Want to know the best Thomas Mitchell movies? How about the worst Thomas Mitchell movies? Curious about Thomas Mitchell box office grosses or which Thomas Mitchell movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Thomas Mitchell movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place.
Thomas Mitchell (1892-1962) was an Oscar® winning American actor. His IMDb page shows 111 acting credits from 1923-1961. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks 57 of his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles, his one silent and his one uncredited role were not included in the rankings.
Drivel Part of the Page: In our imaginary UMR Classic Movie Character Actors Hall of Fame, Thomas Mitchell would be a First Ballot Hall of Famer. Joining the likes of Lionel Barrymore, Peter Lorre, Donald Crisp, Vincent Price, Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Brennan and Sydney Greenstreet. Future inductees (no UMR pages yet) include Charles Bickford, Charles Coburn and Ward Bond.
Thomas Mitchell Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
Thomas Mitchell 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 Thomas Mitchell movies by movie titles and trailers
- Sort Thomas Mitchell movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Thomas Mitchell movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Thomas Mitchell movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Thomas Mitchell 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 Thomas Mitchell movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Thomas Mitchell movie won.
- Sort Thomas Mitchell 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.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Thomas Mitchell
1. Thomas John Mitchell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1892. The youngest of seven children born to Irish immigrants who settled in New Jersey, his father James Mitchell, worked in the newspaper industry and died when Thomas was a young boy; his mother’s name was Mary.
2. Thomas Mitchell’s nephew, James P. Mitchell, later served as Dwight Eisenhower’s Secretary of Labor.
3. Thomas Mitchell was a close friend of John Barrymore and became part of his Hollywood entourage of drinkers and raconteurs, which also included Charles MacArthur, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, Roland Young and Anthony Quinn.
4. When Thomas Mitchell won the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for “Hazel Flagg”, a musical version of the film Nothing Sacred, he became the first performer to claim the Triple Crown of Acting awards: Tony, Emmy (as TV’s Best Actor of 1953) and Oscar®.
5. Thomas Mitchell won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for his role in 1939’s Stagecoach. He was nominated one other time……1937’s The Hurricane.
6. Thomas Mitchell was an avid collector of fine art, which included a Rembrandt panel acquired in 1940 from a Polish prince.
7. Thomas Mitchell appeared in nine Oscar® Best Picture nominees: Lost Horizon (1937), Stagecoach (1939), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), Our Town (1940), The Long Voyage Home (1940), Wilson (1944), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and High Noon (1952), with Gone with the Wind the only winner.
8. Thomas Mitchell was married three times and had two children.
9. 1939, what a year for Thomas Mitchell! In 1939, in addition to appearing in three movies nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture, he appeared in two other films that received nominations in other categories: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939).
10. Check out Thomas Mitchell’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Watch Steve’s Thomas Mitchell YouTube Video
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
To me Thomas Mitchell was one of those overrated Old Hollywood character thespians who so endeared themselves to critics that they were praised beyond their skills as actors/actresses. Thomas was undeniably likeable and good in what he did but he had a limited range and was for the most part a one trick pony in my perception.
True he won the supporting Oscar for Stagecoach; but he played a drunk in that and those were the days when the part of a drunk or a priest had Academy Award potential written all over it even before the thespian appeared on the set.
If Al Leach and The Thin Woman had played drunks/priests/women waiting in a cell for the gas chamber instead of prancing around in those – to me – silly and repetitive screwball comedies Archie and Thins might have tasted competitive Oscar glory and not have both ended up being the least awarded/nominated thespians in Hollywood who ironically were conversely among the most talented of film performers.
Often audiences are more perceptive than are snooty guys like Joel Hirschhorn who tend to talk down to them so rightly Mitchell never became a star. However “I come not to praise” Thomas nor to criticise him but to enjoy Steve’s video and that I have done to the tune of a 98% personal satisfaction rating. As Steve himself would say “Vote Up!”
Aloha Bob, any Bruce sightings in the past couple of weeks? ‘Bruce’, you know, the chief. [Bob shrugs] oh wait look there he is! [Bob takes out his binoculars]
Thanks for the review, generous rating, info and trivia, always appreciated.
