Cyd Charisse Movies

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

Cyd Charisse (1922-2008) was an American dancer and actress.  Charisse gained famed for her many dance routines with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Her IMDb page shows 56 acting credits from 1941-2008. This page will rank 33 Cyd Charisse movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Her many television appearances and a few movies not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings.

Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire in 1954’s The Band Wagon

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

Cyd Charisse 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 Cyd Charisse films by co-stars of her movies
  • Sort Cyd Charisse films by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Cyd Charisse films by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Cyd Charisse films by 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 Cyd Charisse film received.
  • Sort Cyd Charisse films by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly in 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain

Possibly Interesting Facts About Cyd Charisse

  1. Tula Ellice Finklea was born in Amarillo, Texas in 1922.

2. Cyd Charisse started dancing lessons at six to build up her strength after a bout of polio. At 12, she studied ballet in Los Angeles with Adolph Bolm and Bronislava Nijinska.

3. Tula Ellice Finklea’s nickname as a child was “Sis”.  Her first professional name was Lily Norwood (she was billed this way in her first movies).  When she married Nico Charisse…she took her family nickname and her husband’s last name come up with Cyd Charisse.

4. Cyd Charisse lost out on two of MGM’s biggest movie musical roles. She fell and injured her knee during a dance leap on a film which forced her out of 1948’s Easter Parade (1948). She also had to relinquish the lead female role in 1951’s An American in Paris due to pregnancy.

5. Cyd Charisse was one of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the movies, other actresses that have also done this includes Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds and Leslie Caron.

6. Cyd Charisse said her husband could tell who she had been dancing with that day on a MGM set. If she came home covered with bruises on her, it was the very physically-demanding Gene Kelly, if not it was the smooth and agile Fred Astaire.

7. Steve Lensman beat me to the punch.  Check out his most excellent You Tube Cyd Charisse video.

8.  Cyd Charisse was married two times and had two children.

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

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38 thoughts on “Cyd Charisse Movies”

  1. Hey John….Fiesta is now part of the page….once again…thanks for catching that error. “It takes a village”. lol.

    Reply

  2. WORK HORSE/JOEL

    This exchange remind me of the old song “We belong to a Mutual Admiration Society.”

    BOB

    Reply

  3. Cogerson

    I have seen 22 of the movies you list, including the top eleven.

    But I have also seen a few others she was in which you don’t list. Thousands Cheer–she supposedly is dancing among the chorus in this one, but I didn’t spot her. Fiesta–This one is harder to see why it wasn’t included as Cyd has a reasonable supporting role as Ricardo Montalban’s girlfriend. Easy to Love–Cyd has a 1 minute joke cameo with hubby Tony Martin. Assassination in Rome–an Italian thriller from the mid-sixties with Cyd top-billed. Filmed on lacation in Rome and Venice, it is a reasonable film, with a convoluted murder and espionage plot which resolves itself in typically “sensational” 1960’s fashion.

    So I guess I come in with 22 or 26 Cyd flicks.

    Reply

    1. Hey John….not sure why Fiesta is not here…I know I looked it up….and it has domestic and worldwide grosses. I will have to fix that when we get back from the beach. Your 23 (I am assuming you have seen Fiesta) tops all those he gave their tally counts. You 23, Flora 18, Steve 14 and me last with 5.

      Thousands Cheer and Easy to Love were not included because they were uncredited or a cameo. According to Wiki and IMDB Assaassination in Rome never saw American theaters…so it was not included.

      Great feedback as always..,thanks again for the Fiesta catch.

      Reply

      1. Cogerson (and Bob)

        The discussion of Cyd and mention of Assassination in Rome inspired me to re-watch it this afternoon. First thing I have to tell Bob that Cyd got second billing to Hugh O’Brian. I didn’t remember that correctly.
        “never saw American theaters”
        IMDB & Wiki might be right, but there are several posters out there showing it was released by MGM. Perhaps those are for Britain. The movie was an Italian, French, Spanish co-production shot on location in Rome & Venice with some interiors apparently shot in Madrid. The polyglot Euro supporting cast give lively performances. Cyd & Hugh? Well, they photograph well. But I enjoyed it due to the twisty mystery plot and off-the-wall ending reveal. It certainly has a classy look, not at all low-budget. One nice bit is a visit to Cinecitta studio with Hugh passing “Elizabeth Taylor” in her Cleo costume and later grilling a campy English actor named “Reggie Bank” who is apparently co-starring with Liz. There is also a shot of the Cinecitta peplum set.

