Randolph Scott Movies

Randolph Scott...one of the great movie cowboys of all-time
Randolph Scott…one of the great movie cowboys of all-time

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

Randolph Scott (1898-1987) was one of the icons of the cinema’s West.   Scott’s rise to fame had some interesting crossroads.  After graduating from the University of North Carolina with a degree in textile engineering and manufacturing, Scott had chance encounter with mogul Howard Hughes.  Hughes got him some work as an extra in Hollywood in the late 1920s.  This got Scott interested in acting.  After taking some acting classes, Scott signed a movie contract with Paramount.   Slowly Scott began appearing in better movies with bigger roles. His pinnacle was from 1950 to 1953 when he was a Top Ten Box Office Star every year during that four year stint.

His IMDb page shows 106 acting credits from 1928-1962. This page ranks Randolph Scott movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, and movies not released in North America and many of his movies that barely made a dent at the box office were not included in the rankings.

Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott in 1956's Seven Men From Now
Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott in 1956’s Seven Men From Now

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

Randolph Scott 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 Randolph Scott movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Randolph Scott movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost
  • Sort Randolph Scott movies by domestic yearly box office rank
  • Sort Randolph Scott 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 Randolph Scott movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Randolph Scott movie won.
  • Sort Randolph Scott 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.
 

Adjusted Randolph Scott Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses 

Cary Grant, Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott in 1940's My Favorite Wife
Cary Grant, Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott in 1940’s My Favorite Wife

Possibly Interesting Facts About Randolph Scott

1. George Randolph Scott was born in Orange County, Virginia but raised in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2. At 19 Randolph Scott served in France as an artillery observer during World War I.

3. Randolph Scott played college football for Georgia Tech……but his football career was cut short due to injury.

4. Randolph Scott was best friends with Cary Grant and Fred Astaire.  For many years he and Grant shared a house in Hollywood.

5.  Randolph Scott was married twice.  First first marriage was to Mariana duPont Somerville from 1936 to 1939.  His second marriage was to Patrica Stillman from 1944 until his death in 1987….they had two children.

6. Randolph Scott formed Ranown Productions with producer Harry Joe Brown and produced several films.

7. Randolph Scott was reportedly worth around $100 million when he passed away….this was due to the fact that he was a great businessman who made many shrewd financial investments.

8. Randolph Scott was among Hollywood’s Top 10 box office stars from 1950 to 1953:  He ranked 10th in 1950, 7th in 1951, 10th in 1952 and 10th in 1953.

9. Randolph Scott was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1975.

10. Randolph Scott was Margaret Mitchell’s choice to play Ashley Wilkes in the movie version of her novel Gone with the Wind….Leslie Howard got the part.

Check out Randolph Scott‘s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Steve’s Randolph Scott You Tube Video

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.  Golden Globe® is a registered trademark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

 

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74 thoughts on “Randolph Scott Movies”

  1. Added Steve’s Randolph Scott video to this page….my recent comment on his video channel.

    “Nice new movie video subject. First math is #31 To the Shores of Tripoli….not much action in that one. #24 The Spoilers…seen many times #20..classic movie #17 Roberta…seen but it is mixed up with lots of Fred and Ginger movies in my head. #11 Virginia City…fun western. #7 Follow the Fleet….another Fred and Ginger movie #6 Jesse James….what a cast #5 My Favorite Wife…love this movie re-watch it on a regular basis #3 7 Men From Now my favorite “Scott leading man movie”. #1 Ride The High Country….cult classic and a great way to end a movie career. So that is a pretty weak total of 10 Randolph Scott movies watched. Voted up and shared.”

    Reply

    1. Hi Bruce, thanks for the vote, share and comment amigo, much appreciated. Randolph Scott’s video is getting more views than Jimmy Stewart and Bogart, wasn’t expecting that. There is still interest in the old cowboy. I’ve seen 28 of these that I know of, maybe more. I have a weakness for westerns, especially on a lazy sunday afternoon. :)

      Reply

      1. Hey Steve…..that is strange…..you just never know what is going to hit and miss…..we are still shocked that our All Time Ticket Selling Movies has taken off…..it was done in response to a question in the forum….and now it has become our top page….heck we did not even pay it any attention for a year after publishing it. The power of Scott…..knocking those AFI legends down..love it.

