Want to know the best Saul Bass movies? How about the worst Saul Bass movies? Curious about Saul Bass box office grosses or which Saul Bass movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Saul Bass 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.
Saul Bass (1920-1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar®-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood’s most prominent filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. His IMDb page shows over 100 credits from 1949 to 1998 . This page will rank 55 Saul Bass movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings. This comes from a request by UMR Hall of Famer, Steve Lensman.
Saul Bass Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1961
West Side Story (1961)
AA Best Picture Win
1956
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
AA Best Picture Win
1960
Spartacus (1960)
1959
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
AA Best Picture Nom
1960
Psycho (1960)
1959
North by Northwest (1959)
1958
The Big Country (1958)
1958
Vertigo (1958)
1990
Goodfellas (1990)
AA Best Picture Nom
1987
Broadcast News (1987)
AA Best Picture Nom
1988
Big (1988)
1980
The Shining (1980)
1955
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
1963
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
1966
Grand Prix (1966)
1949
Champion (1949)
1989
The War of the Roses (1989)
1991
Cape Fear (1991)
1955
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
1954
Carmen Jones (1954)
1960
Exodus (1960)
1963
The Cardinal (1963)
1961
One, Two, Three (1961)
1956
Attack (1956)
1960
The Facts of Life (1960)
1995
Casino (1995)
1957
Love in the Afternoon (1957)
1960
Ocean's 11 (1960)
1993
The Age of Innocence (1993)
1991
Doc Hollywood (1991)
1965
In Harm's Way (1965)
1962
Advise & Consent (1962)
1962
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
1957
The Pride and the Passion (1957)
1955
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
1956
Johnny Concho (1956)
1995
Higher Learning (1995)
1966
Seconds (1966)
1958
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
1958
Cowboy (1958)
1955
The Big Knife (1955)
1957
Edge of the City (1957)
1965
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
1967
Hurry Sundown (1967)
1963
Nine Hours To Rama (1963)
1971
Such Good Friends (1971)
1955
The Shrike (1955)
1974
Phase IV (1974)
1992
Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
1970
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970)
1998
Psycho (1998)
1979
The Human Factor (1979)
1957
Saint Joan (1957)
1956
Storm Center (1956)
1975
Rosebud (1975)
Saul Bass 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 Saul Bass movies by his co-stars
- Sort Saul Bass movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort Saul Bass movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Saul Bass movies 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 Saul Bass movie received.
- Sort Saul Bass 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.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | West Side Story (1961) AA Best Picture Win |
Natalie Wood & Rita Moreno |
41.30 | 698.1 | 1,378.60 | 2 | 80 | 11 / 10 | 99.8 | |
| 2 | Around the World in 80 Days (1956) AA Best Picture Win |
Shirley MacLaine & David Niven |
35.50 | 806.5 | 806.50 | 2 | 70 | 08 / 05 | 99.7 | |
| 4 | Spartacus (1960) | Kirk Douglas & Tony Curtis |
31.70 | 574.5 | 574.50 | 2 | 91 | 06 / 04 | 99.5 | |
| 3 | Anatomy of a Murder (1959) AA Best Picture Nom |
James Stewart & George C. Scott |
15.70 | 327.4 | 327.40 | 13 | 86 | 07 / 00 | 99.3 | |
| 5 | Psycho (1960) | Janet Leigh & Anthony Perkins |
29.40 | 532.6 | 858.70 | 3 | 94 | 04 / 00 | 99.3 | |
| 6 | North by Northwest (1959) | Cary Grant & James Mason |
19.20 | 399.0 | 643.00 | 7 | 93 | 03 / 00 | 99.2 | |
| 7 | The Big Country (1958) | Gregory Peck & Charlton Heston |
10.60 | 221.7 | 221.70 | 11 | 89 | 02 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 8 | Vertigo (1958) | James Stewart & Directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
