box….the 5 Ford/Hayworth movies will pop right up.
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Rita Hayworth Table
- Sixteen Rita Hayworth movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 45.71% of her movies listed. Gilda (1946) was her biggest box office hit.
- An average Rita Hayworth movie grosses $100.00 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 22 of Rita Hayworth’s movies are rated as good movies…or 62.85% of her movies. Gilda (1946) was her highest rated movie while The Naked Zoo (1970) was her lowest rated movie.
- Fifteen Rita Hayworth movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 42.85% of her movies.
- Four Rita Hayworth movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 11.42% of her movies.
- A “good movie” Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 60.00. 19 Rita Hayworth movies scored higher that average….or 54.28% of her movies. Gilda (1946) got the the highest UMR Movie Score while The Naked Zoo (1970) got the lowest UMR Movie Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Rita Hayworth
1. Margarita Carmen Cansino was born on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York.
2. Margarita Carmen Cansino appeared in 15 movies from 1934 to 1937. In 1937 she changed her name to Rita Hayworth. The Rita comes from MargaRITA while Hayworth was her mom’s maiden name. Hollywood legend says producer Harry Cohn convinced her to change her name because her birth name was “too Spanish”.
3. Rita Hayworth’s nickname was The Love Goddess. Her most famous trademarks were: her strawberry blonde hair, her voluptuous figure and her deep sultry voice.
4. Rita Hayworth was married five times in her life. Her most famous marriages were to Prince Aly Khan (1949 to 1953) and Orson Welles (1943-1948). She had two children…one with Khan and one with Welles.
5. The image of Rita Hayworth’s face was glued onto an A-bomb which was dropped on the Bikini Atoll during a test in 1946.
6. Rita Hayworth was one of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the movies, other actresses that have also done this includes Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds and Leslie Caron.
7. Rita Hayworth appeared in five movies with classic leading actor Glenn Ford: 1940’s The Lady in Question, 1946’s Gilda, 1948’s The Loves of Carmen, 1952’s Affair in Trinidad and 1965’s The Money Trap.
8. Rita Hayworth never received an Oscar® nomination. She did receive a Best Actress Golden Globe® nomination for 1964’s Circus World.
9. Rita Hayworth died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. The Rita Hayworth Annual Gala, which began as way Princess Yasmin Aga Khan could honor her mother, has raised over $68 million for the Alzheimer’s Association over the last 32 years.
10. The movie….The Shawshank Redemption (1994) is considered one of the best movies over the last 30 years. Two things you might not know about that movie: (1) It was ignorned at the box office and (2) It was based on the Stephen King book Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. It is a shame that they left off Rita’s name in the movie title.
Check out Rita Hayworth’s movie career compared to current and classic stars on our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page.
1 Among the great screen Goddesses of the Hollywood Classic Era Rita was one of those whose overall box office performance could not be said to be vertiginous and if her sixteen 100 million dollar grossers listed above are closely analysed it will be seen that in almost half of them hers was not the dominant role. For example Only Angels Have Wings was a Grant movie, Blood and Sand a Power one, Strawberry Blonde a Cagney vehicle and Separate Tables and Tales of Manhattan were ensemble.
2 Certainly she never enjoyed the string of stand-alone hits that the likes Doris Day and Bettty Grable and Liz Taylor experienced; and in the late 50s she ceased to become a major star so that by the early 60s she was obliged to accept being billed third after much lesser known actresses such as Claudia Cardinale in the Duke’s Circus World [1964 and Elke Sommer in Rita’s final Glenn Ford film The Money Trap (1965).
3 Some of her biographers have suggested that Welles threw her career off track by putting her in Lady from Shanghai (1947) which Bruce has accurately nailed down as a serious flop; but other big stars have surmounted poor choice film roles and Rita was just 29 that year and still basking in the glow of Gilda.
4 Actually I saw Lady from Shanghai again very recently and the party that I was with agreed that Rita’s star quality still shone through. Historians have credited Rita with the important historical function of providing Astaire with a suitably-skilled dancing partner in the absence of Ginger in the early forties.