        Reply

        1. Bruce, I think that Ticket Selling page is the most fascinating page on your site. [cue gasps] I’m not as manic about stats and grosses like some of the other regulars here (too many variables) but that chart showing how many tickets each film sold was a real eye opener.

          Reply

          1. Hey Steve….I think many agree with you….that page has become a view getting machine…..pushing Pixar and Marvel out of the way as it has reached the “Most Popular Page” spot on the mountain. Thanks for such kind words about that complete stat page.

  2. “Don’t try it. He’s got eyes in the back of his head!” Anne Jeffries’ tomboy spitfire Cheyenne to Robert Ryan’s evil Sundance Kid as he goes to shoot Billy the Kid in the back as the latter rides away in the 1948 Scott starrer Return of the Bad Men. That was not included in your video according to my notes but these WERE in the Top 25.

    Classy POSTERS Last of the Mohicans, Susannah of the Mounties, Hangman’s Knot, Thunder over the Plains, She [stunning poster!]. Pittsburg,*** Western Union, Buchannan Rides Alone, Comanche Station, Seven Men from Now, Ride Lonesome, The Tall T and Guns in the Afternoon [the latter a stand-out poster in my view.]
    ***I used to think that title related to the US city [probably just still a town in the old days] but Pittsburg Markham was actually the name of the Duke’s character in the movie even though he was 3rd billed after Marlene and Randy. Dietrich, Scott and Wayne was also the order of billing in The Spoilers the other film the trio made together. Apparently Marlene didn’t like The Duke’s politics.

    STILLS. You’re making up for lost ground again with a wealth of great photos in the Top 25, of which my own favorites are (1) the two of Randy with the Duke and Marlene (2) with little Shirley (3) scrumptious lobby cards for Roberto and Virginia City (4) a wonderful still from the Last of the Mohicans that could have been lifted straight out of a Classic Era cinema showcase (5)relaxing on set with Ty Power (6) with Archie Leach and Irene Dunne (7) with old Miss “Come up and see me sometime when I’ve got nothing on” herself and (8) a posed one of Randy with great Western contemporary McCrea in Guns in the Afternoon. They dined together one night and tossed a coin to decide top billing and Randy won. Rumor has it that Tracy never carried coins on his person!

    Overall a 98% well-earned rating in my opinion. You and WH agree on 7 of Scott’s Top 10 best reviewed films and you have the same Top 5 albeit in a slightly different order. Interestingly whereas you have only one of the Astaire/ Rogers/Scott films Follow the Fleet in your Top 10 he has Roberta as well and above Follow the Fleet. But boy oh boy they were spoilt in those days with 3 legends for the price of one in the two Wayne/Marlene/Randy films and in the two Astaire-Rogers Scott films!

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, thanks for the review, rating, info, comment and quote, much appreciated.

      Happy you enjoyed the pictorial vistas in this presentation.

      Return of the Bad Men had to sit this one out but the poster and score should be available on my Robert Ryan and Tom Tyler videos and maybe the previous Scott video too.

      Only 9 stills and a couple of lobby cards this time but they were carefully chosen. Some posters contain photos so it\’s not all artwork. But as you know it\’s the poster art that floats my boat. 😉

      38 of the 50 films here are westerns.

      Two Randy Scott films score 10 out of 10 – Follow the Fleet (a Fred & Ginger musical) and Ride the High Country. There are no 9s but several 8s including – My Favorite Wife, Jesse James and The Tall T.

      Tops at IMDB is a tie between Seven Men from Now and Guns in the Afternoon (aka Ride the High Country). Tops at Rotten Tomatoes is The Tall T followed by My Favorite Wife.

      Bruce\’s critics chart has Seven Men from Now at no.1 followed by The Tall T and Guns in the High Country. Follow the Fleet tops the UMR chart.

