Roddy McDowall Movies

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

Roddy McDowall (1928-1998) English-American actor, voice artist and film director.  His career lasted an amazing 60 years. His IMDb page shows 262 acting credits from 1938-1999. This page will rank 65 Roddy McDowall movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. His many television appearances, his early British movies, his Monogram movies and movies not released in North American theaters  were not were not included in the rankings. This comes from a request made by Søren.  Sorry it took so long.

Roddy McDowall starred in numerous Planet of the Apes movies.

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

Roddy McDowall 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 Roddy McDowall movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Roddy McDowall movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Roddy McDowall movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Roddy McDowall 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 Roddy McDowall movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Roddy McDowall movie won.
  • Sort Roddy McDowall 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.
Roddy McDowall in 1963’s Cleopatra

Possibly Interesting Facts About Roddy McDowall

1. Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was born in Herne Hill, London in 1928.

2.  Roddy McDowall was a child model as a baby.  At the age of 10 he was already appearing in movies….he would remain making movies the rest of his life.

3.  Roddy McDowall was lifelong friends with Elizabeth Taylor. They both starred in 1943’s Lassie Come Home. Taylor referred to him as the one friend she had to whom she confided everything, and who was always understanding.

4.  Roddy McDowall was never nominated for an Oscar®.  He did receive a Best Supporting Golden Globe® nomination for 1963’s Cleopatra.

5.  A clerical error on the part of 20th Century-Fox cost Roddy McDowall a likely Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Caesar Augustus Octavian in 1963’s Cleopatra. The studio erroneously listed him as a leading player rather than a supporting one. When 20th Century-Fox asked the Academy to correct the error, it refused, saying the ballots already were at the printer.

6.  Roddy McDowall was never married and did not have any children.

7.  In 1974, the FBI raided Roddy McDowall’s home and seized his collection of films and television series in the course of an investigation into film piracy and copyright infringement. His collection consisted of 160 16-mm prints and more than 1,000 video cassettes, at a time before the era of commercial videotapes, when there was no legal aftermarket for films. McDowall had purchased Errol Flynn’s home cinema films and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage. No charges were filed.

8.  Roddy McDowall played the chimpanzee archaeologist Cornelius in 4 of the first 5 Planet of the Apes movies. He did not appear in 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

9.  Roddy McDowall liked wearing his Planet of the Apes makeup when he left the set.  He would drive home with his make-up on, and shock some of the other drivers on the freeway.   That would be worth seeing.

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

Steve’s Roddy McDowall You Tube Video

Want more?  Roddy McDowall Box Office Grosses – Adjusted World Wide

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

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27 thoughts on “Roddy McDowall Movies”

  1. Hello Bruce.

    I have seen 22 of Roddy McDowall’s films.

    I am a fan of the original Planet of the Apes franchise and have seen all of his films as Cornelius and Caesar.

    I also love Lassie Come Home.

    However, one of Roddy’s best moviess as a child actor I cannot find.

    Where is HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY?

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora
      1. Thanks for the comment and tally on Mr. McDowall.
      2. Your 22 just edges Steve’s 21 and my 19…..I wonder if that 22 can hold off Lupino?
      3. I am sure Steve is smiling when he reads that you are a fan of his Planet of the Apes movies.
      4. I have not seen Lassie Come Home….but with Taylor and McDowall….it is one I want to.
      5. Whoops….where is How Green Was My Valley….that should not only be on the page…but should be ranked near the top on all of the columns.
      6. Thanks for that…now I need to fix it.

      Reply

      1. Hey Flora…..How Green Was My Valley is now included…not sure how I missed that one….I knew he was in the movie….and I thought I had included it in his movies…..so much for what I thought I knew….lol. Thanks again for catching that mistake. Thank you thank you.

        Reply

  2. HI BRUCE
    1 I think that if Roddy had known beforehand that Hirsch was going to make comments about him he might have taken a leaf out of the famous novel by African American author Willard Motley and issued the edict ‘Let No Man write my Epitaph!’

    2 Roddy never in his overall career reached the heights of stardom of some of his contemporaries like his friend Liz but nevertheless he was at the very least always an excellent ‘journeyman’ in movies throughout that career and turned in some fine performances and it was good to see him achieve some success on TV and in the cinema with Planet of Apes franchise though until I read your comprehensive profile of him I did not realise that he had been in virtually all of the Planet of the Apes movies.

    3 For me his most enjoyable performances were in the 1973 movie The Legend of Hell House and as a sneaky villain unmasked by Lt Columbo in a 1972 episode of that TV detective series. A prolific worker in the entertainment biz throughout his long career he deserves this profile by another great Work Horse!

    Reply

    1. Hey Bob
      1. Hirschhorn thought enough about McDowall to include him in the book. So I bet at some point McDowall checked out Hirschhorn’s thoughts on him…..plus they were both involved in The Poseidon Adventure. From Joel on Roddy…..”Morever, he was warmly natural in some of the hokier segments of the Poseidon Adventure”.
      2. Joel’s 4 Star Roddy performances…How Green Was My Valley, The Pied Piper, Lassie Come Home, My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead -Son of Flicka, Green Grass of Wyoming (not on my table), Kidnapped (not on my table) and Planet of the Apes. If you did not know anything about Roddy…Joel’s book would point you in the right direction of seeing his best movies.
      3. I agree he never reached superstardom….but he was the type of actor that made you glad to see him show up in a movie.
      4. I read that he was one of the few actors that did not really make enemies in Hollywood….and that his funeral was overflowing with so many of his friends coming to give their final regards.
      5. Hmmmm….both you and Steve have mentioned The Legend of Hell House as a quality movie….I will have to track that one down.
      6. Thanks for the kind words about are latest page….betting you will not have many of those kind words for the next UMR subject…lol.

