Audie Murphy Movies

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

Audie Murphy (1925-1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II.  After the war, Murphy became a movie star. His most famous role was playing himself in 1955’s To Hell and Back.  That movie was based on his 1949 memoirs of the same name. His IMDb page shows 51 acting credits from 1948-1969. This page ranks Audie Murphy movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, documentaries and shorts were not included in the rankings.

Drivel part of the page:  Seems like Audie Murphy has been on our request hotline for a very long time.  So long ago that we can not remember if Dan, Lyle or Laurent requested him first. Well, finally we have finished our Audie Murphy page.  Sadly, when we got to the 1960s….. box office numbers for his movies became very hard to find.  So, 4 of his movies did not make the following table:  Those movies are listed in the “Possibly Interesting Facts” part of the page with their critic audience rating.

Audie Murphy in 1955's To Hell and Back
Audie Murphy in 1955’s To Hell and Back

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

Audie Murphy 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 Audie Murphy movies by co-stars of his movies
  • Sort Audie Murphy movies by actual domestic box office grosses (in millions)
  • Sort Audie Murphy movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Audie Murphy movies by yearly box office rank
  • Sort Audie Murphy movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie
  • Sort Audie Murphy 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.

Audie Murphy and James Stewart in 1957's Night Passage
Audie Murphy and James Stewart in 1957’s Night Passage

Possibly Interesting Facts About Audie Murphy

1. Audie Leon Murphy was born in Kingston, Texas in 1925.  He was the seventh of twelve children.

2. Audie Murphy became a national hero during World War II as the most decorated combat soldier of the war. Among his 33 awards was the Medal of Honor, the highest award for bravery that a soldier can receive.

3.  When James Cagney saw an article on Audie Murphy in Time Magazine concerning his war heroics….Cagney decided to sign Murphy to a movie contract and brought him to Hollywood.

4.  Audie Murphy disliked the name “Audie” when he was a kid and usually went by his middle name, Leon. In the Army, he discovered that “Leon” was considered synonymous with rednecks, and spent the rest of his life going by “Audie” or “Murph.”.

5. Clint Eastwood versus Audie Murphy?  Yep it almost happened.  Murphy was offered the villain role in 1971’s Dirty Harry.  Sadly he died in a plane crash before filming began.

6. Audie Murphy was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

7. Audie Murphy was married two times.  He had two children.

8. Audie Murphy is one of the few actors/actresses in our database to have made over 30 movies and not have one of their movies nominated for a single Oscar® in any category.  The others?  Jennifer Aniston, Elvis Presley and Abbott & Costello.

9.  Audie Murphy has a wonderful official fan website.  Lots of Murphy stuff can be found at www.audiemurphy.com.

10. Check out Audie Murphy ‘s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Astute readers will notice that four movies are missing….we were unable to find any box office information on them but here are those nine movies. Listed by the best rated ones according to critics and audiences

  1. 1962’s Six Black Horse  – 62.50% – critic audience rating
  2. 1966’s The Texican –  60.25% – critic audience rating
  3. 1969’s A Time For Dying – 53.00% – critic audience rating
  4. 1965’s Einer spielt falsch – 49.00% – critic audience rating

 

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158 thoughts on “Audie Murphy Movies”

  1. I have always enjoyed all of his movies they are all great. My second son was born on July 4th 1975 in which I named him Destry. I have been a fan since 1954

    Reply

    1. Hey Gary….glad a Audie Murphy fan found this Murphy statistical page. He was one of my dad’s favorites….my dad mentioned To Hell and Back many many times during our many movie talks. That is awesome that you named your son Destry….and even more awesome that your wife agreed…lol. Great comment!

      Reply

  2. Cogerson

    Audie Murphy made 34 color movies out of 45 total. 31 of his 33 westerns were in color.

    His three 1948 appearances were in b/w. When he went to Universal, he went to color. His first color movie was The Kid from Texas in 1950. He had 19 color movies by 1959, a rather high total. His best? For me it is between To Hell and Back and No Name on the Bullet.

    I have personally seen 37 of his 45 films. The one I have missed that I would really like to see is World in My Corner, his boxing film.

