Want to know the best Robert Ryan movies? How about the worst Robert Ryan movies? Curious about Robert Ryan’s box office grosses or which Robert Ryan movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Robert Ryan movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Robert Ryan (1909-1973) was an American who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains. His IMDb page shows 90 acting credits from 1940 to 1973. This page will rank 62 Robert Ryan movies. Movies will be ranked from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, movies that grossed less than $1 million in rentals and movies that were not released in theaters in North America were not included in the rankings.
Drivel part of the page: This Robert Ryan page comes from a request by Brando90 and was seconded by Flora R. We were unable to find box office information on 7 of his movies. They were 1940’s Queen of the Mob, 1943’s Gangway for Tomorrow, 1954’s Alaska Seas, 1954’s About Mrs. Leslie, 1961’s The Candadians, 1965’s The Crooked Road and 1969’s Captain Nemo and the Underwater City. We will continue our search for those numbers.
Robert Ryan 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 Ryan movies by co-stars of his movies
- Sort Robert Ryan movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Robert Ryan movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Robert Ryan 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 Ryan movie received.
- Sort Robert Ryan 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.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 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 | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | The Dirty Dozen (1967) | Lee Marvin & Charles Bronson |
51.00 | 454.4 | 703.90 | 5 | 86 | 04 / 01 | 98.9 | |
| 3 | Crossfire (1947) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Supp Actor Nom |
Robert Mitchum | 6.80 | 196.9 | 253.90 | 41 | 76 | 05 / 00 | 98.4 | |
| 4 | The Professionals (1966) | Burt Lancaster & Lee Marvin |
22.00 | 215.6 | 215.60 | 10 | 83 | 03 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 5 | King of Kings (1961) | Jeffrey Hunter | 22.90 | 333.0 | 333.00 | 8 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.3 | |
| 6 | The Tall Men (1955) | Clark Gable & Jane Russell |
12.10 | 251.7 | 251.70 | 20 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.3 | |
| 6 | The Longest Day (1962) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & Richard Burton |
31.30 | 449.7 | 449.70 | 3 | 60 | 05 / 02 | 95.8 | |
| 7 | The Wild Bunch (1969) | William Holden & Warren Oates |
15.10 | 115.0 | 115.00 | 21 | 89 | 02 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 8 | Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) | Spencer Tracy & Ernest Borgnine |
5.70 | 118.5 | 226.40 | 56 | 87 | 03 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 9 | The Naked Spur (1953) | James Stewart | 6.80 | 122.5 | 122.50 | 38 | 84 | 01 / 00 | 92.4 | |
| 10 | North West Mounted Police (1940) | Gary Cooper & Directed by Cecil B. DeMille |
4.30 | 165.0 | 165.00 | 28 | 65 | 05 / 01 | 92.0 | |
| 11 | Flying Leathernecks (1951) | John Wayne | 7.40 | 160.2 | 243.30 | 22 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 91.5 | |
| 12 | Bombardier (1943) | Randolph Scott & Pat O'Brien |
5.30 | 192.0 | 234.60 | 51 | 58 | 01 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 15 | Tender Comrade (1943) | Ginger Rogers | 5.50 | 197.8 | 272.30 | 49 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 90.2 | |
| 14 | God's Little Acre (1958) | Aldo Ray & Vic Morrow |
10.00 | 179.7 | 179.70 | 13 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 90.1 | |
| 14 | Behind The Rising Sun (1943) | J. Carrol Naish | 5.70 | 203.8 | 286.40 | 46 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 90.1 | |
| 16 | Battle of the Bulge (1965) | Henry Fonda & Charles Bronson |
13.80 | 145.7 | 145.70 | 17 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 88.8 | |
| 17 | The Sky's The Limit (1943) | Fred Astaire | 4.00 | 144.8 | 224.30 | 77 | 64 | 02 / 00 | 88.3 | |
| 18 | Caught (1949) | James Mason | 3.50 | 87.0 | 87.00 | 105 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 87.3 | |
| 19 | Marine Raiders (1944) | Pat O'Brien & Ruth Hussey |
4.30 | 145.1 | 173.30 | 79 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 85.4 | |
| 19 | Men in War (1957) | Aldo Ray | 4.30 | 82.5 | 82.50 | 57 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 84.8 | |
| 21 | House of Bamboo (1955) | Robert Stack | 4.90 | 100.7 | 100.70 | 69 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 84.6 | |
| 22 | Clash by Night (1952) | Barbara Stanwyck & Marilyn Monroe |
4.20 | 81.7 | 81.70 | 84 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 84.3 | |
| 23 | The Set-Up (1949) | George Tobias | 2.30 | 57.5 | 84.30 | 135 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 83.2 | |
| 24 | The Iron Major (1943) | Pat O'Brien | 3.60 | 130.4 | 130.40 | 85 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 81.8 | |
| 24 | Billy Budd (1962) | Terence Stamp & Melvyn Douglas |
2.60 | 37.0 | 37.00 | 90 | 84 | 01 / 00 | 81.8 | |
| 25 | The Boy with Green Hair (1948) | Pat O'Brien & Dean Stockwell |
2.90 | 79.4 | 97.20 | 102 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 81.7 | |
| 27 | Act of Violence (1949) | Van Heflin & Directed by Fred Zinnemann |
