Want to know the best Spencer Tracy movies? How about the worst Spencer Tracy movies? Curious about Spencer Tracy’s box office grosses or which Spencer Tracy movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Spencer Tracy movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
Fox Films signed Spencer Tracy (1900-1967) to his first movie contract. His first movie was Up the River, directed by John Ford and co-starred another newcomer, Humphrey Bogart. For the next five years, Tracy appeared in nearly five films a year. Most of these films were low budget films that were forgotten as soon as they were produced. Just how bad were this movies? After making Dante’s Inferno in 1935, Tracy’s contract was terminated. Being fired was Spencer Tracy’s big break, as it allowed him to sign a contract with MGM. At MGM, Spencer Tracy became one of the greatest actors of all-time. This page has every movie he made from 1935 to 1967.
His IMDb page shows 78 acting credits from 1930-1967. This page will rank 60 Spencer Tracy movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and many of his early Fox Films’ movies that were not released in theaters were not included in the rankings.
Spencer Tracy 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
1938
Boys Town (1938)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Win
1936
San Francisco (1936)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1937
Captains Courageous (1937)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Win
1962
How the West Was Won (1962)
AA Best Picture Nom
1961
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1950
Father of the Bride (1950)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1967
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1949
Adam's Rib (1949)
1940
Northwest Passage (1940)
1936
Libeled Lady (1936)
AA Best Picture Nom
1942
Woman of the Year (1942)
1963
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
1944
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
1944
The Seventh Cross (1944)
1940
Boom Town (1940)
1938
Test Pilot (1938)
AA Best Picture Nom
1948
State of the Union (1948)
1951
Father's Little Dividend (1951)
1941
Men of Boys Town (1941)
1943
A Guy Named Joe (1943)
1945
Without Love (1945)
1942
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
1939
Stanley and Livingstone (1939)
1947
The Sea of Grass (1947)
1954
Broken Lance (1954)
1955
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
AA Best Actor Nom
1941
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
1936
Fury (1936)
1952
Pat and Mike (1952)
1947
Cass Timberlane (1947)
1942
Tortilla Flat (1942)
1937
Mannequin (1937)
1957
Desk Set (1957)
1937
Big City (1937)
1940
Edison, the Man (1940)
1960
Inherit the Wind (1960)
AA Best Actor Nom
1949
Malaya (1949)
1958
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
AA Best Actor Nom
1933
Man's Castle (1933)
1958
The Last Hurrah (1958)
1937
They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
1934
Now I'll Tell (1934)
1961
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
1933
The Power and the Glory (1933)
1931
Quick Millions (1931)
1932
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
1949
Edward, My Son (1949)
1936
Riffraff (1936)
1935
Dante's Inferno (1935)
1931
Goldie (1931)
1935
The Murder Man (1935)
1956
The Mountain (1956)
1952
Plymouth Adventure (1952)
1935
Whipshaw (1935)
1940
I Take This Woman (1940)
1932
Me And My Gal (1932)
1951
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
1953
The Actress (1953)
1931
6 Cylinder Love (1931)
1935
It's a Small World (1935)
1932
Disorderly Conduct (1932)
1932
Society Girl (1932)
1934
Looking For Trouble (1934)
1934
Marie Galante (1934)
1930
Up the River (1930)
Spencer Tracy 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 Spencer Tracy movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort Spencer Tracy movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Spencer Tracy movies by adjusted worldwide box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Spencer Tracy 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 Spencer Tracy movie received.
