Want to know the best Janet Gaynor movies? How about the worst Janet Gaynor movies? Curious about Janet Gaynor box office grosses or which Janet Gaynor movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Janet Gaynor movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Janet Gaynor (1906-1984) was an Oscar® winning American actress. Gaynor was one of the biggest box office draws of the late 1920s and 1930s. In 1929, she was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: 7th Heaven (1927), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), and Street Angel (1928). Her IMDb page shows 67 acting credits from 1924 to 1981. This page will rank Janet Gaynor movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts and some of her early silent movies were not included in the rankings. To do well in our overall rankings a movie has to do well at the box office, get good reviews by critics, be liked by audiences and get some award recognition. This page was requested by UMR Hall of Famer, John, a very long time ago.
Janet Gaynor 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 |
| 1927 | 7th Heaven (1927) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actress Win |
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| 1927 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actress Win |
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| 1937 | A Star Is Born (1937) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actress Nom |
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| 1938 | The Young In Heart (1938) |  |
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| 1931 | Daddy Long Legs (1931) | |
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| 1933 | State Fair (1933) AA Best Picture Nom |
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| 1931 | Merely Mary Ann (1931) | |
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| 1929 | Sunny Side Up (1929) | |
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| 1931 | The Man Who Came Back (1931) | |
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| 1928 | Street Angel (1928) AA Best Actress Win |
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| 1957 | Bernardine (1957) |  |
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| 1936 | Small Town Girl (1936) | |
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| 1931 | Delicious (1931) | |
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| 1938 | Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) | |
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| 1935 | One More Spring (1935) | |
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| 1930 | High Society Blues (1930) | |
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| 1932 | The First Year (1932) | |
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| 1934 | Carolina (1934) | |
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| 1936 | Ladies in Love (1936) | |
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| 1929 | Lucky Star (1929) |  |
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| 1934 | Servants' Entrance (1934) | |
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| 1935 | The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) | |
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| 1929 | Happy Days (1929) | |
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| 1928 | 4 Devils (1928) |  |
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| 1932 | Tess of the Storm Country (1932) | |
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| 1934 | Change of Heart (1934) | |
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| 1933 | Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933) | |
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| 1929 | Christina (1929) |  |
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| 1933 | Adorable (1933) | |
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| 1927 | Two Girls Wanted (1927) | |
Janet Gaynor 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 Janet Gaynor movies by her co-stars
- Sort Janet Gaynor movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Janet Gaynor movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Janet Gaynor movies 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 Janet Gaynor movie received.
- Sort Janet Gaynor movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR 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 | 7th Heaven (1927) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actress Win |
Frank Borzage | 6.20 | 210.5 | 210.50 | 4 | 84 | 05 / 03 | 99.4 | |
| 2 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) AA Best Picture Win AA Best Actress Win |
Best Actress Winner Movies | 3.50 | 119.5 | 119.50 | 9 | 89 | 04 / 03 | 99.3 | |
| 3 | A Star Is Born (1937) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actress Nom |
Fredric March | 4.40 | 182.4 | 182.40 | 32 | 81 | 07 / 01 | 98.7 | |
| 5 | The Young In Heart (1938) | Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. | 5.20 | 206.8 | 206.80 | 28 | 74 | 03 / 00 | 96.7 | |
| 6 | Daddy Long Legs (1931) | Warner Baxter | 4.40 | 227.8 | 227.80 | 6 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 95.1 | |
| 7 | State Fair (1933) AA Best Picture Nom |
Will Rogers | 3.50 | 161.8 | 219.20 | 15 | 69 | 02 / 00 | 93.7 | |
| 8 | Merely Mary Ann (1931) | Charles Farrell | 3.80 | 197.4 | 197.40 | 11 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 92.7 | |
| 7 | Sunny Side Up (1929) | Charles Farrell | 10.50 | 324.7 | 324.70 | 1 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 91.5 | |
| 9 | The Man Who Came Back (1931) | Charles Farrell | 4.10 | 212.6 | 212.60 | 9 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 10 | Street Angel (1928) AA Best Actress Win |
Charles Farrell | 4.00 | 126.5 | 176.30 | 11 | 75 | 03 / 01 | 91.0 | |
| 11 | Bernardine (1957) | Pat Boone & Dean Jagger |
10.60 | 203.5 | 203.50 | 17 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 89.7 | |
| 12 | Small Town Girl (1936) | Robert Taylor & James Stewart |
3.70 | 159.3 | 230.70 | 36 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 89.5 | |
| 13 | Delicious (1931) | Charles Farrell | 3.60 | 185.3 | 185.30 | 13 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 14 | Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) | Robert Taylor | 3.50 | 139.7 | 139.70 | 50 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 86.9 | |
