Want to know the best Bob Hope movies? How about the worst Bob Hope movies? Curious about Bob Hope’s box office grosses or which Bob Hope movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Bob Hope movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which one got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Back in 2011 I wrote a movie page that ranked Bing Crosby’s movies. At the time I got numerous requests to do a Bob Hope page. Well 4 years later….I am happy to report that I finally have a Bob Hope movie page written….sorry for the delay. Bob Hope (1903-2003) was one of the greatest entertainers ever! During his almost 80 year career….he did it all! Movie star….check. Television star…..check. Best selling author…..check. Popular singer…..check. Accomplished dancer……check. Stand up comedian……check. Oscar® host….check. This page is only going to look at his impressive movie career.
His IMDb page shows 94 acting credits from 1934-1994. This page will rank Bob Hope movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. His 6 cameo roles, his 10 shorts and 15 television credits were not included in the rankings. After the massive Hope table is a section of possibly interesting facts about Bob Hope.
Bob Hope 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
1945
Road to Utopia (1945)
1942
Road to Morocco (1942)
1947
Road to Rio (1947)
1942
My Favorite Blonde (1942)
1944
The Princess and The Pirate (1944)
1948
The Paleface (1948)
1946
Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)
1954
Casanova's Big Night (1954)
1952
Son of Paleface (1952)
1940
Road to Singapore (1940)
1951
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
1939
The Cat and the Canary (1939)
1940
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
1947
My Favorite Brunette (1947)
1949
Sorrowful Jones (1949)
1941
Road to Zanzibar (1941)
1941
Louisiana Purchase (1941)
1949
The Great Lover (1949)
1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
1941
Caught in The Draft (1941)
1955
The Seven Little Foys (1955)
1950
Fancy Pants (1950)
1947
Where There's Life (1947)
1942
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
1951
My Favorite Spy (1951)
1952
Road to Bali (1952)
Cameo Role
1960
The Facts of Life (1960)
1941
Nothing But The Truth (1941)
1943
They Got Me Covered (1943)
1957
Beau James (1957)
1952
Off Limits (1952)
1943
Let's Face It (1943)
1938
Thanks For The Memory (1938)
1938
College Swing (1938)
1962
The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
1967
Eight on the Lam (1967)
1939
Never Say Die (1939)
1961
Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
1938
Give Me a Sailor (1938)
1968
The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968)
1966
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
1959
Alias Jesse James (1959)
1956
That Certain Feeling (1956)
1956
The Iron Petticoat (1956)
1939
Some Like It Hot (1939)
1963
Call Me Bwana (1963)
1953
Here Come The Girls (1953)
1958
Paris Holiday (1958)
1963
Critic's Choice (1963)
1969
How To Commit Marriage (1969)
1965
I'll Take Sweden (1965)
1964
A Global Affair (1964)
1972
Cancel My Reservation (1972)
Bob Hope 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 by Bob Hope’s co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Bob Hope movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort Bob Hope movies by their yearly box office rank
- Sort Bob Hope 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 Bob Hope movie received.
- Sort Bob Hope 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 | Road to Utopia (1945) | Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
12.50 | 396.3 | 396.30 | 6 | 82 | 01 / 00 | 97.9 | |
| 2 | Road to Morocco (1942) | Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
11.40 | 424.8 | 424.80 | 7 | 80 | 02 / 00 | 97.8 | |
| 3 | Road to Rio (1947) | Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
12.20 | 354.3 | 354.30 | 7 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 97.6 | |
| 4 | My Favorite Blonde (1942) | Madeline Carroll | 7.10 | 265.5 | 265.50 | 19 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 97.3 | |
| 7 | The Princess and The Pirate (1944) | Virginia Mayo | 6.30 | 211.9 | 211.90 | 47 | 77 | 02 / 00 | 97.2 | |
| 5 | The Paleface (1948) | Jane Russell | 9.20 | 248.2 | 248.20 | 11 | 74 | 01 / 01 | 96.6 | |
| 6 | Monsieur Beaucaire (1946) | Joan Caulfield | 9.50 | 291.4 | 291.40 | 23 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.3 | |
| 8 | Casanova's Big Night (1954) | Joan Fontaine | 8.60 | 200.9 | 200.90 | 32 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 96.2 | |