- Sort Spencer Tracy 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 table very interactive. For example type in “Katharine Hepburn” in the search box…and the Hepburn/Tracy movies pop right up
| 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 | Boys Town (1938) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Win |
Mickey Rooney | 11.30 | 451.6 | 648.1 | 2 | 86 | 05 / 02 | 99.4 | |
| 2 | San Francisco (1936) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Clark Gable | 12.60 | 544.2 | 889.8 | 1 | 86 | 06 / 01 | 99.4 | |
| 3 | Captains Courageous (1937) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Win |
Mickey Rooney & Lionel Barrymore |
6.80 | 279.9 | 519.6 | 9 | 85 | 04 / 01 | 99.2 | |
| 4 | How the West Was Won (1962) AA Best Picture Nom |
John Wayne & James Stewart |
36.10 | 518.8 | 1,237.4 | 2 | 76 | 08 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 5 | Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Judy Garland & Burt Lancaster |
11.30 | 164.4 | 164.4 | 19 | 86 | 11 / 02 | 99.0 | |
| 6 | Father of the Bride (1950) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Elizabeth Taylor | 11.50 | 259.0 | 390.4 | 6 | 82 | 03 / 00 | 98.9 | |
| 5 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Katharine Hepburn & Sidney Poitier |
52.50 | 467.7 | 467.7 | 4 | 71 | 10 / 02 | 98.7 | |
| 8 | Adam's Rib (1949) | Katharine Hepburn & Directed by George Cukor |
8.30 | 206.9 | 274.9 | 18 | 87 | 01 / 00 | 98.6 | |
| 7 | Northwest Passage (1940) | Robert Young & Walter Brennan |
6.20 | 238.6 | 346.5 | 9 | 85 | 01 / 00 | 98.4 | |
| 10 | Libeled Lady (1936) AA Best Picture Nom |
William Powell & Jean Harlow |
5.30 | 230.1 | 391.4 | 13 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 98.3 | |
| 11 | Woman of the Year (1942) | Katharine Hepburn | 5.50 | 205.5 | 287.6 | 32 | 81 | 02 / 01 | 98.1 | |
| 11 | It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) | Mickey Rooney & Buddy Hackett |
45.90 | 575.8 | 575.8 | 2 | 76 | 06 / 01 | 97.8 | |
| 12 | Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) | Robert Mitchum | 13.90 | 467.0 | 678.9 | 3 | 78 | 02 / 01 | 97.6 | |
| 16 | The Seventh Cross (1944) | Directed by Fred Zinnemann | 6.70 | 226.2 | 388.1 | 35 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 97.1 | |
| 14 | Boom Town (1940) | Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert |
13.10 | 504.5 | 654.7 | 3 | 75 | 02 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 14 | Test Pilot (1938) AA Best Picture Nom |
Clark Gable & Myrna Loy |
9.70 | 388.2 | 623.3 | 5 | 68 | 03 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 17 | State of the Union (1948) | Katharine Hepburn & Directed by Frank Capra |
9.20 | 248.2 | 333.3 | 10 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 20 | Father's Little Dividend (1951) | Elizabeth Taylor | 9.10 | 197.1 | 289.5 | 13 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 95.5 | |
| 18 | Men of Boys Town (1941) | Mickey Rooney | 6.90 | 267.0 | 267.0 | 11 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 95.5 | |
| 19 | A Guy Named Joe (1943) | Irene Dunne & Lionel Barrymore |
11.30 | 407.6 | 550.6 | 6 | 69 | 01 / 00 | 95.2 | |
| 20 | Without Love (1945) | Katharine Hepburn & Lucille Ball |
7.50 | 238.0 | 333.3 | 35 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 95.0 | |
| 21 | Keeper of the Flame (1942) | Katharine Hepburn | 6.30 | 232.6 | 342.2 | 24 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 94.8 | |
| 22 | Stanley and Livingstone (1939) | Walter Brennan | 8.00 | 308.0 | 308.0 | 9 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 94.5 | |
| 23 | The Sea of Grass (1947) | Katharine Hepburn | 8.50 | 248.0 | 369.2 | 24 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 93.6 | |
| 24 | Broken Lance (1954) | Richard Widmark & Katy Jurado |
10.90 | 254.4 | 254.4 | 26 | 61 | 02 / 01 | 93.4 | |
| 26 | Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) AA Best Actor Nom |
Ernest Borgnine & Lee Marvin |
5.70 | 118.5 | 226.4 | 56 | 87 | 03 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 28 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) | Ingrid Bergman & Lana Turner |
4.10 | 158.8 | 292.0 | 43 | 68 | 03 / 00 | 91.5 | |
| 29 | Fury (1936) | Walter Brennan | 2.30 | 98.5 | 187.1 | 89 | 86 | 01 / 00 | 90.5 | |
| 30 | Pat and Mike (1952) | Katharine Hepburn | 5.80 | 114.3 | 149.5 | 45 | 80 | 01 / 00 | 90.2 | |
| 30 | Cass Timberlane (1947) | Lana Turner | 10.80 | 313.7 | 408.4 | 10 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 90.1 | |
| 33 | Tortilla Flat (1942) | James Garfield | 5.30 | 198.1 | 277.3 | 34 | 52 | 01 / 00 | 89.6 | |
| 34 | Mannequin (1937) | Joan Crawford | 4.30 | 176.8 | 271.0 | 35 | 57 | 01 / 00 | 89.3 | |