      Reply

      1. 1 HI MO Thanks for the Scott feedback. Although Randy had an expansive career some historians opine that his legend especially rests on the 7 movies that he made with Bud Boetticher from 1956-1960 and which critics have described as collectively “little gems in the Western genre.

        2 In fact YOU give the 7 a ratings average of about 71% and that generous ole WH does even better with a 75% figure and I think you both might regard either average as very respectable for a set of westerns and indeed each of you has what I regard as the very best 5 of the 7 in your Top 10 Scott flicks. That’s excellent considering the competition they faced within an overall western selection of 38 movies.

        3 Ironically they were all B movies usually running less than 75 minutes and Bruce’s comprehensive Scott pages shows that overall their earnings were not high and averaged out at $39.7 million in adjusted domestic grosses. However they were made on shoestring budgets so were no doubt profitable when foreign grosses were taken into account.

        4 The 7 were – Seven Men from Now. Comanche Station, The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Westbound, Decision at Sundown and Buchanan Rides Alone The Duke’s production company made the first one and apparently Wayne himself edited the initial cut without Boetticher’s permission though Bud later got his hands on it and restores it to his own liking –what guys like the Work Horse would today grandiosely call “The Director’s Cut” if someone like Harrison Ford was in the movie and it was being hyped up to make even more money!

        POSTSCRIPT I was thinking of you last night when I watched an episode of a TV detective series in which a murder was committed among British theatre performers. The Chief Inspector tells his Inspector to get some background information on the actors and actresses who are suspects and the Inspector replies “Won’t be easy sir. Their names keep changing when they give them those peerages and other funny little titles that seem to be chucked at them.” In another episode Gielgud was running about in a supporting role exercising that free-from-mumbles plummy voice of his! YOURS RAM 2

        Reply

        1. Hi Bob, thanks for the added info and trivia, always appreciated.

          Yep Scott’s Budd Boetticher westerns are highly rated among fans and film buffs, though James Stewart’s Anthony Mann westerns of the 50s were of a higher quality. All of these are easily surpassed by the great John Ford’s collection of western masterpieces such as The Searchers [cue hushed silence].

          I wonder if delayed comments are going to be the norm now. I hope not. Maybe Bruce’s latest spam deterrent will do the trick.

          Reply

          1. 1 HI MO Thanks for the bonus feedback. I completely agree with you about the greater quality of the Steward/Duke westerns. However we have to remember that those films benefited from big budgets, prestigious supporting actors in their day like Walter Brennan, John McIntyre, Ward Bond, Arthur Kennedy etc and fresh and in-demand young leading ladies like Julie Adams, Vera Miles, Ruth Roman and Janet Leigh – and of course the Duke had often stalwart Mo O’Hara and even in his fading days the evergreen Katie Hepburn [in Rooster Cogburn].

            2 Randy’s 7 flicks on the other hand had a few strong supporting actors like the on-the-way up James Coburn, Richard Boone and Lee Marvin but Scott was also dependent on “nobodys” in those days such as Don Red Barry, Claude Aikens, Wallace Ford and Skip Homier. His leading ladies were mostly either lowly ranked starlets like Karen Steel [in 3 of them] and Nancy Gates or ageing “has beens” such as Maureen O’Sullivan and the alcoholic Gail Russell. Virginia Mayo’s small billing below the title in Westbound shows how far she had slipped by 1959 and in the end Bruce showering her with Danny Kaye’s grosses didn’t save her!

            3 In effect the Scott/Boetticher seven films had really only RANDY in them to carry them and all in all therefore I regard them collectively as the best SET of B westerns I’ve ever seen.

            4 England’s Sir John Gielgud was on again today in another TV detective episode waxing lyrical as a plummy voiced, no-mumbles-nonsense aristocrat known informally as P.P to his friends of equal status

            Police Inspector to a PP Friend “And what was he talking to you about at the time of the murder sir?”
            Friend: “What’s PP always talking about? – background and breeding! “
            Inspector: “OH, and what did he have to say today about that sir?”
            Friend: “That it takes 600 years to breed an English lawn and 600 an English gentleman!”

