Hirschhorn’s Ratings vs UMR’s Ratings

There are four writers that have heavily influenced how UltimateMovieRankings.com is set up. Those four writers are (in alphabetical order) Roger Ebert, Joel Hirschhorn, Bill James and Danny Peary.

Roger Ebert was the first film critic that I became aware of as a kid.  Watching Ebert and Gene Siskel’s Sneak Previews on PBS with my grandmother every Saturday is one of my best childhood memories.  I was lucky enough to have not one but two different correspondences with Ebert before he passed away.

Danny Peary is a writer that has written numerous books on movies and baseball.  Peary’s three volume Cult Movie book series is “must read” for any film fan.  Another highlight in his book career is Alternative Oscars®…which shows Peary’s choices for best picture, actor, and actress Oscars® for the film years from 1927 through 1991.  Many many moons ago, I actually got to met Mr. Peary when he was doing an interview for my friend’s college radio show.

Bill James is a baseball stat god.  James has redefined baseball statistics.  James created new formulas to show baseball in a new light.  Our UMR calculation for rating a movie using statistics is a version of what James has been doing with baseball since the 1970s.

Joel Hirschhorn was a song writer who won two Oscars®.  That is nice but it was his book, Rating the Movie Stars, that influenced me the most.  In his book, Hirschhorn gives a rating for every movie a star made.  He used a 1 to 4 star rating for each movie and actor/actress.  His book was published in 1983.  After years of reading that book….I started thinking it was time for a new edition.  Sadly an internet search showed that Mr. Hirschhorn had passed away.  Eventually I realized that I could do a version of what Hirschhorn had done in Rating the Movie Stars.  Been at it since 2011.

Example of how Rating The Movie Stars looks….in this case Mr. Marlon Brando

So what is this page about?  Well….we have now done UMR pages on almost half of the stars Hirschhorn has listed in his book (he has 410 stars in his book).  So we figured it would be interesting to see how our two ratings compare….it means nothing….but the stat geek in me could not resist.

