Want to know the best Don Ameche movies? How about the worst Don Ameche movies? Curious about Don Ameche box office grosses or which Don Ameche movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Don Ameche 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.
Don Ameche (1908-1993) was an Oscar®-winning American actor whose career spanned over 7 decades. His IMDb page shows 91 acting credits from 1935-1994. This page will rank 53 Don Ameche movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings. This page was requested many moons ago by Søren.
Don Ameche 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
1938
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
AA Best Picture Nom
1943
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
AA Best Picture Nom
1983
Trading Places (1983)
1938
In Old Chicago (1938)
AA Best Picture Nom
1985
Cocoon (1985)
AA Best Supp Actor Win
1944
Wing and a Prayer (1944)
1940
Down Argentina Way (1940)
1941
That Night in Rio (1941)
1988
Coming to America (1988)
1939
Swanee River (1939)
1937
Love is News (1937)
1944
Greenwich Villiage (1944)
1938
Happy Landing (1938)
1939
Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
1939
Midnight (1939)
1937
You Can't Have Everything (1937)
1943
Happy Land (1943)
1941
Moon Over Miami (1941)
1936
One in a Million (1936)
1993
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
1936
Ramona (1936)
1939
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
1940
Lillian Russell (1940)
1937
Love Under Fire (1937)
1942
The Magnificent Dope (1942)
1937
Fifty Roads To Town (1937)
1945
It's In The Bag! (1945)
1936
Ladies in Love (1936)
1948
Sleep, My Love (1948)
1938
Josette (1938)
1938
Gateway (1938)
1946
So Goes My Love (1946)
1970
The Boatniks (1970)
1949
Slightly French (1949)
1945
Guest Wife (1945)
1942
Girl Trouble (1942)
1987
Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
1941
The Feminine Touch (1941)
1988
Things Change (1988)
1994
Corrina, Corrina (1994)
1940
Four Sons (1940)
1939
The Three Musketeers (1939)
1941
Kiss The Boys Goodbye (1941)
1947
That's My Man (1947)
1943
Something To Shout About (1943)
1941
Confirm Or Deny (1941)
1936
Sins of Man (1936)
1961
A Fever In The Blood (1961)
1988
Cocoon: The Return (1988)
1970
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970)
1991
Oscar (1991)
1992
Folks! (1992)
1954
Phantom Caravan (1954)
Don Ameche 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 Don Ameche movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Don Ameche movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Don Ameche movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Don Ameche 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 Don Ameche movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Don Ameche movie won.
- Sort Don Ameche 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 | Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tyrone Power | 12.00 | 479.1 | 479.10 | 1 | 75 | 06 / 01 | 98.6 | |
| 3 | Heaven Can Wait (1943) AA Best Picture Nom |
Gene Tierney | 7.10 | 256.7 | 256.70 | 31 | 77 | 03 / 00 | 98.4 | |
| 4 | Trading Places (1983) | Eddie Murphy & Dan Aykroyd |
90.40 | 309.4 | 309.40 | 4 | 82 | 01 / 00 | 97.8 | |
| 2 | In Old Chicago (1938) AA Best Picture Nom |
Tyrone Power | 10.00 | 399.3 | 399.30 | 3 | 68 | 06 / 02 | 97.6 | |
| 5 | Cocoon (1985) AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Directed by Ron Howard | 76.10 | 231.1 | 259.10 | 6 | 73 | 02 / 02 | 96.8 | |
| 6 | Wing and a Prayer (1944) | Dana Andrews | 7.30 | 244.5 | 244.50 | 30 | 66 | 01 / 00 | 94.4 | |
| 8 | Down Argentina Way (1940) | Betty Grable | 5.60 | 214.5 | 214.50 | 12 | 64 | 03 / 00 | 94.2 | |
| 10 | That Night in Rio (1941) | Alice Faye | 5.20 | 198.7 | 198.70 | 24 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 93.5 | |
| 7 | Coming to America (1988) | Eddie Murphy | 128.20 | 336.1 | 757.40 | 3 | 62 | 02 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 11 | Swanee River (1939) | Al Jolson | 5.00 | 192.5 | 192.50 | 29 | 64 | 01 / 00 | 93.2 | |