Happy you liked the posters and stills.
Regarding choice of pictures, it was a mixture of Mitchell and the main stars.
I’d just replied to Flora’s comment at my youtube channel mentioning that Thomas Mitchell was a valuable supporting actor, nine of the top 10 films on his video chart scored 8 and over. That doesn’t happen often. And an Oscar winner too. How many Oscar’s did Alan Ladd win? [Bob snarls]
There are 8, count em, 8 films scoring 10 out of 10 from my sources, 8 bona fide Hollywood classics.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Gone With The Wind
Stagecoach
High Noon
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Lost Horizon
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Only Angels Have Wings
Four more scored 9 out of 10 – Make Way for Tomorrow. The Fighting Sullivans ,The Long Voyage Home and The Black Swan.
No.1 at IMDB is It’s a Wonderful Life, tops at Rotten Tomatoes is Stagecoach.
Bruce and I have the same top 5 in roughly different order.
From IMDB trivia – “Thomas Mitchell was one of the great American character actors, whose credits read like a list of the greatest American films of the 20th century. His portrayals are so diverse and convincing that most people don’t even realize that one actor could have played them all. He was a first-generation American of Irish immigrants who settled in New Jersey. “
“I’d just replied to Flora’s comment at my youtube channel mentioning that Thomas Mitchell was a valuable supporting actor, nine of the top 10 films on his video chart scored 8 and over” – Steve today.
I always respect Flora’s opinions but in relation to the critics and awards authorities there’s an old saying: If you get the name of rising early you can lie in bed all day!
I once pointed out to my son that Ladd had played many diverse roles: for example – Jim Bowie in The Iron Mistress; a pilot in Tiger in the Sky; gangster roles; cowboy heroes; a cowboy villain in One Foot in Hell; a ye olden knight in The Black Knight; a doctor in And Now Tomorrow; The Gteat Gatsby; a legionairre in Desert Legion; a newspaperman in Citizen Caine [stealing the show] and a gladiator in Duel of Champions.
However my son replied “Just the same old Ladd dressed up differently and giving himself a different label.”
Thomas Mitchell was never on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. The following performers on the 2016 list have been in a film with him.
198 DEAN STOCKWELL The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
245 MICKEY ROONEY The Big Wheel (1949)
247 CHARLTON HESTON Secret of the Incas (1954)
468 JASON ROBARDS By Love Possessed (1961)
660 ANN-MARGRET Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
681 ANTHONY QUINN Buffalo Bill (1944)
681 ANTHONY QUINN The Black Swan (1942)
684 PETER FALK Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
The following actors were on the original list back in 2000 but have since fallen off, all worked with Tom.
9 ORSON WELLES Swiss Family Robinson (1940) (opening narrator)
14 JOHN CARRADINE The Hurricane (1937)
25 RODDY MCDOWELL The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
27 MARC LAWRENCE I Promise to Pay (1937)
27 MARC LAWRENCE Life Begins with Love (1937)
50 JEFF COREY The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
56 HENRY FONDA Immortal Sergeant (1943)
56 HENRY FONDA Tales of Manhattan (1942)
65 VIVECA LINDFORS Journey Into Light (1951)
75 CAMERON MITCHELL High Barbaree (1947)
76 EDDIE ALBERT Out of the Fog (1941)
100 IAN WOLFE Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
100 IAN WOLFE Silver River (1948)
100 IAN WOLFE Wilson (1944)
108 DUB TAYLOR Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
118 WOODY STRODE Stagecoach (1939)
125 VINCENT PRICE The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
125 VINCENT PRICE While the City Sleeps (1956)
125 VINCENT PRICE Wilson (1944)
132 GLENN FORD Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
146 MIKE MAZURKI Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
147 LLOYD BRIDGES High Noon (1952)
151 CESAR ROMERO Tales of Manhattan (1942)
155 ROYAL DANO Handle with Care (1958)
156 GREGORY PECK The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
169 JOHN DEHNER Captain Eddie (1945)
177 MARCEL DALIO Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
