Melvyn Douglas Movies

Want to know the best Melvyn Douglas movies?  How about the worst Melvyn Douglas movies?  Curious about Melvyn Douglas box office grosses or which Melvyn Douglas movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Melvyn Douglas 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.

Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) was a two-time Oscar® winning American actor.  Douglas went straight from being a Broadway star to be a leading man in theaters.  He would make movies from his debut in 1931’s Tonight or Never to 1981’s Ghost Story which was released after his death.  His IMDb page shows 112 acting credits from 1931-1981. This page will rank 67 Melvyn Douglas movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television appearances, 3 movies (The Wiser Sex, The Broken Wing & Our Wife) and one movie (The Hot Touch) not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings

Melvyn Douglas and Peter Sellers in 1979’s Being There

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

Melvyn Douglas 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 Melvyn Douglas movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Melvyn Douglas movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Melvyn Douglas movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Melvyn Douglas 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 Melvyn Douglas movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Melvyn Douglas movie won.
  • Sort Melvyn Douglas 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.

Melvyn Douglas was Great Garbo’s leading man in three movies

Possibly Interesting Facts About Melvyn Douglas

1. Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg was born in Macon, Georgia in 1902.  He would drop “Hesselberg” and start using his grandmother’s maiden name, Douglas, when he started acting professionally.

2. Melvyn Douglas developed his acting skills in Shakespearean repertory while in his teens and with stock companies in different parts of the country.

3.  Melvyn Douglas served in the United States Army during World War I and World War II.

4.  Melvyn Douglas was married two times and had three children.  His second marriage was to actress Helen “She” Gahagan.  Gahagan would eventually become a politician.  She was Richard Nixon’s opponent for the United States Senate seat from California in 1950.  It was Gahagan who popularized Nixon’s epithet “Tricky Dick”.

5.  One of Melvyn Douglas’ grandchildren is actress Illeana Douglas.  If you look at Illeana and Melvyn’s IMDb pages…..they both have 112 acting credits.  I like that stat a lot!

Illeana Douglas in 1990’s Good Fellas

6.  Melvyn Douglas used to jokingly apologize for ending the acting careers of Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer.  Douglas was Garbo’s last leading man in 1941’s Two-Faced Woman and Shearer last leading man in 1942’s We Were Dancing.

7.  Melvyn Douglas was borrowed by MGM from Columbia so much…..that they eventually just bought Douglas’ Columbia contract….because it was cheaper than paying the fees to borrow him.  MGM viewed Douglas as the replacement for William Powell.  Whenever Powell was not available for a role….Douglas got the part.

8.  Melvyn Douglas and billing.  Douglas – “Well, Freddie Bartholomew had first billing in Captains Courageous and that drove Spencer Tracy mad.  I was billed fourth – and couldn’t have cared less.  Joan Crawford once explained to me she was over Clark Gable and William Powell but under Norma Shearer.  Powell was under Jean Harlow but above Bob Montgomery and Myrna Loy.  Are you still with me?”  JFB (Just for Bob)

9.  Melvyn Douglas’ movies from 1930 to 1939 earned $2.71 billion in adjusted domestic gross.  That puts him in 24th place when looking at all the stars of that decade. 1930’s Top Box Office Stars.

10. Melvyn Douglas’ movies from 1940 to 1949 earned $1.39 billion in adjusted domestic gross.  That puts him in 96th place when looking at all the stars of that decade. 1940’s Top Box Office Stars.

11.  While serving during World War II, Douglas ended up in Burma.  He would met future co-star Peter Sellers there.  Years later they would star in 1979’s Being There.

12.  Melvyn Douglas was nominated for three Oscars®:  He won twice: 1963’s Hud and 1979’s Being There.  His third nomination was for 1970’s I Never Sang For My Father.

13.  Melvyn Douglas’ prank on Joan Crawford. Douglas – “I was very naughty one day.  I’d watch in amazement as Joan would arrive with a long retinue of servants, hairdressers, maids, personal assistants, even her chauffeur.  So next day I asked my brother, my chauffeur and whoever else I could dig up, and we went in a single line.  Joan was not amused and I got chewed out by director Clarence Brown, who told me he was having enough problems with Joan before this calumny!”  Sounds funny to me!

