Want to know the best Ramon Novarro movies? How about the worst Ramon Novarro movies? Curious about Ramon Novarro box office grosses or which Ramon Novarro movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Ramon Novarro 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.
Ramon Novarro (1899-1968) was Mexican-American actor. Novarro began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box office attractions of the 1920s and early 1930s. His IMDb page shows 63 acting credits from 1916 to 1968. This page will rank Ramon Novarro movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles, and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.
Ramon Novarro 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
1925
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
1927
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
1931
Mata Hari (1931)
1933
The Barbarian (1933)
1949
The Big Steal (1949)
1930
Call Of The Flesh (1930)
1950
The Outriders (1950)
1931
Daybreak (1931)
1923
Scaramouche (1923)
1929
Devil-May-Care (1929)
1950
Crisis (1950)
1931
Son Of India (1931)
1929
The Flying Fleet (1929)
1927
The Road to Romance (1927)
1929
The Pagan (1929)
1928
Across to Singapore (1928)
1922
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
1932
Huddle (1932)
1949
We Were Strangers (1949)
1922
Trifling Women (1922)
1930
In Gay Madrid (1930)
1924
The Red Lilly (1924)
1924
The Arab (1924)
1934
The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)
1932
The Son-Daughter (1932)
1928
Forbidden Hours (1928)
1940
Comedy of Happiness (1940)
1928
The Heartbreaker/A Certain Young Man (1928)
1960
Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
1925
The Midshipman (1925)
1923
Where The Payment Ends (1923)
1927
Lovers (1927)
1935
The Night Is Young (1935)
1924
Thy Name Is Woman (1924)
1922
Mr. Barnes of New York (1922)
1934
Laughing Boy (1934)
Ramon Novarro 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 any way you want.
- Sort Ramon Novarro movies by his co-stars
- Sort Ramon Novarro movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Ramon Novarro movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Ramon Novarro 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 Ramon Novarro movie received.
- Sort Ramon Novarro movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews, and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| CreditRank | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Review % | Oscar Nom / Win | S | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CreditRank | 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 | S | UMR Score |
| 1 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) | Francis X. Bushman & May McAvoy |
17.40 | 695.1 | 695.1 | 2 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 97.6 | |
| 2 | The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) | Norma Shearer | 3.10 | 104.8 | 182.2 | 13 | 79 | 00 / 00 | 88.7 | |
| 3 | Mata Hari (1931) | Greta Garbo & Lionel Barrymore |
3.00 | 153.7 | 350.5 | 22 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 4 | The Barbarian (1933) | Myrna Loy | 2.40 | 112.9 | 112.9 | 24 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 82.9 | |
| 5 | The Big Steal (1949) | Robert Mitchum | 4.00 | 99.2 | 128.8 | 92 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 81.9 | |
| 6 | Call Of The Flesh (1930) | Dorothy Jordan | 1.90 | 102.7 | 269.0 | 64 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 81.2 | |
| 8 | The Outriders (1950) | Joel McCrea & Arlene Dahl |
4.40 | 98.8 | 139.8 | 68 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 75.6 | |
| 7 | Daybreak (1931) | Helen Chandler | 1.50 | 74.7 | 74.7 | 90 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 75.5 | |
| 9 | Scaramouche (1923) | Lloyd Ingraham & Alice Terry |
0.90 | 42.2 | 42.2 | 21 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 73.2 | |
| 10 | Devil-May-Care (1929) | Dorothy Jordan | 2.30 | 70.2 | 139.3 | 55 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 73.1 | |
| 11 | Crisis (1950) | Cary Grant & José Ferrer |
2.50 | 57.2 | 90.0 | 120 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 72.4 | |
| 12 | Son Of India (1931) | Conrad Nagel | 1.40 | 70.0 | 70.0 | 102 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 72.4 | |
| 13 | The Flying Fleet (1929) | Ralph Graves | 2.10 | 64.7 | 126.5 | 64 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 71.7 | |
| 14 | The Road to Romance (1927) | Marceline Day | 1.50 | 49.7 | 49.7 | 42 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 70.9 | |
| 16 | The Pagan (1929) | Donald Crisp | 2.00 | 62.9 | 133.0 | 67 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 70.6 | |
| 15 | Across to Singapore (1928) | Joan Crawford | 1.80 | 57.9 | 93.1 | 52 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 17 | The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) | Lewis Stone | 1.30 | 65.6 | 65.6 | 11 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 68.3 | |
