Dean Martin Movies

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

Recently my favorite movie blogger, Steve Lensman, published a Dean Martin movie poster page that looked at some of his movies.  After viewing those posters, it occurred to me that Martin might make a good subject for a Ultimate Movie Rankings page as well.  So I cracked open my box office gross books and went to work.  It did not take me long to realize that I had seriously under estimated his popularity at the box office….as I came across box office hit after box office hit. 

For his career, Martin had 31 movies that earned over 100 million in adjusted for inflation dollars. 31 might not seem like that many, but when you realize that current superstar, Tom Hanks, only has 22 movies to reach that mark…I think you start to see that Dean Martin was a beast at the box office.  Another discovery I made was one heck of a Dean Martin tribute blog.  The I Love Dino Martin blog is a must follow for any Dean Martin fan out there.

His IMDb page shows 66 acting credits from 1946-1985. This page will rank 51 Dean Martin movies from Best to Worst in seven different sortable columns of information. Television shows, cameos and movies not released in North America were not included in the rankings.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made 17 movies together from 1949 to 1956
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made 17 movies together from 1949 to 1956

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

Dean Martin 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 Dean Martin movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Dean Martin movies by actual domestic box office grosses
  • Sort Dean Martin movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Dean Martin movies by yearly box office rank
  • Sort Dean Martin 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 Dean Martin movie received.
  • Sort Dean Martin 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.

Dean Martin, Walter Brennan & John Wayne in 1959's Rio Bravo
Dean Martin, Walter Brennan & John Wayne in 1959’s Rio Bravo

Possibly Interesting Facts About Dean Martin

1.  Dean Martin (1917-1995) was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Ohio.

2.  After dropping out of high school in the 10th grade, Dean Martin tried numerous jobs….like delivering bootleg liqour, being a speakeasy croupier, a blackjack dealer, a boxer and working in a mill.

3.  In the early 1940s, singing became Dean Martin’s bread and butter.  Band leader, Sammy Watkins, suggested that he change his name from Dino Crocetti to Dean Martin.  His singing got him noticed by movie studios but he never got a contract offer.

4.  The big break of his career was when he met comic, Jerry Lewis, in 1946. Their partnership went from night clubs to radio appearances to an Ed Sullivan television appearance to movies in about 2 and half years.  They would make a total of 17 movies (that includes one cameo) together from 1949 to 1956.  Although Martin got tired of the movies with Lewis, the public never did as everyone of their movies was a box office hit.

5.  After the filming of Hollywood or Bust, the comedy team of Martin and Lewis broke up.  The general consensus was Dean Martin would not be able to succeed without Jerry Lewis…..that consensus proved to be completely wrong.  Martin continued to star in hit movie after hit movie for the next 14 years.  This would include many movies with Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine and 4 Matt Helms movies.

6.  It is estimated that 50 million Dean Martin records have been sold worldwide…..with my mom being a huge contributor to that total.

7.  Dean Martin was married three times in his life.  His first marriage to Elizabeth McDonald lasted from 1941 to 1949 and produced 4 children. His second marriage to Jeanne Martin lasted from 1949 to 1973 and produced 3 children. His last marriage to Catherine Hawn lasted from 1973 to 1976 and produced 1 child.

8.  Dean Martin has not one, not two but three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…..they are for his music career, his movie career and his television career.

9.  Dean Martin was one of Frank Sinatra’s closest friends.  They were in the Rat Pack together, sang in night clubs and starred in 8 movies together.

10.  Dean Martin hosted….Dean Martin’s Celebrity Roasts from 1973-1984…..it is considered one of the greatest television shows of all-time.  I highly recommend watching these shows as it takes you back to another time and place and many shows have legendary people like John Wayne, Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan and Frank Sinatra getting roasted and roasting others.

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

Steve’s Updated Dean Martin You Tube Video Has Been Added To The Page

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

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67 thoughts on “Dean Martin Movies”

  1. STEVE /Dino Paul Crocetti
    1 Martin and Lewis were together in film from 1949 until 1956 when I was a boy at his most impressionable and I loved their films. Ultimately I came to loathe the Martin & Lewis movies and couldn’t stand Lewis as a solo artist but quite liked Martin without Lewis, who along with Woody Allen may have been the only film stars my father detested more that he did Mr Mumbles.

