Robert Mitchum Movies

The American Film Institute ranked Robert Mitchum as the 23rd greatest male actor of all-time.
The American Film Institute ranked Robert Mitchum as the 23rd greatest male actor of all-time.

Want to know the best Robert Mitchum movies?  How about the worst Robert Mitchum movies?  Curious about Robert Mitchum’s box office grosses or which Robert Mitchum movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Robert Mitchum movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

The American Film Institute published their 50 Greatest Screen Legends in 1999. To qualify the performer had to have made their screen debut before 1950. The list presented the Top 25 actors and the Top 25 actresses of all time. One of my goals here on this website is to write a page on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends. With the publication of this page I am now exactly half way to my goal…..as I have done a page on 17 of the Greatest Actors and 8 of the Greatest Actresses. Which gets us to the subject of this page …..coming in at #23 on the Greatest Screen Legend Actors poll is Robert Mitchum.

Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) was an Oscar® nominated actor who appeared in 135 acting roles in movies and television between 1942 and 1997. He first gained fame appearing in the World War II movies, 1944’s Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and 1945’s The Story of G.I. Joe. In the late 1940s, early 1950s he appeared in some of the greatest film noir movies ever produced….1947’s Out of the Past, 1950’s Undercurrent and 1952’s Angel Face. Other high watermarks in his career included…1954’s River of No Return(Marilyn Monroe), 1955’s The Night of the Hunter, 1962’s Cape Fear, 1967’s El Dorado and 1973’s The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

His IMDb page shows 135 acting credits from 1942-1997. This page will rank 82 Robert Mitchum movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.

Robert Mitchum in 1955's The Night of the Hunter
Robert Mitchum in 1955’s The Night of the Hunter

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

Robert Mitchum 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 Robert Mitchum movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Robert Mitchum movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Robert Mitchum movies by yearly box office rank or trivia
  • Sort Robert Mitchum 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 Robert Mitchum movie received.
  • Sort Robert Mitchum movies by Ultimate Movie Ranking (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 buttons to make this a very interactive page.
Robert Mitchum appeared in 135 acting roles....he received only one acting nomination in his ENTIRE career....a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nomination for The Story of G.I. Joe.
Robert Mitchum appeared in 135 acting roles….he received only one acting nomination in his ENTIRE career….a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nomination for The Story of G.I. Joe.

Possibly Interesting Facts About Robert Mitchum

 

1. How he got to Hollywood. Robert Mitchum was born in Connecticut in 1917, moved to California in 1936, got a job working as a machine operator and was pushed by his sister to join the local theater guild.

2. As a machine operator he suffered a nervous breakdown that resulted in temporary blindness. To avoid stress he decided to try and become an extra in the movies. It was a decision that worked out very well indeed.

3. One producer did numerous screen tests on Robert Mitchum….and even after numerous tests the producer could not decide if Mitchum was the worst actor ever or one of the most natural actors ever. The screen tests and the extra work eventually led him to the low budget Hopalong Cassidy movie serials.

4. His first real break was getting a supporting part in a big budget high profile movie….. 1944’s Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. The next year he got an Oscar® nomination for The Story Of G.I. Joe as Best Supporting Actor. This would turn out to be his only role that got him a nomination for acting (that includes Emmy®, Tony® and Golden Globes®)….135 roles and 1 nomination.

5. Robert Mitchum was married one time in his life and that was to Dorothy Mitchum for 57 years. They had two sons….Christopher and James and one daughter Petrina.

6. In 1948 Robert Mitchum was arrested, convicted and served jail time on charges for possession of marijuana. At the time of his arrest it was assumed this would destroy his promising career…instead it seemed to back up his tough guy anti-hero persona…. his career only lasted another 49 years.

7. Roles Robert Mitchum turned down over his career…..George C. Scott’s role in Patton, Gene Hackman’s role in The French Connection, a role in The Wild Bunch, and the Tony Curtis part in The Defiant Ones.

8. Later in his career, he became the King of the mini-series as he starred in not one not two but three of the most popular mini-series ever….1983’s The Winds of War, 1985’s North and South and 1988’s War and Remembrance.

9. Robert Mitchum’s voice is considered to one of the most distinctive voices to ever be heard on movie screens. This very deep singing voice was recorded on numerous records over the years and has been heard in many of his movies.

10. Probably the best Robert Mitchum tribute site is The Ultimate Robert Mitchum Headquarters.  Every Mitchum fan should be checking out this website….as it is filled with many many awesome Mitchum links.