177 MARCEL DALIO Wilson (1944)
179 JOHN WAYNE Stagecoach (1939)
179 JOHN WAYNE The Long Voyage Home (1940)
180 LEE VAN CLEEF High Noon (1952)
187 RAY MILLAND Alias Nick Beal (1949)
191 GEORGE HAMILTON By Love Possessed (1961)
207 WILLIAM HOLDEN Our Town (1940)
213 BEN JOHNSON The Outlaw (1943)
219 ELISHA COOK JR. Dark Waters (1944)
222 BESS FLOWERS Adventure (1945)
222 BESS FLOWERS Adventure in Manhattan (1936)
222 BESS FLOWERS Alias Nick Beal (1949)
222 BESS FLOWERS Craig’s Wife (1936)
222 BESS FLOWERS Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
222 BESS FLOWERS Flight from Destiny (1941)
222 BESS FLOWERS I Promise to Pay (1937)
222 BESS FLOWERS Immortal Sergeant (1943)
222 BESS FLOWERS Life Begins with Love (1937)
222 BESS FLOWERS Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
222 BESS FLOWERS Tales of Manhattan (1942)
222 BESS FLOWERS The Dark Mirror (1946)
222 BESS FLOWERS Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
222 BESS FLOWERS When You’re in Love (1937)
237 PETER LAWFORD Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
237 PETER LAWFORD Immortal Sergeant (1943)
255 ALEXANDER KNOX This Above All (1942)
255 ALEXANDER KNOX Wilson (1944)
256 HANK WORDEN Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
256 HANK WORDEN Stagecoach (1939)
280 BILLY BARTY Three Wise Fools (1946)
287 RICHARD FARNSWORTH Gone with the Wind (1939)
290 GEORGE WALLACE Destry (1954)
299 FRITZ FELD Journey Into Light (1951)
299 FRITZ FELD Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
323 GEORGE SANDERS Tales of Manhattan (1942)
323 GEORGE SANDERS The Black Swan (1942)
323 GEORGE SANDERS While the City Sleeps (1956)
344 JAMES STEWART It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
344 JAMES STEWART Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
379 ANN DORAN Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
379 ANN DORAN When You’re in Love (1937)
380 STERLING HAYDEN Journey Into Light (1951)
389 LEON ASKIN Secret of the Incas (1954)
393 CHARLES BOYER Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
393 CHARLES BOYER Tales of Manhattan (1942)
404 JACK ELAM High Noon (1952)
404 JACK ELAM Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
406 EDMOND O’BRIEN The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
410 GEORGE RAFT All of Me (1934)
451 DANA ANDREWS While the City Sleeps (1956)
463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Tales of Manhattan (1942)
467 VAN JOHNSON High Barbaree (1947)
467 VAN JOHNSON The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
503 RICHARD CONTE Captain Eddie (1945)
507 RALPH BELLAMY Trade Winds (1938)
562 PAUL BRYAR Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
571 CHARLES LANE It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
571 CHARLES LANE Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
599 JOHN DOUCETTE Destry (1954)
599 JOHN DOUCETTE High Noon (1952)
606 ALBERTO MORIN Gone with the Wind (1939)
611 DON ‘RED’ BARRY Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
648 HARRY MORGAN High Noon (1952)
651 MELVYN DOUGLAS Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
682 RAY TEAL Adventure (1945)
682 RAY TEAL Three Wise Fools (1946)
732 ARTHUR O’CONNELL Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER Buffalo Bill (1944)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER Captain Eddie (1945)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
740 GEORGE CHANDLER Silver River (1948)
767 PHILIP AHN I Promise to Pay (1937)
767 PHILIP AHN The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
783 JAMES FLAVIN I Promise to Pay (1937)
783 JAMES FLAVIN The Long Voyage Home (1940)
783 JAMES FLAVIN Within These Walls (1945)
786 LLOYD NOLAN Bataan (1943)
786 LLOYD NOLAN Captain Eddie (1945)
816 CARLETON YOUNG While the City Sleeps (1956)
824 FRANK WILCOX High Barbaree (1947)
832 DON BRODIE Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
832 DON BRODIE Man of the People (1937)
832 DON BRODIE Tales of Manhattan (1942)
832 DON BRODIE Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
851 CEDRIC HARDWICKE The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
851 CEDRIC HARDWICKE The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
851 CEDRIC HARDWICKE Wilson (1944)
859 MYRON HEALEY Journey Into Light (1951)
863 ALAN HALE JR. Destry (1954)