            2 However Sir John made the haughty PP into a deliciously entertaining character. I loved the scene where the Chief Inspector is staring at PP’s family tree and says “You come from a very distinguished lineage sir.” Gielgud’s face breaks into a pleased childish smile. YOURS RAM 2

          2. Good post Bob, cheers. One question, what do the acronyms MO and RAM stand for in your posts?

    2. STEVE

      Please forgive my mis-spelling of Buchanan [Rides Alone] and Roberta in my Scott post part 2. As my name is Robert some friends call me Roberto and I wasn’t thinking when I spelt the Astaire/Rogers/Dunne classic that way.

      Reply

  3. HI MO 1 I notice that when you listed Jimmy Stewart and Randy among the most prolific cowboy actors in movies you ignored arguably the greatest of them all – Robert Taylor who in effect proclaimed himself the THE Cowboy of the 20th Century. Anyway great to now see a Randy 50 video from you.

    2. PART ONE – NOS 50-26. POSTERS that most please me are 10 Wanted Men [I see that prominent billing is also given to the sister of one who brought the art of mumbling to movies] Belle Starr, Nevada Express, The Stranger Wore a Gun, Captain Kidd, Santa Fe, A Lawless Street, Fort Worth [scrumptious foreign language version] The Bounty Hunter, Badman’s Territory, When the Daltons Rode and Riding Shotgun, which I saw in 1954/55 on a double bill with Dragnet the first theatrical film to be based on the successful TV series starring Jack Webb as Sgt Joe Friday, the character played by Dan Akroyd in the 1987 version co-starring Hanks.

    3 STILLS Nil return – my notes suggest there weren’t any.

    NOTE: In the 1950s J Arthur Rank produced mainstream British movies starring top performers like Bogarde and Mills, and Rank also owned one of the main British cinema chains. It was commonplace in downtown Belfast in those days for Rank to impose on his own cinemas one of his British films and twin it with a Randy flick like The Stranger Wore a Gun or A Lawless Street. Accordingly you can appreciate how nostalgic it is for me now to see posters for those particular movies from a bygone world. I’m sure there will be more in Part 2

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, thanks for reviewing the first part of my Randolph Scott expanded video, it is appreciated. Glad you enjoyed the posters, I was spoilt for choice. I have a soft spot for cowboy posters. Sorry for the lack of stills, they all turn up in the second half.

      Robert Taylor will turn up in expanded form at the end of next week if all goes to plan.

      Reply

  4. Cogerson

    I have read so much about Randolph Scott being rich that it intrigued me how rich he was, and so I did some research which might interest some. I did find the Fortune Magazine list of the richest 400 Americans from 1985 when Scott was still alive.
    Scott was not on the list, and neither were several others I would consider contenders like Bob Hope and Fred MacMurray.
    There were, though, three entertainment personalities on the list. Roy Disney at $255 million. TV producer Norman Lear at $175 million.
    And the one former actor, Gene Autry, at $150 million. Autry stayed on the list for several years and reached of at least $320 million in the early 1990’s. So Autry seems to have been the richest former actor. (note that Bing Crosby had died in 1977. Have no idea if he would have rated).
    Good question is how a “B” actor managed to outdo his peers and his perhaps more than peers in Hollywood. Certainly he was a shrewd businessman. And his recording career was much more successful than modern observers probably remember. Plus he got into producing after WWII. Autry ended up owning radio & television stations, a Palm Beach hotel, and a baseball team, among other investments.

    Reply

    1. Hey John….I did a Google search on “Randolph Scott” net worth….and $100 million was what popped up. That would probably be worth about a billion in today’s money (just guessing there)….so I think an actor that became a billionaire would be pretty impressive. I know Bruce Willis is considered to be a decent business man….and his net worth is around 175 million.

      As for Bing Crosby…a Goodge search on “Bing Crosby” net worth…and $50 million pops up…..so on that very unscientific look…Scott was twice as valuable as Crosby was.