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

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

afi top 25 actorsAFI’s Top 25 Screen Legend Actors….with links to our movie pages on the Screen Legend

1.   Humphrey Bogart  58 Movies Ranked….from Casablanca (1942) to Swing Your Lady (1938)
2.   Cary Grant 58 Movies Ranked… from North by Northwest (1959) to Born To Be Bad (1934)
3.   James Stewart 73 Movies Ranked Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939) to Big Sleep(1978)
4.   Marlon Brando 37 Movies Ranked….from The Godfather (1972) to Christopher Columbus (1992)
5.   Fred Astaire 39 Movies Ranked The Towering Inferno (1974) to The Amazing Dobermans (1976)
6.   Henry Fonda 81 Movies Ranked… On Golden Pond (1981) to City on Fire (1979)
7.   Clark Gable 63 Movies Ranked….from Gone With The Wind (1939) to Parnell (1937)
8.   James Cagney 61 Movies Ranked….from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) to Boy Meets Girl (1938)
9.   Spencer Tracy 53 Movies Ranked….from Boy’s Town (1938) to Up the River (1930)
10. Charles Chaplin 12 Movies Ranked….from The Kid (1921) to A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)
11. Gary Cooper 67 Movies Ranked….from Sergeant York (1941) to Fighting Caravans (1931)
12. Gregory Peck 53 Movies Ranked To Kill a Mockingbird(1962) to Amazing Grace & Chuck(1987)
13. John Wayne 83 Movies Ranked….from True Grit (1969) to Brannigan (1975)
14. Laurence Olivier 48 Movies Ranked….from Rebecca (1940) to Inchon (1982)
15. Gene Kelly 40 Movies Ranked….from Anchors Aweigh (1945) to Viva Knievel! (1977)
16. Orson Welles 75 Movies Ranked….from Citizen Kane (1941) to Treasure Island (1972)
17. Kirk Douglas 71 Movies Ranked….from Spartacus (1960) to Diamonds (1999)
18. James Dean 3 Movies Ranked….from East of Eden (1955) to Giant (1956)
19. Burt Lancaster 67 Movies Ranked From Here to Eternity (1953) to Executive Action (1973)
20. Marx Brothers 18 Movies Ranked….from Horse Feathers (1932) to The Story of Mankind (1957)
21. Buster Keaton 28 Movies Ranked….from The Cameraman (1928) to The Intruder (1936)
22. Sidney Poitier 46 Movies Ranked….from In the Heat of the Night (1967) to Fast Forward (1985)
23. Robert Mitchum 83 Movies Ranked….from The Longest Day (1962) to Matilda (1978)
24. Edward G. Robinson 67 Movies Ranked 10 Commandments(1956) to BiggestBundleofAll(1968)
25. William Holden 66 Movies Ranked….from The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) to Ashanti (1979)

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101 thoughts on “Robert Mitchum Movies”

  1. Robert Mitchum was before my time, but I’m going to check some of these out. I’m not sure where to start. What an amazing format and professional appearance. I am impressed! Voted up.

    Reply

    1. Hey Gail Meyers…thanks for checking out my Mitchum hub….I think he is a pretty good actor but sadly he made many movies that are pretty bad….I think his Top 40 in my Cogerson Movie Score table are all pretty good movies…..the bottom ones…I would avoid….Matilda….his worst rated movie …is about a kangaroo that boxes…and Mitchum plays the promoter….I think only about 50 people have seen that movie.

      Reply

  2. Great page, Cogerson. “El Dorado” is one of my favorite Robert Mitchum movies. And he was great as a shipwrecked marine in “Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison,” which also stars one of my favorite actresses, Deborah Kerr.

    Reply

    1. Hey Annette R. Smith ….thanks for stopping by….I am also in the camp of El Dorado being one of my favorite Mitchum movies. I have over 1000 DVDs in my collection….and I own one Mitchum movie….El Dorado. I will have to check out Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison ….I realized while writing this hub that there were many of his movies that I need to check out…..I think Deborah Kerr would make an excellent page subject in the future

      Reply

  3. Offered the role of Dirty Harry, original choice
    Frank Sinatra, Mitchum turned it down as “a piece
    of junk” John Wayne refused it because he did’nt
    like “being one of Sinatra’s rejections” In fact
    what denied Sinatra the now iconic role was that
    he broke his wrist during the filming of The
    Manchurian Candidate. Burt Lancaster turned it down
    for its voilence, Steve McQueen is also included in
    the refusals. Robert Mitchum also turned down the
    role of Patton 1971 (as did Lee Marvin and Rod
    Steiger) Mr Mitchum also refused, The French
    Connection, The Defiant Ones, and The French
    Connection. Say hello to me all you movie buffs on,
    James Molloy Utube
    God be with you all, but not too soon

    Reply

  4. Mitchum was amazing… and complex. If you get a chance, check out his early 70s interview with Dick Cavett. “Out of the Past” is one of my favorites… I own a copy and watch it two or three times a year. Thanks for the great page

    Reply

  5. Robert Mitchum was always one of my favorite actors, Coge. I saw just about every movie he appeared in. Not sure if it was his good looks, his smouldering bedroom eyes, his hunky build or all of the above.

    And it wasn’t because he was such a remarkable actor. Like John Wayne he played himself in every film. But he was magnetic to watch and his deep voice was compelling. He would like your excellent review I know.

    BTW, his film, Cape Fear, with Gregory Peck (1962) in which he played a killer was remade in 1991 with Robert De Niro in his role and Nick Nolte in Peck’s part.

    Thanks for your efforts and research. Is Lana Turner anywhere on your list to be reviewed? Just wonderin’.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for one awesome comment….drbj…..since your comment…Lana Turner has been written and published.

      Reply

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