Hey Bob
1. Thanks for checking out my updated Hayworth page….these updates are allowing you to catch up on all the classic pages you did not comment on the first time….I appreciate you doing it this time.
2. Good point about her being a supporting character in all of her major box office hits….actually….even Gilda her part is secondary to Ford’s role.
3. The 1960s were not good to her at all…almost though not as bad as the 1960s treated Brando…lol.
4. I don’t think Lady From Shanghai hurt her too much….as she still had some of her biggest hits after Shanghai….plus as time has passed that has become one of her most popular movies….I imagine that has to make the person mad that footed the bill to make the movie….that now years later it is considered a classic.
5. Some of fans think she was actually better with Astaire than Rogers was……that sounds like fighting words to me….lol.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Rita Hayworth.
BRUCE:
1 You know until you stuck your head above the parapet I thought but never dared say that Gilda was really a Glenn Ford film! I wonder if Flora agrees with us?
2 We have discussed how Ladd was the fall guy for diminutive stars whilst the likes of Cagney and Robinson got a bye. Bogie and Raft** were not that big either. Similarly I think that Bud in the 60s was the Fall Guy for Flops Lancaster, Douglas, Hank Fonda and Mitchum all generated a serious raft of flops but that is never mentioned.
3 You have at last in my view brought sense and balance to the 60s hype about Brando’s flops in that your figures have highlighted the serious under performers like Appaloosa but have also demonstrated that the box office failure of some of his other movies in that decade was exaggerated. For example Candy $125 Mil, Ugly American $90 mil, Bedtime Story $71 Mil and Fugitive Kind $67 mil *** Those are respectable stats and indeed 30 of Burt Lancaster’s 67 movies grossed under 67 mil and 8 of that 30 did not even reach double figures at the box office so thanks for putting it all in perspective.
4 Now I’m off to commit Rita to my database !
** What about Raft He’s the only one of the big classic era gangsters you have not give a page the others being Bogie, Cagney, Robinson, Ladd and to a lesser extent Garfield.
***Your figure accurately reflects a historical analysis of Tennessee Williams movies which said that Fugitive Kind was a” critical failure but modest commercial success. Newman/Taylor’s ” Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was one of the biggies of course.
Of course Gilda is a Glenn Ford film, Bobby.
It takes two stars for chemistry.
And we do follow Glenn in the film. WE see everything he does. WE do not see scenes where he is not in without his narration.
And therefore the first time we see Gilda, we do associate with him.
I say this as a woman who knows that Gilda the character was one of the reasons why Rita never had a wonderful long term marriage with anyone.
She always said that men thought of Rita as Gilda but woke up with Rita.
Sad.
But Bobby if you check out Bruce’s page on Glenn Ford, you see that I rank it number 1 in my preferences.
It happens to be the first film I saw of either of them.
FLORA
1 Thanks for your response.
2 Glad that you Bruce and I are all agreed that Glenn was a big part of Gilda
3 Not surprised that Gilda is your No 1 as it is riveting and I’ve watched it many times and found it very atmospheric.
4 I think she was a bit hard on herself because may guys in the 40s would have been very happy to wake up with RITA !
5 Nice to hear from u again.
BOBBY
Hey Bob.
Was Rita Hayworth even in Gilda?…..lol.
Hey Bob
1. I think Gilda is a lot like Laura….yes the name is their character name….but like Gene Tierney in Laura….Hayworth is the reason for all the action/plot in the movie….but Ford is the one putting all the parts in motion….not too say she is not great in the movie….she makes it easy to see why so many people fell for her in the movie.
2. Pretty Raft is on the request list…I will verify that….but he would make a nice addition to the website.
3. You make a good point about the other actors that struggled with flops in the 1960s….I think Brando gets mentioned because when the 1960s started he was on top of the mountain…..and by the end of the decade he was pretty much at the foot of the mountain….though The Godfather and Last Tango quickly got him back up on top.