14. Melvyn Douglas was the fifth performer to win an Oscar®, an Emmy® and a Tony®.

15. Check out Melvyn Douglas’ career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time

Facts #8 and #13 come from a James Bawden interview found in the book Classic Film Stars – Interviews from Hollywood’s Golden Era.

Check out Steve’s Melvyn Douglas YouTube Video

 

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

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43 thoughts on “Melvyn Douglas Movies”

  1. Melvyn is no longer on the top 1000 Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. However, he was #651 on the original list back in 2000. Here are the people who are still on the 2016 list who appeared with Melvyn in a film. By the way I saw Ileanna once walking down the street in Manhattan.

    97 CHARLES DURNING Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    126 TERENCE STAMP Billy Budd (1962)
    127 GENE HACKMAN I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
    134 FAYE DUNAWAY The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi (2009)
    139 MICHAEL LERNER The Candidate (1972)
    157 BURT YOUNG Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    181 RIP TORN The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
    198 DEAN STOCKWELL Rapture (1965)
    245 MICKEY ROONEY Captains Courageous (1937)
    260 PETER COYOTE Tell Me a Riddle (1980)
    279 MERYL STREEP The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
    318 DAN HEDAYA The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
    332 ELYA BASKIN Being There (1979)
    403 ROBERT REDFORD The Candidate (1972)
    413 JAMES COBURN The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    438 JOHN RATZENBERGER Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    455 SHIRLEY MACLAINE Being There (1979)
    513 DAVID CLENNON Being There (1979)
    567 SHANE RIMMER Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    571 WILLIAM SMITH Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    623 JAMES KAREN I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
    627 GARRICK HAGON TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING (1977)
    649 ALLEN GARFIELD The Candidate (1972)
    746 PETER BOYLE The Candidate (1972)
    762 JACK WARDEN Being There (1979)
    781 SHELLEY WINTERS Le locataire (1976)
    809 ROBERT MITCHUM My Forbidden Past (195

    Here are the actors on the 2000 list who have since fallen off but worked with Melvyn. Rank is for 2000. Funny, I thought there would be more.