    2 However as I once was an M & L fan I can’t be too judgemental now about their movies and was simply curious to see how they fared in you Dino Top 30. The answer is very well as of the 16 movies that they made together 10 are in your overall selection with 7 of the 10 placed in your Top 20, and for audience/critic appreciation Bruce has 9 of their joint movies in his own Top 20. Absolutely superb is your poster for Scared Stiff which was M & L’s remake of Hope’s 1940 classic The Ghost Breakers.

    3 The top 3 films in your chart place Dino where he belongs as a star among the very ‘big boys’ of his times, those 3 films being Rio Bravo, The Young Lions, and Sons of Katie Elder; and in that respect it is not often that I get two of my own fave stars, in this case The Duke and Brando, in ANY Top 3. Your poster reproductions for The Young Lions are entirely new to me.
    Bruce has the same 3 films in his Top 4 Martin solo films for audience/critic.

    4 Dino like Bing really had 3 separate highly successful careers – stand alone singer and recording artist, solo movie star, and part of a comedy duo in movies, Hope being Crosby’s comic partner. There were enough of Dean’s solo classic movies in your selection for me to experience another Guns Up. .

    Hav e good day BOB

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, what was that? Bruce and I have similar chart toppers? That’s something to celebrate.

      I realize (‘realise’ UK spelling why do Americans love the letter zed so much? sorry ‘zee’.) Jerry Lewis’s manic gurning is an acquired taste but without him maybe Dean Martin might not have had the career and fame he had. I’m not the biggest Lewis fan but I do like some of his films, The Disorderly Orderly and The Nutty Professor come to mind.

      In comedy I have a preference for Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and Groucho Marx. I’m hoping to do videos on the great comedians on the next round of actors.

      It’s been ages since I last saw The Young Lions, I have a copy of it here, I might watch it at the weekend. I have an alternate poster to that film coming up on my next video and this time it’s 7th on the list.

      Thanks for the ‘Guns Up!’

      Reply

      1. 1 Take your point about Lewis helping establish Dino [and of course his close friendship with Frankie also helped] though my father argued that Martin would have had a greater career only Lewis held him back !!

        2 There was no reasoning with dad and another of his pet hates being Mr M he insisted that Glenn Ford’s career had been ruined by appearing in Teahouse of August Moon (1956) with Mr M and when I showed dad a newspaper with Quigley’s Top 10 box office stars of 1958 in which two years after Teahouse Glenn was voted America’s No 1 star dad claimed that I had made up the list and counterfeited the newspaper.

        3 It’s always been a mystery to me that great comedians like Kaye and especially Hope who was an All Time Legend of the highest rank never made the AFI list. Anyway your next video on my target list features Hope’s old mate Bing and I look forward to ‘reviewing’ that.

        As always nice getting some backchat from another Cogerson idolater ! BOB

        Reply

  2. Dino has 30 movies on your list that made 100 million. In 2000 Dean ranked #882 on the Oracle of Bacon Center of the Hollywood Universe list, 5 notches below his old partner Jerry Lewis who was #877. They both have since fallen off the list though Jerry at 90 actually stars in a movie out now Max Rose with another old survivor Dean Stockwell in it. These are the actors on the 2016 list who appeared with Dean.

    3 Ring Circus – 966 Kathleen Freeman
    5 Card Stud (1968) – 809 Robert Mitchum
    Airport (1970) – 238 Joel Thingvall, 282 Christopher Lloyd, 313 George Kennedy, 391 Jacqueline Bisset
    All in a Night’s Work (1961) – 455 Shirley Maclaine, 914 Cliff Robertson
    Artists and Models (1955) – 455 Shirley Maclaine, 966 Kathleen Freeman
    Bandolero! (1968) – 313 George Kennedy
    Cannonball Run (1984) – 33 Frank Welker, 96 Burt Reynolds, 402 Cheech Marin, 455 Shirley Maclaine, 548 Henry Silva, 793 Alex Rocco, 808 Brandscombe Richmond, 832 Jackie Chan
    Career (1959) – 455 Shirley Maclaine
    How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) – 220 Eli Wallach
    Marriage on the Rocks (1965) – 966 Kathleen Freeman
    Murderers’ Row (1966) – 660 Ann-Margret
    Ocean’s Eleven (1960) – 455 Shirley Maclaine, 548 Henry Silva
    Pepe (1960) – 897 Tony Curtis
    Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) – 684 Peter Falk, 912 Arthur Tovey
    Sergeants 3 (1962) – 548 Henry Silva
    Showdown (1973) – 132 Ed Begley Jr.
    Some Came Running (1955) – 455 Shirley MacLaine
    The Cannonball Run (1981) – 96 Burt Reynolds, 317 Peter Fonda, 832 Jackie Chan, 848 Roger Moore
    The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) – 27 Dennis Hopper, 313 George Kennedy
    The Young Lions (1958) – 27 Dennis Hopper, 704 Maxiimilian Schell
    What a Way to Go! (1964) – 455 Shirley Maclaine, 807 Teri Garr, 809 Robert Mitchum
    Who’s the Lady? (1960) – 897 Tony Curtis, 912 Arthur Tovey
    Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) – 912 Arthur Tovey

    The following are the actors who appeared on the 2000 list who have now fallen off but appeared with Dean.