2.00 | 49.0 | 78.60 | 146 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 79.9 | |
| 28 | On Dangerous Ground (1951) | Ida Lupino | 1.90 | 40.3 | 40.30 | 159 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 79.3 | |
| 29 | Ice Palace (1960) | Richard Burton | 4.70 | 73.7 | 73.70 | 56 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 79.1 | |
| 30 | The Racket (1951) | Robert Mitchum | 5.00 | 107.8 | 107.80 | 59 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 77.2 | |
| 31 | Return of the Bad Men (1948) | Randolph Scott | 4.50 | 120.6 | 120.60 | 80 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 77.1 | |
| 32 | Back From Eternity (1956) | Anita Ekberg & Rod Steiger |
4.30 | 84.0 | 84.00 | 71 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 76.7 | |
| 34 | Trail Street (1947) | Randolph Scott | 3.70 | 109.1 | 148.40 | 94 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 76.7 | |
| 33 | The Proud Ones (1956) | Virginia Mayo & Walter Brennan |
4.00 | 78.4 | 78.40 | 84 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 76.6 | |
| 35 | Day of the Outlaw (1959) | Burl Ives & Tina Louise |
2.40 | 42.4 | 42.40 | 97 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 75.7 | |
| 36 | Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) | Shelley Winters | 1.80 | 32.1 | 32.10 | 121 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 75.5 | |
| 37 | Inferno (1953) | Rhonda Fleming | 3.00 | 53.1 | 53.10 | 134 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 74.6 | |
| 38 | The Iceman Cometh (1973) | Lee Marvin & Jeff Bridges |
2.50 | 15.2 | 15.20 | 108 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 74.1 | |
| 39 | Berlin Express (1948) | Merle Oberon | 2.50 | 67.4 | 67.40 | 123 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 74.1 | |
| 40 | The Woman on the Beach (1947) | Joan Bennett | 2.50 | 72.1 | 72.10 | 127 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 71.6 | |
| 41 | Born To Be Bad (1950) | Joan Fontaine & Mel Ferrer |
2.70 | 61.0 | 91.40 | 116 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 71.1 | |
| 42 | The Secret Fury (1950) | Claudette Colbert | 2.40 | 54.5 | 83.40 | 125 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 43 | Lawman (1971) | Burt Lancaster & Robert Duvall |
8.20 | 53.5 | 53.50 | 43 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 68.4 | |
| 44 | City Beneath The Sea (1953) | Anthony Quinn | 3.80 | 68.1 | 68.10 | 96 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 66.1 | |
| 45 | About Mrs. Leslie (1954) | Shirley Booth | 0.90 | 21.9 | 21.90 | 153 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 62.5 | |
| 48 | The Love Machine (1971) | Dyan Cannon | 13.90 | 91.1 | 91.10 | 23 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 62.3 | |
| 46 | Beware, My Lovely (1952) | Ida Lupino | 2.00 | 39.4 | 39.40 | 157 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 61.0 | |
| 48 | Her Twelve Men (1954) | Greer Garson | 2.30 | 54.7 | 94.90 | 112 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 59.9 | |
| 49 | Hour of the Gun (1967) | James Garner | 2.10 | 18.4 | 18.40 | 96 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 57.4 | |
| 50 | Anzio (1968) | Robert Mitchum | 4.00 | 32.9 | 32.90 | 75 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 56.8 | |
| 51 | Lonelyhearts (1958) | Montgomery Clift & Myrna Loy |
2.20 | 39.0 | 39.00 | 102 | 59 | 01 / 00 | 54.6 | |
| 53 | Horizons West (1952) | Rock Hudson & Raymond Burr |
2.10 | 41.1 | 41.10 | 149 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 54.2 | |
| 52 | The Outfit (1973) | Robert Duvall | 1.90 | 11.6 | 11.60 | 123 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 52.4 | |
| 54 | Escape to Burma (1955) | Barbara Stanwyck | 2.50 | 51.7 | 51.70 | 121 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 49.9 | |
| 55 | Best of the Badmen (1951) | Claire Trevor & Walter Brennan |
3.00 | 64.7 | 101.60 | 122 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 44.4 | |
| 56 | I Married a Communist/Woman On Pier 13 (1949) | Laraine Day | 1.90 | 47.0 | 47.00 | 149 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 42.0 | |
| 57 | A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1967) | Alex Cord | 2.10 | 18.9 | 18.90 | 93 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 39.0 | |
| 60 | The Busy Body (1967) | Richard Pryor | 1.60 | 13.9 | 13.90 | 115 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 32.6 | |
| 60 | Golden Gloves (1940) | Jeanne Cagney | 0.30 | 12.2 | 12.20 | 219 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 32.4 | |
| 61 | The Secret Agents (1965) | Henry Fonda | 0.80 | 8.6 | 8.60 | 139 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 26.6 | |
| 62 | Executive Action (1973) | Burt Lancaster | 2.20 | 13.2 | 13.20 | 118 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 22.7 | |
| 63 | Custer of the West (1967) | Robert Shaw | 1.60 | 14.5 | 14.50 | 113 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 13.9 | |
| 64 | Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973) | Jeff Bridges | 1.00 | 6.0 | 6.00 | 149 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 12.3 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Robert Ryan Table
- Sixteen Robert Ryan movie crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 25.80% of his movies listed. The Longest Day (1962) was his biggest box office hit.