UMR vs Rating The Movie Stars

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Column One: Rank By Sort
  • Column Two: Actor or Actress
  • Column Three: Average UMR score for each actor or actress
  • Column Four:  UMR Rank….from 1st to 195th
  • Column Five: Average Rating The Movie Stars score for each actor or actress
  • Column Six: Rating The Movie Stars Rank from 1st to 195th
  • Column Seven: Combined Ranking of UMR & Rating The Movie Stars
Rank For Each SortActor or ActressAVG UMR ScoreUMR RankAVG Rating Movie Star ScoreRating Movie Star RankCombined Ranking
Charles Chaplin57.5833.60101st
Fred Astaire53.1883.6292nd
Thelma Ritter52.55163.6823rd
Grace Kelly63.5713.45174th
Spencer Tracy53.3373.51125th
Sydney Greenstreet51.82203.55116th
Judy Garland58.3223.31307th
Claude Rains49.72333.6668th
Charles Laughton49.69353.6679th
Cary Grant52.98123.313110th
James Stewart51.93193.332711th
John Garfield50.49293.441912th
Ronald Colman49.57363.511313th
Bing Crosby51.37253.372414th
Ingrid Bergman53.03113.273815th
Greta Garbo48.56503.67316th
Humphrey Bogart50.18323.352517th
Fredric March47.97583.66518th
Leslie Howard47.00713.76119th
Donald Crisp47.09703.67420th
James Cagney47.70603.511421st
Claudette Colbert48.74463.332822nd
Clifton Webb51.08263.225023rd
Vivien Leigh51.41243.215224th
Harrison Ford48.93433.273925th
William Powell48.26533.303226th
Katharine Hepburn51.80213.146427th
Clark Gable52.56153.127228th
Jean Harlow49.41393.224929th
Betty Hutton52.83133.117530th
Irene Dunne50.54283.156231st
Audrey Hepburn50.91273.146532nd
Marlene Dietrich48.84443.205433rd
Deborah Kerr47.90593.274034th
Gary Cooper52.41183.078335th
Marx Brothers45.57853.432036th
Gene Kelly48.72473.185837th
Burt Lancaster47.40653.264138th
Olivia de Havilland 49.56383.137039th
Peter Lorre44.451023.62840th
Margaret Sullavan45.00963.501641st
Dustin Hoffman47.31663.244842nd
Jean Arthur53.8652.9910943rd
Norma Shearer51.54223.049344th
Myrna Loy47.63633.185645th
Montgomery Clift54.6342.9411546th
Sally Field46.03813.254347th
Danny Kaye53.5262.9411848th
Edward G. Robinson44.431033.392249th
Tyrone Power52.81142.9811150th
Barbara Stanwyck44.291053.392351st
Gregory Peck49.71343.049452nd
Jeanette MacDonald47.99553.078153rd
William Holden45.50883.215154th
Lee Marvin43.811123.283455th
Laurence Olivier45.13923.195556th
Steve McQueen47.98573.049057th
Gene Tierney48.57493.039858th
Greer Garson53.1092.8813859th
Angela Lansbury43.151223.342660th
Woody Allen45.98833.136661st
Mae West45.24913.175962nd
Meryl Streep46.49763.117463rd
Paul Muni46.84733.097764th
Walter Brennan52.46172.8813565th
Bob Hope48.42513.0210266th
Lionel Barrymore47.28673.058867th
Jack Nicholson48.97422.9711368th
Barbra Streisand53.05102.8314769th
Robert Ryan43.001253.283370th
Robert Duvall41.861443.501571st
Paul Newman46.91723.058772nd
Ginger Rogers47.98563.0110373rd
Carole Lombard42.471323.332974th
George C. Scott42.201413.432175th
Henry Fonda44.521003.156376th
Frank Sinatra49.09402.9312377th
Lucille Ball47.14693.039578th
John Barrymore43.211213.254579th
Jodie Foster42.491313.273780th
Orson Welles46.58753.0210081st
Jack Lemmon46.29793.039782nd
Robert Montgomery42.131423.273583rd
Robert Shaw42.451333.254484th
Rosalind Russell45.47893.049185th
Betty Grable49.56372.8614486th
Marilyn Monroe50.26312.8115287th
Doris Day48.81452.8714188th
Rita Hayworth46.00823.0010689th
Julie Andrews47.64622.9212690th
Joan Fontaine47.25682.9312291st
Robert Redford49.01412.8214992nd
Robert DeNiro38.581733.441893rd
Joel McCrea40.791583.273694th
Sidney Poitier42.941273.136795th
Susan Hayward45.56862.9811296th
Janet Leigh42.321383.156197th
Vincent Price43.141233.107698th
Fred MacMurray43.711153.068699th
Shirley Temple50.44302.66173100th
Marlon Brando51.44232.55182101st
Walter Matthau41.721463.1560102nd
Robert Young42.321393.1368103rd
James Mason40.921563.1857104th
Maureen O'Hara46.83742.87140105th
Walter Pidgeon42.391373.0878106th
Bette Midler44.071083.00108107th
Clint Eastwood44.89972.94119108th
Dick Powell43.691163.02101109th
Peter O'Toole42.991263.0492110th
Van Johnson45.34902.90128111th
David Niven45.10952.93124112th
Diane Keaton42.431363.0784113th
Ray Milland41.201523.1369114th
Robert Mitchum41.521483.1173115th
Errol Flynn47.55642.77158116th
Richard Harris45.11942.89132117th
Sean Connery43.101243.00105118th
Kathryn Grayson48.11542.65175119th
Bette Davis43.951092.94121120th
Bruce Dern37.191893.2642121st
Dorothy Lamour46.38782.81153122nd
Jennifer Jones48.32522.58180123rd
John Wayne48.62482.45186124th
Jeff Bridges37.761823.2153125th
Warren Oates37.101903.2446126th
Martin Sheen36.321913.2447127th
Kirk Douglas41.181533.0589128th
Goldie Hawn40.451623.0782129th
Mel Brooks47.66612.50185130th
Richard Pryor39.531673.0780131st
Richard Dreyfuss 38.961703.0879132nd
Julie Christie41.761453.00107133rd
Al Pacino44.351042.83148134th
Anthony Hopkins37.601833.1371135th
Elizabeth Taylor46.12802.66174136th
Natalie Wood45.13932.75162137th
Gene Hackman42.211402.94116138th
Linda Darnell43.831112.83145139th
Donna Reed45.51872.68169140th
Paulette Goddard44.171062.81151141st
Shirley MacLaine42.691292.90129142nd
Steve Martin40.931553.00104143rd
George Peppard43.471202.88139144th
James Garner40.201643.0396145th
Dana Andrews41.311502.99110146th
Lana Turner44.74982.73164147th
Roy Scheider38.301783.0685148th
Dean Martin46.47772.42188149th
Alan Ladd44.72992.68170150th
Joseph Cotten42.921282.83146151st
Anne Bancroft43.491192.78156152nd
Charlton Heston43.611182.77159153rd
Abbott & Costello45.78842.17193154th
Glenn Ford41.541472.90131155th
Robert Taylor43.921102.69168156th
Howard Keel41.111542.92127157th
Donald Sutherland37.521843.0399158th
Michael Douglas41.231512.89133159th
Anthony Quinn42.651302.79154160th
Jane Fonda43.781132.67171161st
Lauren Bacall44.141072.64177162nd
Warren Beatty42.441352.81150163rd
Ernest Borgnine39.061692.94117164th
Michael Caine38.541752.96114165th
Ava Gardner43.671172.67172166th
Debbie Reynolds43.741142.65176167th
Liza Minnelli40.811572.88137168th
Carrie Fisher40.511612.89134169th
Jerry Lewis44.451012.02194170th
Christopher Plummer38.381772.94120171st
Shelley Winters38.751722.92125172nd
Rock Hudson42.451342.71165173rd
James Coburn38.781712.90130174th
Peter Sellers39.701662.88136175th
Joan Crawford40.631602.86142176th
Randolph Scott41.881432.58179177th
George Segal39.791652.76160178th
James Caan 37.431852.86143179th
Sylvester Stallone38.161802.77157180th
Anthony Perkins40.641592.64178181st
Tony Curtis41.521492.38191182nd
Yul Brynner37.351882.78155183rd
Richard Burton40.321632.53184184th
Sophia Loren37.431862.73163185th
John Travolta38.571742.57181186th
Burt Reynolds33.711952.76161187th
Victor Mature39.481682.38190188th
Chevy Chase34.941932.71166189th
Charles Bronson36.091922.70167190th
Faye Dunaway38.271792.54183191st
Ronald Reagan37.961812.40189192nd
Elvis Presley38.491761.65195193rd
Ann-Margret37.351872.25192194th
Roger Moore34.351942.44187195th