| 12 | Love is News (1937) | Tyrone Power | 4.00 | 165.8 | 165.80 | 46 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 92.0 | |
| 13 | Greenwich Villiage (1944) | Carmon Miranda | 6.00 | 201.0 | 201.00 | 51 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 12 | Happy Landing (1938) | Sonja Henie | 8.00 | 319.4 | 319.40 | 9 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 91.0 | |
| 15 | Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) | Buster Keaton & Alice Faye |
4.00 | 154.0 | 154.00 | 48 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 89.0 | |
| 14 | Midnight (1939) | Claudette Colbert | 2.30 | 87.0 | 87.00 | 103 | 86 | 00 / 00 | 89.0 | |
| 16 | You Can't Have Everything (1937) | Alice Faye | 3.70 | 151.8 | 151.80 | 54 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 18 | Happy Land (1943) | Frances Dee | 4.30 | 154.0 | 154.00 | 74 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 87.5 | |
| 17 | Moon Over Miami (1941) | Betty Grable | 3.10 | 118.0 | 118.00 | 81 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 87.3 | |
| 20 | One in a Million (1936) | Sonja Henie | 4.30 | 186.9 | 186.90 | 27 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 19 | Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) | Michael J. Fox | 41.80 | 108.9 | 108.90 | 35 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 86.2 | |
| 21 | Ramona (1936) | Loretta Young | 3.30 | 143.7 | 143.70 | 44 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 85.6 | |
| 22 | The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) | Henry Fonda | 3.80 | 146.3 | 146.30 | 51 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 85.4 | |
| 23 | Lillian Russell (1940) | Henry Fonda | 2.90 | 110.0 | 110.00 | 52 | 62 | 01 / 00 | 82.5 | |
| 24 | Love Under Fire (1937) | Loretta Young | 2.80 | 115.3 | 115.30 | 90 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 82.4 | |
| 25 | The Magnificent Dope (1942) | Henry Fonda | 3.60 | 132.8 | 132.80 | 73 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 81.7 | |
| 26 | Fifty Roads To Town (1937) | Ann Sothern | 2.90 | 118.2 | 118.20 | 85 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 80.4 | |
| 26 | It's In The Bag! (1945) | Jack Benny & Fred Allen |
2.50 | 79.1 | 79.10 | 112 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 80.2 | |
| 28 | Ladies in Love (1936) | Tyrone Power & Loretta Young |
2.30 | 100.6 | 100.60 | 85 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 80.2 | |
| 29 | Sleep, My Love (1948) | Claudette Colbert | 2.40 | 65.1 | 65.10 | 126 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 78.7 | |
| 30 | Josette (1938) | Robert Young | 2.40 | 95.0 | 95.00 | 97 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 76.3 | |
| 32 | Gateway (1938) | Lyle Talbot | 2.30 | 90.8 | 90.80 | 101 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 75.5 | |
| 31 | So Goes My Love (1946) | Myrna Loy | 2.60 | 78.7 | 78.70 | 112 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 75.1 | |
| 33 | The Boatniks (1970) | Robert Morse | 15.20 | 105.4 | 105.40 | 28 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 74.2 | |
| 35 | Slightly French (1949) | Dorothy Lamour | 3.80 | 94.2 | 94.20 | 94 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 70.9 | |
| 34 | Guest Wife (1945) | Claudette Colbert | 2.80 | 88.0 | 88.00 | 106 | 54 | 01 / 00 | 70.8 | |
| 36 | Girl Trouble (1942) | Joan Bennett | 1.80 | 68.5 | 68.50 | 131 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 68.5 | |
| 38 | Harry and the Hendersons (1987) | John Lithgow | 29.80 | 82.1 | 82.10 | 41 | 53 | 01 / 01 | 68.2 | |
| 39 | The Feminine Touch (1941) | Van Heflin & Rosalind Russell |
2.00 | 77.4 | 77.40 | 118 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 66.1 | |
| 38 | Things Change (1988) | Joe Mantenga | 3.50 | 9.3 | 9.30 | 141 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 65.0 | |
| 40 | Corrina, Corrina (1994) | Ray Liotta & Whoopi Goldberg |