    3 Ring Circus (1954) – 424 Zsa Zsa Gabor, 506 Douglas Fowley, 877 Jerry Lewis (he pops up a lot, doesn’t he), 894 Philip Van Zandt
    4 for Texas (1963) – 53 Charles Bronson, 146 Mike Mazurki, 270 Frank Sinatra, 299 Fritz Feld, 396 Richard Jaeckel, 404 Jack Elam, 570 Yaphet Kotto, 789 Anita Ekberg, 994 Ellen Corby
    5 Card Stud (1968) – 25 Roddy McDowell, 232 Roy Jenson, 570 Yaphet Kotto, 592 Whit Bissell, 878 Denver Pyle
    Ada (1961) – 48 Martin Balsam, 517 Wilfrid Hyde-White, 682 Ray Teal
    Airport (1970) – 45 Burt Lancaster, 592 Whit Bissell, 786 Lloyd Nolan, 799 Maureen Stapleton
    All in a Night’s Work (1960) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 222 Bess Flowers,
    Artists and Models (1955) – 222 Bess Flowers, 404 Jack Elam, 789 Anita Ekberg, 816 Carleton Young, 877 Jerry Lewis
    At War with the Army (1950) – 877 Jerry Lewis
    Bandolero! (1968) – 93 Harry Carey Jr., 108 Dub Taylor, 327 Raquel Welch, 344 James Stewart, 611 Don ‘Red’ Barry, 878 Denver Pyle, 964 Tom Heaton
    Bells are Ringing (1960) – 232 Roy Jenson, 617 Paul Frees, 746 Herb Vigran, 840 Frank Gorshin, 961 Nicky Blair
    Cannonball Run II (1984) – 108 Dub Taylor, 149 Telly Savalas, 209 Dom Deluise, 404 Jack Elam, 560 Richard Kiel, 742 Ricardo Montalban, 858 Michael V. Gazzo, 914 Doug McClure
    Career (1959) – 232 Roy Jenson, 680 Tony Franciosa
    Hollywood or Bust (1956) – 789 Anita Ekberg, 877 Jerry Lewis, 824 Frank Wilcox
    How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) – 376 Stella Stevens, 923 George Furth
    Jumping Jacks (1952) – 682 Ray Teal, 783 James Flavin, 877 Jerry Lewis
    Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) – 446 Ray Walston, 625 Henry Gibson
    Living it up (1954) – 222 Bess Flowers, 299 Fritz Feld, 459 Dabbs Greer, 464 John Alderson, 877 Jery Lewis
    Marriage on the Rocks (1965) – 151 Cesar Romero, 270 Frank Sinatra, 690 Parley Baer, 969 Byron Foulger
    Money From Home (1953) – 222 Bess Flowers, 877 Jerry Lewis, 903 Jack Kruschen
    Mr. Ricco (1975) – 961 Nicky Blair
    Murderers’ Row (1966) – 359 Karl Malden, 992 Nick Dimitri
    My Friend Irma (1949) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 222 Bess Flowers, 877 Jerry Lewis
    My Friend Irma Goes West (1950) – 296 Kenneth Tobey, 783 James Flavin, 877 Jerry Lewis
    Ocean’s Eleven (1960) – 151 Cesar Romero, 234 Akim Tamiroff, 237 Peter Lawford, 270 Frank Sinatra, 332 Angie Dickinson, 410 George Raft, 503 Richard Conte, 530 Norman Fell, 562 Paul Bryar, 611 Don ‘Red” Barry, 961 Nicky Blair, 972 Richard Boone
    Pardners (1956) – 180 Lee Van Cleef, 404 Jack Elam, 877 Jerry Lewis
    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
    Rio Bravo (1959) – 93 Harry Carey Jr., 179 John Wayne, 332 Angie Dickinson, 859 Myron Healey, 930 Bing Russell
    Road to Bali (1952) – 389 Leon Askin, 421 Michael Ansara, 534 Bob Hope, 877 Jerry Lewis, 969 Byron Foulger
    Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) – 270 Frank Sinatra, 463 Edward G. Robinson, 617 Paul Frees, 895 Tony Randall
    Rough Night in Jericho (1967) – 245 Slim Pickens, 691 George Peppard, 973 Jean Simmons
    Sailor Beware (1952) – 783 James Flavin, 877 Jerry Lewis
    Scared Stiff (1953) – 222 Bess Flowers, 534 Bob Hope, 877 Jerry Lewis
    Sergeants Three (1962) – 237 Peter Lawford, 270 Frank Sinatra
    Showdown (1973) – 319 Donald Moffat, 589 Rock Hudson
    Some Came Running (1958) – 248 Arthur Kennedy, 270 Frank Sinatra, 520 William Schallert, 800 Martha Hyer
    Something Big (1971) – 93 Harry Carey Jr., 205 Brian Keith, 213 Ben Johnson, 542 Paul Fix, 878 Denver Pyle, 938 Albert Salmi
    Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) – 177 Marcel Dalio, 222 Bess Flowers, 531 Lilyan Chauvin, 874 Dean Jones
    Texas Across the River (1966) – 287 Richard Farnsworth, 290 George Wallace, 348 Alain Delon, 353 Peter Graves, 421 Michael Ansara
    That’s My Boy (1951) – 877 Jerry Lewis
    The Ambushers (1967) 232 Roy Jenson, 433 Senta Berger, 938 Albert Salmi, 992 Nick Dimitri
    The Caddy (1953) – 222 Bess Flowers, 420 Maurice Marsac, 877 Jerry Lewis
    The Cannonball Run (1981) – 209 Dom Deluise, 400 Valerie Perrine, 404 Jack Elam, 923 George Furth
    The Road to Hong Kong (1962) – 94 Robert Morley, 102 David Niven, 244 Walter Gotell, 270 Frank Sinatra, 424 Zsa Zsa Gabor, 534 Bob Hope, 634 Joan Collins, 673 Peter Sellers
    The Silencers (1966) – 253 Robert Webber, 376 Stella Stevens, 732 Arthur O’Connell
    The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) – 179 JohWayne, 542 Paul Fix, 549 Stother Martin, 599 John Doucette, 800 Martha Hyer
    The Stooge (1952) – 877 Jerry Lewis
    The Wrecking Crew (1969) – 397 Elke Sommer
    The Young Lions (1958) – 180 Lee Van Cleef, 188 Marlon Brando, 350 L.Q. Jones, 464 John Alderson, 606 Alberto Morin, 690 Parley Baer, 915 Ivan Triesault
    What a Way to Go! (1964) – 67 Paul Newman, 420 Maurice Marsac
    Who Was That Lady? (1960) – 361 James Whitmore
    Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) – 48 Martin Balsam, 503 Richard Conte, 506 Douglas Fowley
    Who’s Got the Action? (1962) – 76 Eddie Albert, 133 Walter Matthau, 222 Bess Flowers
    You’re Never Too Young (1955) – 222 Bess Flowers, 806 Nina Foch, 877 Jerry Lewis, 925 Raymond Burr