        Reply

        1. HI JOHN

          ! Good detail on Cyd and Hugh O’Brien. I remember him well. His big opportunity in the 1950s was in the 1958 The Fiend Who Walked the West which was a loose remake of the classic Kiss of Death starring Mature/Widmark and made the latter a star. In the remake Robert Evans played The Fiend, presumably the Widmark character from the earlier film noir Evans later became famous as a producer giving us among other things The Godfather, Chinatown and Marathon Man As Bruce has said there is often a link back to Mr Mumbles in the Cogerson pages. I had heard of Assassination in Rome and used to confuse it with Richard Burton’s 1973 Massacre in Rome.

          2 Yes the posters often differ from country to country as Steve’s pictorials have amply demonstrated as they show from time lower billed stars getting top billing – a bit like your marquee scenario. Mind you I’ve yet to see a variation where Myrna gets billed above another important star!!

          3 Final thoughts on Ginger/Fred/Cyd topic. As I’ve mentioned before Ginger is on record as expressing displeasure at her perception that historians have come to regard Fred as a bigger legend than she and she insisted bitterly that they both had equal legendary status.

          Reply

          1. Bob

            In the USA, O’Brian was mainly known for playing Wyatt Earp on TV in a show which made the top ten and ran for six years or so.

          2. Hey Bob. Hugh O’Brien found a nice audience when he appeared as Arnold and Devito’s dad in Twins. He had a good career….which is better than 99.50% of people that try to be actors. Hopefully during your Loy treasure hunt you have noticed how many times Myrna Loy appeared above the title. I like Ginger Rogers (it is after all a cool last name)

        2. Hey John….very interesting information on one of her last movies. I double checked and there appears to be no North American release dates for this movie. Sounds like a fun movie indeed.

          Reply

  4. Helo Bruce,
    Very good moment to look this page because we just want to dance….and I just go to you tube to see some extrait of films with Charisse and Astair.
    Dancing in the park , five minute of magical harmony so I reminds me another extrait but it was not miss Charisse. When I i was young I saw “That is entairtainement”and I jus remember it was wit Astair so I return to you tube and I found out what I want to see again, ELeonore Powell dancing with Fred Astair in Begin the Béguin and of course i finish with Ginger Rogers in Swing Time…
    I like to see people dancing When It is at the top and for Charisse ,Powell and Rogers with Mr Fred Astair , I think It is just a very great moment….Silent and watch…
    House many Hours , many days and perhaps months of work just to arrive to this perfection….!!!
    If I remenber well miss Charisse had one of the most beautiful legs in Hollywood with Dietrich and Grable.
    A very good dancing page…
    Have a Nice day
    Bye pierre

    Reply

    1. Hey
      House many Hours is just meaning how many Hours…
      But as you say in one comment return “nobody is perfect” and my tablette is french so I Have to correct all the Time …..
      Have a Nice Time
      Pierre

      Reply

      1. Hey Pierre…thanks for sharing those awemone movie musicals. I have to confuse that I have never seen either That’s Entertainment movies. My bias against musicals has left a blind spot in my movie watching life. I agree 100%…Cyd Charisse had some awesome legs..,some of the most famous in movie history.

        Reply

  5. I am a big Cyd Charisse fan.

    I have seen 18 of Cyd’s films. I have lost track of the number of times I have seen my favourites.

    My favourite films are:

    Singin’ in the Rain
    The Band Wagon
    Silk Stockings
    Brigadoon
    It’s Always Fair Weather

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora…. thanks for the visit, comment and tally. Your 18 Charisse movies is second behind John’s 22…but ahead of Steve’s 14 and well ahead of me. Of my 5….4 of them are listed amongst your Top 5….so I am thinking I have been watching the right Cyd movies…lol.

      Reply

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