| 10 | Son of Paleface (1952) | Jane Russell | 9.40 | 185.1 | 185.10 | 13 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 96.0 | |
| 11 | Road to Singapore (1940) | Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
4.70 | 181.5 | 181.50 | 18 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 96.0 | |
| 9 | The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) | Lloyd Nolan | 9.40 | 203.3 | 203.30 | 12 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 95.8 | |
| 12 | The Cat and the Canary (1939) | Paulette Goddard | 6.00 | 230.8 | 230.80 | 20 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 95.3 | |
| 15 | The Ghost Breakers (1940) | Paulette Goddard | 4.60 | 176.0 | 176.00 | 21 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 95.2 | |
| 13 | My Favorite Brunette (1947) | Dorothy Lamour | 8.40 | 244.1 | 244.10 | 26 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 14 | Sorrowful Jones (1949) | Lucille Ball | 9.40 | 236.8 | 236.80 | 11 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 95.0 | |
| 17 | Road to Zanzibar (1941) | Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
4.20 | 163.6 | 163.60 | 41 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 94.4 | |
| 16 | Louisiana Purchase (1941) | Viva Zorina | 8.90 | 341.5 | 341.50 | 4 | 65 | 02 / 00 | 94.3 | |
| 18 | The Great Lover (1949) | Rhonda Fleming | 9.20 | 229.8 | 229.80 | 12 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.8 | |
| 19 | The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) | W.C. Fields | 5.20 | 207.6 | 207.60 | 27 | 63 | 01 / 01 | 93.8 | |
| 20 | Caught in The Draft (1941) | Dorothy Lamour | 7.10 | 273.2 | 273.20 | 10 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.8 | |
| 21 | The Seven Little Foys (1955) | James Cagney | 11.40 | 236.9 | 236.90 | 24 | 63 | 01 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 24 | Fancy Pants (1950) | Lucille Ball | 7.40 | 166.8 | 166.80 | 18 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 92.2 | |
| 23 | Where There's Life (1947) | William Bendix | 8.10 | 236.2 | 236.20 | 30 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 92.0 | |
| 23 | Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) | Betty Hutton & Alan Ladd |
8.30 | 308.0 | 308.00 | 13 | 55 | 02 / 00 | 91.4 | |
| 25 | My Favorite Spy (1951) | Hedy Lamarr | 7.40 | 160.2 | 160.20 | 23 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 90.3 | |
| 26 | Road to Bali (1952) Cameo Role |
Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour |
8.30 | 163.3 | 163.30 | 15 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 90.2 | |
| 27 | The Facts of Life (1960) | Lucille Ball | 9.10 | 142.8 | 142.80 | 28 | 64 | 05 / 01 | 89.5 | |
| 29 | Nothing But The Truth (1941) | Paulette Goddard | 4.10 | 156.3 | 156.30 | 45 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 86.8 | |
| 28 | They Got Me Covered (1943) | Dorothy Lamour | 6.20 | 223.9 | 343.50 | 40 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 30 | Beau James (1957) | Vera Miles | 5.00 | 96.2 | 96.20 | 46 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 85.6 | |
| 31 | Off Limits (1952) | Mickey Rooney | 6.90 | 136.1 | 136.10 | 30 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 84.5 | |
| 32 | Let's Face It (1943) | Betty Hutton | 3.40 | 123.2 | 123.20 | 92 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 79.6 | |
| 34 | Thanks For The Memory (1938) | Shirley Ross | 2.50 | 99.8 | 99.80 | 90 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 77.6 | |
| 33 | College Swing (1938) | George Burns | 2.10 | 83.8 | 83.80 | 111 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 77.4 | |
| 36 | The Road to Hong Kong (1962) | Bing Crosby & Joan Collins |
7.40 | 106.8 | 106.80 | 35 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 76.6 | |
| 35 | Eight on the Lam (1967) | Jill St. John | 7.80 | 69.2 | 69.20 | 36 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 76.1 | |
| 36 | Never Say Die (1939) | Martha Raye | 1.50 | 57.8 | 57.80 | 147 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 74.6 | |
| 39 | Bachelor in Paradise (1961) | Lana Turner | 6.70 | 97.8 | 97.80 | 34 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 38 | Give Me a Sailor (1938) | Betty Grable | 1.70 | 67.9 | 67.90 | 139 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 40 | The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (1968) | Gina Lollobrigida | 6.90 | 56.4 | 56.40 | 54 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 68.0 | |
