Michael Curtiz Movies

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

We recently read an internet article that proclaimed Michael Curtiz as the greatest, most productive director that time has forgotten.   After reading that article we began taking an informal poll of some knowledgeable movie friends….we asked the question…..”Ever heard of Michael Curtiz?”  After getting 5 answers of “no”….we figured it was time to give Mr. Curtiz some UMR sunshine.

Michael Curtiz (1886-1962) was an Oscar® winning Hungarian-born American film director. His IMDb page shows an incredible 178 directing credits from 1912-1967.  This page will rank 90 Michael Curtiz movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  Many of his silent movies, some early 1930s movies, shorts and uncredited directing jobs were not included in the rankings.

Michael Curtiz filming the little known Casablanca (1942)

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

Michael Curtiz 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 Michael Curtiz movies by co-stars of his movies
  • Sort Michael Curtiz movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Michael Curtiz movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Michael Curtiz movies 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 Michael Curtiz movie received.
  • Sort Michael Curtiz 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.

Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Michael Curtiz Table

  1. Forty-one Michael Curtiz movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark.  That is a percentage of 45.05% of his movies listed.  This Is The Army  (1943) was his biggest box office hit.
  2. An average Michael Curtiz movie grosses $112.80 million in adjusted box office gross.
  3. Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter.  58 Michael Curtiz movies are rated as good movies…or 63.73% of his movies.  Casablanca  (1942) is his highest rated movie while A Soldier’s Plaything (1930) is his lowest rated movie.
  4. Twenty Michael Curtiz movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 21.97% of his movies.
  5. Six Michael Curtiz movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 6.59% of his movies.
  6. A “good movie” Ultimate Movie Rankings Score is 60.00.  61 Michael Curtiz movies scored higher that average….or 67.03% of his movies.  Casablanca  (1942) got the the highest UMR Score while A Soldier’s Plaything (1930) got the lowest UMR Score.
Michael Curtiz directing another little known movie…1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood

Possibly Interesting Facts About Michael Curtiz

1. Manó Kaminer was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary in 1886.  In 1905 he Hungaricised his name to Mihály Kertész.

2. Michael Curtiz became attracted to the theater when he was a child in Hungary.  He built a little theater in the cellar of his house when he was 8 years old, where he and five of his friends reenacted plays

3.  In 1912, Michael Curtiz directed Hungary’s first feature film, Ma és holnap (Today and Tomorrow).

4.  Also in 1912, Michael Curtiz was on the Hungarian fencing team at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm

5.  After directing almost 70 movies in Europe, Curtiz arrived in the United States in 1926.  He began directing at Warner Bros. under the anglicised name “Michael Curtiz”. This marked the beginning of his 28-year career at Warners, where he directed 86 films

6.  Michael Curtiz could be intensely absorbed, to the point of distraction. Once was hurt falling out of a moving car because he wanted to write down an idea. He was driving at the time.

7.  Michael Curtiz directed Errol Flynn 12 times and Humphrey Bogart 8 times.

8.  Michael Curtiz is credited with “discovering” Doris Day, whom he heard sing at a Hollywood party. At the time he was about to direct 1948’s  Romance on the High Seas   and was seeking a singer/actress to replace Betty Hutton, who had become pregnant and had to back out of the film.

9.  Michael Curtiz was married three times in his life and had one son.

10.  Michael Curtiz directed close to an average of 3 movies a year from 1930 to 1961.  He did slow up when he reached 60…..as he only directed 2 movies a year from 1947 to 1961.

Check out Michael Curtiz’s career compared to current and classic actors and directors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Steve’s Michael Curtiz You Tube Video

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48 thoughts on “Michael Curtiz Movies”

  1. Hello Bruce,

    Wow, 91 movies in your table. Great job ! I’ve seen 13 movies only, but I love all of them. My favorite is Casablanca, on of the best movie ever, for me. It was a big success in France at the time.
    It’s very difficult to know the french box office before 1945, but Robin Hood made more than 6.5 millions of admissions in reissue between 1945. A very big score. And, acccording the press of the time, it was a big succes in 1938. 6th of the year 1938.

    Reply

      1. I was equally happy that we had so many of his worldwide grosses….but all the credit has to go to William Schaefer and his Warner Brothers ledgers. Thanks for checking out our latest page.

        Reply

    2. Hey Laurent. I was so happy to find almost every single movie he made after making it to Hollywood. No luck at all on his pre-Hollywood days. Your 13 is just slight behind my total of 21…..Steve currently sits in 2nd place with 28….with Flora in the Top Spot with 35. Generally if I have about 3/4 of the classic movie worldwide grosses I will include it in the table…and in this case we had almost 80% of his worldwide grosses. Thank you Warner Brothers ledgers.

      The only Robin Hood total I had was for the first main release….I could not find the totals for it’s many re-releases. Still at almost $600 million….you can tell just how big the movie was and why it made Mr. Flynn a superstar for life. Thanks for the stats from France on Robin Hood.

      Reply

  2. With the exception of the Four Daughters that is one helluva of a Top 10. Casablanca and Robin Hood alone make his career memorable. This is a fabulous breakdown of his career.

    Reply

    1. Hey James. I agree that Four Daughters seems out of place in his Top 10…..but I have not seen it….so maybe it deserves it’s spot in the Top 10…..statistically it was one of his bigger hits, got some very good reviews….earned a Best Picture nomination and one of his 5 Best Director nominations. I will have to track that movie down and watch it……thanks for the visit and the feedback.

      Reply

    1. Hey SteinHOF….good to hear from you again. Your absence has been noticed. I agree film fans have not forgotten him…..but his legacy has not grown the way other great directors have…..but this table shows just how he brought quality and quantity to the party. Thanks for the comment and the visit.

      Reply

  4. I have seen 35 Curtiz films.

    My top ten are:

    The Adventures of Robin Hood
    Casablanca
    Mildred Pierce
    Captain Blood
    White Christmas
    Yankee Doodle Dandy
    Angels With Dirty Faces
    The Sea Halk
    The Sea Wolf
    Dodge City
    The Unsuspected
    The Kennel Murder Case

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora….thanks for checking out this pretty massive page. 91 movies has to be the longest table I have for a director….actually only a few actors/actresses ever get this many movies. I have seen 21 of his movies. Of your favorites….I have seen 8 of the 12. Casablanca and Robin Hood are of course my favorites too…..with The Sea Hawk not being too far behind them. I want to see The Kennel Murder Case…..just to see William Powell playing a detective one year before he played Nick Charles in The Thin Man. Thanks for the comment and the feedback.

      Reply

  5. I knew the name, but was unaware he had directed son many hits. 91 movies. Incredible career he had. Thanks for educating me more on his stellar career.

    Reply

    1. Hey Taylor….I was pleasantly surprised that I had so many of his movies in the database….over 80 movies were already completed…but with so many movies starring Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart I guess I should have realized I had so many movies already done. Glad our page has helped you get more educated on the career of Michael Curtiz.

      Reply

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