Lionel Barrymore Movies

lionel_barrymoreWant to know the best Lionel Barrymore movies?  How about the worst Lionel Barrymore movies?  Curious about Lionel Barrymore box office grosses or which Lionel Barrymore movie picked up the most Oscar nominations? Need to know which Lionel Barrymore 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.

Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) was an Oscar® winning American actor and director of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award® for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931).   He and remains best known to modern audiences for the role of the villainous Mr. Potter character in 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life and that he is the great uncle to Drew Barrymore.  His IMDb page shows 221 acting credits from 1908-1956. This page will take a statistical look at Lionel Barrymore movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.

Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart in the all-time great movie It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart in the all-time great movie It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

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

Lionel Barrymore 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 Lionel Barrymore movies by his co-star in the move
  • Sort Lionel Barrymore movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Lionel Barrymore movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Lionel Barrymore 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 Lionel Barrymore movie received and
  • Sort by many Oscar® wins each Lionel Barrymore movie won.
  • Sort Lionel Barrymore 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.
  • Use the search and sort button to make this page very interactive.
 
Norma Shearer and Lionel Barrymore in 1931's A Free Soul....he won an Oscar for this movie
Norma Shearer and Lionel Barrymore in 1931’s A Free Soul….he won an Oscar for this movie

Possibly Interesting Facts About Lionel Barrymore

1. Lionel Herbert Blythe was born in Philadelphia Pennsyvania in 1878.  He is the second generation of the Barrymore acting family.

2. Lionel Barrymore was the son of actors Georgiana Drew Barrymore and Maurice Barrymore. He was the elder brother of Ethel and John Barrymore, the uncle of John Drew Barrymore and Diana Barrymore and the great-uncle of Drew Barrymore.

3. Lionel Barrymore and his sister Ethel Barrymore were the first Oscar-winning brother and sister in acting categories.

4.  Lionel Barrymore had extreme problems with his income taxes, and during the last 15 years of his life routinely turned over all of his paycheck to the Internal Revenue Service except for a small sum to maintain his living expenses. The IRS also took the proceeds from a sale of his artwork after his death.

5.  By the late 1930s, severe arthritis had led Lionel Barrymore to be confined to a wheelchair.  From 1938, his screen roles were written to accommodate his disability.

6.  Lionel Barrymore received two Oscar® nominations.  He was nominated as Best Director for 1929’s Madame X and he won the Best Actor Oscar for 1931’s A Free Soul.  His climatic court room speech in A Free Soul is one of the longest takes in a commercial film…using more than one camera it lasts 14 minutes.

7.  Lionel Barrymore was married two times in his life. He had 2 children.

8.  Lionel Barrymore spent most of his screen career under contract to MGM (1926-52).  I for one was very happy for that..because MGM is the best studio when searching for old box office numbers.

9.  Lionel Barrymore convinced James Stewart to take the role of George in 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life, despite Stewart’s feeling that he was not up to it so soon after World War II.

10. Check out Lionel Barrymore’s movie career compared to current and classic stars on our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page.

Steve’s Lionel Barrymore YouTube Video

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40 thoughts on “Lionel Barrymore Movies”

  2. Cogerson

    Re-watched It’s a Wonderful Life last night, and so on Lionel Barrymore–

    Lionel Barrymore appeared in four color movies.

    His first appearances were in 1929. He was the on-screen director of the color Romeo and Juliet balcony scene (Norma Shearer & John Gilbert) in The Hollywood Review of 1929,

    and starred in The Mysterious Island that year. I have only seen a b/w copy of Mysterious Island, but a color copy was found a couple of years ago in Europe. I hope it is released for sale.. From reading, the movie is 85% two-component Technicolor with the rest tinted scenes.

    Barrymore appeared in character in the brief Technicolor sequence of Shirley Temple’s birthday party at the end of The Little Colonel.

    His last color appearance was in the mammoth Duel in the Sun in 1946.

    He also did voice work in the Frank Capra color TV special, Our Mr. Sun.

    Reply

    1. Hey John….I will be re-watching that classic again very soon….I can not believe that Xmas is in two weeks….actually this time two weeks from now Xmas will be over. Only four color movies for Mr. Barrymore. So his only full length color movie was Duel In The Sun….which is one of the biggest hits of all-time. Interesting about a discovered missing Mysterious Island color print. I hope you are correct and it gets released soon. Thanks for the info on Our Mr. Sun….that might be an interesting one to check out. 🙂

      Reply

  3. HELPFUL! I’m also busy editing the many extant lists of Lionel Barrymore’s films from 1911’s The Battle to Main St. to Broadway. It is NOT easy, but I’m pretty persistent. There are more films of his silent period that actually exist than I expected, but it will be good to dig up more of his talkie films. I can confirm neither AFI nor Wikipedia nor (sometimes) IMDB has an accurate list, but I’m trying to edit Wiki to fix it at least there, including digging up writing and directing he did. Fun stuff!