874 DEAN JONES Handle with Care (1958)
878 DENVER PYLE The Big Wheel (1949)
894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT Alias Nick Beal (1949)
917 ROBERT J. WILKE High Noon (1952)
918 BETTE DAVIS Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
962 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND Gone with the Wind (1939)
962 OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND The Dark Mirror (1946)
963 FRANK FERGUSON Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
965 MARY WICKES Destry (1954)
969 BYRON FOULGER Adventure (1945)
969 BYRON FOULGER Casanova Brown (1944)
969 BYRON FOULGER Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
969 BYRON FOULGER Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
969 BYRON FOULGER Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA Buffalo Bill (1944)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA Immortal Sergeant (1943)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA The Black Swan (1942)
975 MAUREEN O’HARA The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
980 VICTOR MATURE Song of the Islands (1942)
982 BILLY BENEDICT Adventure in Manhattan (1936)
982 BILLY BENEDICT Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
994 ELLEN CORBY It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
994 ELLEN CORBY Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
14 films with Bess Flowers, wow.
31 Oscar winners for Tom
ANNE BAXTER The Sullivans (1944)
ANTHONY QUINN Buffalo Bill (1944)
ANTHONY QUINN The Black Swan (1942)
BARRY FITZGERALD The Long Voyage Home (1940)
BEN JOHNSON The Outlaw (1943)
BETTE DAVIS Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
CHARLES COBURN Wilson (1944)
CHARLES LAUGHTON Tales of Manhattan (1942)
CHARLES LAUGHTON The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
CHARLTON HESTON Secret of the Incas (1954)
CLAIRE TREVOR Stagecoach (1939)
CLARK GABLE Adventure (1945)
CLARK GABLE Gone with the Wind (1939)
DONNA REED It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
DOROTHY MALONE Too Young to Know (1945)
EDMOND O’BRIEN The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
EDMUND GWENN The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
FREDRIC MARCH All of Me (1934)
FREDRIC MARCH Trade Winds (1938)
GARY COOPER Casanova Brown (1944)
GARY COOPER High Noon (1952)
GEORGE SANDERS Tales of Manhattan (1942)
GEORGE SANDERS The Black Swan (1942)
GEORGE SANDERS While the City Sleeps (1956)
GINGER ROGERS Tales of Manhattan (1942)
GLORIA GRAHAME It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
GRACE KELLY High Noon (1952)
GREER GARSON Adventure (1945)
GREGORY PECK The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
HATTIE MCDANIEL GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
HATTIE MCDANIEL THE BIG WHEEL (1949)
HATTIE MCDANIEL THE CAVALCADE OF ACADEMY AWARDS FROM 1928 – 1939 (1940)
HENRY FONDA Immortal Sergeant (1943)
HENRY FONDA Tales of Manhattan (1942)
JAMES STEWART It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
JAMES STEWART Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
JANE DARWELL Craig’s Wife (1936)
JANE DARWELL Gone with the Wind (1939)
JANE DARWELL Journey Into Light (1951)
JANE DARWELL THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941)
JANE DARWELL Three Wise Fools (1946)
JASON ROBARDS By Love Possessed (1961)
JOAN FONTAINE This Above All (1942)
JOHN WAYNE Stagecoach (1939)
JOHN WAYNE The Long Voyage Home (1940)
KATY JURADO High Noon (1952)
LIONEL BARRYMORE It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Three Wise Fools (1946)
MARY ASTOR The Hurricane (1937)
MELVYN DOUGLAS Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND Gone with the Wind (1939)
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND The Dark Mirror (1946)
RAY MILLAND Alias Nick Beal (1949)
RONALD COLMAN Lost Horizon (1937)
TERESA WRIGHT Casanova Brown (1944)
VIVIEN LEIGH Gone with the Wind (1939)
WALTER BRENNAN Little Accident (1930)
WALTER HUSTON THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (1941)
WALTER HUSTON The Outlaw (1943)
WILLIAM HOLDEN Our Town (1940)
Hey Dan
1. Good lists…as always.
2. 1st list…..only Stockwell and Ann-Margret are still with us…..so maybe he will have keep a connection with the current list for awhile. Though Stockwell has not had a IMDb credit since 2015.
