Bing Crosby Movies

Even though Bing Crosby's record breaking singing career overshadowed his movie career....he had one of the best movie careers ever.
Even though Bing Crosby’s record breaking singing career overshadowed his movie career….he had one of the best movie careers ever.

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

With his famous bass-baritone voice, Bing Crosby (1903-1977) was one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century. Although somewhat forgotten, his movie career is equally impressive. Bing Crosby’s film career started with the 1930 film The King of Jazz. His first big break came in 1932 when he appeared in The Big Broadcast, which was the sixth most successful movie of that year. He appeared on the annual top ten box office stars for the first time in 1934. He would appear on that list a total of fifteen times in his career. From 1944 to 1948, Crosby was the number one star, for a record five years in a row.

In 1940 Bing Crosby and Bob Hope starred in the very successful Road to Singapore. The comedy team of Crosby/Hope became very popular. They made six very successful sequels over the next twenty-two years. Having conquered singing and comedy, Crosby started concentrating on serious acting. He won the Academy Award® for Best Actor in 1944 for the blockbuster hit Going My Way. He received another nomination the next year for The Bells of St. Mary’s. In 1954, he received his final nomination for Best Actor The Country Girl co-starring Grace Kelly. She won the Oscar® playing Bing’s wife. In 1966 he appeared in his last movie, the remake of the classic western Stagecoach. There was talk of making Road to the Fountain of Youth, but Bing Crosby died in 1977 before he could make that movie.

His IMDb page shows 103 acting credits from 1930-1974. This page will rank 55 Bing Crosby movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.

Bing Crosby in 1944's Going My Way
Bing Crosby in 1944’s Going My Way

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

Bing Crosby 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 Bing Crosby movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Bing Crosby movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Bing Crosby movies by yearly box office rank
  • Sort Bing Crosby 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 Oscar® wins each Bing Crosby movie received.
  • Sort Bing Crosby 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.
  • Use the search and sort button to make this page very interactive….for example if you want to see all the Bob Hope/Crosby movies….just type in Bob Hope in the search box and up they pop.

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

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

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52 thoughts on “Bing Crosby Movies”

  1. 1 Your opening quote on the Bing video was characteristic of his occasional self-depreciating psyche as he opined that he would not have “made it” in any other era. He was the opposite of Tracy in that he wryly cautioned upcoming performers that no matter how big they became they should “Always share your billing so that if the movie’s a flop you don’t carry the can alone.”

    2 In many minds Bing IS Christmas because of his Christmas shows, that great festive movie and the song White Christmas, and I dust down the movie every Xmas for a repeat viewing of Bing and the wonderful Danny K Surprisingly our very own Daddy Christmas says he has never seen all of the film which is like Moses saying he hasn’t read all 10 Commandments !

    3 Bing’s movie career spanned 4 decades and about 50% of your selections come from the 1940s which is but right and you’ve also done the Road movies proud by including I think all 7 in your selections. I agree with your overall Top 5 except that I would have had Blue Skies there instead of Holiday Inn and I would have had White Christmas as No 1.

    4 However I’m pleased that you’ve promoted Bells of St Mary’s into the Top 10. The Oracle’s Top 5 in his Bing audience/critic column are this time well removed from yours and he goes in my direction by making St Mary’s his No 1 but disowns us both by ranking White Christmas a relatively miserable No 10.

    5 As always your posters are a treat for the eye especially in my view Connecticut Yankee. It forever amazes me that given Bing’s wonderful movie career allied to his widespread popularity that he never made the AFI Legend’s list.

    NB: I forgot about White Xmas when compiling my all-time fave movies list. It should be included so whom does Bing replace? The Duke? No. Mr Mumbles? No. Cary or Chuck? Hmmm?