    14 JOHN CARRADINE Captains Courageous (1937)
    27 MARC LAWRENCE There’s That Woman Again (1939)
    41 BURGESS MEREDITH That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
    43 KEENAN WYNN The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    45 BURT LANCASTER Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    50 JEFF COREY Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
    67 PAUL NEWMAN Hud (1963)
    100 IAN WOLFE Arsène Lupin Returns (1938)
    100 IAN WOLFE Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
    100 IAN WOLFE Tell No Tales (1939)
    119 RICHARD WIDMARK Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    132 GLENN FORD Advance to the Rear (1964)
    144 PETER USTINOV Billy Budd (1962)
    147 LLOYD BRIDGES Our Wife (1941)
    153 JAMES GARNER The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    156 GREGORY PECK The Great Sinner (1949)
    158 JOSEPH COTTEN Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    160 ROBERT RYAN Billy Budd (1962)
    185 KEVIN MCCARTHY Hotel (1967)
    186 AVA GARDNER My Forbidden Past (1951)
    186 AVA GARDNER The Great Sinner (1949)
    189 VAL AVERY Hud (1963)
    221 JOHN CRAWFORD The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Ninotchka (1939)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Prestige (1932)
    222 BESS FLOWERS She Married Her Boss (1935)
    222 BESS FLOWERS That Certain Age (1938)
    222 BESS FLOWERS That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
    222 BESS FLOWERS The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
    222 BESS FLOWERS The Lone Wolf Returns (1935)
    222 BESS FLOWERS The Shining Hour (1938)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Three Hearts for Julia (1943)
    225 PAUL SMITH (I) Advance to the Rear (1964)
    241 BRODERICK CRAWFORD The Candidate (1972)
    256 HANK WORDEN The Sea of Grass (1947)
    296 KENNETH TOBEY The Candidate (1972)
    296 KENNETH TOBEY The Great Sinner (1949)
    299 FRITZ FELD I Met Him in Paris (1937)
    301 LEE J. COBB This Thing Called Love (1940)
    320 ROSCOE LEE BROWNE Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    343 GEORGE C. SCOTT The Changeling (1980)
    344 JAMES STEWART The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
    356 PHIL BROWN Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    359 KARL MALDEN Hotel (1967)
    362 BARRY SULLIVAN The Candidate (1972)
    376 STELLA STEVENS Advance to the Rear (1964)
    379 ANN DORAN Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)
    379 ANN DORAN I’ll Take Romance (1937)
    379 ANN DORAN Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935)
    379 ANN DORAN They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
    396 RICHARD JAECKEL Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    409 ROD TAYLOR Hotel (1967)
    474 WILLIAM HOOTKINS Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    477 BRITT EKLAND Advance to the Rear (1964)
    503 RICHARD CONTE Hotel (1967)
    506 DOUGLAS FOWLEY The Sea of Grass (1947)
    507 RALPH BELLAMY Woman in the Dark (1934)
    532 JIM BACKUS Advance to the Rear (1964)
    571 CHARLES LANE They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
    592 WHIT BISSELL Advance to the Rear (1964)
    592 WHIT BISSELL Hud (1963)
    592 WHIT BISSELL The Sea of Grass (1947)
    606 ALBERTO MORIN I Met Him in Paris (1937)
    606 ALBERTO MORIN The Toy Wife (1938)
    611 DON ‘RED’ BARRY There’s That Woman Again (1939)
    673 PETER SELLERS Being There (1979)
    678 PAUL WINFIELD Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    682 RAY TEAL The Sea of Grass (1947)
    682 RAY TEAL Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
    740 GEORGE CHANDLER Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935)
    740 GEORGE CHANDLER The Shining Hour (1938)
    743 WILLIAM WINDOM The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    745 RICHARD BASEHART Being There (1979)
    758 MICHAEL HIGGINS The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
    768 SAMANTHA EGGAR The Hot Touch (1981)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Tell No Tales (1939)
    793 PATRICK MACNEE The Hot Touch (1981)
    803 JOHN NEVILLE Billy Budd (1962)
    806 NINA FOCH The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)
    832 DON BRODIE Captains Courageous (1937)
    832 DON BRODIE Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
    832 DON BRODIE On the Loose (1951)
    832 DON BRODIE Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
    863 ALAN HALE JR. Advance to the Rear (1964)
    868 LEX BARKER Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
    878 DENVER PYLE The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)
    889 ROBERT BROWN Billy Budd (1962)
    975 MAUREEN O’HARA A Woman’s Secret (1949)
    982 BILLY BENEDICT Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
    982 BILLY BENEDICT There’s Always a Woman (1938)
    985 NIALL MACGINNIS Billy Budd (1962)
    994 ELLEN CORBY A Woman’s Secret (1949)

    I count 31 Oscar winners for Melvyn which I also found surprisingly low.

    BRODERICK CRAWFORD The Candidate (1972)
    BURT LANCASTER Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977)
    CHARLES COBURN Our Wife (1941)
    CHARLES LAUGHTON The Old Dark House (1932)
    CLAUDETTE COLBERT I Met Him in Paris (1937)
    CLAUDETTE COLBERT She Married Her Boss (1935)
    CLAUDETTE COLBERT The Wiser Sex (1932)
    ETHEL BARRYMORE The Great Sinner (1949)
    GENE HACKMAN I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
    GEORGE C. SCOTT The Changeling (1980)
    GLORIA GRAHAME A Woman’s Secret (1949)
    GREGORY PECK The Great Sinner (1949)
    HATTIE MCDANIEL THE SHINING HOUR (1938)
    JAMES COBURN The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    JAMES STEWART The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
    JOAN CRAWFORD The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
    JOAN CRAWFORD The Shining Hour (1938)
    JOAN CRAWFORD They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
    JULIE ANDREWS The Americanization of Emily (1964)
    KARL MALDEN Hotel (1967)
    KATHARINE HEPBURN The Sea of Grass (1947)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE Captains Courageous (1937)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
    LORETTA YOUNG He Stayed for Breakfast (1940)
    LUISE RAINER The Toy Wife (1938)
    MARY ASTOR And So They Were Married (1936)
    MARY ASTOR There’s Always a Woman (1938)
    MERYL STREEP The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
    NORMA SHEARER We Were Dancing (1942)
    PATRICIA NEAL Ghost Story (1981)
    PATRICIA NEAL Hud (1963)
    PAUL NEWMAN Hud (1963)
    PETER USTINOV Billy Budd (1962)
    SHELLEY WINTERS Le locataire (1976)
    SHIRLEY MACLAINE Being There (1979)
    SPENCER TRACY Captains Courageous (1937)
    SPENCER TRACY The Sea of Grass (1947)
    THOMAS MITCHELL THEODORA GOES WILD (1936)
    WALTER HUSTON The Great Sinner (1949)