- An average Robert Ryan movie grosses $79.80 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 39 of Robert Ryan’s movies are rated as good movies…or 62.90% of his movies. The Wild Bunch (1969) is his highest rated movie while Best of the Badmen (1951) is his lowest rated movie.
- Twelve Robert Ryan movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 19.35% of his movies.
- Three Robert Ryan movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 4.83% of his movies.
- An good Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 40.00. 32 Robert Ryan movie scored higher that average….or 51.61% of his movies. The Longest Day (1962) got the the highest UMR Score while Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Robert Ryan
- Robert Bushnell Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1909.
2. While attending Dartmouth College Robert Ryan was on the boxing team and posted a 5-0 (3 knockouts) record.
3. Robert Ryan’s pre-movie making jobs included: sandhog, seaman, sewer builder, salesman, miner, cowboy, bodyguard-chauffeur to a mobster, photographer’s model, laborer and paving supervisor’.
4. In 1947, Robert Ryan, received his one and only Oscar® nomination. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 1947’s Crossfire.
5. Robert Ryan’s film work often ran counter to the political causes he embraced. Ryan was a pacifist and tirelessly supported civil rights issues. He starred in war movies, westerns, and violent thrillers and played a racists many times.
6. Robert Ryan was considered for Stephen Boyd’s role as Messala in 1959’s Ben-Hur.
7. Robert Ryan’s career adjusted domestic box office total is $4.94 BILLION!
8. Robert Ryan was married one time. He had three children.
9. Robert Ryan worked with John Wayne twice. When working on 1951’s The Flying Leathernecks they got along great…..years later when the worked on The Longest Day they got along horribly.
10. Check out Robert Ryan‘s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Hi, Bruce!
I just finished watching Caught on Youtube. It was fantastic! Amazing how Robert Ryan played all these horrible nasty people on screen and yet he was a great but complicated man in real life. He was really scary in this film. Scary thing about it is – I know men who are exactly like he is in terms of his insisting he control everything .
Regarding the actor:He is really a treasure. Thanks again for doing this page.
This film also starred another favourite actor of mine whose voice I could just listen to stating names out f a telephone book: James Mason. Mason is another actor whom I must see everything he has done.
I am also a fan of Barbara Bel Geddes.
Great film.
Hey Flora…..thanks for the mini-review of Caught…..good enough to crack your Top 10….from your first comment on this page….and if so…which movie gets the boot? I read that it bothered Ryan that his screen image was so different from Ryan the man. James Mason has one of the great voices of all-time. Finally a Gregory Peck sighting on the Moby Dick movie that I am watching…..he actually talks at the 34 minute mark.
I think it replaces Billy Budd – just barely.
Then you must have really like Caught…..thanks for the update.
He and Lee Marvin were great friends. If he was good enough for Lee to like him, then he is good enough for me to like as well. Their Dirty Dozen is my favorite from the list of movies.
Hey Manuel…..that logic works for me too….thanks for stopping by.
Another wonderful page on a almost forgotten splendid supporting actor. Seeing all of his movies together like this make his career seen truly impressive. That is an excellent Top 10. Good job as usual.
TCM’s star of the month tribute really helped. I had to laugh when I read your comment. Almost forgotten an I love this actor. However, ask me about an actor or actress younger than I am (40) who is not the latest in an acting dynasty and I would have never have heard of the person. LOL!