| 31 | Desk Set (1957) | Katharine Hepburn | 4.90 | 93.5 | 93.5 | 49 | 84 | 00 / 00 | 89.1 | |
| 35 | Big City (1937) | Luise Rainer | 3.60 | 150.3 | 265.5 | 56 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 87.9 | |
| 36 | Edison, the Man (1940) | Rita Johnson | 3.30 | 126.7 | 196.6 | 46 | 66 | 01 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 35 | Inherit the Wind (1960) AA Best Actor Nom |
Fredric March & Gene Kelly |
3.50 | 54.7 | 89.3 | 71 | 86 | 04 / 00 | 86.5 | |
| 37 | Malaya (1949) | James Stewart | 5.40 | 136.4 | 215.0 | 48 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 85.2 | |
| 37 | The Old Man and the Sea (1958) AA Best Actor Nom |
Felipe Pazos | 3.10 | 56.5 | 56.5 | 71 | 78 | 03 / 01 | 83.7 | |
| 39 | Man's Castle (1933) | Loretta Young | 1.40 | 63.6 | 63.6 | 67 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 81.8 | |
| 40 | The Last Hurrah (1958) | Directed by John Ford | 3.10 | 56.5 | 56.5 | 70 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 81.7 | |
| 42 | They Gave Him a Gun (1937) | Franchot Tone | 2.90 | 119.1 | 217.8 | 80 | 54 | 00 / 00 | 79.0 | |
| 41 | Now I'll Tell (1934) | Shirley Temple & Alice Faye |
1.80 | 83.9 | 83.9 | 66 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 44 | The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) | Frank Sinatra | 6.70 | 97.8 | 97.8 | 34 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 76.6 | |
| 43 | The Power and the Glory (1933) | Colleen Moore | 1.60 | 75.4 | 75.4 | 56 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 76.4 | |
| 45 | Quick Millions (1931) | Marguerite Churchill | 1.80 | 93.1 | 93.1 | 63 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 46 | 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) | Bette Davis | 1.40 | 70.6 | 130.9 | 68 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 73.2 | |
| 47 | Edward, My Son (1949) | Deborah Kerr | 3.50 | 88.2 | 149.2 | 103 | 56 | 01 / 00 | 72.5 | |
| 49 | Riffraff (1936) | Jean Harlow & Mickey Rooney |
2.40 | 103.1 | 150.9 | 83 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 71.3 | |
| 48 | Dante's Inferno (1935) | Rita Hayworth | 1.50 | 65.6 | 65.6 | 89 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 51 | Goldie (1931) | Jean Harlow | 1.10 | 58.5 | 58.5 | 135 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 66.1 | |
| 50 | The Murder Man (1935) | James Stewart | 1.00 | 44.1 | 70.1 | 132 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 66.0 | |
| 52 | The Mountain (1956) | Robert Wagner | 5.10 | 100.8 | 100.8 | 59 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 63.2 | |
| 55 | Plymouth Adventure (1952) | Gene Tierney | 5.30 | 103.9 | 164.7 | 59 | 41 | 01 / 01 | 61.0 | |
| 53 | Whipshaw (1935) | Myrna Loy | 1.60 | 73.7 | 123.8 | 77 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 60.8 | |
| 56 | I Take This Woman (1940) | Directed by Josef Von Sternberg | 2.60 | 99.8 | 157.9 | 67 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 57.8 | |
| 54 | Me And My Gal (1932) | Joan Bennett | 0.50 | 24.6 | 24.6 | 163 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 57.3 | |
| 57 | The People Against O'Hara (1951) | Pat O'Brien | 3.20 | 68.2 | 104.4 | 114 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 53.6 | |
| 58 | The Actress (1953) | Anthony Perkins & Directed by George Cukor |
1.80 | 32.3 | 49.8 | 173 | 57 | 01 / 00 | 46.0 | |
| 60 | 6 Cylinder Love (1931) | Edward Everett Horton | 1.00 | 50.3 | 50.3 | 150 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 46.0 | |
| 58 | It's a Small World (1935) | Wendy Barrie | 0.80 | 34.1 | 34.1 | 161 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 45.7 | |
| 60 | Disorderly Conduct (1932) | Ralph Bellamy | 0.60 | 29.5 | 29.5 | 154 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 42.8 | |
| 61 | Society Girl (1932) | James Dunn | 0.60 | 29.9 | 29.9 | 153 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 41.0 | |
| 63 | Looking For Trouble (1934) | Jack Oakie | 0.50 | 25.5 | 25.5 | 172 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 36.7 | |
| 62 | Marie Galante (1934) | Helen Morgan | 0.70 | 33.1 | 33.1 | 150 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 30.5 | |
| 63 | Up the River (1930) | Humphrey Bogart | 0.90 | 50.4 | 50.4 | 128 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 28.8 |
Stats and Possibly Interesting Things From The Above Spencer Tracy Table
- Thirty-one Spencer Tracy movies crossed the magical $100 million domestic gross mark. That is a percentage of 51.66% of his movies listed. How the West Was Won (1963) was his biggest box office ht just barely holding off 1936’s San Francisco.