    Reply

    1. Aloha Bob, looks like dear old Chuck will face the chop on your shortlist, unless you extend it a bit.

      hmm I am surprised at the poor showing for White Christmas on Bruce’s charts, but it was Bing’s biggest grosser (see I do look at the grosses occasionally). There’s a guy named John who ‘critiques’ my videos on IMDB and posts here occasionally, he complained about White Xmas not being no.1 too. I think you two have much in common, here let me introduce you – John meet Bob, Bob meet John, there you go. You’re both older than me so I bow down to your greater wisdom on these ancient films. 🙂

      I like White Christmas but I’m not crazy about it, my mistake was placing Holiday Inn above it on the chart, it’s not as popular a film, but that’s the way the dice fell. Blame Maltin as usual, he gave White Christmas just 2 stars – “a limp plot… partial reworking of HOLIDAY INN, not half as good.”

      Btw The Young Lions will be making it’s third appearance on one of my videos this week, and this time in 13th position, who can it be this time… find out in a few hours time. 😉

      Cheers

      Reply

      1. 1 Thanks for extra info.

        2 I think I may have sent John a Post once?

        3 Holiday Inn did have Fred’s great dancing and Bing as usual was relaxing to watch.

        BOB

        Reply

      2. Hey Bob and Steve….as always it is enjoyable to read your comments….informative and funny….keep it up.

        Reply

  2. Bing was never on the Oracle of Bacon Center of the Hollywood Universe top 1000 list (possibly too many films with the same people). These are the actors on the current list who have worked with him.

    Cancel My Reservation (1972) – 919 Pat Morita
    Going My Way (1944) – 571 William Smith
    Off Limits (1953) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Pepe (1960) – 897 Tony Curtis
    Road to Morocco (1942) – 681 Anthony Quinn
    Road to Singapore (1940) – 681 Anthony Quinn
    Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) – 684 Peter Falk, 912 Arthur Tovey
    Say One for Me (1959) – 271 Robert Wagner
    Stagecoach (1966) – 660 Ann-Margret
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) – 247 Charlton Heston, 966 Kathleen Freeman
    Waikiki Wedding (1937) – 681 Anthony Quinn

    These are the actors on the 2000 list who have fallen off but appeared with Bing in a film. Rank is 2000 rank.

