Brian Keith Movies

Brian Keith

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

Brian Keith (1921-1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor.  His roles went from westerns in the 1950s to Disney movies in the 1960s to good-hearted curmudgeon roles in the 1970s and 1980s.  His IMDb page shows 162 acting credits from 1924-1999. This page will rank 47 Brian Keith movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. His many television appearances, and some of his 1950s B westerns were not were not included in the rankings.

Drivel Part 1:  Growing up, Brian Keith, was one of the tv dads I watched all the time in re-runs.  I imagine I watched each episode of Family Affair at least three times.  He has always reminded me of John Wayne….anybody else see the resemblance?  Drivel Part 2:  Last night the Cogerson family was visiting new neighbors.  Amazingly the talk turned to movies (I wonder how that happened?).  WoC was showing off UMR.com and asking…”Who is your favorite actor? I bet we have a page on them.”  Well the first 4 or 5 answers, did in fact have UMR pages.  Then Rebecca (the mom of the family) asked if we had a Brian Keith page.  Well…last night the answer was no….but today the answer is yes!

Brian Keith and Maureen O’Hara in 1961’s The Parent Trap

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

Brian Keith 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 Brian Keith movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Brian Keith movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Brian Keith movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Brian Keith 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 Brian Keith movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Brian Keith movie won.
  • Sort Brian Keith 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.
 
Brian Keith and Steve McQueen in 1966’s Nevada Smith

Possibly Interesting Facts About Brian Keith

1.  Robert Alba Keith was born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1921.  He was the son of character actor Robert Keith and stage actress Helena Shipman.

2.  Brian Keith made his movie debut when he was 3 years old.  He appeared in the silent movie Pied Piper Malone in 1924.  He would not return to movies until he was in his 30s.

3.  Brian Keith served in the United States Marines during World War II.  He was a radio-gunner in the rear cockpit of a two-man Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber. He received an Air Medal for his service.

4.  Brian Keith spent seven years on the New York stage in summer stock and live television before moving to California to find work films.

5.  Brian Keith and Michael Landon were best friends.  They became friends on the set of tv series Crusader in 1955.  They lived near each other and remained close until Landon’s death in 1991. 

6.  Brian Keith was married 3 times and had 7 children.

7.  Brian Keith was offered the Robert Ryan role in 1969’s The Wild Bunch.  He had to turn it down due scheduling conflicts with his tv show Family Affair.

8.  Brian Keith and his dad Robert Keith both made movies with Marlon Brando.  Robert appeared in Brando’s The Wild Ones and Guys and Dolls.  While Brian appeared in Brando’s Reflections in a Golden Eye.

9.  Brian Keith and suicide.  Normally avoid negative stuff here…but sharing this fact.  Keith’s step mother killed herself by jumping off the H in the legendary Hollywood sign in Los Angles in 1929. His daughter Daisy killed herself in 1997, just 10 weeks before Brian Keith killed himself.  He had been diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer. He also had financial problems and was depressed by the suicide of his daughter.

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

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41 thoughts on “Brian Keith Movies”

  1. Hey Bruce,

    I’m aware of Brian Keith since childhood- Family Affairs was renamed “Dear Uncle Bill” for german audiences. As a movie actor, he mostly played second fiddle to his female costar or even his female and male costars. Yet, he has made some quite enjoyable films. I think his part in The rare Breed was quite funny and certainly did not show any sign of shyness. Of the 14 films I’ve seen, my fav’s are Tight Spot, The Deadly Companions, The Parent Trap and The young Philadelphians.
    I knew he committed suicide, but I did not know about his other family members. His Dad was in Written on the Wind and Guys and Dolls, among others, and I always thought he was a less “burly” version of Brian. Thanks for this interesting page 😉

    Reply

    1. Hey Lupino
      1. Glad I was not the bearer of the bad news that Brian Keith killed himself.
      2. So Family Affair was called Dear Uncle Bill….that makes sense to me.
      3. Good to know that he was a television dad you knew well growing up….I was right there with you….WoC has no memory of that show at….granted she is 3 years younger than me…..but I am shocked she did not grow up with that show too.
      4. I liked him in The Rare Breed as well…..that is a movie my mom has always enjoyed.
      5. You and I are tied with 14….in the tally count.
      6. I just recently saw him in The Young Philadelphians….I bet he was surprised when he got cast to play Paul Newman’s father in that one…especially since Newman is only 4 years younger.
      7. I will be keeping an eye out for his dad in the future…..I was unaware that his dad was an actor until doing this page.
      8. FYI…I used to think…thanks to my mom….that his son was David Keith of Firestarter and Officer and a Gentleman fame…but turns out…that despite the resemblance they are not related.
      Good feedback as always.

      Reply

  2. Cogerson

    On Brian Keith’s suicide. I have heard that, but also that he was dying from cancer and terminal and suffering.

    On Keith as an actor, the role which jumps out at me is The Wind and the Lion. I was familiar with Keith from some movies and also A Family Affair on TV. If you asked me to name an actor who seemed least likely to be a convincing Theodore Roosevelt, I would have picked Keith, who tended to be an introverted, even shy, actor. Such an actor playing Teddy Roosevelt? But he was great and certainly by far the best Teddy I have seen. When you come down to it, Keith was quite an actor. Also, The Violent Men pops into memory, with Keith with dyed jet black hair and black mustache the picture of a western bad buy. He was good as usual, but I can never quite suppress a smile at the idea that he was Edward G. Robinson’s brother. The all time unlikely movie siblings.

    Reply

    1. Hey John. Great thoughts on Brian Keith. I knew he was sick when he passed, but before doing this page I had no idea about his daughter’s passing.

      Excellent breakdown of his performance as Teddy Roosevelt. In my mind he was the best part of that movie.

      I will have to check out the Violent Men. You are right that is a strange sibling combination for sure.

      Thanks for the comment and visit.

      Reply

  3. Hi Bruce, Well I’m another one who didn’t know Brian Keith committed suicide! I also became familiar with Keith as a kid through his reassuring father figure in the TV show, Family Affair. And I agree about the resemblance with John Wayne, in terms of looks, voice, slow speech and demeanor. Keith also appeared in quite a number of interesting films as your list shows, mostly as second male lead or supporting player. One starring role I remember was in The McKenzie Break, a good POW escape story..this time from the German side. I see it rather failed at box office, but it use to play on TV regularly. By the way, you’re churning out these pages like there’s no tomorrow…I’m still trying to catch up with Robert Young. Good work!

    Reply

  4. Hello, hey I really enjoyed this site. I was sad when I heard that he committed Suicide, such a shame. I enjoyed him in his movies and TV shows. He was really good in Nevada Smith – that was on TV last year and I watched it again. Thanks for this interesting site.

    Reply

    1. Hey Bern1960…..glad to know somebody else knew that Brian Keith commited suicide. I have felt like the bearer of bad news for everybody else….when I see him in movies….I usually think about his passing at least once during that movie…..and now others might be doing the same.

      I would say Nevada Smith was one of my favorite Keith roles….he was pretty good in The Mountain Men as well. Thanks for checking out our Brian Keith page.

      Reply

    1. Hey Rebecca……we already have comments from England, Canada, France and parts of the United States….not a bad start all.

      Reply

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