| 15 | One More Spring (1935) | Warner Baxter | 2.70 | 122.2 | 122.20 | 39 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 83.4 | |
| 15 | High Society Blues (1930) | Charles Farrell | 1.80 | 99.5 | 99.50 | 67 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 83.3 | |
| 17 | The First Year (1932) | Charles Farrell | 2.30 | 111.4 | 111.40 | 26 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 82.1 | |
| 18 | Carolina (1934) | Robert Young & Lionel Barrymore |
2.40 | 112.5 | 112.50 | 38 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 81.3 | |
| 19 | Ladies in Love (1936) | Tyrone Power & Loretta Young |
2.30 | 100.6 | 100.60 | 85 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 80.2 | |
| 20 | Lucky Star (1929) | Charles Farrell | 2.00 | 62.0 | 62.00 | 69 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 77.2 | |
| 21 | Servants' Entrance (1934) | Lew Ayres | 1.20 | 55.2 | 55.20 | 100 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 75.2 | |
| 22 | The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) | Henry Fonda | 1.50 | 68.5 | 68.50 | 80 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 73.6 | |
| 22 | Happy Days (1929) | Victor McLaglen | 3.20 | 99.7 | 99.70 | 27 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 70.1 | |
| 24 | 4 Devils (1928) | Mary Duncan | 1.40 | 42.9 | 42.90 | 67 | 65 | 01 / 00 | 66.6 | |
| 25 | Tess of the Storm Country (1932) | Charles Farrell | 1.00 | 50.8 | 50.80 | 116 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 64.8 | |
| 26 | Change of Heart (1934) | Ginger Rogers & Shirley Temple |
2.10 | 98.1 | 98.10 | 51 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 63.5 | |
| 26 | Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933) | Warner Baxter | 1.00 | 47.7 | 47.70 | 102 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 60.3 | |
| 26 | Christina (1929) | Charles Morton | 1.20 | 37.1 | 37.10 | 101 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 49.7 | |
| 29 | Adorable (1933) | Henri Garat | 0.80 | 39.6 | 39.60 | 125 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 48.6 | |
| 28 | Two Girls Wanted (1927) | Glenn Tyron | 1.00 | 33.1 | 33.10 | 65 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 45.0 |
Best IMDb Trivia On Janet Gaynor
1. Laura Augusta Gainor was born in Germantown, Philadelphia in 1906.
2. Janet Gaynor was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926. Other WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) that year included: Joan Crawford, Mary Astor, Fay Wray and Dolores del Rio.
3. Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell made 12 movies together.
4. Janet Gaynor was in three Oscar® Best Picture nominees: 7th Heaven (1927), State Fair (1933) and A Star Is Born (1937), as well as Sunrise (1927) which one the first and only Best Unique and Artistic Production Oscar®.
5. After retiring from acting in 1939, Janet Gaynor became an accomplished oil painter.
Check out Janet Gaynor’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. Emmy® and Tony® are registered trademarks.
There are very few people on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list that appeared with Janet.
297 HENRY FONDA The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
309 ROBERT TAYLOR Small Town Girl (1936)
467 PAUL FIX Lucky Star (1929)
605 LIONEL STANDER A Star Is Born (1937)
661 ANN DORAN Servants’ Entrance (1934)
805 CHARLES LANE One More Spring (1935)
805 CHARLES LANE Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
909 JAMES STEWART Small Town Girl (1936)
All of the above are gone. Janet did appear with 17 Oscar winners, pretty good since they started in 27/28 and the supporting awards didn’t kick in till 1936. She also made nothing after 1938 till Bernadine in 1957.
CLARK GABLE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
CLARK GABLE The Johnstown Flood (1926)
CLARK GABLE The Plastic Age (1925)
DEAN JAGGER Bernardine (1957)
DON AMECHE Ladies in Love (1936)
FREDRIC MARCH A Star Is Born (1937)
GARY COOPER Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
GARY COOPER The Johnstown Flood (1926)
GINGER ROGERS Change of Heart (1934)
HENRY FONDA The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
JAMES DUNN Change of Heart (1934)
JAMES STEWART Small Town Girl (1936)
JANE DARWELL Change of Heart (1934)
JANE DARWELL One More Spring (1935)
JOAN CRAWFORD Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
JOHN BARRYMORE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Carolina (1934)
LORETTA YOUNG Ladies in Love (1936)
PAUL LUKAS Ladies in Love (1936)
VICTOR MCLAGLEN Happy Days (1929/I)
WARNER BAXTER Daddy Long Legs (1931)
WARNER BAXTER Happy Days (1929/I)
WARNER BAXTER One More Spring (1935)
WARNER BAXTER Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933)
Thanks Dan for these trivia lists on Janet Gaynor. One of the smaller lists…when looking at the first one. Only 7….but got the legends Fonda and Stewart. Robert Taylor was a star…not thinking he is a legend. Hell…I sometimes still get him mixed up with Robert Montgomery. I agree with you 100%. 17 Oscar winning co-stars is awesome since her career started before the Oscars….and her career was pretty much done by the end of the 1930s. Four movies with Warner Baxter…I probably need to do a page on him. Good stuff as always.
I have seen only 5 Janet Gaynor movies. It seems like I have seen more, because I have seen her films quite often.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Sunrise.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is 7th Heaven.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Three Loves Has Nancy.
Favourite Janet Gaynor Movies:
A Star Is Born
Sunrise
Small Town Girl
The Young in Heart
Other Janet Gaynor Movie I Have Seen;
Three Loves Has Nancy
Hey Flora….thanks for the thoughts and tally count on Janet Gaynor. I have only seen 2 of her movies…both major Oscar winners. I saw Sunrise and 7th Heaven. My memory has blended those two movies in together, so it seems they are one movie. I want to see her version of A Star Is Born….as I have seen 3 of the 5 versions. I will be sure to avoid Three Loves Has Nancy….since it was the only one of your 5 that did not make your favorites list. Good stuff as always.