Want to know the best Carol Lynley movies? How about the worst Carol Lynley movies? Curious about Carol Lynley box office grosses or which Carol Lynley movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Carol Lynley movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Carol Lynley (1942-2019) was an American actress. Lynley was best known for her film roles in Return to Peyton Place, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Bunny Lake Is Missing, The Pleasure Seekers, The Cardinal, and The Poseidon Adventure. Her IMDb page shows over 103 acting credits from 1956 to 2006. This page will rank 24 Carol Lynley movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television roles, shorts, videos and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.
Carol Lynley 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
1972
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
1963
The Cardinal (1963)
1961
Return to Peyton Place (1961)
1963
Under The Yum Yum Tree (1963)
1959
Blue Denim (1959)
1961
The Last Sunset (1961)
1958
The Light in the Forest (1958)
1963
The Stripper (1963)
1965
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
1965
Harlow (Theatrofilm) (1965)
1964
The Pleasure Seekers (1964)
1964
Shock Treatment (1964)
1982
Vigilante (1982)
1959
Holiday For Lovers (1959)
1970
Norwood (1970)
1959
Hound-Dog Man (1959)
1967
The Shuttered Room (1967)
1967
Danger Route (1967)
1969
Once You Kiss a Stranger... (1969)
1988
Blackout (1988)
1978
The Cat and the Canary (1978)
1999
Drowning On Dry Land (1999)
1969
The Maltese Bippy (1969)
1975
The Four Deuces (1975)
1972
Beware! The Blob (1972)
1979
The Shape of Things To Come (1979)
Carol Lynley 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 Carol Lynley movies by co-stars of her movies.
Sort Carol Lynley movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
Sort Carol Lynley movies by yearly domestic box office rank
Sort Carol Lynley 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 Carol Lynley movie received.
Sort Carol Lynley 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 sort and search buttons to make this a very interactive table.
| 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 | The Poseidon Adventure (1972) | Gene Hackman & Ernest Borgnine |
92.70 | 588.0 | 588.00 | 2 | 75 | 08 / 01 | 97.9 | |
| 2 | The Cardinal (1963) | John Huston & Burgess Meredith |
15.10 | 188.9 | 188.90 | 15 | 66 | 06 / 00 | 94.4 | |
| 4 | Return to Peyton Place (1961) | Jeff Chandler | 12.90 | 187.3 | 187.30 | 13 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 90.6 | |
| 3 | Under The Yum Yum Tree (1963) | Jack Lemmon | 14.10 | 177.3 | 177.30 | 19 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 90.2 | |
| 5 | Blue Denim (1959) | Brandon De Wilde | 7.10 | 128.3 | 128.30 | 36 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 87.6 | |
| 6 | The Last Sunset (1961) | Rock Hudson & Kirk Douglas |
7.90 | 114.5 | 114.50 | 27 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 82.3 | |
| 7 | The Light in the Forest (1958) | Jessica Tandy | 5.70 | 102.7 | 102.70 | 44 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 81.3 | |
| 8 | The Stripper (1963) | Joanne Woodward & Richard Beymer |
4.30 | 53.7 | 53.70 | 61 | 70 | 01 / 00 | 75.9 | |
| 9 | Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) | Laurence Olivier & Keir Dullea |
2.40 | 25.7 | 25.70 | 96 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 72.9 | |
| 10 | Harlow (Theatrofilm) (1965) | Ginger Rogers & Efrem Zimbalist |
9.20 | 97.1 | 97.10 | 31 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 69.1 | |
| 12 | The Pleasure Seekers (1964) | Ann-Margret & Anthony Franciosa |
5.70 | 65.5 | 65.50 | 50 | 52 | 01 / 00 | 57.0 | |
| 11 | Shock Treatment (1964) | Stuart Whitman | 2.30 | 26.0 | 26.00 | 106 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 55.6 | |
| 13 | Vigilante (1982) | Robert Forster | 5.10 | 18.7 | 18.70 | 95 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 49.2 | |
| 14 | Holiday For Lovers (1959) | Paul Henreid & Clifton Webb |
3.10 | 56.5 | 56.50 | 77 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 45.9 | |
| 15 | Norwood (1970) | Glen Campbell & Kim Darby |
5.30 | 36.9 | 36.90 | 52 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 34.4 | |
| 17 | Hound-Dog Man (1959) | Fabian | 1.50 | 27.0 | 27.00 | 128 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 28.1 | |
| 16 | The Shuttered Room (1967) | Gig Young & Oliver Reed |
0.80 | 7.3 | 7.30 | 148 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 27.7 | |
| 18 | Danger Route (1967) | Richard Johnson | 1.10 | 9.9 | 9.90 | 137 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 23.9 | |
| 19 | Once You Kiss a Stranger... (1969) | Paul Burke | 0.60 | 4.7 | 4.70 | 154 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 22.6 | |
| 20 | Blackout (1988) | Gail O'Grady | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 267 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 22.5 | |
| 21 | The Cat and the Canary (1978) | Wendy Hiller | 0.10 | 0.5 | 0.50 | 159 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 18.5 | |
| 21 | Drowning On Dry Land (1999) | Barbara Hershey | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 279 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 13.0 | |
| 22 | The Maltese Bippy (1969) | Dan Rowan & Dick Martin |
1.40 | 10.9 | 10.90 | 123 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 8.7 | |
| 24 | The Four Deuces (1975) | Jack Palance | 0.50 | 2.4 | 2.40 | 148 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 6.3 | |
| 23 | Beware! The Blob (1972) | Larry Hagman | 0.90 | 5.8 | 5.80 | 144 | 33 | 00 / 00 | 1.7 | |
| 24 | The Shape of Things To Come (1979) | Jack Palance | 0.80 | 3.5 | 3.50 | 148 | 32 | 00 / 00 | 1.3 |
I saw 1: no 10s , no 9s, no hidden gems. thought the Poseidon adventure an 8 worth watching but not very good or great.