    Reply

  4. Lionel Barrymore has appeared in 29 films that made 100 million on your list. He died in 1954. He never made the Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of th Hollywood Universe list. These are the only actors on the current list and one of them has passed away after a 10 year career and one is in the Jerry Lewis movie now out.

    A Family Affair (1937) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Ah, Wilderness (1935) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Captains Courageous (1937) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) – 198 Dean Stockwell
    The Chief (1933) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    The Valley of Decision (1945) – 198 Dean Stockwell

    These are the people who appear on the 2000 list and who have since fallen off who appeared with Mr. Barrymore.

    3 Men in White (1944) – 186 Ava Gardner, 278 Keye Luke, 467 Van Johnson, 740 George Chandler, 969 Byron Foulger
    A Free Soul (1931) – 222 Bess Flowers
    A Guy Named Joe (1943) – 467 Van Johnson, 894 Philip Van Zandt
    A Yank at Oxford (1938) – 524 Richard Wattis
    Bannerline (1951) – 421 Michael Ansara, 520 William Schallert
    Between Two Women (1945) – 43 Keenan Wynn, 278 Keye Luke, 467 Van Johnson, 959 Leon Ames
    Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) – 186 Ava Gardner, 356 Phil Brown, 682 Ray Teal, 894 Philip Van Zandt
    Calling Dr. Kildare (1939) – 611 Don “Red’ Barry, 740 George Chandler
    Captains Courageous (1937) – 14 John Carradine, 651 Melvyn Douglas, 832 Don Brodie
    Christopher Bean (1933) – 273 George Coulouris
    Dark Delusion (1947) – 278 Keye Luke
    Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) – 119 Richard Widmark, 648 Harry Morgan
    Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943) – 278 Keye Luke, 467 Van Johnson, 506 Douglas Fowley, 746 Herb Vigran, 969 Byron Foulger
    Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant (1942) – 278 Keye Luke, 467 Van Johnson, 542 Paul Fix
    Dr. Kildare Goes Home (1940) – 732 Arthur O’Connell, 740 George Chandler
    Dr. Kildare’s Crisis (1940) – 969 Byron Foulger
    Dr. Kildare’s Wedding Day (1941) – 379 Ann Doran
    Dragon Seed (1944) – 234 Akim Tamiroff, 767 Philip Ahn, 894 Philip Van Zandt
    Duel in the Sun (1946) – 9 Orson Welles, 156 Gregory Peck, 158 Joseph Cotten, 256 Hank Worden
    It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – 344 James Stewart, 571 Charles Lane, 994 Ellen Corby
    Key Largo (1948) – 27 Marc Lawrence, 321 Lauren Bacall, 463 Edward G. Robinson, 606 Alberto Morin
    Lady Be Good (1941) – 222 Bess Flowers
    Lone Star (1952) – 191 George Hamilton, 186 Ava Gardner, 241 Broderick Crawford
    Malaya (1949) – 344 James Stewart, 384 Gilbert Roland, 548 Valentina Cortese, 824 Frank Wilcox, 984 Peter Mamakos
    Navy Blue and Gold (1937) – 344 James Stewart, 611 Don ‘Red’ Barry
    On Borrowed Time (1939) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 851 Cedric Hardwicke
    Public Hero #1 (1935) – 783 James Flavin
    Right Cross (1950) – 221 John Crawford, 296 Kenneth Tobey, 742 Ricardo Montalban, 963 Frank Ferguson
    Sadie Mckee (1934) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
    Saratoga (1937) – 395 Walter Pidgeon, 740 George Chandler
    Since You Went Away (1944) – 43 Keenan Wynn, 158 Joseph Cotten, 740 George Chandler, 969 Byron Foulger
    Tennessee Johnson (1942) – 50 Jeff Corey, 606 Alberto Morin, 682 Ray Teal
    Test Pilot (1938) – 783 James Flavin, 969 Byron Foulger
    The Girl from Missouri (1934) – 506 Douglas Fowley
    The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) – 222 Bess Flowers, 344 James Stewart, 651 Melvyn Douglas
    The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) – 515 Bessie Love
    The Penalty (1941) – 969 Byron Foulger
    The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941) – 222 Bess Flowers, 783 James Flavin
    The Secret Heart (1946) – 395 Walter Pidgeon, 555 Hume Cronyn
    The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939) – 611 Don ‘Red’ Barry, 740 George Chandler, 969 Byron Foulger
    The Valley of Decision (1945) – 156 Gregory Peck, 499 Jessica Tandy
    The Washington Masquerade (1932) – 832 Don Brodie
    The Yellow Ticket (1931) – 216 Laurence Olivier
    Three Wise Fools (1946) – 280 Billy Barty, 682 Ray Teal
    You Can’t Take it With You (1938) – 100 Ian Wolfe, 108 Dub Taylor, 222 Bess Flowers, 344 James Stewart, 379 Ann Doran, 571 Charles Lane, 783 James Flavin, 969 Byron Foulger
    Young Dr. Kildare (1938) – 222 Bess Flowers, 611 Don ‘Red’ Barry

    Imagine there is a connection through a 1929 film.