20.20 | 53.3 | 53.30 | 69 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 62.5 | |
| 41 | Four Sons (1940) | Eugenie Leontovich | 2.00 | 76.5 | 76.50 | 97 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 62.2 | |
| 43 | The Three Musketeers (1939) | Gloria Stuart | 1.80 | 70.6 | 70.60 | 125 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 60.1 | |
| 42 | Kiss The Boys Goodbye (1941) | Mary Martin | 1.30 | 51.6 | 51.60 | 152 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 59.3 | |
| 44 | That's My Man (1947) | Catherine McLeod | 1.50 | 42.6 | 42.60 | 147 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 56.8 | |
| 46 | Something To Shout About (1943) | Janet Blair | 1.80 | 66.2 | 66.20 | 118 | 50 | 02 / 00 | 55.4 | |
| 45 | Confirm Or Deny (1941) | Joan Bennett | 1.10 | 42.1 | 42.10 | 166 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 54.1 | |
| 47 | Sins of Man (1936) | Jean Hersholt | 0.90 | 37.7 | 37.70 | 158 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 47.2 | |
| 48 | A Fever In The Blood (1961) | Angie Dickinson | 1.40 | 20.1 | 32.60 | 110 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 45.0 | |
| 49 | Cocoon: The Return (1988) | Hume Cronyn | 18.90 | 49.6 | 49.60 | 53 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 36.0 | |
| 50 | Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970) | Ernest Borgnine & Tony Curtis |
1.90 | 13.3 | 13.30 | 108 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 25.9 | |
| 51 | Oscar (1991) | Sylvester Stallone & Kirk Douglas |
23.60 | 60.3 | 60.30 | 56 | 35 | 00 / 00 | 21.7 | |
| 52 | Folks! (1992) | Tom Selleck | 6.10 | 15.9 | 15.90 | 113 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 13.4 | |
| 53 | Phantom Caravan (1954) | Genine Graham | 0.50 | 11.8 | 11.80 | 181 | 25 | 00 / 00 | 0.6 |
Ten Possibly Interesting Facts About Don Ameche
1. Dominic Felix Amici was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin on May 31, 1908
2. Don Ameche’s cousin, Alan Ameche, won the Heisman Trophy (best college football of the year) in 1954.
3. Don Ameche first career path was to become a lawyer….but he quickly realized he liked theatricals more interesting and decided on a stage career.
4. Don Ameche began his career singing and acting in vaudeville.
5. Don Ameche’s career adjusted domestic box office gross is 5.42 billion!
6. Don Ameche worked with Tyrone Power 4 times: 1936’s Ladies in Love (1936), 1937’s In Old Chicago, 1937’s Love Is News and 1938’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band. Almost 50 years later Ameche Power’s son Tyrone Power Jr. in 1985’s Cocoon and 1988’s Cocoon: The Return.
7. Don Ameche was considered for the role of Don Vito Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather. Marlon Brando was cast and won the Best Actor Oscar® for the role.
8. Don Ameche was married one time…..he was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 to her death in 1986…they had 6 children.
9. Don Ameche made only five films from 1949 to 1983.
10. Check out Don Ameche’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
HI STEVE
1 Bruce and I exchanged posts*** about Don Ameche on this site on 14 April following the posting of his Ameche page and if you haven’t seen them you might want to give them a look in and they should be somewhere close to this present post to you. The Betty Grable peak star years are usually considered as being from about 1940 until 1951 and historically Don can therefore be considered to be the first leading man of the Betty Grable era. Unfortunately nobody ever called Betty his “Queen” Maybe you need to do a lot of flicks with King Gable to be called that ***This was of course when he had time to look in on his site and “return my calls.”
2 The two Ameche/Grable flicks were Moon over Miami and Down Argentine Way and you have produced a beautiful STILL for the former. and the posters for both were Grade A Other fine stills were those for 3 Musketeers, Heaven Can Wait, Trading Places and the one with Hank Fonda and Don.