| 42 | Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966) | Elke Sommer | 10.30 | 101.2 | 101.20 | 28 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 66.7 | |
| 41 | Alias Jesse James (1959) | Rhonda Fleming | 5.00 | 89.8 | 89.80 | 50 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 66.5 | |
| 43 | That Certain Feeling (1956) | Eva Marie Saint | 2.90 | 56.0 | 56.00 | 116 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 61.5 | |
| 45 | The Iron Petticoat (1956) | Katharine Hepburn | 3.60 | 70.6 | 77.60 | 93 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 60.8 | |
| 44 | Some Like It Hot (1939) | Shirley Ross | 0.90 | 34.7 | 34.70 | 185 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 59.6 | |
| 46 | Call Me Bwana (1963) | Anita Ekberg | 5.60 | 69.8 | 69.80 | 53 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 51.8 | |
| 48 | Here Come The Girls (1953) | Rosemary Clooney | 6.10 | 108.9 | 108.90 | 46 | 35 | 00 / 00 | 50.2 | |
| 47 | Paris Holiday (1958) | Preston Sturges | 4.30 | 77.0 | 77.00 | 58 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 50.0 | |
| 49 | Critic's Choice (1963) | Lucille Ball | 3.40 | 43.0 | 43.00 | 67 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 37.4 | |
| 50 | How To Commit Marriage (1969) | Jackie Gleason | 2.90 | 21.7 | 21.70 | 74 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 32.6 | |
| 51 | I'll Take Sweden (1965) | Tuesday Weld | 3.70 | 39.3 | 39.30 | 70 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 18.6 | |
| 52 | A Global Affair (1964) | Liselotte Puliver | 2.90 | 32.7 | 32.70 | 87 | 39 | 00 / 00 | 11.8 | |
| 53 | Cancel My Reservation (1972) | Eva Marie Saint | 3.00 | 19.2 | 19.20 | 90 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 3.6 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Bob Hope
1. Leslie Townes “Bob” Hope was born in Eltham, London on May 29th,1903. He was the 5th of 7 sons.
2. Bob Hope’s path to stardom. His family left London and settled in Cleveland, Ohio in 1905. After working as a butcher, Hope decided to try a career in entertainment. While performing in 1925, Hope was spotted by silent film star, Fatty Arbuckle. Arbuckle helped Hope get higher profile work. By 1934 Hope was performing on the radio. In 1935 he started appearing in some movie shorts…which eventually got him a role in The Big Broadcast of 1938. His performance in that movie was singled out and Hope never looked back.
3. In 1939 Bob Hope hosted the Academy Awards® ceremony. He ended up hosting the ceremony fourteen times between 1939 and 1977.
4. Bob Hope was never nominated for an Oscar®. The Academy did give Hope an incredible 5 Honorary Oscars®. He got Honorary Oscars® in 1940, 1944, 1952, 1959 and 1965. Bob Hope did pick up two Best Actor Golden Globe® nominations for 1960’s The Facts of Life and 1961’s Bachelor in Paradise.
5. Bob Hope and the USO (United Service Organizations). Bob Hope entertained active service American military personnel from 1941 to 1991. He made 57 tours for the USO. Hope was declared an honorary veteran of the United States Armed Forces in 1997 by an act of Congress.
6. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made a series of “Road To” movies. From 1940 (Road to Singapore) to 1962 (Road To Hong Kong) they made 7 “Road To” movies. The combined adjusted box office gross for the 7 movies is over 1 BILLION dollars.
7. Bob Hope was married two times. He was married to Grace Louise Troxell from 1933 to 1934. He married Dolores Reade in 1934. He and Dolores were married 69 years. They adopted four children. Hope passed away at age 100….while Dolores passed away at age 102.
8. Bob Hope movies that never happened: 1. Cary Grant role in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)…Paramount would not loan him out. 2. Hope turned down Cary Grant role in Operation Petticoat (1959). 3. Guys and Dolls (1955) was supposed to be another Hope/Crosby movie….instead it turned to be a Marlon Brando/Frank Sinatra movie. 4. The Road to the Fountain of Youth….was going to be the 8th “Road To” movie…was in pre-production stages when Bing Crosby passed away.
9. When I write a page on a classic actor….I usually end up reading lots of books on that classic performer as I try to track down elusive box office information. Normally these books end up not being too helpful. Well I am happy to say that the book, Hope (2014) by Richard Zoglin, is an exception to that rule. Zoglin’s Hope is a great read filled with lots of informative and interesting information on Hope’s career and life…not to mention some nice box office nuggets. I think any Bob Hope fan will really enjoy reading the Zoglin book on Bob Hope.
