Want to know the best Red Buttons movies? How about the worst Red Buttons movies? Curious about Red Buttons box office grosses or which Red Buttons movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Red Buttons movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Red Buttons (1919-2006) was an Oscar® an winning American actor. Buttons gained for his work on Broadway in the 1940s and his television show, The Red Buttons Show in the 1950s. His IMDb page shows 81 acting credits from 1944 to 2005. In the table below, Ultimate Movie Rankings ranks 27 of his movies in 6 different sortable columns. Television roles, cameos, shorts and straight to DVD movies were not included in the rankings on the table.
Red Buttons 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
1957
Sayonara (1957)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Supp Actor Win
1972
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
1962
The Longest Day (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
1962
Hatari! (1962)
1969
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
1944
Winged Victory (1944)
1977
Pete's Dragon (1977)
1959
The Big Circus (1959)
1994
It Could Happen to You (1994)
1958
Imitation General (1958)
1964
Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
1966
Stagecoach (1966)
1965
Harlow (Embassy Pictures) (1965)
1962
Gay Purr-ee (1962)
1976
Gable and Lombard (1976)
1965
Up From The Beach (1965)
1971
Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? (1971)
1978
Movie Movie (1978)
1962
Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
1963
A Ticklish Affair (1963)
1999
The Story of Us (1999)
1988
18 Again! (1988)
1990
The Ambulance (1990)
1979
C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979)
1980
When Time Ran Out... (1980)
1977
Viva Knievel! (1977)
Red Buttons 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 Red Buttons movies by co-stars of his movies.
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Sort Red Buttons movies by domestic yearly box office rank or trivia
Sort Red Buttons 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 Red Buttons movie received.
Sort Red Buttons 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 sort and search buttons to make this a very interactive table.
| 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 | Sayonara (1957) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Win |
Marlon Brando & James Garner |
24.60 | 473.0 | 706.9 | 3 | 83 | 10 / 04 | 99.6 | |
| 2 | The Poseidon Adventure (1972) | Gene Hackman & Ernest Borgnine |
92.70 | 588.0 | 588.0 | 2 | 75 | 08 / 01 | 97.9 | |
| 3 | The Longest Day (1962) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & Robert Ryan |
31.30 | 449.7 | 449.7 | 3 | 60 | 05 / 02 | 95.8 | |
| 4 | Hatari! (1962) | John Wayne | 20.00 | 287.5 | 287.5 | 9 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 95.7 | |
| 6 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) | Jane Fonda & Bruce Dern |
16.90 | 128.0 | 128.0 | 20 | 81 | 09 / 01 | 94.4 | |
| 5 | Winged Victory (1944) | Jeanne Crain & Directed by George Cukor |
9.70 | 326.0 | 326.0 | 17 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.8 | |
| 7 | Pete's Dragon (1977) | Sean Marshall & Helen Reddy |
43.50 | 210.3 | 210.3 | 16 | 57 | 02 / 00 | 92.1 | |
| 8 | The Big Circus (1959) | Peter Lorre & Vincent Price |
7.70 | 138.6 | 138.6 | 32 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 85.3 | |
| 9 | It Could Happen to You (1994) | Nicolas Cage & Bridget Fonda |
37.90 | 100.2 | 100.2 | 39 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 82.9 | |
| 10 | Imitation General (1958) | Glenn Ford | 5.50 | 98.3 | 98.3 | 48 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 81.0 | |
| 11 | Your Cheatin' Heart (1964) | George Hamilton | 7.10 | 81.9 | 81.9 | 39 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 77.4 | |
| 12 | Stagecoach (1966) | Ann-Margret & Alex Cord |
10.00 | 98.0 | 98.0 | 30 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 74.7 | |
| 13 | Harlow (Embassy Pictures) (1965) | Carroll Baker & Angela Lansbury |
8.60 | 91.4 | 91.4 | 32 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 72.7 | |
| 14 | Gay Purr-ee (1962) | Judy Garland & Robert Goulet |
2.90 | 41.1 | 41.1 | 82 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 68.1 | |