3 Excellent posters in my opinion were Guest Wife Harry and the Hendersons, Swanee River, Girl Trouble and Sleep my Love and you’ll will see from my post to Bruce what nostalgic memories that one has for me. However par excellence were the two from Wings and a Prayer, and a DEFINITE collector’s item was the one for So Goes my Love because it illustrates one of the very rare movies in which Don’s leading lady got billed before one of her leading men – may I put in a bid for it?
4 You and WH agree on 3 of the Top 5 but he has your No 5 In Old Chicago way down at 12th but I’ll pass as a ‘tie breaker’ on this one because although an avid Ty Power fan in my youth I never saw that one. Anyway your marks are not that far apart you giving 71.7% and Bruce’s rating being 68%
5 WH gave Brando fans like me a scoop by revealing to us that Ameche was one of those initially considered for the part of Godpop – whether WH meant the Dan-like link or not I don’t know but he in effect told us that Don might have got play a Don! Anyway excellent standard of a video -95%. Indeed your video too was a revelation for me because until I saw your posters as I had never realised how important a star Don was in Old Hollywood appearing in a long string of leading man roles and getting top billing at times above stars like Betty Grable and Hank Fonda.
Hey Bob….good review and breakdown on Don Ameche and Steve’s latest video. Good feedback as usual. 3 out of 5 in comparison between my Ameche page and his Ameche video…that is pretty much normal. 🙂
Hi Bob, thanks for the review, rating, comment, trivia, observation and comparison, always appreciated. Happy you liked the posters and stills.
It was fun starting the video of with a Loy/Ameche movie poster and Loy billed first. I wish I could have seen your reaction when you first looked at that. 🙂
Bruce’s chart does have some uniformity with mine, we have the same no.1 which is reasonably important and a bunch of the same movies in our top 10s.
Looking at my files – Ameche has two films with 10 out of 10 score at just one source – Heaven Can Wait and Midnight. Movies with 9 out of 10 – Cocoon (from Maltin) and In Old Chicago.
I’m curious to see The Three Musketeers starring Ameche as the fourth musketeer D’Artagnan. Also starring The Ritz Brothers, a now nearly forgotten comedy team of the 1930s. The film is way down on Bruce’s critics chart but my sources were kinder to it.
🙂
1 HI BRUCE I always liked Don Ameche’s distinct voice and he was quite versatile as a movie actor in his heyday playing contrasting roles such as in the frothy Moon over Miami with Betty Grable and the murderous husband in Sleep my Love with Claudette Colbert.
2 When I was about 10/11 my father started taking me to the movies and whilst I remember many of them Sleep my Love is the earliest film in my recollection that I can actually today put a name to. I largely knew Don from only the screen and never gathered much background information about him so the Possibly Interesting Facts in this new page are of special value to me as for example I never knew he was in the frame for Godpop at one time. Seems that more people were after or were considered for, that role than for Scarlet O’Hara!
3 You rightly highlight Don’s continuing success in the cinema of the 80s and Wikipedia credits him with being a major radio entertainer and says he also had a substantial Broadway career and of course you have touched on his vaudeville days. . So he very much merits this page that you have given him and I loved the little miniature stills, especially that of Don the golfer and the one of him and Power – eat your heart out Steve!
Hey Bob
1. Thanks for checking out our Don Ameche page.
2. Cool memory of Sleep My Love being one of the first movies that registered with you….in my case it would be The Alamo….which destroyed a small child when John Wayne died….after assurances from my older brother that the Duke would live. Also Never a Dull Moment and Gus are rattling around there as well. Never A Dull Moment turned out to be false advertising…..at the time…I had no idea the movie was already 4 o 5 years old….but Disney re-releases were nowhere near to being in my vocabulary.
3. His comeback in the 1980s is why I aware of him….I loved him in Trading Places, Harry and the Hendersons and Things Change…..Things Change was almost a spoof of the Godfather…so I am sure he got a kick our of playing that role.
4. Being a decent golfer….I can tell by looking at that photo that Mr Ameche was not a stranger to a golf club or a golf course….so I had to include it.
Good feedback as always.
Bern1960….15 Ameche movies watched
Søren….12 Ameche movies watched
Flora………..12 Ameche movies watched
Steve Lensman…..12 Ameche movies watched
Cogerson….11 Ameche movies watched
Current tally counts….on the comments I forgot to include Soren’s tally count.