    Reply

    1. Hey John…..wow….37 is impressive….I had to go way back in the comments….but your 37 now sits on top of the list in our tally contest:

      Current and probable final standings.
      Gold Medal – USA’s (?) John with 37 Murphy movies watched
      Silver Medal – Ireland’s Robert Roy with 31 Murphy movies watched
      Bronze Medal – Paul G. with 30 Murphy movies watched (Bad Boy now on page)
      4th Place – Canada’s BERN1960 with 13 Murphy movies watched
      5th Place – Canada’s Flora with 7 Murphy movies watched
      6th Place – New England’s Steve with 5 Murphy movies watched
      7th Place – USA’s Larry with 4 Murphy movies watched
      8th Place – USA’s Cogerson with 4 Murphy movies watched
      9th Place – France’s Laurent with 3 Murphy movies watched

      You just took away Bob’s gold medal….and I thought we had a “cease fire”…lol. Though it should be noted Bob’s total might be 31 of the 34 movies listed on my table.

      Seems strange that Murphy has that many color movies when so many of them were low budget movies. I liked To Hell and Back…but I have still not seen No Name of the Bullet.

      I need to add World In My Corner to my boxing and sports movie pages…somehow that one escaped me. Thanks for the tally count, visit and your sharing of Audie’s movies with us….all are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

      1. Cogerson

        I have just ordered Cast a Long Shadow and it will be mailed to me. It is the only Audie western I have not seen. So I wanted to run the table-33 of 33.

        “Seems strange that Murphy has so many color movies when so many of them were low budget movies.”

        Intriguing observation. Murphy made about as many color movies as Gable, Bogart, Tracy, and Cagney combined. One thing is that the “B” stars turned out more movies per year. But prestige dramas and high caliber comedies were more often in b/w than mid-budget westerns. I assume the money-men knew what they were doing.

        Reply

        1. Hey John….very good….good to know you are going to run the table. I can only make that claim with Bruce Willis….though I have missed a couple of his latest straight to DVD movies….but everything he has released in theaters I have seen. I am also close with Tom Hanks as I have seen 44 of his 46 movies…..the missing ones?….his first movie…He Knows Your Alone and his last movie Inferno…I will see Inferno…not sure I will ever watch his horror movie. Good point about why he had more color movies than his more prestigious fellow actors. Thanks for the update.

          Reply

  3. STEVE (1) All but 4 Audie Murphy films were low budget B movies usually westerns where he was virtually the same character but they provide the great range of posters that you have treated us to here. My own pick would be those posters from No Name on the Bullet, Duel at Silver Creek, Ride Clear of Diablo, and The Guns of Fort Petticoat. Your foreign language poster incorrectly bills Curtis before Murphy in Kansas Raiders. However when that film was made Tony was just up and coming and in Kansas Raiders he did not have star billing and only a supporting role. However your English language poster shows the correct billing with Audie first and anyway it is swings and roundabouts as your Sierra poster bills Audie first whereas his wife at that time Wanda Hendrix actually got top billing over him

    (2) Super black and white still of Audie with Wanda in Sierra. She divorced him after only 14 months.** Also of fine quality were the stills from the boxing movie World in my Corner [Bruce’s No 4] and the closing solo of Audie. Worth mentioning too is the pose of Audie and Lori Nelson from Destry (1954) a remake of James Stewart’s Destry Rides Again (1939) both of which were made by the same director George Marshall. To Hell and Back was released over here on a double bill with Tony Curtis’ boxing film The Square Jungle.

    (3) Full marks to you for making No Name on the Bullet your No 3. It is one of the best B westerns I have ever seen and for once Audie played the bad guy. Ironically back then he got his best critical reviews for that one and for the only other movie in which he was a baddie Night Passage with James Stewart. Bruce and you agree on 3 of the Top 5 but he has way down at his 16th The Unforgiven which is your No 4. However he can be forgiven because like you he makes No Name on the Bullet No 3. Few of your ratings were really high but your splendid posters made the overall video a 9.2/10 in my estimation and I’ve already given it 3 viewings.

    **Audie and Wanda both died prematurely he at 45 in a plane crash of course and she of pneumonia aged 52. Susan Cabot who starred with Audie in Gunsmoke, Duel at Silver Creek and Ride Clear of Diablo, all in your selections also died before her time at the age of 59 when her son who had considerable personal problems murdered her with an iron bar.