 

When Hirschhorn published his book….he had three people with a perfect 4.00 score.  All three had less than 5 movies.  Those three thespians were James Dean, Eddie Murphy and Ben Kingsley.  Dean was not included here because 3 movies is just not enough to give a fair comparison.  Murphy and Kingsley now have many many more movies. Certainly Murphy’s Norbit and Kingsley’s BloodRayne would have ruined their perfect scores if Hirschhorn was still alive.

Hey Flora/Bob…….for some unknown reason Hirschhorn did not include Richard Widmark….which is why he is not listed….sorry about that….I think he should have been included.

 

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55 thoughts on “Hirschhorn’s Ratings vs UMR’s Ratings

  1. Joel Hirschhorn
    July 20, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    “All acting, if it’s any good, is character acting. said Melvyn Douglas. Nobody demonstrated the validity of this better than Douglas himself. Even in lightweight romantic leads, he suggested colors and complexities not specifically indicated by the script”

    1 A respected historical anthology of the Great Movie Stars that I once possessed argued that the GREATEST of movie stars like Cooper, Wayne, Grant and Gable were “natural in that they always played themselves and did not get involved in character acting more suited to the stage and supporting parts.”

    2 Though it pains me to say it authors went on to opine that Marlon Brando played a wide range of parts and personalities that no “natural” actor like those others just named would want to undertake and therefore the authors questioned whether Brando, magnificent on stage, could be regarded as being among the truly GREATEST OF SCREEN actors despite his great talent, fame and popularity. The authors regarded Oliver as being in the same boat as Brando.

    3 Conversely Bogie and Cary Grant each stated the opinion that Brando’s diversity was a “hide in plain sight” smokescreen and that he was in effect himself in every role. Be that as it may the clear view of the authors of the historical anthology was that the Duke et al were THE great screen actors and they were great ON SCREEN because they were themselves and shunned character studies. In short the camera unlike the stage preferred naturalism [ie “being oneself”] as a form of greatness.

  2. HI BRUCE
    1 LIZ I agree with you that the Cleo WW grosses so far in the public domain cannot be trusted. The sources that I’ve seen quoting Cleo’s WWs are IMDB and The Numbers and I’ve long suspected that those two sites regularly actually understate classic era grosses. Indeed it is noteworthy that Wikipedia which will quote the WW figure where it is certain of it confines itself as you do to the domestic gross and its figure for the actual domestic gross mirrors your own to virtually the last cent.