| 15 | Gable and Lombard (1976) | James Brolin & Jill Clayburgh |
18.30 | 92.7 | 92.7 | 36 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 64.0 | |
| 17 | Up From The Beach (1965) | Cliff Robertson | 1.50 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 113 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 52.3 | |
| 18 | Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? (1971) | Sylvia Miles | 1.70 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 130 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 51.5 | |
| 16 | Movie Movie (1978) | George C. Scott & Trish Van Devere |
1.90 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 116 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 47.7 | |
| 20 | Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962) | Peter Lorre | 3.40 | 49.3 | 49.3 | 71 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 46.4 | |
| 19 | A Ticklish Affair (1963) | Shirley Jones & Gig Young |
1.80 | 22.4 | 22.4 | 96 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 40.4 | |
| 21 | The Story of Us (1999) | Bruce Willis & Michelle Pfeiffer |
27.10 | 57.7 | 125.5 | 74 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 30.3 | |
| 21 | 18 Again! (1988) | George Burns | 2.60 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 152 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 27.5 | |
| 23 | The Ambulance (1990) | James Earl Jones | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 241 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 21.2 | |
| 24 | C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979) | Valerie Bertinelli | 1.40 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 133 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 8.6 | |
| 25 | When Time Ran Out... (1980) | Paul Newman & William Holden |
4.00 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 115 | 32 | 01 / 00 | 4.0 | |
| 26 | Viva Knievel! (1977) | Gene Kelly | 6.50 | 31.4 | 31.4 | 78 | 27 | 00 / 00 | 2.7 |
Check out Red Buttons’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
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I’ve seen 8 of the 26 films on the chart. Favorites are The Longest Day, The Poseidon Adventure and Hatari!
I’ve also seen Pete’s Dragon, Gay Puree, Sayonara, Stagecoach and When Time Ran Out. I probably saw The Big Circus and Five Weeks in a Balloon back in the 70s on TV with my parents but can’t remember for sure.
In The Longest Day he was the unlucky soldier whose parachute got tangled on a church steeple right next to clanging bells and went a bit deaf. At least he survived that battle!
He was one of the few survivors of The Poseidon Adventure and helped John Wayne net some monkeys in Hatari!
Looking at the charts – Sayonara was a huge hit and a critical success, I’ve only watched it once and wasn’t that enamored of it. I should give it another spin.
Good work Bruce. Vote Up.
I always found Red buttons a likeable and amusing character. Too bad he did not appear in more movies. I guess he was more active on TV and a stand-up comic, though I’m not familiar with that side of his work.
I have seen only 5 films on the list, but I also recall Buttons making a brief appearance in Billy Wilder’s One Two Three (so that would make 6). I checked on IMDB and for some reason that appearance was uncredited. Buttons made a particular impression on me with his Oscar-winning role in Sayonara, standing up against the military brass by marrying a Japanese woman, and in The Longest Day as the paratrooper who gets stuck on top of a church and watches sadly as many of his companions get shot as they’re coming down. Also liked him in They Shoot Horses Don’t They?
By the way, the “Top 50 stars” book arrived, but I have not had time to go through it in detail. I did notice that Steve McQueen dropped off though…Aaaaaah 🙁 …and after doing so well in the first round! More later…
My first memory of Red was him advertising some hits of the 50’s record set on TV and he would sing his song Strange Things are Happening.
I went to sleepover summer camp in the 60’s and they had movie night every night. Usually the films were shown over 2 nights (all 2 parters). They showed us Gay Purree there.
Red is not on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list (he was back in the early days). These are the people on the current list he appeared with.