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, glad you liked Audie’s video, thanks for the review, rating and info. Poor Susan, murdered by her own son. Audie survived all those those firefights in WWII becoming the most decorated soldier of that war only to die in a plane crash at the age 45.

      Most of these titles were new to me, in Audie’s case I was interested in the posters more than the films themselves. And so many of these westerns were in color. John told me earlier that only two of Audie’s 33 westerns were in B/W.

      I don’t think I’ve seen more than 3 or 4 of his films, notably To Hell and Back, which I have on DVD in stereo sound. But I wouldn’t mind seeing more of his movies after looking at these colorful posters.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC30KzYfp1c&t=330s

      Reply

      1. Hey Steve…thanks for the video link….glad to know that the titles are not too familiar to you as well. When watching your video…I kept thinking….”Did I put that one on my Audie page….what about that one?” Good posters, good like and good comment. 🙂

        Reply

    2. Hey Bob….nice review and sharing of Audie information in this comment. My tally of only 4 Murphy movies was pretty low…..yet my sources of movies rarely have his movies available…maybe I can increase my tally when I start watching TCM more. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

  4. 1 I am not sure if they kept it up but at one stage Harris and O’Toole went on the wagon and they lost weight and became rather dissipated looking. Harris said that he had switch to goats milk went onto goats milk.

    2 Reed carried on as before and a journalist asked him if he would ever think of stopping. Reid replied no it was all such fund. The journalist then reminded him that O’Toole and Harris had stopped to which Oliver replied ” Yes And have you seen them? They look like X X X X all!”

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob….I am sure the goats milk was a severe shock to their systems. Although they did not look too well…I am sure the change in their lifestyles might have kept them around for a few more years…..and gave O’Toole one more great role…Venus. Reed’s thought process probably cost him at least 10 years….he died at 61….Harris passed at 72….and Mr. O’Toole reached 81.

      Reply

  5. Shouldn’t it be Walk the Proud Land? My favorite Audie films are To Hell and Back and Destry. If you ever do a Joel McCrea page his Frenchie (with Shelley Winters in the title role) is also another Destry Rides Again remake. No “Trunk to Cairo” a picture Audie made in 1965 with George Sanders. Turner Classic Movies has run this. It was released by American International Pictures . It’s in the IMDB under a German title.

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan….you are correct….it is Walk The Proud Land…I have fixed that title. Joel McCrea is on the request list..so he will be done at some point in time. The George Sanders movie is called Einer spielt falsch (the 9th one listed on the hard to find list at the bottom)..which got the worst reviews of his career. Glad you found your requested Audie page.

      Reply

    2. Hey Flora….his page will be a challenge for sure…but I think I have 26 of his movies in the database already….finally finished my Walter Wanger research…now I have to write the page. June turned out to be a very productive month….July will not be as productive…..off to a slow start and we are going on vacation for a week starting next weekend….and the UMR database does not travel…lol.

      Reply

      1. BRUCE
        1 Flora seems dismayed that you are going away. Here’s a thought. Why not take her with you?

        2 There’s a precedent for it. In the film The Family Way John Mills takes his best mate Billy Stringfellow on his honeymoon.

        3 Shortly after the honeymoon Billy disappears and Mills never sees him again. So down through the years John sits fondly recounting to his family how he, Billy and wife of Mills used to go for moonlight strolls along the beach together.

        4 He keeps telling his son how much he misses Billy and wondering what ever became of him. He is confident that the son would have liked Billy.

        5 In the final scene of the movie he is again having such a conversation with the son when he abruptly stops and says “You know son this never struck me before but you look a lot like Billy”

        6 Anyhow have a good holiday when you do go. You’ve given me so much additional stuff for my database that I’ll be able tom keep quite busy until you get back

        Best wishes BOB

        Reply

      2. Hey Flora….We are headed to Myrtle Beach…I know it is strange….we live only minutes from the Atlantic Ocean….in a resort area (Virginia BeacH)….were millions of people come every year….yet we feel there is nothing to do here….so we go to ANOTHER beach for vacation. I will be able to comment….just not have the ability to produce new material….or updates.

        Reply

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