- An average Spencer Tracy movie grosses $149.80 million in adjusted box office gross.
- Using RottenTomatoes.com’s 60% fresh meter. 43 of Spencer Tracy’s movies are rated as good movies…or 71.66% of his movies. Adam’s Rib (1949) is his highest rated movie while Plymouth Adventure (1952) was his lowest rated movie.
- Thirty Spencer Tracy movies received at least one Oscar® nomination in any category…..or 50.00% of his movies.
- Twelve Spencer Tracy movies won at least one Oscar® in any category…..or 20.00% of his movies.
- An average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score is 40.00. 42 Spencer Tracy movies scored higher than that average….or 70.00% of his movies. Boys Town (1938) got the the highest UMR Score while Up the River (1930) got the lowest UMR Score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About Sir Spencer Tracy
1. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy ninth among the Greatest Male Actors of All-Time.
2. He received 9 Oscar(®) nominations for Best Actor.…..he won twice…for 1937’s Captain Courageous and 1938’s Boys Town.
3. Spencer Tracy joins Luise Rainer, Jason Robards, Katharine Hepburn and Tom Hanks as the only actors to win back to back acting Oscars®.
4. Spencer Tracy had to drop out of the movies, Cheyenne Autumn and The Cincinnati Kid, due to health issues, both times his part was played by Edward G. Robinson.
5. In the Oscar(®) winning Pixar movie Up, Carl the main character is a combination of Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau….the next time you see Up try and not think of Spencer Tracy whenever Carl is on screen….it can not be done.
6. Turned down Cary Grant’s role in The Philadelphia Story in order to make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
7. Along with Katharine Hepburn, visited an ailing Humphrey Bogart almost daily as he was dying of cancer…..while Katharine Hepburn was with Spencer Tracy on the night he died. Tracy died only 17 days after filming of 1967’s Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner had been completed.
8. Has three films on the American Film Institute`s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: Captains Courageous (1937) at #94, Boys Town (1938) at #81 and Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner (1967) at #35.
9. The John Tracy Clinic is a private, non-profit education center for infants and preschool children with hearing loss in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Lousie Treadwell Tracy , wife of actor Spencer Tracy, in 1942. It provides free, parent-centered services worldwide. The Clinic has over 60 years of expertise in the spoken language option.
10. Recently I discovered one awesome Spencer Tracy tribute site. Highly recommend checking out The Greatest of All Spencer Tracy. This site has some awesome Spencer Tracy photos, links to Spencer Tracy information and much much more.
Check out Spencer Tracy’s career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Proof of possibly interesting fact # 5 about Spencer Tracy.
For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.
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Hey Frank…..thanks for stopping by…..Tracy got a nomination for Best Actor for Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner….but he did not win. It was his 9th and final nomination. Katharine Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar for the movie. As for Hanks….Forrest Gump has a big group of people that do not like the movie….I liked it and I really liked Hanks in the role. I would re-watch Gump over Philadelphia 99 times out of 100. Good stuff.
Spencer Tracy won a third Oscar for the film Guess Who is Coming to Dinner?
Also, many thought Tom Hanks did not deserve a second Oscar.