    3 movies with question marks at the end of the title, is there a secret code there.

    Reply

    1. Wow…comparing these two lists…..it is amazing how many people dropped off the list. I am thinking his 2000 lists is the longest one you have shared yet. I find it amazing that Jerry Lewis is still making movies. He was actually in my area doing a one night conversation just last year. I hope I am as active as he is….when I get to his age….hell…I hope I can just reach his age…lol. Good to see Dean Stockwell in another movie too. Lots of Tovey appearances in this one..a few Freeman ones too. Thanks for sharing this information.

      Did you see the 48….and soon to be 50 Oscar winners working with Michael Caine that I found?

      Reply

  3. 1 Having got the Jerry Lewis and Frank Sinatra updates I was waiting for this one to complete the set.

    2 As Bruce obliquely suggests when M & L split up Jerry was the more immediately successful one – but it wasn’t too long until all that changed Big Time.

    3 I saw a TV interview with Dean in which he explained that the turning point came when he was offered the part in The Young Lions. He said that 20th Century Fox told him that they could not pay him an over-generous fee because Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were also in the film and the fees had to be shared around.

    4 Dean said in the interview ” I told them that if Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in it I’d do it for nothing! What was going through my mind was that it was great to imagine Lewis standing in front of a marquee and seeing my name up there in lights with those two dramatic icons.”