14 ERNEST BORGNINE The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
14 ERNEST BORGNINE When Time Ran Out… (1980)
19 DENNIS HOPPER Sayonara (1957)
21 SEAN CONNERY The Longest Day (1962)
36 ROD STEIGER The Longest Day (1962)
66 BRUCE WILLIS The Story of Us (1999)
74 GENE HACKMAN The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
79 BRUCE DERN They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
83 RICHARD JENKINS It Could Happen to You (1994)
94 PAUL NEWMAN When Time Ran Out… (1980)
95 JAMES EARL JONES The Ambulance (1990)
100 ELI WALLACH Movie Movie (1978)
105 ROBERT MITCHUM The Longest Day (1962)
110 RODDY MCDOWELL The Longest Day (1962)
110 RODDY MCDOWELL The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
137 SHELLEY WINTERS Pete’s Dragon (1977)
137 SHELLEY WINTERS The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
146 MARTIN BALSAM Harlow (1965/I)
161 NICOLAS CAGE It Could Happen to You (1994)
168 ROBERT WAGNER The Longest Day (1962)
170 LESLIE NIELSEN Harlow (1965/I)
170 LESLIE NIELSEN The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
170 LESLIE NIELSEN Viva Knievel! (1977)
172 MICKEY ROONEY Pete’s Dragon (1977)
182 BURGESS MEREDITH When Time Ran Out… (1980)
188 MICHELLE PFEIFFER The Story of Us (1999)
193 WILLIAM HOLDEN When Time Ran Out… (1980)
202 ERIC ROBERTS The Ambulance (1990)
206 STANLEY TUCCI It Could Happen to You (1994)
218 GEORGE SEGAL The Longest Day (1962)
224 JACQUELINE BISSET When Time Ran Out… (1980)
227 KEENAN WYNN Stagecoach (1966)
232 ANGELA LANSBURY Harlow (1965/I)
264 JAMES GARNER Sayonara (1957)
269 JOHN WAYNE Hatari! (1962)
269 JOHN WAYNE The Longest Day (1962)
276 SEYMOUR CASSEL It Could Happen to You (1994)
297 HENRY FONDA The Longest Day (1962)
299 RICHARD BURTON The Longest Day (1962)
308 GLENN FORD Imitation General (1958)
342 EDDIE ALBERT The Longest Day (1962)
419 ANN-MARGRET Stagecoach (1966)
433 JAMES BROLIN Gable and Lombard (1976)
445 DABNEY COLEMAN Viva Knievel! (1977)
465 STUART WHITMAN The Longest Day (1962)
469 VINCENT PRICE The Big Circus (1959)
470 MEL FERRER The Longest Day (1962)
475 HORST BUCHHOLZ One, Two, Three (1961)
493 SAM WATERSTON Who Killed Mary What’s ‘Er Name? (1971)
510 ALLEN GARFIELD Gable and Lombard (1976)
570 CLIFF ROBERTSON Up from the Beach (1965)
595 SLIM PICKENS Stagecoach (1966)
595 SLIM PICKENS Up from the Beach (1965)
600 JANE FONDA They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
613 BRODERICK CRAWFORD Up from the Beach (1965)
628 JASON ALEXANDER ODESSA OR BUST (2001)
639 ALEXANDER KNOX The Longest Day (1962)
653 LESLIE PHILLIPS The Longest Day (1962)
656 CAMERON MITCHELL Viva Knievel! (1977)
664 SUSANNAH YORK They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
701 FRANK FINLAY The Longest Day (1962)
717 ROBERT RYAN The Longest Day (1962)
727 VALENTINA CORTESE When Time Ran Out… (1980)
780 MARLON BRANDO Sayonara (1957)
805 CHARLES LANE Movie Movie (1978)
812 GEORGE C. SCOTT Movie Movie (1978)
827 GEORGE HAMILTON Your Cheatin’ Heart (1964)
835 BRIDGET FONDA It Could Happen to You (1994)
840 KEVIN MCCARTHY Winged Victory (1944)
851 E.G. MARSHALL 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
857 JOHN CRAWFORD The Longest Day (1962)
857 JOHN CRAWFORD The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
858 GERT FROBE The Longest Day (1962)
867 PETER LAWFORD Harlow (1965/I)
867 PETER LAWFORD The Longest Day (1962)
897 WOLFGANG PREISS The Longest Day (1962)
904 JACK ALBERTSON THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)
921 RICHARD BRIGHT The Ambulance (1990)
941 CURT JURGENS The Longest Day (1962)
955 RAF VALLONE Harlow (1965/I)
959 MICHAEL MEDWIN The Longest Day (1962)
966 JIM BACKUS C.H.O.M.P.S (1979)
966 JIM BACKUS Pete’s Dragon (1977)
HM (728) LEO GENN The Longest Day (1962)
HM (814) KENNETH MORE The Longest Day (1962)
HM (830) NORMAN ROSSINGTON THE LONGEST DAY (1962)
HM (863) EDMOND O’BRIEN The Longest Day (1962)
HM (905) GEOFFREY BAYLDON THE LONGEST DAY (1962)
HM (921) JOHN MEILLON THE LONGEST DAY (1962)
Red appeared with 27 Oscar winners from James Cagney born in 1899 to Brie Larson born 90 years later.
