Robert Taylor Movies

Robert Taylor in 1951's Quo Vadis
Robert Taylor in 1951’s Quo Vadis

Want to know the best Robert Taylor movies?  How about the worst Robert Taylor movies?  Curious about Robert Taylor’s box office grosses or which Robert Taylor movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Robert Taylor 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 Taylor (1911-1969) was an American film and television actor who was one of the most popular leading men of his time. His IMDb page shows 79 acting credits from 1934 to 1969. This page will rank 68 Robert Taylor movies.  Movies will be ranked from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in theaters in North America were not included in the rankings.

Drivel part of the page:  Recently Marcel G. sent us a wonderful comment, saying….(1) he had been coming to our website for years (2) how amazing our website was and (3) that it was lacking a Robert Taylor page.  So after reading his comment….we did a quick check on Mr. Taylor’s career and realized that we not only had domestic box office numbers (thank you MGM) on most of his movies….but also we had worldwide box office numbers on 60 of his movies.  Amazingly we were able to put together, write and publish this page in less than 90 minutes.  For comparison…please know we spent almost two months working (because Paramount kept horrible records) on our Bing Crosby page.  So Marcel….here is your requested Robert Taylor page.

Robert Taylor and Irene Dunne in 1935's Magnificent Obsession
Robert Taylor and Irene Dunne in 1935’s Magnificent Obsession

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

Robert Taylor 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 Taylor movies by co-stars of his movies
  • Sort Robert Taylor movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Robert Taylor movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Robert Taylor 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 Taylor movie received.
  • Sort Robert Taylor 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.

Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Robert Taylor Table

  1. Thirty-two Robert Taylor movie crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark.  That is a percentage of 47.06% of his movies listed. Quo Vadis (1951) was his biggest box office hit.
  2. An average Robert Taylor movie grosses $106.000 million in adjusted box office gross.
  3. Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter.  36 of Robert Taylor’s movies are rated as good movies…or 52.94% of his movies.  Camille (1936) was his highest rated movie while Valley Of The Kings (1954) was his lowest rated movie.
  4. Fifteen Robert Taylor movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 22.05% of his movies.
  5. Two Robert Taylor movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 2.94% of his movies.
  6. An good Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score is 60.00.  44 Robert Taylor movie scored higher that average….or 64.70% of his movies. Quo Vadis (1951) got the the highest UMR Score while Savage Pampas (1966) got the lowest UMR Score.
Ava Gardner & Robert Taylor in 1953's Knights of the Round Table
Ava Gardner & Robert Taylor in 1953’s Knights of the Round Table

Possibly Interesting Facts About Robert Taylor

1.Spangler Arlington Brugh was born in Filley, Nebraska in 1911.  After signing a 7 year contract with MGM…they give him Robert Taylor as his screen name.

2. Robert Taylor was a track star and played the cello in his high school orchestra.  Taylor moved to California and enrolled at Pomona College.  In 1932 he was spotted by a MGM scout while appearing in a play at Pomona.  By 1935 he was a movie star.

3. During World War II, Robert Taylor was a flying instructor in the U.S. Naval Air Corps.  He also directed 17 United States Navy training films during World War II.

4. Robert Taylor and Clark Gable were great friends. Taylor was one of the pallbearers at Gable’s funeral in November 1960.

5. Robert Taylor never received a Oscar® or Golden Globe nomination during his entire career.

6. Robert Taylor’s favorite movie he starred in was 1940’s Waterloo Bridge….with 1936’s Camille being his second favorite.  Greta Garbo was his favorite co-star.

7. Robert Taylor’s nicknames included: The Man with the Perfect Profile”, Arly, Bob and The New King.  He was called the New King when Clark Gable left MGM in 1953.

8.  Robert Taylor was married two times. His first marriage was to actress Barbara Stanwyck.  They were married from 1939 to 1951.  His second marriage was to actress Ursula Thiess from 1954 to his death in 1969.  They had two children.

9. Robert Taylor owned a house in Mandeville Canyon, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.  That in itself is not so interesting…however the house known as the Robert Taylor Ranch is a 34-room home situated on 112 acres.  At one point it was on sell for only $45 million!

10.  Check out Robert Taylor‘s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.  His 30 $100 Million Dollar Movies is one of the best totals of all-time.

Steve’s Robert Taylor You Tube Video

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76 thoughts on “Robert Taylor Movies”

  1. HI STEVE: 1 Spangler not only wowed the ladies but also became the pin-up boy of the House Un-American Activities Committee with his cheerful patriotism and much of what he said when in sombre mood would too have been music to their ears such as “I know what I’d like to do. Send all the Commies back to Russia or some other equally unpleasant place.” Ironically years later he said in an interview that he never became involved in political matters!