9.10 | 190.5 | 190.50 | 17 | 91 | 02 / 00 | 98.8 | |
| 9 | Goodfellas (1990) AA Best Picture Nom |
Robert DeNiro & Directed by Martin Scorsese |
46.80 | 138.4 | 138.40 | 26 | 95 | 06 / 01 | 98.5 | |
| 14 | Broadcast News (1987) AA Best Picture Nom |
William Hurt & Jack Nicholson |
51.20 | 163.8 | 215.30 | 18 | 85 | 07 / 00 | 98.1 | |
| 10 | Big (1988) | Tom Hanks & Directed by Penny Marshall |
115.00 | 349.7 | 461.30 | 4 | 84 | 02 / 00 | 98.1 | |
| 11 | The Shining (1980) | Jack Nicholson & Directed by Stanley Kubrick |
44.00 | 211.6 | 211.60 | 18 | 83 | 00 / 00 | 97.8 | |
| 12 | The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) | Frank Sinatra & Kim Novak |
11.70 | 280.2 | 280.20 | 22 | 80 | 03 / 00 | 97.6 | |
| 13 | It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) | Spencer Tracy & Mickey Rooney |
45.90 | 667.6 | 667.60 | 2 | 76 | 06 / 01 | 97.5 | |
| 13 | Grand Prix (1966) | James Garner & Eva Marie Saint |
23.80 | 269.9 | 269.90 | 8 | 75 | 03 / 03 | 97.4 | |
| 20 | Champion (1949) | Boxing Movies & Kirk Douglas |
5.80 | 169.6 | 169.60 | 40 | 83 | 06 / 01 | 97.1 | |
| 14 | The War of the Roses (1989) | Michael Douglas & Kathleen Turner |
86.90 | 273.6 | 504.40 | 13 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 96.9 | |
| 15 | Cape Fear (1991) | Robert DeNiro & Nick Nolte |
79.10 | 234.8 | 541.20 | 12 | 77 | 02 / 00 | 96.9 | |
| 18 | The Seven Year Itch (1955) | Marilyn Monroe & Directed by Billy Wilder |
14.30 | 343.4 | 343.40 | 14 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 23 | Carmen Jones (1954) | Harry Belafonte & Dorothy Dandridge |
7.10 | 194.1 | 194.10 | 40 | 73 | 02 / 00 | 95.3 | |
| 20 | Exodus (1960) | Paul Newman & Eva Marie Saint |
23.80 | 431.2 | 431.20 | 4 | 67 | 03 / 01 | 94.9 | |
| 21 | The Cardinal (1963) | John Huston & Burgess Meredith |
15.10 | 219.1 | 219.10 | 15 | 66 | 06 / 00 | 94.7 | |
| 24 | One, Two, Three (1961) | James Cagney & Directed by Billy Wilder |
7.10 | 120.7 | 120.70 | 31 | 86 | 01 / 00 | 92.0 | |
| 24 | Attack (1956) | Lee Marvin & Jack Palance |
5.70 | 129.9 | 129.90 | 49 | 82 | 00 / 00 | 91.0 | |
| 26 | The Facts of Life (1960) | Bob Hope & Lucille Ball |
9.10 | 165.6 | 165.60 | 27 | 64 | 05 / 01 | 90.6 | |
| 26 | Casino (1995) | Robert De Niro & Directed by Martin Scorsese |
42.50 | 122.2 | 333.70 | 41 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 90.3 | |
| 26 | Love in the Afternoon (1957) | Gary Cooper & Audrey Hepburn |
5.70 | 127.6 | 127.60 | 42 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 90.1 | |
| 25 | Ocean's 11 (1960) | Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin |
16.10 | 292.4 | 292.40 | 10 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 90.0 | |
| 29 | The Age of Innocence (1993) | Daniel Day-Lewis & Directed by Martin Scorsese |
32.30 | 97.4 | 97.40 | 50 | 82 | 05 / 01 | 89.5 | |
| 30 | Doc Hollywood (1991) | Michael J. Fox & Woody Harrelson |
54.80 | 162.8 | 162.80 | 23 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 32 | In Harm's Way (1965) | John Wayne & Kirk Douglas |
11.50 | 140.8 | 140.80 | 18 | 67 | 01 / 00 | 87.2 | |
| 31 | Advise & Consent (1962) | Henry Fonda & Charles Laughton |
5.70 | 95.2 | 95.20 | 47 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 34 | Walk on the Wild Side (1962) | Barbara Stanwyck & Jane Fonda |
8.60 | 142.9 | 142.90 | 28 | 61 | 01 / 00 | 85.2 | |
| 38 | The Pride and the Passion (1957) | Cary Grant & Frank Sinatra |
8.60 | 191.3 | 191.30 | 25 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 81.9 | |
| 33 | The Night of the Hunter (1955) | Robert Mitchum & Lillian Gish |
0.90 | 20.6 | 20.60 | 181 | 93 | 00 / 00 | 81.8 | |
| 36 | Johnny Concho (1956) | Frank Sinatra & Keenan Wynn |
5.40 | 123.4 | 123.40 | 55 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 81.6 | |
| 37 | Higher Learning (1995) | Ice Cube & Laurence Fishburne |
38.30 | 110.0 | 110.00 | 44 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 79.6 | |
| 38 | Seconds (1966) | Rock Hudson & John Randolph |