    JOEL/LADDIE
    2 I certainly agree with Joel here and so did William Bendix who always insisted that Ladd was a much underrated actor though of course Bill was virtually Alan’s’ employee’ and appeared with him in 7 of the movies you have listed on the Ladd page. And don’t you dare start giving Bendix credit for my Alan’s grosses! William also claimed that whilst Laddie had no fears for the bad guys of the screen in real life he was terrified of W of Alan who ruled the roost.

    3 I agree too with your assessment of Shane’s influence and it has seemed to me that the character has been the template for many subsequent screen heroes since who have been professionals who ‘adopted’ a community of ‘amateurs’ and sorted out the bad guys for them. Dalton in Road House (1989) struck me as a Shane type in modern surroundings just as Mariner in Costner’s Waterworld reminded me of a seafaring version of the type of character Stewart played in Bend of the River and Far Country. Anyway I think that Joel can now be filed away with your and his own apparent Goddess as someone about whom you and I must agree to differ. Thanks for all the backchat.

  3. BOB
    July 4, 2017 at 12:35 pm
    HI BRUCE – PS

    McDORMAND
    1 I see you’re getting back into things again and Steve will be pleased if he feels that the Automation has been stood down for now! I personally could not praise the brilliant McDormand enough but the Dan-like link in the matter is that it was my continuing to think about your Frances page that caused me to call Francis Frances if you get what I mean!

    JOEL
    2 Naturally I agree with John’s assessment of Julius Caesar and Brando’s performance and Joel was entitled to criticise any performance he didn’t like; but the piece that you kindly reproduced for me was not in my opinion so much a critique as a character assassination.

    3 Again actors are fair game and as our societies believe in freedom of speech Hirschhorn was entitled to conduct such an assassination if he felt it was warranted. However I thought that rather than rely solely on his own opinions and prejudices it was unprofessional of him to lean on for example the subjective views of Sinatra who harboured personal ill-feeling against Brando. Either Joel was a poor researcher and so ignorant of the other side of the story that Professor Mizruchi has recounted in relation to Apocalypse Now or else Joel was not interested in anything that showed Brando might not have been completely at fault.

    4 Certainly Sinatra has never been regarded universally as a role model.to say the least and for a professional author and critic to cast him in the role of the good guy in a dispute with a fellow Great without looking into both sides of the story does to mind smack of either unbelievable bias or professional laziness.

    5 However just as Joel’s crazy ratings some which Steve for one also found ‘”hilarious” show up how sensible your own and Steve’s usually are Hirsch’s one-sided rant against Brando illustrates how much the Cogerson site with its own likes and dislikes is overall very fair
    balanced and professional.

    1. BRUCE
      PS I don’t buy the “scarce sources of the day” angle. The Brando/Sinatra feud for example had been in the public domain since the 1950s and I knew about it and I’m no professional. Also if Joel did not have the connections to check out facts he should have refrained from printing just one side of the matters concerned but he probably wasn’t interested in the other side. What sort of professional would have blindly accepted Sinatra’s version of ANY quarrel?

      1. Hey Bob…I am not saying he was without sources…I am saying when I was younger….my lack of sources found my discovery of Joel’s book…to be the equivalent of finding hidden treasure. I am sure Joel had lots of sources…..especially since he was living in Hollywood…and making some great movies…and winning Oscars for his work.

        Hirschhorn received 4 Oscar nominations…..slamming on the brakes….I should do an UMR page on him…..just some of his movies.

        Pete’s Dragon, Towering Inferno, Posideon Adventure, Freaky Friday, Cheyenne Social Club, The April Fools

    2. Hey Bob.
      1. I think the comment box was on auto-pilot….the numbers of new material in June are now in….10 brand new pages and 2 You Tube videos…..that is doing new material once every 2 and half days….pretty good output…in my mind.
      2. As for the comments….I admit it….at times the comments have been overwhelming…granted this is a good problem to have….but at one point a couple of months ago…I was spending about 2 to 3 hours a day just responding to comments……and when I am working…I just do not have the time to respond that much.
      3. As much as Joel’s Brando ratings frustrate you….I highly recommend checking out his book. https://www.amazon.com/Rating-Movie-Stars-Joel-Hirschhorn/dp/0517414449 You can own for less than 4 bucks…just tear out the Brando section and you might like the book.
      4. Thank goodness….Mr. Joel liked Myrna Loy….lol.
      5. Joel’s wrap up on Loy….”Loy’s consistent and engaging contribution is a remarkable achievement. Even more remarkable, she was never nominated for an Oscar. Like all great performers, she never made her efforts seem enough like work to garner attention”.
      6. Joel listed 27 of her movies as 4 star performances…compared to his 7 for Brando.