    2 BEST POSTERS IN TAYLOR VIDEO 50-26 His Brother’s Wife, Remember? Valley of the Kings [superb foreign language version] Lady of the Tropics. Stand up and Fight, Conspirator, The Crowd Roars, D Day the 6th June, Private Number, All the Brothers were Valiant [my late father loved that movie] and Many Rivers to Cross. I remember vividly sitting in the Strand cinema Belfast in 1955 or 1956 and humming along with the song that was sang in that movie-
    “The higher up the berry tree
    The Sweeter grows the berry.
    The more you hug and kiss a girl
    The more she wants to marry.”

    3 No complaints about the large number of fine STILLS in Part One (1) opening one of the young brash Taylor in his prime (2) beating his co-star with a pillow – goodness I wish I were a pillow! (3) lobby card with my Joan in Gorgeous Hussy (4) the staged one of the quartet in Ride Vaquero! (5) the 2 Taylors, Bob and Liz (6) lobby card for The Crowd Roars (7) Spangler with Harlow (8) lobby card – I think – for Billy the Kid (8) as Sir Lancelot and (9) a welcome repeat of your Undercurrent one which I always thought was exceptional. I presume that shadowy background figure is a Top 35 actor whom you have included in your personal Top 25 legends and for whom you have just given us a video, which I’ll get to after Spangler 2

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop before replying (part 2 of your review).

      Thanks for reviewing the first half of my Spangler Arlington Brugh expanded video, it is appreciated. Glad you liked it’s pictorial aspects.

      Your memory of watching these old movies at a particular cinema, the lady with the large hat sitting in front of you, whether it was raining that day, what flavor ice cream you had and humming along with the songs is astounding. I can’t even remember what I had for lunch. 😉

      Reply

      1. HI STEVE

        Thanks for the compliment but my memory isn’t perfect on everything. For example the only characters whom I can remember from The Thin Man series is Bill Powell and a little dog so perhaps if you ever get the time you can remind me who played any other roles of importance, assuming of course there were the latter.

        Want to get busy on Mitch and then Burt posts but don’t like crowding you so will wait until I get any response you have to my Spang 2 post.

        Reply

        1. Mister Bob! The only reason to watch those creaky Thin Man movies is for the young, lovely and sexy Myrna Loy! 🙂

          Check out Bruce’s Top 100 Movie Stars page to see where Loy is ranked on the box office chart, prepare to be flabbergasted.

          Reply

  2. Steve’s updated Taylor Video is now part of our Taylor UMR page…my comment on his video.

    “Nice update. Gotta admit I am not much of a Robert Taylor fan…..though I guess I should say….I have not seen many of his movies. I did really like #8 The Law and Jake Wade….sorry it is so lowly rated at UMR. Looking at my site it is ranked 48th….that is a huge difference…maybe it is time for me to revisit that one. I have seen #2 Camille and #1 Waterloo Bridge…she and Leigh made a good couple. #29 Many Rivers To Cross was a silly western…just saw that one a few months ago. #25 In the poster for This is My Affair….the guy to the left of Stanwyck looks like Tommy Lee Jones….I know it is Victor…do you see the resemblance. Sorry lost focus. Enjoyed #4 and #5….his bigger box office hits….and the other Taylor movie I have seen is June 6th D-Day….talk about a movie that promises some action…and delivers very little. Voted up and shared. Job well done.”

    Reply

    1. Thank you Bruce, appreciate the vote, share, comment and kind words. Craggy face Victor McLaglen does look a bit like craggy face Tommy Lee Jones in that poster. Tommy has so many wrinkles on his wrinkles that it’s almost painful looking at his face in high definition, he’s younger than De Niro and could play his dad on film. I agree with you on D-Day 6th of June, it was more romance than war, disappointing. The Longest Day was much better.

      Reply

      1. Hey Steve….glad to help….just hope you get some extra views from us…..glad we agree on D-Day 6th of June…..as well for seeing TLJ in that poster….lol.

        Reply

  3. I would like to request the career of Yvonne De Carlo be spotlighted. She was incredibly popular (and a box-office draw) during the 1940s and 1950s. She was also one of the most gorgeous women ever to grace the screen. Her two most memorable roles were as Burt Lancaster’s double-crossing girlfriend in the film noir classic Criss-Cross (1947) and as Moses’ wife in The Ten Commandments (1956).
    Your website has been a great contribution to the history and film stars of Hollywood and beyond. Thank you and keep up the good work!