      Reply

      1. Hey Bob. You might find this interesting. So when I was typing my return comment to you….on #2….I thought I must have missed Green Grass of Wyoming. So after typing the comment I went and researched that movie. And there it was sitting in 59th place on Variety’s Top Grossing movies of 1948. So I went and got the Oscar nominations (1 nomination) and the reviews….it comes in at 57.50%….so as I was kicking myself for missing the movie.

        I happened to glance at the movie poster for Green Grass and noticed that Roddy McDowall’s name is not on the poster…..so I went to IMDb and searched for how low McDowall was credited…..BUT….his name was nowhere to be found. Turns out that Green Grass is the third of the Flicka movies….but Robert Arthur is the boy in the third movie not Roddy…..but Joel gave Roddy a 4 star performance for that movie. So I guess you now have proof…..that Joel’s system is flawed……lol. It does make me curious about how many other mistakes are in the book….there is this one, the Brando one and the Wayne one….that is three to start. Just thought you would like that tidbit.

        Reply

        1. HI BRUCE

          1 As my boss used to say when HE made a mistake ‘Even the great and good get it wrong at times.’ Of course when I made a mistake he wasn’t so philosophical about it!

          2 I don’t think that I would have expected Hirsch to match the level of consistency that this site usually achieves so let’s not be too hard on him on this occasion.

          3 I think I have demonstrated before on the site how a ‘little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.’ On a holiday in Greece in 2001 I went on a guided bus tour and the guide stopped the bus near cliffs where he said The Guns of Navarone was shot [in 1961]. He concluded his remarks by saying “And the cliff to the left is the one where Gregory Peck shot dead Anthony Quinn.” Of course I was too polite to tell the guide that Quinn was not shot by Greg and did not die in the movie. Anyway appreciate the backchat.

          Reply

          1. Hey Bob…good to know you are cutting Joel a little slack….lol. I had noticed some year issues with his book….this by far is the biggest mistake I have seen so far. I am sure that proofer is still kicking himself or herself for missing Green Grass of Wyoming.

            Maybe the Greece version of Guns of Navarone ended that way….or maybe he was getting Behold the Pale Horse mixed up with Guns of Navarone….though Peck does get gunned down in that one….not thinking Quinn did it…but I could be mistaken. Good to know you did not call out the tour guide…not sure all could hold their tongue. 🙂

  3. As a big fan of the original Planet of the Apes series Roddy McDowall has been one of my favorite character actors, he played Cornelius and Caesar in 4 of the original 5 films, and he played the roles brilliantly.

    I’ve seen 21 of the 65 films listed here – favorites are the aforementioned Ape movies, Legend of Hell House, The Poseidon Adventure, Fright Night 1 & 2, The Black Hole, The Longest Day and Cleopatra.

    I must have seen Lassie Come Home when I was a child but I just can’t remember it. I haven’t seen The Keys of the Kingdom or That Darn Cat.

    Enjoyed the trivia – the Oscar muddle and Roddy driving around with his ape mask still on. 🙂

    Looking at the box office chart, adjusted for inflation Cleopatra (1963) was a huge hit – nearly $600m in North America alone – but it cost so much to produce (over $300m adjusted?) it wasn’t profitable until sold for TV in the early 70s.

    A good subject for your epic movie site Bruce. Vote Up!

    Reply

    1. Hey Steve
      1. Thanks for checking out and commenting on our latest page.
      2. Tally count….21 for you and 18 for me.
      3. I figured you would like all the Planet of the Ape movies in the table…and I appear to be correct.
      4. Originally I did not include his part in The Black Hole….but the more I thought about it….the more I remember his voice as V.I.N.C.E.N.T., so it was a last minute addition.
      5. My next UMR subject will be another almuni from The Towering Inferno…..this will be somebody who got an Oscar for his work on that blockbuster…..another hint…get ready to hear Bob grimace….lol.
      6. The producers of Cleopatra drove McDowall crazy….all the delays were very frustrating for him….his boredom of waiting is how he got his part in The Longest Day…..then they screw up his Oscar nomination….which many thought not only would he get a nomination….but would have won the Oscar as well.
      7. Thanks for the vote up….and a recent widget…actually allows a vote up….lol.

      Reply

        1. Hey Steve….there is one at the top that is connected to Facebook….that one has been there off and on for awhile….but right before the comments start is the new widget. Not sure how long it will last….it never seems to go up past two….and I have done some experimenting it trying to get it to reach three….so far no luck….so it might not be here long…..lol.

          Glad you found it.

          Reply

  4. Hi, Bruce
    Wow, long career. Been in some big box office hits.
    His role in Kurt & Goldie’s little gem “Overboard” is pretty funny.
    As always, great work!

    Reply

    1. Hey Søren. I see you found your requested page pretty quickly. Once again sorry it took so long to get it written. When I first saw his 262 IMDb credits…I thought it will be the first actor to top 100 movies….but turns out most of those credits were television appearances. I think it is safe to say that he is one of the few child stars to pretty much watch their entire life on screens…as you can see him from 10 to 70. Jodie Foster and Kurt Russell are two current performers that have the same thing going on. I agree his role in Overboard is very impressive. Thanks for the kind words.

      Reply

  5. Roddy McDowall has always been one of Hollywood’s busiest actors, first as a child star, then as a polished supporting actor. He never stole the show but always improved the film.

    *This was Joel’s thoughts on McDowall in 1982. As for the line….”never stole the show”….I think Roddy stole the show in the original Fright Night.

    Reply

    1. Hey Joel….as always your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Check another Rating The Movie Stars subject off the list of UMR pages to do.

      Reply

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