| 18 | Huddle (1932) | Madge Evans | 1.50 | 74.7 | 74.7 | 57 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 66.1 | |
| 19 | We Were Strangers (1949) | Jennifer Jones & Directed by John Huston |
2.10 | 52.2 | 52.2 | 140 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 64.0 | |
| 20 | Trifling Women (1922) | Barbara La Marr | 0.80 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 16 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 59.6 | |
| 22 | In Gay Madrid (1930) | Dorothy Jordan | 1.60 | 87.2 | 87.2 | 79 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 58.7 | |
| 21 | The Red Lilly (1924) | Enid Bennett | 0.60 | 26.0 | 26.0 | 39 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 56.2 | |
| 23 | The Arab (1924) | Alice Terry | 0.60 | 26.5 | 26.5 | 38 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 54.1 | |
| 24 | The Cat and the Fiddle (1934) | Jeanette MacDonald | 1.30 | 60.9 | 147.2 | 87 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 53.8 | |
| 26 | The Son-Daughter (1932) | Helen Hayes | 0.90 | 44.1 | 44.1 | 123 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 50.0 | |
| 27 | Forbidden Hours (1928) | Dorothy Cummings | 1.60 | 49.2 | 49.2 | 63 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 49.7 | |
| 25 | Comedy of Happiness (1940) | Michel Simon | 0.10 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 227 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 49.5 | |
| 28 | The Heartbreaker/A Certain Young Man (1928) | Bert Roach | 0.70 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 98 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 40.6 | |
| 29 | Heller in Pink Tights (1960) | Sophia Loren & Anthony Quinn |
2.70 | 42.4 | 42.4 | 83 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 39.5 | |
| 30 | The Midshipman (1925) | Wesley Barry | 1.00 | 41.4 | 41.4 | 30 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 38.7 | |
| 31 | Where The Payment Ends (1923) | Alice Terry | 0.70 | 31.0 | 31.0 | 29 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 37.2 | |
| 32 | Lovers (1927) | Alice Terry | 0.70 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 77 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 34.6 | |
| 33 | The Night Is Young (1935) | Rosalind Russell | 0.60 | 25.1 | 25.1 | 185 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 29.6 | |
| 34 | Thy Name Is Woman (1924) | Barbara La Marr | 0.50 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 49 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 24.1 | |
| 35 | Mr. Barnes of New York (1922) | Tom Moore | 0.20 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 43 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 20.9 | |
| 36 | Laughing Boy (1934) | Lupe Velez | 0.20 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 192 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 12.1 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Ramon Novarro
1. José Ramón Gil Samaniego was born in Durango City, Durango (Mexico) in 1899.
2. Ramon Novarro entered films in 1917, in bit parts. He supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter.
3. In the early 1920s, Ramon Novarro began to get promoted as a rival to Rudolph Valentino. It was during this time frame that he started using his screen name Ramon Novarro.
4. Ramon Novarro achieved his greatest success in 1925’s Ben-Hur. His performance in that blockbuster elevated him into the Hollywood elite.
5. At the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Ramon Novarro was earning more than $100,000 per film.
6. In 1968 Ramon Novarro was found beaten to death in his home in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. A book about his death, “Bloody Wednesday”, was rushed into print. For some reason, very few copies are available today, making the book a collector’s item.
Check out Ramon Novarro‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
I’ve seen just two of the 36 films on the chart that I’m sure of – Ben-Hur (1925) and The Big Steal (1949). I may have seen Crisis and The Outriders but can’t remember for sure.
Ben-Hur was a huge success in 1925 but MGM had an even bigger hit that same year – The Big Parade, which was MGM’s biggest success until Gone With the Wind in 1939.
Hey Steve….thanks for checking out our Ramon Novarro page. Tally count: 2 for you, 2 for me and 10 for Flora. I have only seen his Crisis and Heller In Pink Tights. I have not seen his Ben-Hur…one day I will. I have seen the Jack Huston Ben-Hur movie. Not 100% sure, but I think there was another version made after 1925’s Ben-Hur…..and before Jack’s Ben-Hur. I will have to do some research and see if I can figure out the “other Ben” movie. Good information on The Big Parade. I see that movie listed a lot when I am doing research on older movies. Good stuff as always.
I have seen 10 Ramon Navarro movies, including the top 5.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Daybreak.
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Heller in Pink Tights.