4. Yes his movies did ok in the 1960s for a regular star..but as young as he was in the 1960s he should have a great second decade. Your comparison to Lancaster is good….but you are forgetting one thing….not many people mention Burt L. when the great actors are mentioned….Mr. Brando is…so his expectations were higher than Burt’s.
5. Doing a Tennessee Williams might be interesting…though I generally strongly dislike his movies.
As always thanks for the movie thoughts.
Good response Bruce thanks very much.
Hey Bob….right back at you….some of the Brando comments….are just to see if you are paying attention…lol.
Saw that you had updated Rita’s page and I am thrilled.
Gilda is my favourite film of the 1940s no matter what the genre.
She was one of only three Columbia stars to make the AFI list.
The others were Jack Lemmon and William Holden.
Flora
But… but Flora, Gilda? What about… Casablanca? [bursts into tears] We’ll always have Paris.
Gilda for me is the most romantic movie of all time.
🙂
And if you have noticed – Greg is NOT in Gilda.
LOL.
🙂
FLORA
Unfortunately Jack didn’t make the AFI list possibly because his movie career didn’t take off until 1954 before which he had exclusively been a TV star since 1949
BOBBY
No – I remember now why-
Jack started his career AFTER 1950.
That was one off the rules. You had to start your career before 1950 or have died.
So it is just two -Rita and William Holden.
Thanks Bobby.
🙂
But he made my Top Stars of 1950-2010…I am sure he is happy with that….lol.
Hey Flora….closing in on 66% done with these updates…I have updated all 3 Columbia AFI stars now.
Great news. I love reading the updates.
Thinking about the AFI list and the fact that Columbia was a small studio, it is NOT surprising that only 2 made the list as they likely did factor in number of tickets sold or money made as part of their factors.
Hey Flora….I agree Columbia did not have nearly the same impact on movies like MGM and Warner Brothers had….all those years that MGM and Warner Brothers had those stars locked up in contracts probably helped many get selected on to the AFI list.
Hmm I had to check the comments to see if I’d already posted a comment, I thought Hayworth was one of your older movie pages Bruce. I was wrong.
Not a great actress but Rita Hayworth was one of the great Hollywood Goddesses. Not surprised to see Gilda at the top of the moviescore chart, her most famous film.
I’ve only seen 13 of the 35 films listed on the page. Favorites include Gilda, Cover Girl, The Lady from Shanghai and Only Angels Have Wings.
Others in my collection include My Gal Sal, Fire Down Below, Dante’s Inferno and Salome. I have yet to see Pal Joey or Separate Tables.
Another excellent fact-filled movie page Bruce, keep em coming. Voted Up!
Hey Steve….yep it is a brand new page….Page #45 of the Top 50 AFI Legends. Only five to go. The Love Goddess owned the 1940s. Gilda actually topped all the categories…that actually does not happen to often. Your 13 is good enough for 2nd place in our tally competition….some lady from Canada….beat our combined total….lol. Sorry I let the team down with only 9 Hayworth movies watched. My favorites look very close…as Only Angels Have Wings, Gilda and Lady from Shanghai are my favorites too. Thanks for your thoughts on Rita Hayworth.
I’ve never seen any financial figures for Blondie movies and there are 28 of them (have seen all). Never have seen figures for Jungle Jim (16 films) or Bowery Boys/East Side Kids and there are tons of those. I suppose since they were cheaply made they were quite profitable but not in the big money league, never saw any of any annual list back to 1946. Imagine all the B westerns unaccounted for like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tim Holt, Hopalong Cassidy and the Charles Starrett/Durango Kid films. There are over 100 Starrett films, he holds the record for most features starred in for one studio (Columbia).
Hey Dan. Blondie on a Budget was one of the harder ones to find. Pretty much pieced together box office number from many different sources. I knew it did not reach 1 million in rentals…then I found a book with the budget…and then another source that said it was one of the more profitable Blondie movies. Getting an adjusted gross is difficult….but it was almost impossible for that movie. I think you are right about the B westerns….and some of the franchises like Bowery Boys and Jungle Jim. I do have a RKO book that shares some Tim Holt movie box office grosses though. Thanks for the information on Charles Starrett….gotta admit I am not too aware of the Duango Kid movies.. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi, Bruce!