    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949) – 851 Cedric Hardwicke
    Alias Jesse James (1959) – 146 Mike Mazurki, 460 Scatman Crothers, 534 Bob Hope
    Angels in the Outfield (1951) – 43 Keenan Wynn, 353 Peter Graves, 361 James Whitmore, 506 Douglas Fowley, 994 Ellen Corby
    Anything Goes (1936) – 14 John Carradine, 222 Bess Flowers, 278 Keye Luke, 767 Philip Ahn
    Anything Goes (1956) – 177 Marcel Dalio, 222 Bess Flowers, 606 Alberto Morin
    Birth of the Blues (1941) – 571 Charles Lane
    Cancel My Reservation (1972) – 43 Keenan Wynn, 507 Ralph Bellamy, 534 Bob Hope, 746 Herb Vigran, 866 Anne Archer
    Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931) – 989 Bruce Cabot
    Double or Nothing (1937) – 222 Bess Flowers
    Duffy’s Tavern (1945) – 362 Barry Sullivan, 783 James Flavin
    Here Come the Waves (1944) – 192 Yvonne De Carlo, 222 Bess Flowers, 379 Ann Doran, 783 Jasmes Flavin
    Here Comes the Groom (1951) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 222 Bess Flowers, 571 Charles Lane, 994 Ellen Corby
    Here is My Heart (1934) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
    High Society (1956) – 270 Frank Sinatra
    High Time (1960) – 937 Fabian
    Hollywood Handicap (1938) – 832 Don Brodie
    If I Had My Way (1940) – 222 Bess Flowers
    Just for You (1952) – 222 Bess Flowers, 746 Herb Vigran
    Let’s Make Love (1960) – 517 Wilfrid Hyde-White, 663 Milton Berle, 895 Tony Randall
    Man on Fire (1957) – 139 E.G. Marshall, 520 William Schallert
    Mr. Music (1950) – 120 Robert Stack, 222 Bess Flowers
    My Favorite Blonde (1942) – 534 Bob Hope
    My Favorite Brunette (1947) – 379 Ann Doran, 534 Bob Hope, 682 Ray Teal, 731 John Hoyt, 783 James Flavin
    Off Limits (1953) – 53 Charles Bronson, 534 Bob Hope
    Paris Honeymoon (1939) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
    Pennies from Heaven (1936) – 740 George Chandler
    Pepe (1960) – 58 Jack Lemmon, 151 Cesar Romero, 237 Peter Lawford, 270 Frank Sinatra, 424 Zsa Zsa Gabor, 463 Edward G. Robinson, 503 Richard Conte, 657 Debbie Reynolds, 882 Dean Martin
    Rhythm on the River (1940) – 571 Charles Lane, 783 James Flavin, 832 Don Brodie, 982 Billy Benedict
    Riding High (1950) – 108 Dub Taylor, 299 Fritz Feld, 379 Ann Doran, 571 Charles Lane, 969 Byron Foulger
    Road to Bali (1952) – 389 Leon Askin, 421 Michael Ansara, 534 Bob Hope, 877 Jerry Lewis, 882 Dean Martin
    Road to Morocco (1942) – 192 Yvonne De Carlo, 534 Bob Hope
    Road to Rio (1947) – 534 Bob Hope, 682 Ray Teal, 740 George Chandler, 963 Frank Ferguson
    Road to Singapore (1940) – 534 Bob Hope, 832 Don Brodie
    Road to Utopia (1945) – 534 Bob Hope, 982 Billy Benedict
    Road to Zanzibar (141) – 534 Bob Hope
    Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) – 270 Frank Sinatra, 463 Edward G. Robinson, 617 Paul Frees, 882 Dan Martin, 895 Tony Randall
    Say One for Me (1959) – 376 Stella Stevens, 446 Ray Walston, 657 Debbie Reynolds
    Scared Stiff (1953) – 222 Bess Flowers, 534 Bob Hope, 877 Jerry Lewis, 882 Dean Martin
    Screen Actors (1950) – 959 Leon Ames
    Showdown at Ulcer Gulch (1956) – 534 Bob Hope
    Son of Paleface (1952) – 534 Bob Hope
    Stagecoach (1966) – 43 Keenan Wynn, 245 Slim Pickens, 522 Red Buttons
    Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) – 118 Woody Strode, 187 Ray Milland, 534 Bob Hope
    That’s Entertainment (1974) – 270 Frank Sinatra, 344 James Stewart (They were hosts of segments within compilation)
    The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
    The Country Girl (1954) – 207 William Holden
    The Emperor Waltz (1948) – 790 Roland Culver
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) – see Betty Hutton
    The Princess and the Pirate (1944) – 27 Marc Lawrence, 146 Mike Mazurki, 534 Bob Hope, 682 Ray Teal, 783 James Flavin
    The Road to Hong Kong (1962) – See Dean Martin (you notice I’m getting tired)
    They Got Me Covered (1943) – 534 Bob Hope, 671 Eduardo Cianelli
    740 George Chandler, 767 Philip Ahn, 832 Don Brodie
    Top ‘O the Morning (1949) – 555 Hume Cronyn
    Two for Tonight (1935) – 506 Douglas Fowley, 571 Charles Lane
    Variety Girl (1947) – 45 Burt Lancaster, 187 Ray Milland, 207 William Holden, 379 Ann Doran, 380 Sterling Hayden, 534 Bob Hope, 963 Frank Ferguson
    Welcome Stranger (1947) – 963 Frank Ferguson
    We’re Not Dressing (1934) – 187 Ray Milland
    White Christmas (1954) – 222 Bess Flowers, 744 Dean Jagger, 746 Herb Vigran, 965 Mary Wickes

    Bing’s Oscar winning co-stars. I think it’s only about 28.