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan
      1. Good to know that Melvyn Douglas was at #651 back in 2000.
      2. Very cool that you saw Illeana walking down the street…..we are headed to New York City at the end of August….I will be looking for stars as we walk around….maybe I will get lucky like you have been.
      3. Of the current list….I would bet Meryl Streep will be on the list for awhile….thus keeping Melvyn connected to the lists of 2020, 2030 and such.
      4. Looking at the 2000 list….Bess Flowers really pops out when seeing all the movies she made with him.
      5. I actually just watched A Woman’s Secret with Maureen O’Hara…not too good….but Douglas gives the best performance
      6. 31 Oscar winners……a little on the low side….for such a long career. All of these tally counts really make me appreciate Michael Caine’s huge total.
      As always….thanks for the awesome information.

      Reply

  2. Hey Joel…..as always your thoughts are greatly appreciated….23 4 star performances….that is a lot. Thanks for the feedback 34 years later.

    Reply

    1. Cogerson
      July 21, 2017 at 11:56 pm
      Hey Joel…..as always your thoughts are greatly appreciated….23 4 star performances….that is a lot. Thanks for the feedback 34 years later.

      HI BRUCE

      No problem. Sorry it took 34 years but it’s yours to treasure now and forever which means a lot because “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” And keep singing that song of ours “We belong to a mutual admiration society.”

      HIRSCH

      Reply

      1. Thanks Joel. Good to be in the MAS together…..if only we can get Bob in the Mutual Admiration Society….lol.

        Reply

  3. Hello Bruce,
    a very good page , first of all i learn that he Was in “as You desire me ” with Garbo, a film i never see.
    In the mean Time i saw “Angel” a lot but i think it Was a little boaring because what Is the différence between Herbert Marshall and Melvyn Douglas….???
    Both are Gentlemen….
    In this film which Is not so bad with some funny moment but never with the stars, it miss simply à Gary Cooper, or à Cary Grant or à Clark Gable.
    Imagine Dietrich between Cooper and Grant or Between Gable and Cooper ..etc..
    I am Sorry i think i just see Five or six film but for me the mots important part are with Dietrich and Garbo.
    As always good moment
    Have a Nice Day
    Pierre

    Reply

    1. Hey Pierre
      1. Thanks for the visit.
      2. I have not seen As You Desire Me
      3. Thanks for the mini-review of Angel….I will not rush out to see that one.
      4. I think he was like Robert Young…a co-star that the female stars loved working with….as Douglas worked with the greatest stars of the 1930s….including Garbo 3 times!
      5. Good feedback as always.

      Reply

  4. Hi, Bruce

    According to The Harrison Reports “The Wiser Sex” was “average” and “The Broken Wing” was “below average”
    Maybe you can use that info…
    Another great page!

    Reply

    1. Hey Søren….thanks for the information on The Wiser Sex and The Broken Wing. I thought the Harrison Reports started in 1934 or 1935. Are there other movies that got that tag “average” and “below average”? That is how I determine some of the early box office numbers by “grouping movies” together. Glad you liked this page. Good to hear from you.

      Reply

      1. Hi, Bruce

        The only issue that uses these tags are the one from 1932 & there’s about 200 films “graded” – many of them are completely unknown to me…

        Reply

        1. Hey Søren. Thanks for the further information….I will be doing some deeper research on those tags. Every bit is like a puzzle piece which is part of one massive puzzle.

          Reply

  5. Hi, Bruce.

    I have seen 21 Melvyn Douglas films from throughout his career.

    I have seen 9 of the top 10 movies.

    My favourite film, bar none, is Ninotchka.

    Other favourites include:

    Being There
    Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
    Hud
    The Great Sinner
    The Americanization of Emily

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora.
      1. Well….your 21 puts you are top….currently. John 19, Steve 14 and me with 13.
      2. Glad your favorite, Ninotchka is highly ranked in all the categories on the table.
      3. I have seen 4 of your Top 5. I have not seen The Great Sinner.
      4. So a Gregory Peck movie cracked your Top 5?….I am shocked…shocked I tell ya….lol.
      5. Thanks for the comment and the tally count.

      Reply

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