Favourite Ramon Novarro Movies;
The Student Prince of Old Heidelberg
Mata Hari
The Barbarian
Call of the Flesh
The Pagan
We Were Strangers
The Cat and the Fiddle
Other Ramon Novarro Movies I Have seen:
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Crisis
Heller in Pink Tights.
RE; Ben-Hur – Steve got me interested in seeing this film and warned me that some of the horses used in the chariot race died. I did see it and admire it for how well it is made, but I wouldn’t call it a favourite. Romam Novarro will be featured next month as part of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars and this film will be the primetime movie (8pm eastern)
I found this page thanks to Bob’s review on the forum page.
Hey Flora
1. Thanks as always for the feedback.
2. Tally count…10 for you and Steve and myself at a combined 4….2 for each of us.
3. The only two I have seen are both found on your “other list”….Crisis and Heller In Pink Tights.
4. I saw Crisis because of Cary Grant and Heller in Pink Tights because of Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren…I do not remember Novarro’s role in either movie.
5. Good information on TMC’s Summer Under The Stars.
6. Sorry this page did not show up right away….problems with the “Schedule” that day…so far…the schedule has worked well in absence while being on vacation.
Good stuff as always.
As I have mentioned continually on this site I have always been a great fan of Chuck Heston and Chuck of course had a great success including Oscar glory with 1959’s Ben Hur.
As Bruce faithfully records above Ramon was 1926’s Ben Hur and when the 1959 version came out I did read up on Ramon but most of my reading was about his private life and particularly his horrible tragic death; and until now Ben Hur has been the only one of his movies whose title has been familiar to me.
Bruce’s new page has therefore been useful in acquainting me with data bout a whopping 36 of Ramon’s movies and especially their grosses so it “Voted Up!”
Despite the reading that I have referred to I had never heard of Bloody Wednesday until WH mentioned it. Apparently the robbers who tortured and killed Ramon were arrested and convicted but after a relatively short period were released from prison leading some observers to suggest that there might be some truth is the oft-made claim that at time “the law is an ass!”
COMPARISONS
$100,000 in 1930 is equivalent to $1 .575 million today in purchasing power according to the US Bureau of Labor Stats. Not the massive salary per movie that is available to the top stars today but nevertheless big for the early talkies era when studios tightly controlled salaries and stars were treated the movie moguls as just “employees”
Hey Bob. Thanks for the feedback. Tally count: Flora at 10. You, me and Steve with a combined 5….2 for me and Steve and 1 for you. You have seen his most famous movie…I have yet to see his Ben-Hur…but one day I will. As for his death…normally…we stay away from stuff like that….but I found the entire sad ending and how quickly his robbers got off as sad and tragic. Thanks for the comparison of 1930 labor. I think he spent a lot of his money…not thinking he was living large when he passed away. Good stuff as always.
Ramon Novarro was never on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000. These are the few actors on the 2020 list he has appeared with, one still alive.
36 ANTHONY QUINN Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
81 ROBERT MITCHUM The Big Steal (1949)
207 JEFF COREY The Outriders (1950)
258 SOPHIA LOREN Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
306 JOSE FERRER Crisis (1950)
509 AKIM TAMIROFF The Barbarian (1933)
643 JAMES WHITMORE The Outriders (1950)
721 LOUIS JOURDAN La comédie du bonheur (1940)
722 JOHN HUSTON We Were Strangers (1949)
Ramon actually appeared with 14 Oscar winners.
ANTHONY QUINN Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
CLARK GABLE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
DONALD CRISP JOAN THE WOMAN (1916)
DONALD CRISP THE PAGAN (1929)
GARY COOPER Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
HELEN HAYES The Son-Daughter (1932)
JANET GAYNOR Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
JENNIFER JONES We Were Strangers (1949)
JOAN CRAWFORD Across to Singapore (1928)
JOAN CRAWFORD Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
JOSE FERRER Crisis (1950)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
LIONEL BARRYMORE Mata Hari (1931)
MARY PICKFORD Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
MARY PICKFORD The Little American (1917)
NORMA SHEARER The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
SOPHIA LOREN Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
WALLACE BEERY The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
WALLACE BEERY The Little American (1917)
WALLACE BEERY The Red Lily (1924)
Hey Dan. Wow….this is some of the smallest lists…especially when looking at the Oracle list. Only 9 still connecting him….and only one is still alive. Sophia Loren did get some Oscar love for her most recent role…but failed to get a nomination. 14 Oscar winning co-stars is low…but not bad for an actor that was a star before Oscars existed. Good stuff as always.
This is the new page for July 6th, 2021