    5 Actually it was reported at the time that Fox had wanted Tony Randall for the Martin part but Dino’s agency also had Bud and Monty under contract and they told Fox that they would take all three or they would get none.

    6 I also read back then that when it came to shooting the only scene that included all 3 greats – the forest one at the end – there was a coffee break in which Bud and Dino got into an argument and one of them – I can’t remember which – thumped the table and erupted scalding coffee around then other necessitating medical treatment.

    7 Anyway another good piece of work on your part

    BOB

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob.
      1. Yep another great singer/actor done. I like seeing how the update moves them up the charts on my $100 million movie table…..Dean jumped all the way to 28th place…and his 30 $100 million dollar movies puts him in the Top 15.
      2. Seems I used to have a table that statistically proved that Martin was not only more successful without Lewis….but he was considerable better…..somewhere along the lines of multiple updates…that table is lost.
      3 – 7. Good behind the scenes stuff on The Young Lions…I read somewhere that Clift and Martin thought Brando was playing Jesus in this movie…. I wish I could remember the actual quote….but my brain full of useless information is letting me down.
      7. Thank you Bob….down to one new page and one new update…and then it is a blackout for a week…..almost done with the last new page….GG is a hint.

      Reply

      1. 1 In From Here to Eternity Monty played an Army private who used to be a boxer but who quit because he blinded a sparring partner.

        2 The Army wants him to represent them in a boxing competition but he refuses and is victimised and becomes a kind of martyr for continuing to resist the pressure despite personal hardship.

        3 His part in The Young Lions had considerable similarities to his From Here to Eternity role in that he was again a Private who was being victimised – this time I think because he was a Jew – and he has to sustain savage beatings from men much bigger than himself.

        4 When they came to do Brando’s dying scene Bud really milked it to the point where the rest of the cast and the crew were kept waiting for a long time.and they all got fed up. Saying to one of the others that it reminded him of Christ dying on the Cross the Director shouted at Brando “For heaven sake wrap it up. When Monty’s in a film there is just room for one Jesus Christ.” . .

        5 Brando as director exasperated Paramount by sending One Eyed Jacks way over budget with constant delays in pursuit of perfection. On one occasion he tied down the entire production company for three days on a wave-swept beach. When one of the executives finally approached him and asked him what he was playing at he replied “I’m waiting for the right wave.”

        Reply

      3. or “Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. Well, they better wise up!” And for everything else, there’s… “Definitely!” It is On the Waterfront. 

        Reply

  4. So glad to see on of my personal favorites getting his day in the sun. Seems people are forgetting what a great movie career Martin had. This page with box office hit after box office hit should be eye-opening to those that doubt how successful he was. I liked him with Jerry Lewis, but I enjoy his post Lewis movies even more. Favorites include Some Came Running, 5 Card Stud and Rio Bravo. Kiss Me Kate is considered to be a horrible film. That being said I have always thought he does a good job in that movie. Glad I found this page. Bookmarking for further exploring later.

    Reply

    1. First of all…..glad you found our website. When I first did this page I could not believe how successful his career was….the term….”a beast at the box office” fits Mr. Martin very nicely. I still have not seen Some Came Running…but I really want to. 5 Card Stud is a fun movie to watch….as Mitchum and Martin play well with each other. Rio Bravo is a classic. I thought Kiss Me Kate was ok….Martin pretty much got to play himself in that one. Hope to hear from you in the future.

      Reply

  5. Mr. Cogerson, thanks ever so much for the heads up of the re-issue of your extraordinarily extensive essay of our most beloved Dino’s big screen epics. We are, of course, perfectly pleased with your swankest of swank “shout out” for our humble efforts at ilovedinomartin. Know that today’s Dino-gram at the ol’ Dino-blog accents your new home pad and your fantastically fabulous efforts in the cause of our Dino.

    Reply

    1. Hey dino….thanks for the very kind words here and on your blog. I highly recommend using the sort and search buttons on this table….it almost makes it seem like it is many many tables. For example you can make it the Martin/Lewis table…..or the Martin/Sinatra table…or….I think you see where I am going. When I made this massive move to a new website it took over three months to move everything over….but now if you do not like my ranking system….you can ignore and sort by his top critic audience movies…from Rio Bravo to Cannonball Run 2…..or just look at his top box office hits….from Airport to Mr. Rocco….and finally just look at the ones that got the most Oscar love….from Airport to Toys In The Attic. Once again…thanks for such an awesome compliment.

      Reply

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