3. 2nd list is massive…..and yes that 14 movies with Bess Flowers is truly impressive. That is TEN more movies than the next most people…a bunch have 4 Mitchell movies.
4. The Oscar list is actually a much smaller number than I thought it was going to be….I thought it would be closer to 50….versus barely over 30. Sad that only Olivia is the only one still living….and at 101 and close to 102….not sure how much longer that will be true.
Thanks for taking the time to share this information.
Bob?
Hey Dan…..I got the right number of letters correct….lol.
wonderful, appeared in movies nominated for 35 Oscars in one year. its a wonderful life is in my top 10 all time. mr smith goes to Washington and stagecoach are in my top 250 favorites. 79% over 60 UMR , incredible.
Hey bob cox. Thanks for checking out our latest page. I like to include some supporting actors every now and then. Figure a Charles will be next……either Coburn or Bickford.
Thanks for the Oscar nomination count….that of course gets my mind to ask……is that a record for one year. 80% is pretty impressive when looking at UMR scores. My next subject will fall far from that percentage.
Good to know Thomas Mitchell has representation on your all-time favorite lists. Good stuff as always.
I am a Thomas Mitchell fan, so I am thrilled he got a UMR page.
I have seen 26 Thomas Mitchell movies.
The highest rated film I have seen is Gone With the Wind, one of my favourites of all time.
The highest rated film I have NOT seen is Wilson.
The lowest rated film I have seen is By Love Possessed, a guilty pleasure.
Yes, 5 1939 classics and 9 Best Picture nominees is fantastic. I have seen all of the nominated 1939 movies and 8 Best Picture nominees overall. The only one I am missing is The Long Voyage Home.
My Favourite Thomas Mitchell Movies are:
Gone With the Wind
Lost Horizon
High Noon
Keys To the Kingdom
Stagecoach
Only Angels Have Wings
The Black Swan
While the City Sleeps
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
It’s a Wondeful Life
Hey Flora
1. Thanks for checking out our latest page.
2. 26 tops me and Steve…..but combined we have you beat by one…..lol.
3. My first is Wilson as well. Wilson is a movie I seem to have been aware of all my life….yet have never even come close to watching it.
4. Mitchell had an awesome 1939……the characters he played could not make that claim…..one was an alcoholic, one died in a plane crash, one died in horse accident and another had a rock dropped on his head…killing him……lol.
5. I have seen all of your favorites except While the City Sleeps.
6. Loved the Black Swan…a very fun movie. Keys to the Kingdom was a wonderful Peck debut.
Good feedback as always.
I’ve seen 15 of the 57 films listed.
Favorites include – Stagecoach, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Only Angels Have Wings, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone With the Wind (all 5 in 1939, whoa!), High Noon, Lost Horizon, It’s a Wonderful Life and The Black Swan.
Adjusted for inflation Gone With the Wind still rules the movie world, over $3bn!
Looking at the trivia – Thomas Mitchell was a familiar face in many all time great films.
Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve
1. I am right behind you……as I have seen 12 of the 57 movies……for the first 17 movies…I have seen 12 of them…..and then 0 for the last 40 movies…..and I thought I was a film fan.
2. I actually watched his Hunchback of Notre Dame on Saturday night…and figured he was a good one to do a UMR page on…..even better was the fact that we had over 50 of his movies already completely researched.
3. He had a great 1939……although his part in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is not too impressive….heck….in the Wiki plot section….his character is not even mentioned in the summary.
4. Besides his 1939, I am the most impressed with his 9 Best Picture Nominated Movies…..that is a pretty good percentage.
5. Thanks for the voted up, visit, tally and comment.