HI STEVE
I thought Towering Inferno was overblown but I liked Poseidon Adventure because of Hackman’s performance.
I must confess though that I can’t remember Carol in it. Also if I heard that song which she apparently sang in the film I probably wouldn’t recognize it.
I collect all kinds of music and if I am unfamiliar with it the song probably never became a “standard” – ie a classic-despite Al Kasha and his accompanist getting an Oscar for it.
Catch up with you later about Keanu . That’s if I’m allowed to watch the video: my son hates him almost as much as he does Laddie!
Good further comments Bob…appreciate the return visit to our Carol Lynley tribute page.
Thank you for posting this page on the beautiful and talented Carol Lynley. I had no idea she had passed. She was outstanding in Bunny Lake is Missing and held her own against Laurence Oliver; and other talented film stars like Jeff Chandler, Jack Lemmon, and Gene Hackman.
She had all the talent and beauty to have become a great star, but it all fell apart for some reason in the 1970s.
May you rest in peace. You will continue to live and shine in all your films!
Hey Frank….sorry that our website was the one to alert you to this sad news. Over the years a few people had requested a Lynley page….but I never got around to completing it. I have not seen Bunny Lake Is Missing….but I have a strong desire to see it now. You are 100% correct…she did hold her own against some the greats on the big screen. Great final sentence….”You will continue to live and shine in all your films!” . Rest in Peace Ms. Lynley.
RIP Carol Lynley.
Looking at the chart I’ve seen 4 of the 24 films listed, less than I thought. I may have seen Beware the Blob, can’t remember for sure.
The four I’ve seen are – The Poseidon Adventure, The Shuttered Room, The Last Sunset and Bunny Lake is Missing.
The Poseidon Adventure is one of my all time favorites, I’ve watched it many times over the decades. The Towering Inferno too. The girls were pretty and the songs were catchy. [Bob winces] 😉
A nice tribute Bruce. Vote Up!
Hey Steve. Thanks for the comment on the late Carol Lynley. Tally count….6 for Flora, 4 for you, 2 for me and Taylor getting shut out. We have both seen The Poseidon Adventure….while my 2nd one seen is The Cardinal. I have been aware of Larry Hagman’s Beware of the Blob for years…just never had the chance to see it. The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno both won Joel Hirschhorn Oscars….I wonder if that fact pops up in your mind when watching those movies now. If it does…I think UMR should get the credit for that. Glad you liked our Lynley tribute…thanks for sharing your thoughts on her. Rest in Peace.
The once gorgeous Carol Lynley’s death reminds me that when back in 1961 she got the TOP-BILLED [above 50’s matinee idol Jeff Chandler] lead as heroine Allison in Return to Peyton Place and was one of the leading ladies in the then-big budget production [$30 million in today’s money] of The Last Sunset with Douglas and Hudson, I had high hopes of her achieving major stardom, and her 1965 performance as Harlow kept those hopes alive.
However after the latter her career as a star fizzled out and most of her movies were inconsequential [1972’s The Poseidon Adventure being a notable exception]. My favourite among them was The Shuttered Room based on a story by H P Lovecraft, the creator of Cthulhu and his grandfather Yog-Sothoth the Gods of the Dark Mages.
Carol did though have a very prolific TV career alongside her big screen one and between 1956 and 1990 appeared in 54 television productions. Her last screen appearance of any kind was in a 2006 short film called Vic. Celebrity net Worth records that on her sad death this week she left a net fortune of $10 million dollars. I last saw her in a key supporting role in a recent re-run of a 1976 episode of the TV series Quincy M.E. called ‘Who’s Who in Neverland?’
SUGGESTED CORRECTION [Under miniature still above]
Carol Lynley singing AL KASHA and Joel Hirschhorn’s Oscar winning song The Morning After in 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure
[Alfred “Al” Kasha (Brooklyn, January 22, 1937) is an American songwriter. He is best known for “The Morning After” from The Poseidon Adventure – Wikipedia]
Hey Bob. Thanks for the feedback on Carol Lynley. I have added Al Kasha to the captain for The Poseidon Adventure…though I did give him second billing to Joel. Good breakdown of her career…sad that her last hurrah was The Poseidon Adventure when she was only 31. Heck she did not even get to the curse of 39. She indeed had many television credits to her name. I will have to check out The Shuttered Room…especially since my tally is only 2….The Poseidon Adventure and The Cardinal. Good comment to honor her movie career.
H BRUCE
Thanks for feedback. It was as you say sad that Carol didn’t consolidate her very early big screen successes. However the upside is that she was able to get steady work over the years with a string of albeit low-key movies and a lot of TV work so that she built up a nice little nest egg of $10 million dollars, whereas poor souls like Errol Flynn and Whitney Houston ended up broke and/or in debt.
Astaire & Rogers were a team and in later life Ginger protested that most historians and contemporary critics didn’t give her the same credit as Astaire. So here’s a thought: as we have a Joel Cogerson page why not an Al Kasha one?
Keep safe and have a good weekend.