I am a big Rita Hayworth fan. I first saw her in Gilda over two decades ago and became an instant fan of both her and Glenn Ford. I have seen all five of their movies together. He actually made 6 movies with another Columbia actress named Evelyn Keyes (married to John Huston) but people associate him automatically with Rita and for good reason. I try to see every movie both of them made at least once and have seen some of them multiple times. I will talk about Glenn more when you have done his page, but I will say that he continued his career past the studio system era.
Regarding your comment to me on another page-probably Sinatra-regarding her billing in Pal Joey, it was Sinatra himself who wanted her to be listed first as she was ending her contract with Columbia after 18 years and wanted her to be listed first. As for her not getting the guy while being listed first, in the original stage version Joey leaves both women. Things were cleaned up for the movie version.
Another movie where the first listed star didn’t get the guy/girl in the end was Cary Grant’s final film Walk Don’t Run, a remake of The More The Merrier set instead during the Tokyo Olympics instead of war time Washington. Grant lost the leading lady to Jim Hutton. He wanted that because he felt that would put him firmly in retirement as an actor on screen. He was too old to get the girl anymore and he believed that his fans would not accept him in supporting roles.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to beat both you and Steve on Rita. For one thing, I have seen some of these bit role films that aren’t listed. And well, I think I am much more familiar with Columbia movies than you two.
The highest ranking movie I have seen is Gilda at number 1.
The lowest ranking movie I have seen is Fire Down Below at number 34.
The highest ranking movie I have not seen is Blood and Sand at number 7.
Rankings: I start out strong, falter in the middle and end strong. Weird.
I have seen all of her top 5 movies
I have seen 7 of her top 10 movies
I have seen 10 of her top 15 movies
I have seen 13 of her top 20 movies
I have seen 17 of her top 25 movies
I have seen 21 of her top 30 movies
I have seen 24 of her 35 movies listed
I recommend all of the movies she made with Glenn Ford. But for the purposes of my top five I will list only Gilda.
My favourite five Rita Hayworth movies are:
Gilda
Pal Joey
Cover Girl
Separate Tables
You Were Never Lovelier
Every musical she made is worth seeing.
I’ve only been able to watch Only Angels Have Wings a couple of times because it is so sad. It is a fabulous film, but Cary Grant made other films where a whole bunch of people didn’t die. Much more fun.
I have seen The Shawshank Redemption by the way. I wish Rita’s name had stayed part of the title.
Cheers!
Flora Breen Robison
Hey Flora.
1. Yep the Glenn Ford/Rita Hayworth team far outshined the Ford/Evelyn Keyes movie team.
2. Interesting and very cool about Sinatra giving Hayworth the top billing on Pal Joey…..I just recently saw Pal Joey for the first time. Interesting to know that Joey left both girls…..while in the movie we get a happy ending.
3. As for top star not getting the girl….not thinking anybody wanted Charles Coburn to get Jean Arthur….while I think many people wanted Cary Grant to get Samantha Eggar in Walk Don’t Run. Jim Hutton did not stand a chance when he was standing next to Grant.
4. As for the tally count….I am sure you are correct. I am only 9….while Steve has not presented a tally count yet….but it is Star Wars week…..lol. I would be shocked if Steve can top your 24.
5. Your %….100%, 70%, 66%, 65& and 68%….that looks good for my scoring equation….when looking at her Top 25.
6. I have seen 4 of 5 when it comes to your Top 5….only Cover Girl has escaped me so far. Which that movie is the one that I decided I should see….as numerous places said it was one of the best musicals of the 1940s.
7. Only Angels Have Wings is one of my favorites….what a cast in that one….although it is sad that so many characters did in that movie….but you gotta get the mail delivered…lol.
8. Glad we are on the same page when it comes to the movie Shawshank Redemption…think of all the new fans should would have gotten if they had stuck with the name of the novel.
Only 4 actresses and 1 actor to do on the AFI list….almost done…..thanks for stopping by and commenting on Ms. Rita Hayworth.