    As for counting down appearing with people who won an Oscar I count 33 for Lionel.

    A Free Soul (1931) – Clark Gable, Norma Shearer
    A Guy Named Joe (1943) – Spencer Tracy
    A Yank at Oxford (1938) – Edmund Gwenn, Vivien Leigh
    Ah, Wilderness! (1935) – Wallace Beery
    Ben Hur (1925) – Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Janet Gaynor, Joan Crawford, Mary Pickford
    Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) – Donna Reed
    Captains Courageous (1937) – Spencer Tracy, Melvyn Douglas
    Carolina (1934) – Janet Gaynor
    Christopher Bean (1933) – Marie Dressler
    Dinner at Eight (1933) – Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler
    Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943) – Donna Reed
    Dragon Seed (1944) – Katherine Hepburn, Walter Huston
    Duel in the Sun (1946) – Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Walter Huston
    Fate (1913) – Mary Pickford
    Friends (1912) – Mary Pickford
    Grand Hotel (1932) – Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery
    It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – James Stewart, Donna Reed
    Key Largo (1948) – Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart
    Let Freedom Ring (1939) – Victor McLaglen
    Lone Star (1952) – Clark Gable
    Malaya (1949) – James Stewart, Spencer Tracy
    Navy, Blue and Gold (1937) – James Stewart
    Night Flight (1933) – Clark Gable, Helen Hayes
    Rasputin and the Empress (1932) – Ethel Barrymore
    Saratoga (1937) – Clark Gable
    Should Ladies Behave (1933) – Alice Brady
    Since You Went Away (1944) – Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones
    Tennessee Johnson (1942) – Van Heflin
    Test Pilot (1938) – Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy
    The Bad Man (1941) – Wallace Beery
    The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) – James Stewart, Melvyn Douglas, Joan Crawford
    The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) – Joan Crawford, Marie Dressler, Norma Shearer
    The Informer (1912) – Mary Pickford
    The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith (1943) – Walter Brennan
    The New York Hat (1912) – Mary Pickford
    The One She Loved (1912) – Mary Pickford
    The Road to Glory (1936) – Fredric March, Warner Baxter
    The Secret Heart (1946) – Claudette Colbert
    The Valley of Decision (1945) – Gregory Peck, Greer Garson
    The Yellow Ticket (1931) – Laurence Olivier
    Three Wise Fools (1946) – Jane Darwell,
    Treasure Island (1934) – Wallace Beery
    You Can’t Take it With You (1938) – James Stewart

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan….I like this Lionel list of facts. As for the Oscars….33 is pretty good especially since he passed away in 1954…..and there were not too many Oscar winning actors running around..as the Oscars were less than 30 years old when he passed. As for the new list….for some reason I like that Dean Stockwell has such a high ranking….though I am sure he will be plummenting as the years go by. Keenan Wynn has a spot in the Top 50….not sure I have ever noticed him being that high in the past…the power of a supporting actor that worked for years in many many movies. Thanks for sharing the information.

      Reply

  5. Tonight, Monday 25th is the final Barrymore evening on Turner Classic Movies.

    Tonight’s theme is movies with 2 or more siblings in the same film. The brothers made several together. There is only one with all three of them.

    Here they are in order, with no reference to when they start except that it is 8pm Eastern and 5pm Pacific:
    1. Rasputin and the Empress
    2. Grand Hotel
    3. Night Flight
    4. On Borrowed Time
    5.Arsene Lupin
    6.Arsene Lupin Returns

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora…very cool…thanks for the schedule. Too bad I have to be up early tomorrow. Hope you get a chance to see Rasputin and the Empress….three Barrymores in one movie.

      Reply

      1. It is a great film. I have seen it before. I will be watching it again. I have been enjoying all the introductions and conclusions with the Barrymore biographer. some things I knew already, but most of the things I had not known.

        Reply

        1. Hey Flora….very cool. This is why you destroy and me and Steve when it comes to classic movie tallies.

          Reply

          1. Thanks.

            I will look forward to you completing the siblings someday.

            Of course, with Lionel’s large number of movies it will be a LONG time before I see all of his movies.

            On Lionel’s night I watched some films they aired and then recorded the Gillepsie/Kildare films to watch later.

            I had seen most of Ethel’s night of movies by then, although there are a couple recorded by PVR new to me waiting for me.

            I’ve gone through all the movies that was on John’s evening by now including the 1939 movie The Great Man Votes.

            I still haven’t been able to find a copy of Midnight.

            Cheers,

            Flora

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