3.10 | 35.5 | 35.50 | 76 | 81 | 01 / 00 | 78.2 | |
| 39 | Bonjour Tristesse (1958) | Jean Seberg & David Niven |
2.40 | 49.1 | 49.10 | 94 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 74.5 | |
| 40 | Cowboy (1958) | Glenn Ford & Jack Lemmon |
3.60 | 74.1 | 74.10 | 62 | 64 | 01 / 00 | 74.3 | |
| 42 | The Big Knife (1955) | Shelley Winters & Rod Steiger |
2.30 | 55.8 | 55.80 | 126 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 73.3 | |
| 41 | Edge of the City (1957) | John Cassavetes & Sidney Poitier |
2.20 | 49.7 | 49.70 | 108 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 73.2 | |
| 43 | Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) | Laurence Olivier & Carol Lynley |
2.40 | 29.8 | 29.80 | 96 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 72.5 | |
| 44 | Hurry Sundown (1967) | Michael Caine & Jane Fonda |
10.10 | 104.6 | 104.60 | 29 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 65.4 | |
| 44 | Nine Hours To Rama (1963) | José Ferrer | 2.90 | 41.5 | 41.50 | 69 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 63.0 | |
| 46 | Such Good Friends (1971) | Burgess Meredith & Directed by Otto Preminger |
5.30 | 40.2 | 40.20 | 59 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 59.7 | |
| 48 | The Shrike (1955) | José Ferrer & June Allyson |
1.80 | 42.9 | 42.90 | 145 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 58.4 | |
| 48 | Phase IV (1974) | Nigel Davenport & Michael Murphy |
1.90 | 12.8 | 12.80 | 109 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 56.9 | |
| 49 | Mr. Saturday Night (1992) | Jerry Lewis & Billy Crystal |
13.40 | 40.2 | 40.20 | 84 | 57 | 01 / 00 | 50.7 | |
| 50 | Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) | Liza Minnelli & Directed by Otto Preminger |
2.60 | 21.1 | 21.10 | 91 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 47.2 | |
| 52 | Psycho (1998) | Vince Vaughn | 21.50 | 57.2 | 99.00 | 80 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 35.6 | |
| 51 | The Human Factor (1979) | Richard Attenborough & Directed by Otto Preminger |
0.40 | 1.9 | 1.90 | 162 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 31.9 | |
| 53 | Saint Joan (1957) | Richard Widmark & Richard Todd |
1.10 | 25.5 | 25.50 | 148 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 21.8 | |
| 54 | Storm Center (1956) | Bette Davis & Brian Keith |
1.50 | 33.4 | 33.40 | 156 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 19.4 | |
| 55 | Rosebud (1975) | Peter O'Toole & Directed by Otto Preminger |
1.90 | 11.3 | 11.30 | 119 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 12.7 |
The Cogerson site [like the Lensman one] with its wonderful detailed attention to both the Classic and Modern eras of the cinema, is nothing if it does not regularly invoke for me nostalgic memories that link both of those eras.
And so it is again: Bass is such an uncommon name at least over here that when this new page appeared I immediately thought of George Sherman’s 1949 western Calamity Jane and Sam Bass with as Jane Yvonne DeCarlo and as Sam, Howard Duff [Mr Ida Lupino for a time -you had Gimme More type unions even back in those days!].
Then of course with the mention of Calamity, my automatic pilot further reminded me of my Doris, following which Dan crept in with the yet further memory link to the fact that Doris in turn had plans at one stage to make films with Laddie and The Great Mumbler. Ah happy days! [Pity those plans fell through but nothing’s perfect naturally and at times mention of an unusual name can invoke sad recollections – take ‘Hirschhorn’ for instance.]
I have seen 27 [slightly over 50%] of the films listed above which maybe qualifies me on this occasion for at least honorary membership of the Cogerson/Lensman/Breen Robison prestigious “Have Seen” Club, though I see from the totals that I once again carry the wooden spoon in relation to The Big Three. However because I am at least on the fringes of The Club and because of the following considerations this new page is “Voted Up!”