ART CARNEY Movie Movie (1978)
BING CROSBY Stagecoach (1966)
BRIE LARSON THE STORY OF US (1999)
BRODERICK CRAWFORD Up from the Beach (1965)
CLIFF ROBERTSON Up from the Beach (1965)
EDMOND O’BRIEN The Longest Day (1962)
EDMUND O’BRIEN Winged Victory (1944)
ERNEST BORGNINE The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
ERNEST BORGNINE When Time Ran Out… (1980)
GENE HACKMAN The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
GEORGE BURNS 18 Again! (1988)
GEORGE C. SCOTT Movie Movie (1978)
GIG YOUNG A Ticklish Affair (1963)
GIG YOUNG They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
HENRY FONDA The Longest Day (1962)
JAMES CAGNEY 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
JAMES CAGNEY One, Two, Three (1961)
JANE FONDA They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
JOHN WAYNE Hatari! (1962)
JOHN WAYNE The Longest Day (1962)
JUDY HOLLIDAY Winged Victory (1944)
KARL MALDEN 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
KARL MALDEN Winged Victory (1944)
MARLON BRANDO Sayonara (1957)
MARTIN BALSAM Harlow (1965/I)
NICOLAS CAGE It Could Happen to You (1994)
PAUL NEWMAN When Time Ran Out… (1980)
ROD STEIGER The Longest Day (1962)
SEAN CONNERY The Longest Day (1962)
SHELLEY WINTERS Pete’s Dragon (1977)
SHELLEY WINTERS The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
SHIRLEY JONES A Ticklish Affair (1963)
VAN HEFLIN Stagecoach (1966)
WILLIAM HOLDEN When Time Ran Out… (1980)
I have seen 7 Red Buttons movies.
The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Sayonara.
The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Hatari!
The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is Gay Puree, a cute animated movie about cats in Paris starring Judy Garland and Robert Goulet.
Favourite Red Buttons Movies:
The Poseidon Adventure
The Longest Day
Pete’s Dragon
Imitation General
Your Cheatin’ Heart – George Hamilton did his own singing
Gay Puree
Other Red Button Movie I Have Seen:
Sayonara
Hey Flora…I have seen 10 Red Buttons movies. I count, When Time Ran Out….but I admit…most of that movie has slipped away in my memory. It is considered one of the worst disaster movies….but he does not seem to have the charm of The Swarm or Meteor. My first miss is Winged Victory. Samantha was riding your comment while I was driving….when she and Emily heard about Gay Puree being about cats…they both say they want to watch that movie. That might be difficult…as I have never seen it on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray or Laserdisc.
I have seen your Top 3….I saw Pete’s Dragon in theaters….I remember as kid….getting confused about which actor Red was, and which actor Mickey Rooney was. So I am guessing you do not enjoy Sayonara….I bet the bummer of an ending helped reach that rating. Don’t worry I won’t tell Bob…..lol. Good stuff as always.
I saw 8 including 6 of top 7(missed winged victory). 10s and favourite longest day, 9 and favourite: hatari. Yea john Wayne. i never liked sayonara a 6 which I revisited last month. downer, slow and I hated brando’s attempt at a southern accent, well deserved Oscar win for buttons. hidden gem : the story of us an 8. I love Pfeiffer, I love willis. reiner was wonderful, rest of cast did well. character development and dialogue sparkled , even the kids did well. tough subject.
Hey bob cox….I have seen the exact Top 7….with Winged Victory being my missed movie as well. Longest Day is a great movie. In my World War 2 Movie Marathon page….I suggested watching the beach landing in Saving Private Ryan and then watching the rest of the Longest Day. The Longest Day is becoming one of my most crowded trailer pages…as we are not up to 18 UMR pages that rank it….that includes 12 different actors.
Hatari is a fun movie…..but not one of my favorite Wayne outings. The story is pretty weak….the camera work and shooting locations are very impressive. So Sayanora is not a favorite too. Statistically…it is one of the best movies ever made….a box office smash, critic love and lots of Oscar love. That being said…it’s deeply depressing ending, has kept it from greatness when people talk about great movies.
I saw The Story of Us in theaters….it is a movie that gets better with each additional viewing. There is a scene in that movie, that shows the Willis/Pfeiffer family discussing their “Highs” and “Lows:” of the day. We do that every night..and it is because of the movie. We have been doing that for almost 20 years…..the big kids left home….but our last little ones still do it. Good feedback as always.