Hey Flora….I think Ryan is not the only “almost forgotten” star out there…..pretty sure young people have no idea who many of the classic stars are. I think movie buffs are the people that know and like Robert Ryan.
Hey Stein….I agree that seeing all of these great movies together makes you realize how awesome his career was. Thanks for the kind words….and the visit.
Great photographs by the way!
Hey Flora…thanks….I have been trying to start each page with a “collage” picture….surprisingly they are pretty easy to find on the internet…..gotta love the internet.
Bruce. Thanks for my requested Robert Ryan page! 🙂
Of the movies you cannot find, I have seen Captain Nemo and the Underwater City.
I have a large number of movies recorded and waiting for me on PVR that are new to me:
all courtesy of the recent star of the month festival on Robert Ryan. As well, I understand that Caught is or was available on youtube, but I have not had time to see it.
The highest ranking film I have seen is number 1: The Wild Bunch. I just barely got through that violent movie with scorpians. LOL!
The highest ranking film I have not seen is number 8: The Iceman Cometh which is very difficult to come by and I think the only way I will see that movie is if I buy It!!
The lowest ranking movie I have seen is the last one: Best of the Badmen.
Of the films that I actually HAVE seen:
The movie I most recently saw for the first time was the propaganda movie Behind the Rising Sun. It was a one time viewing for me, although you do get to see Robert Ryan boxing.
I just did a review of Battle of the Bulge on your Henry Fonda page, and well – that was a one time viewing for being boring and incorrect.
Other movies I saw for the first time during the festival included:
About Mrs.Leslie – this is now my favourite Robert Ryan movie and I doubt any movie will replace it for me. I can tell you why in a private email if you would like;
Lolly Madonna XXX -very violent revenge film that he made right after his wife died to keep his mind off of his wife’s death; a one time viewing for me due to violence;
The Outfit – a great film noir mob film that is excellent but extreme in its violence, so I’ll likely not watch it again unless it just happens to be on;
There are about 15 movies I have recorded and waiting for me to see for the first time, so I will let you know when I see them.
As it stands in terms of films I have already seen at least once:
I have seen 5 of the top 5
I have seen 8 of the top 10
I have seen 16 of the top 20
I have seen 23 of the top 30
I have seen 28 of the top 40
I have seen 30 of the top 50 (half my to-see films are between 20 and 50, by the way via PVR)
I have seen 35 movies overall so far!
Interesting bit of trivia here: Ryan died in many films and told his daughter not to watch them. She watched Bad Day of Bad Rock anyway. She was upset and called him to see if he was okay and he yelled at her:
I TOLD YOU NOT TO WATCH THAT!
OOps!. Moral of the story: Listen to your father.
My favourite movies: No order after #5
About Mrs. Leslie
Odds Against Tomorrow
Bad Day at Bad Rock
Crossfire (2-4 are the ‘Holy Trinity of Intolerance’ of Ryan’s career)
The Set Up
Act of Violence
The Naked Spur
The Professionals
Billy Bud
On Dangerous ground
Hey Flora.
1. Glad you like your requested page.
2. Even though you did not enjoy The Wild Bunch….it is good that you have seen it….plus it helps in the tally count.
3. Sorry I was not able to find box office information on About Mrs. Leslie…especially since it is your favorite Ryan movie.
4. I would like to know why it is your favorite…so please send that e-mail.
5. Playing on Letterboxd.com is high on my list today….so I will check out your latest reviews.
6. Tally count…Flora/Canada 35…Steve/England 24….Laurent/France 12…..me/USA 10….wow not even on the medal podium for me…sounds like your tally count will be in the 50s soon…very impressive.
7. Your 100%….100%, 80%, 80%, 76%,70% 60%,56%
8. That is a funny story about Ryan and his daughter….thanks for sharing.
9. I have seen 5 of your Top 10….including all three of the “Holy Trinity of Intolerance”….will add About Mrs. Leslie to my movies to watch list.
As I type this comment….I am watching Moby Dick….14 minutes in….and I have seen Mr. Welles….but still no sign of Mr. Peck.
Thanks for a great comment.
Will do, Bruce – re: Private email about the film About Mrs. Leslie.
I may get to see the other films with no box office info.
So now I not only win foe me, I win for Canada! LOL! It’s like the Olympics. USA finishes off the podium. Oh dear!
Glad to see you got to the point where Greg makes an entrance in the remake of Moby Dyck.
Flora
🙂
Correction – I realized you are watching the original version of Moby Dyck and NOT the remake where Peck has a cameo. Yes, it does take him/Ahab awhile to show up.
Hey Flora….I will check out that e-mail when I get off work. Yep I was watching the 1956 John Huston directed Moby Dick. Second half of movie was much better than the first half. I actually like Peck in the movie….I ready that back then his performance in this one was panned.