    Reply

    1. Hey Frank….I will add Yvonne DeCarlo to the request list. I do not know much about her….but look forward to doing your request and to finding out more on DeCarlo. Thanks for the suggestion….the visit…..and the nice words about our website.

      Reply

  4. Thanks again Bob, it is funny how different some of our rankings are, Bruce and I usually have similar top 3’s or top 5’s and then one of our top 10 entries will be on opposite ends of the chart.

    Like I said it’s all opinion, all it takes is Maltin to give a popular movie a Bomb rating and things go awry, Earthquake for example. But in some cases if I think a rating is unfair I will bring it up in line with another source’s score, otherwise movies like Midway or Sodom and Gomorrah will never make an appearance on my videos.

    While I was creating Stewart Granger’s video I came across this quote I thought you might be interested in – [Granger on Robert Taylor] “He was such a nice guy, but he had even more hang-ups than I had. Bob Taylor was the easiest person to work with but he had been entirely emasculated by the MGM brass who insisted that he was only a pretty face. He was convinced he wasn’t really a good actor and his calm acceptance of this stigma infuriated me.”

    Reply

    1. 1 Thanks for explaining your system to me. I’ts helpful to me to have a choice of opinions to measure my own against and for example I agree with you about Magnificent obsession being a deserving Top 5 I but think Bruce’s Dodsworth marking was more consistent with the classic status that I always considered that movie to have and indeed I have watched it many times.
      However I think it is all academic because you have your own system and whilst Bruce might have changed his assessment if Flora had disagreed with it I doubt if you or I could budge him.

      2 Excellent quote from Granger that’s new to me but is in keeping with the deferential attitude that he has displayed towards MGM in the interviews I know of. Indeed he was a “people pleaser” [if they were important] and for example when he was before the Un-American Activities Committee not only did he say all the things they wanted to hear but he had them in stitches with his jokes. Still I loved his screen persona. Granger was the opposite and loved to say things that provoked others like for example “Acting is a sissy occupation,” and “Working chappies should know their place.” ***

      3 Am away again for a short break this Fri, Sat and Sun. It’s my son’s 40th birthday and I have to go over to that damn England to celebrate it with him and endure more insults about Laddie.

      ***Actors seemed to have a preoccupation with the status divisions in those days in that for example the young but then plain Mr Maurice Micklewhite spent a whole interview with a Sunday paper complaining how “working chappies” were envious of him and sought to vandalise his property; and of course Bernie Schwartz often cried foul about his perception that his Bronx background robbed him of Oscar glory

      Reply

      1. Hey Bob….good stuff in your two Taylor comments.
        1. Good to know Taylor saw some value in the studio system……Linda Darnell quickly realized being a free agent…..had some negatives…..as her career quickly evaporated after leaving 20th Century.
        2. Have fun at your son’s birthday party…..hope your weekend is a great one….even if it is in England.
        3. Double checked my numbers for Magnificent Obsession ….and I stand by my rating.
        4. I vaguely remember checking the Cowboy of the Century…..but pretty sure I did not find out very much.
        As always thanks for the outstanding feedback.

        Reply

    2. Hey Steve….Maltin’s classic Movie Ratings only get 2.5% of my critic audience rating score….so if he or Roger Ebert did not like a movie…..it does really hurt the score too bad. Good quote on Robert Taylor. Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply

  5. 1 When the studio system broke up many stars liked the freedom they had but Taylor was
    the opposite as he said he said that he appreciated the way that his studio MGM looked after not just his career but parts of his private life as well so that he never had much to worry about.

    2 The only thing that I ever knew Taylorcomplain of was being passed over for an obscure award called Cowboy of the Century which went to Jimmy Stewart though the 20th Century was not even three quarters over. Flora fell out with Taylor for coveting the trophy of which she felt some of her own idols were more deserving. If I recall correctly Bruce was to try to get her details of the award but they never materialised.

    2 VIDEO COMMENTS
    (1) Taylor had such a fine run of big budget costume dramas in the early 1950s that we were bound to get lush poster reproductions but also worthy of mention are that for The Night Walker and the beautiful one for Saddle the Wind (2) Some classy stills and a particularly atmospheric one for Undercurrent with Taylor and K Hepburn to the forefront and a menacing figure presumably Mitchum in the shadows (3) you and Bruce for critic/audience coincide with 3 of your Top 5 but as it made Taylor a star I am surprised at the low ranking of joint 28 and 62% that he gave to your No 4 Magnificent Obsession. Anyway a fine 9/10 presentation.

    Reply

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