10. Bob Hope and “Thanks For The Memories”. In the 1938 movie The Big Broadcast of 1938, Bob Hope sang “Thanks For The Memories”….the song won an Oscar®. To capitalize on the success of the song, Paramount named the next Hope movie….Thanks For The Memories (1938). The song would become Hope’s theme song for the rest of his life.. I can not think of a better way to end this page other than to say Thanks For The Memories Mr. Hope.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Hi, Bruce.
Since I recently saw another Bob Hope film for the first time, I thought I would go back to your list of artists you and Steve are interested in my totals and thoughts.
A few days ago I watched Call Me Bwana which I had recorded for Anita Ekberg who died earlier this year. I always try to watch fims and tv shows of people who have recently died. I enjoyed the film overall, but but since as with many films set in Africa there is a big spider in it, I will not be watching it again.
Regarding the Hope and Crosby films:
I still have not seen Road to Hong Kong. It is the only one I am missing. Although I love The Road to Singapore and Road to Morocco, the other Road films do not interest me much in terms of multiple viewing. I prefer Bob’s other comedies.
The highest ranking film of Mr. Hope I have seen is Road to Morocco. The lowest ranking film I have seen is now that film he made with Ekberg at 46.
The highest ranking film of Mr. Hope which I have not seen is Number 4, which I previously had not been aware existed.
I love Bob Hope. Even in his so so films I love him. There are still a number of high ranking films and low ranking films I have not seen. I find the films that I have seen of Mr. Hope I watch over and over again. I prefer him without Crosby actually.
Lemon Drop Kid introduced Silver Bells.
In terms of your rankings:
I have seen 3 of the top 5
7 of the top 10
11 of the top 15
14 of the top 20
18 of the top 25
20 of the top 30
24 overall.
My top 5 Bob Hope films are:
Paleface
Son of Paleface
Alias Jesse James
The Princess and the Pirate
My Favourite Blonde
Film at the the top of my to-see list is Cassanova’s Big Night, because it sounds like it will be hilarious.
Flora
Hey Flora….cool…a Bob Hope tally count…wow a tie between you and Steve…..both with 24 Hope movies watched with me in a distant 3rd place with 11.
Call Me Bwana was not one of Hope’s favorite movies…I read a biography on Hope that said he was very bored when making that movie. I have seen 5 of the Road To movies….but I always get mixed up when I try and remember which ones that I have seen….I can tell you that you are not missing anything by not seeing Road to Hong Kong….it just is not very good at all.
I think my ranking system works pretty well….as you have seen 66% of his Top 30….but only 17% of his bottom 23 movies. Monsieur Beaucaire is one of the ones that I have seen….it is pretty good…..and one of his biggest stand alone hits in his career.
As for your Top 5 I have seen the 3 western comedies and enjoyed them….The
Princess and the Pirate is on my list of movies to watched….as is My Favorite Blonde. The last Hope movie I watched was so bad…Critic’s Choice….that I decided to give Mr. Hope a break for awhile….I will probably give him another try when I secure one of his better movies that I have not watched…..as always your thoughts and comment are greatly appreciated.
Nice read…even for the younger crowd.
Thank you Bryan….glad you are expanding your knowledge….he was the man for almost 60 years.
If you hit Rock Hudson to look at, Bob Hope comes up.
Hey Dan….thanks for catching that…..the link is back working correctly. I have not yet moved Mr. Hudson to the new website…so the link takes you to the old website.
There once was a time that Bob Hope was so much part of our popular culture. In Ireland there was a running joke, “The Yanks have Bob Hope, we have no hope.” Every time you turned on the TV, the Bob Hope special was on, hosting the Oscars, his golf tournaments, entertaining the troops and of course his movies.
He had an incredible run of success from 1939 to the mid 50s. I would say my favourite would be ‘ The Ghostbreakers and The Road to Morocco. I recently watched The Seven Little Foys and Paleface. They stand up really well.
As a comedian Bob Hope was second to none. His timing and delivery was fantastic. The song, ‘Thanks for the memory’ is one of my all time favourites. I think he left an incredible legacy.
Hey Chris…..that was one of the sad things I read about Bob Hope…..he pretty much lived so long that his core audience has long since passed…so his death barely got noticed for a man that gave so much for such a long time. Very cool about Ireland viewed him. I agree his run from 1939 to 1950 was incredible….his 21 $100 million dollar movies all happened by 1955….as great a career as Tom Hanks has had….he is only 2 $100 million dollar movies ahead of Hope. As always….I appreciate you stopping by and commenting.
Wow this a pretty impressive look at his career an enjoyable read
Thank for the new words Hope Fan