      1. HI BRUCE

        1 Thanks for the additional comments but I think I”ll pass on buying Joel’s book as I don’t feel he has any real sense of proportion from what I’ve already seen. It’s not just his attitude to my own faves Bud and the Duke that is off-putting but a lot of his ratings are as Steve pointed out hilarious.

        2. I realise that as the organiser of this site you may feel you have a responsibility to your viewers and readers to trawl the widest possible range of opinions so that they can benefit from the diversity, but it does surprise me that someone like Joel who seems to me to have had some kind of chip on his shoulder can have such an influence on you and if I started to buy books to tear out sections about stars that I LIKE I would feel that I was becoming as ridiculous as it strikes me he may have been..

        2 However it is probable that he will appeal to many among the cinema-going public as in other entertainment mediums and indeed many walks of life a bigot who conducts character assassinations and says weird and unpleasant things can draw appreciative audiences in preference to somebody who offers analysis in an unbiased and courteous manner –

        “Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” [John 18:40]

        1. Hey Bob….just letting you know how easy it would be to have the book at your fingertips….he does have nice things to say about some of your other favorites.

          Alan Ladd – “Alan Ladd was always underrated even though he had genuine star quality, a deep, resonant voice, and coldly compelling good looks. Critics ridiculed his low-key acting style, but today his performances look less mannered than many of his contemporaries”.

          Speaking of Shane…watched Logan last night and Shane has decent amount of influence on the movie…first of all….they show a couple of movie clips in the movie….and then Jackman does a Shane like role….and then it ends using a Shane movie quote.

          As for different opinions on this site…..Variety is the spice of life.

  4. Funny what you have to say about the way your Hirschhorn looks. My first movie related book was Norman Mailers biography on Monroe- I got 2 copies for my sixteenth birthday and brought one back to the bookshop…got Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel in return. Little did I know that Mailer’s book, boasting a number of names of american actors and actresses, started a curiosity in me to get to know more about these people…bought another copy of the MMbiography a few years later to put on the shelf, the original was a collection of loose pages by that time 🙂 (just imagine- on first reading, I had never heard about Zsa Zsa Gabor but did know about Garbo- so I thought Zsa Zsa was Greta’s nickname …ouch!) The first reference book on movies was an early Leonard Maltin. it suffered a similar fate as my MM book. It is so easy nowadays to get information through the internet, and I really love that- but I am glad that in the beginning I had to do it the old way, because although it was much harder, finally getting answers to certain questions after intensive search seemed much more rewarding.

    1. Hey Lupino….thanks for sharing the information on the Monroe biography. I remember finding some books on the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello when I was really young…I remember my mom repeatedly checking those books out for me.

      Funny about mixing up Zsa Zsa Gabor and Greta Garbo…..I am sure that happened a lot….lol. Got love those old books….and all the effort to get those books and information. These young kids today have it made….lol.

      I agree working for the information was a lot more rewarding. Good feedback.

  5. Hello Bruce,
    I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you to read that my biggest joy about this new chart is the inclusion of Margaret Sullavan. Hirshhorn’s ratings of her movies puts her into a spot safely within his Top 20. As most likely her biggest german fan I am always glad to find others who support the strong feelings I have concerning this lady’s talent and the importance of her almost forgotten contribution to the art of film. Thus, I’ll simply keep quiet about some other Hirschhorn ratings that I don’t agree with 😉
    One question, though: Did he not include Sylvia Sidney in his book? I know she has some pretty low rated films in her career, nevertheless, it would be interesting to know how she fared in his overall evaluation.
    I enjoyed this latest, different entry and am happy to read that you had fun doing it.

    1. Hey Lupino….thanks for checking out our Hirschhorn vs Rating The Movie Star ranking. I figured you would be happy to see Sullavan so highly rated. Sylvia Sidney did not make his book….other surprising omissions? Margaret O’Sullivan and Richard Widmark.

      I agree with many of the complaints on Hirschhorn’s ratings. But I will always have fond memories of his book. For years this was my main source for information on classic stars. It was my checklist to track down and watch all of Cary Grant’s movies. Before the internet…books like Hirschhorn’s were “bibles” for film buffs. Pretty sure I have gone through 4 of those books….my 4th copy is held together by duct tape……my 5th edition has already been bought….and awaits it’s time to be abused and used….lol.

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