    Anything Goes (1936) – Jane Wyman
    Cancel My Reservation (1972) – Eva Marie Saint
    College Humor (1933) – George Burns
    Duffy’s Tavern (1945) – Barry Fitzgerald
    Going My Way (1944) – Barry Fitzgerald
    Here Comes the Groom (1951) – Jane Wyman
    High Society (1956) – Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Celeste Holm
    Just for You (1952) – Ethel Barrymore, Jane Wyman
    King of Jazz (1930) – Walter Brennan
    Mr. Music (1950) – Charles Coburn
    Pepe (1960) – Jack Lemmon. Charles Coburn, Donna Reed, Shirley Jones
    Road to Bali (1952) – Humphrey Bogart (I think it’s stock footage from “The African Queen”)
    Road to Morocco (1942) – Anthony Quinn
    Road to Singapore (1940) – Anthony Quinn
    Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) – Frank Sinatra
    Scared Stiff (1953) – Dorothy Malone
    Stagecoach (1966) – Red Buttons, Van Heflin
    Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove (1934) – Gary Cooper
    Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) – Ray Milland, Susan Hayward
    That’s Entertainment (1974) – James Stewart, Frank Sinatra
    The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) – Ingrid Bergman
    The Big Broadcast (1932) – George Burns
    The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935) – George Burns
    The Country Girl (1954) – William Holden, Grace Kelly
    The Emperor Waltz (1948) – Joan Fontaine
    The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) – Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Gloria Grahame
    The Princess and the Pirate (1944) – Victor Mclaglen, Walter Brennan
    The Road to Hong Kong (1962) – David Niven, Frank Sinatra
    Top O’ the Morning (1949) – Barry Fitzgerald
    Variety Girl (1947) – Burt Lancaster, Ray Milland, Barry Fitzgerald, Gary Cooper
    Waikiki Wedding (1937) – Anthony Quinn
    Welcome Stranger (1947) – Barry Fitzgerald
    We’re Not Dressing (1934) – George Burns
    White Christmas (1954) – Dean Jagger, George Chakiris

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan…..another great Hollywood legend…and once again….sad that he is not on the Top 1000 anymore. All those years at Paramount…could not have helped his numbers at all. Only 28 Oscar winners…that is a surprise too….especially since he was the biggest star of the entire 1940s. Thanks for more great lists. They are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

        1. Hey Dan….that is even sadder. Seems like a legend like Bing needs more respect…granted numbers are numbers…and the fact how big a star has nothing to do with these Bacon rankings.

          Reply

  3. BRUCE

    1 Have just finished entering more of Bing’s updated grosses into my own database so I can now concentrate on offering a few comments.

    2 According to Hope the supposed buddy-buddy relationship between him and Bing was a myth in the same way that the Lancaster/Douglas private friendship largely did not exist if Burt was telling the truth on the subject. Bob said in an interview that he and Crosby were guests at each other’s homes only once.

    3 Kathryn Grant Bing’s widow said that off-screen the only other celeb in whom Bing seemed to have any great interest was Louis Armstrong. In a TV interview Kathryn told how Bing would usually return home for an early night when he travelled into the cities. However if Louis was playing any of the nearby venues Bing would book a table and stay well into the night.

    4 That demonstrates the influence that Louis exerted on other ‘greats’and therefore why Variety listed him as one of the 10 greatest entertainers of the 20th Century It suggests as well that Crosby had a multi-culture philosophy which was admiral given some attitudes at that time.

    5 In an interview Rosemary Clooney confirmed the reserve about which Kathy Crosby spoke.
    She said that Danny and Bing got on very well making White Christmas but Danny was often sad because he could not encourage Bing to engage in humorous banter.

    6 Rose also described how at the end of shooting the cast and crew were told that they still had to remain behind because minor Royalty was belatedly visiting the set. Bing turned to Rose
    and said “Not me” and took off. Of course he was big enough to get away with that whilst everyone else was obliged to grin and bear the delay.

    7 Rosemary Clooney admitted in the interview that she had accepted the White Xmas part only because she wanted to be in a Bing picture and “We all knew it was Bing’s show.” she added.