These are the people on the 2016 Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list who had the pleasure of appearing in a flic with Don Ameche.
Cocoon (1985) – 24 Rance Howard, 49 Clint Howard, 460 Brian Dennehy
Cocoon: The Return (1988) – 460 Brian Dennehy
Coming to America (1988) – 4 Samuel L. Jackson, 91 James Earl Jones, 378 Cuba Gooding Jr., 465 Frankie Faison
Corrina, Corrina (1994) – 68 Ray Liotta, 101 Lin Shaye, 185 Whoopi Goldberg, 414 Larry Miller, 511 Joan Cusack, 875 Jenifer Lewis
Folks! (1992) – 411 Jon Favreau, 786 Michael Murphy
Harry and the Hendersons (1987) – 115 M. Emmet Walsh, 394 John Lithgow
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) – 33 Frank Welker
Oscar (1991) – 150 Sylvester Stallone, 213 Marshall Bell, 355 Marisa Tomei, 622 Ralph Moratz, 720 Harry Shearer, 803 Tim Curry, 864 Chazz Palminteri, 948 Art Lafleur
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970) – 142 Ernest Borgnine, 897 Tony Curtis
Things Change (1988) – 986 J.T. Walsh
Trading Places (1983) – 804 John Landis
I count 22 Oscar winners Don worked with. He worked with Loretta Young 6 times and Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell 3 times.
Clive of India (1935) – Loretta Young, Ronald Colman
Cocoon (1985) – Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton
Cocoon: The Return (1988) – Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton
Coming to America (1988) – Cuba Gooding Jr.
Corinna, Corinna (1994) – Whoopi Goldberg
Dante’s Inferno (1935) – Claire Trevor, Spencer Tracy
Fifty Roads to Town (1937) – Jane Darwell
Greenwich Village (1944) – Judy Holliday
Guest Wife (1945) – Claudette Colbert
Heaven Can Wait (1943) – Charles Coburn
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) – Sally Field
In Old Chicago (1937) – Alice Brady
Ladies in Love (1936) – Janet Gaynor, Loretta Young, Paul Lukas
Lillian Russell (1940) – Henry Fonda
Love is News (1937) – George Sanders, Jane Darwell, Loretta Young
Love Under Fire (1937) – Loretta Young
Midnight (1939) – Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor
Oscar (1991) – Marisa Tomei
Ramona (1936) – Loretta Young, Jane Darwell
Sleep, My Love (1948) – Claudette Colbert
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970) – Ernest Borgnine
The Feminine Touch (1941) – Van Heflin
The Magnificent Dope (1942) – Henry Fonda
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) – Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Loretta Young
The Three Musketeers (1939) – Joseph Schildkraut
Hey Dan….as always thanks for the lists of information. It is a good thing Don had a bounce back 1980s….or for sure he would not have that many co-stars on the Oracle list of 2016.
I did not realize Oscar was so packed with Oracle stars….too bad the movie is not better.
I think 22 Oscar winners is pretty good especially since Ameche spent so much time with 20th Century Fox….and they played 2nd fiddle to the big studios back then.
Good feedback.
Hi
What a wonderful name for a movie star. What I loved most about Ameche was that he had another bite of the cherry. After years of being forgotten by most movie goers, he turns up in Trading Places and then wins an Oscar for Cocoon. I always remember him bowing to his audience after receiving his Oscar. Of his old time movies, I think his best was Midnight, Old Chicago and Alexander’s Ragtime Band. I haven’t seen Heaven Can Wait but I must make a point of seeing it.
Hey Chris….I agree Don Ameche is a darn fine name for a movie star. Not that Dominic Felix Amici would not have looked good on marques…lol. I tried to include his Oscar speech…but for some reason it did not want to cooperate ….so it got left off.
I really liked Midnight and Old Chicago….not so much Alexander’s Ragtime Band. I like you have not seen Heaven Can Wait. That one is actually at my local library….and I have picked it up numerous times…but have never checked it out. Maybe writing this page will motivate me to do so.
I recently saw Midnight for the first time….a forgotten screwball comedy…that rarely gets mentioned…which is a shame considering how good a movie it is.
Thanks for the visit and the comment.