      Good information on Gene Autry…Autry owned the Angels (baseball) for years ……now that was a wise investment.

      Reply

    2. Cogerson

      Thanks for the info on Scott & Bing. Just plug in net worth? I’ll try that.

      Another interesting guy is Charles Starrett (the Durango Kid)–He was one of the heirs to the L. S. Starrett precision tool company–a very wealthy man. During his years at Columbia he was probably richer than anyone else connected with the company. Still he found a niche in B westerns and never moved up. He seemed content. Never sought “art” or “prestige.” Just went through over 15 years as a B western star. When B westerns died out, he retired and traveled the world with his wife.

      Reply

      1. Hey John…well the “net worth” trick worked on Bing and Randolph…but not on Charles Starrett. Sounds like The Durago Kid had a good and successful life.

        Reply

  5. Cogerson

    I notice posters sometimes mention how many films of a given star they have seen. I went through Steve’s list of top Randolph Scott films over at IMDB and it intrigued me how many I have seen over more than six decades as a movie watcher.

    Of Steve’s top 30, I have watched 27 (I missed the Shirley Temple & Mae West films, and The Bounty Hunter). Then I went over to IMDB to check out his whole career. Of the 94 films in which he received billing, I have seen 61. The reason is that his type of programmer westerns were dumped on the TV market in the old days, and when most programming went to color in the 1970’s & 1980’s, Scotts record of making color films kept his films viable.

    Reply

    1. Hey John…..well in our tally contest your final tally of 61 would have easily beaten me, Steve and Flora….Flora started mentioning her tally count totals back in our HubPages days….and it has amazingly stood the test of time…..generally Flora wins the classic tallies….it is good fun…..recently I realized I have seen 64 of the 70 Nicolas Cage movies…the tally count got me to realize that important information.

      I can imagine how popular Scott’s movies would have been in re-runs…especially with so many being in color.

      Thanks for sharing your tally count, the visit and the comment….all are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

    2. Hey Bruce, not only has John seen far more westerns than we have, he remembers them all too! I can’t even remember what I had for lunch, never mind the name of the horse Tim Holt rode in ‘Brothers in the Saddle’ [wink]

      Reply

      1. Steve

        For an old f–t like myself, memory is tricky. For example, I can give you the entire line-up for the 1958 Baltimore Colts offense off memory (ends-Barry & Mutscheller, tackles-Parker & Preas, guards-Spinney & Sandusky, center-Nutter, Q-back-Unitas, halfbacks-Moore & Dupree, fullback-Ameche.

        I guess this might indicate an impressive memory, except I am a Green Bay fan and have watched them play many times over recent years. I can name Aaron Rodgers & the receivers,

        but they have an all-pro linebacker who wears #52. I just watched the guy play two days ago and saw him force and recover a fumble. I have watched him in many games. Now his name escapes me. I could look up his name but don’t want to.

        Perhaps Cogerson can help me. Old age is weird.

        Reply

        1. Hey John….I feel pretty safe in saying that Steve has no idea what you are talking….American Football has not registered at all in the Lensman home. Last year I got a Peyton Manning autograph in the mail…and was telling Steve about it….and he was like “Who?”….”Never heard of him”.

          Reading your comment and you listing the Colts offense….reminded me of Diner…..and how those guys in the Diner talked…..and the Steve Guttenberg requiring his soon to be wife to pass a test on the Colts….it is fresh in my memory…because I just finished writing a page on Richard Dreyfuss…..who starred in the almost sequel to Diner….Tin Men.

          #52 is 6 time Pro-Bowler…Clay Matthews….of the famous Matthews football family…..as both his dad and uncle were long time players….with Bruce Matthews being a Hall of Famer.

          Thanks for sharing this information.

          Reply

          1. Cogerson

            Clay Matthews. Thanks. How could I forget his name and remember trivia from 60 years ago. When I was young the old folks told me about such things and now I know.

          2. Hey John…..the only alternative to getting old is dying…..so I look forward to losing my memory…lol. As Bette Davis said….”Getting old is not for wimps”.

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