    8 As you say for a singer his film grosses were awesome. His versatility was of course further demonstrated by his ability to lapse into strong dramatic roles like The Country Girl on top of the light hearted musicals and the funny Road films. His trademark general relaxed style
    before the cameras was envied. In the same bracket at Tracy/Redford as an under-player?

    Best wishes BOB

    PS: Please forgive me for the necessity of mentioning George’s aunt many times above.

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob.
      1. Glad you finished the Bing work….I am sure you saw how his 1930s really jumped up.
      2. I kind of like thinking that they were great friends…..but I am sure you are correct.
      3 & 4. Very interesting stuff about Bing and Louis Armstrong….I am sure they had lots in common…especially on the music side of thing.
      5 & 6 & 7. Good stuff from the White Christmas set…..that is a movie that I have not seen from beginning to end…when I was younger….White Christmas and Holiday Inn confused me…..although their stories are pretty close. Especially the part that the song White Christmas came from Holiday Inn and not the later movie.
      8. I think people have forgotten just how big Bing was….his movie career is among the best ever….yet it is overshadowed by the music career.
      9. If it had been one more Clooney reference we would have had a problem….lol.
      Cogerson 🙂

      Reply

      1. 1 I’m surprised that Bing or Bob did not make the AFI screen legends list. I know that the 25 selected were the fine-tuned end result but I cannot accept that Dean and Welles for example were greater legends than Hope/Crosby especially Bing give his mammoth grosses. The AFI seemed not to place as much store in box office as I think the latter deserved.

        2 I know separate lists were published for men and women but often they are collectively referred to as the AFI Top 100 and within that context it is simply a joke that Sophia Loren is included and again Bing and Bob are not.

        3 Actually to test reaction, AFI originally released an alternative, provisional list that included some different names from those on the final list . I saw a reproduction of it and Tyrone Power was on it. and that suited me. Anyhow it shows that the final 100 can not be dogmatically regarded as completely truly definitive.

        4 One of the main difference between Holiday Inn/White Christmas was that in the former Astaire/Crosby were rivals whereas in the latter Kaye/Crosby were buddies.

        5. This morning I felt like poor Wallace Ford who couldn’t get top billing any more. Every time I made a post the W of C one was monopolising the Top Spot. Keep that woman away from my gravestone!

        Reply

  4. This is a great and thorough compilation of Crosby’s incredible success in movies. I’m proud to say I’ve seen every one of these movies. Although Bing had admirable success in movies he was primarily a singer and achieved huge success in records over several decades. He was a man of many talents. I’m proud to be a member today of his fan club — the International Club Crosby and a subscriber to Bing Magazine.

    Reply

    1. Thank you William. I have been updating this page for over 5 years now. Recently I started using the Harrison Reports to figure out some previous hard to find box office information. Bing mainly worked for Paramount….which is easily the worst studio when it comes to researching box office grosses of the golden years.

      That is cool that there is a Bing Magazine. When I was updating this page I thought of you….some of the HubPage memory connections…Gregory Peck – Flora, Myrna Loy – RobWrite, Charlton Heston – Steve Lensman, Alecia Murphy – Barbara Stanwyck and Bing Crosby – you.

      Thanks for checking out the update.

      Reply

  5. Hey, Bruce.

    Saw this page was updated. I had been offline.

    Great!

    I’ve seen, I think 35 of these.

    most of them are at the top of the page.

    favourite – High Society

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora
      1. Glad you found the update. Seems I will be updating these pages forever…..but I think visually and factually these pages keep improving….I wish I had a copy of the first ever page…Bruce Willis….so people could see how it started and where we are now.
      2. Heck if you look at the Irene Dunne on this website….you will see the first UMR page….and can see how things have changed since March 2015
      4. Tally count….William 55, Flora 35 and me 10.
      5. Looks like you and Steve are huge High Society fans.
      As always…thank for the input.

      Reply

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