1/Cogerson/UMR has yet again expanded its scope by profiling a prolific “backroom boy” who is an Oscar winner for SHORT subject films. He won the Oscar in 1969 for the short “Why Man Creates” and had two Academy Award noms in 1978 and 1980, again for short subjects. IMDB credits him with just those 2 noms but 10 outright awards all-told.
2/At last this site is being made aware of someone, other than Steve, who delights us in association with the art of posters provision! Nobody -not even an Englishman – should have a monopoly. Even The Work Horse has to share the glow of HIS site with W o C and The Master!
Seriously though, well done WH: you have once again brought grist to the mill of dedicated movie buffs – WHAT a filmography Saul was associated with!
He wonders; is UMR running out of subjects? Saul Bass is now known to me. He has a very impressive resume. Good suggestion Steve Lensman.
Hey SteinHoF16. Lol……no we have not run out of ideas. This requested page had been sitting on top of our request list for a very long time. Granted not sure many people other than Steve are going to be interested in this page in the long run. But I’m glad that UMR has another category for the website. Glad this page has improved your movie knowledge. One day we will have you trained up completely lol.
I have seen 35 Saul Bass movies, including 9 of the top 10, 18 of the top 20, and 24 of the top 30.
I agree that Saul Bass has some great title designs.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is West Side Story.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Goodfellas.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Saint Joan, not one of Richard Widmark’s best.
Favourite Saul Bass Movies:
West Side Story
Psycho
Vertigo
North By Northwest
The Big Country
Around the World in 80 Days
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Spartacus
The Seven Year Itch
Ocean’s 11
Carmen Jones
The Night of the Hunter
Cowboy
Love in the Afternoon
Other Saul Bass Movies I Have Seen:
Anatomy of a Murder
Big
The Man With a Golden Arm
The War of the Roses
Grand Prix
Cape Fear remake
The Shining
Champion
Attack
The Facts of Life
Doc Hollywood
In Harm’s Way
Walk on the Wild Side – love the title song
Seconds
Bonjour Tristesse
Bunny Lake is Missing
Edge of the City
The Big Knife
The Human Factor
Saint Joan.
Hey Flora. As always thanks for the visit, comment and your tally count. Tally count, Cogerson 37, Flora 35 and Steve 32. Shocked I am the leader this time around. I have seen all of your favorites with North by Northwest, The Big Country and Spartacus being among my favorites too. Goodfellas is a great movie but I know you do not watch gangster movies. As always your movie thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Re: Gangster movies.
I do actually watch gangster movies of the Studio System era as I love Bogart, Robinson and Cagney. I don’t watch them that often. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, there was a production code that you had to pass for your movie to be shown. In that era, gangsters were portrayed as bad people who were always punished. Modern gangster films tend to show gangsters as being cool.
Whoa what an interesting subject Bruce… who’s the genius who requested a Saul Bass page? eh? what? Oh really? When? 🙂
I do dimly remember mentioning that you should do a Saul Bass page way back but never really suspecting you would some day go thru with it. [snort]
As a Hitchcock fan I’m very familiar with Saul Bass’s clever movie title sequences, looking at the chart I didn’t realise he had contributed to such a wide variety of films.
I’ve seen 32 of the 55 films on the chart. Favorite films include – Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, Spartacus, Casino, West Side Story, The Big Country, Cape Fear and The Shining.
I like the two videos you’ve included on the page showcasing Bass’s art.
I watched Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can again recently, the title sequence must have been influenced by Bass.
I’m surprised the Bond producers never hired Bass for one of their early Bond epics, but than they had Maurice Binder, another great genius at title sequences.
Good work Bruce. A big vote Up!
Hey Steve. Well it took a while but we finally got your Saul Bass requested page completed. I think your request had been sitting on the request page for a few years now. Better late than never? Wow I have seen 37 of his movies which is more than you and Flora which I find shocking. Glad you like the attached videos, I figured I needed to include them so people would realize how influential he was in Hollywood. You are 100% correct, he and Hitchcock did some great stuff together. I think the guy that put the opening credits scene in Charade was a Bass disciple. Looking at that opening scene looks like some of Bass’s best work. Good point about him and the James Bond movies. Good stuff as always.
Interesting look at somebody I have never heard of before. Thanks for including the videos, as they show his impact on movies. Did Steve really request this page?
Hello Taylor. Glad this page introduced you to somebody in the movie business you did not know. I acknowledge I had no idea who he was either when Steve requested it. And yes Steve did request this page a very long time ago. You have to give Mr. Bass credit he has an awesome movie resume. Thanks for stopping by.