Want to know the best Sylvia Sidney movies? How about the worst Sylvia Sidney movies? Curious about Sylvia Sidney box office grosses or which Sylvia Sidney movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Sylvia Sidney 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.
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) was an Oscar® nominated American actress. She was a leading lady in the 1930s….whose career spanned 8 decades. His first movie was 1929’s Thru Different Eyes and her last movie was 67 years later when she saved Earth from aliens in 1996’s Mars Attacks. Her IMDb page shows 107 acting credits from 1929-1998. This page will rank 35 Sylvia Sidney movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Her many television appearances, a few not released in North American theaters and some early Paramount movies were not included in the rankings. This page comes from a request by Germany’s Lupino.
Sylvia Sidney 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
1988
Beetlejuice (1988)
1937
Dead End (1937)
AA Best Picture Nom
1936
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
1936
Fury (1936)
1945
Blood on the Sun (1945)
1931
Street Scene (1931)
1931
City Streets (1931)
1931
An American Tragedy (1931)
1937
You Only Live Once (1937)
1938
You And Me (1938)
1933
Jennie Gerhardt (1933)
1933
Pick-Up (1933)
1932
Merrily We Go To Hell (1932)
1955
Violent Saturday (1955)
1978
Damien: Omen II (1978)
1936
Sabotage/A Woman Alone (1936)
1932
Ladies of the Big House (1932)
1935
Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935)
1946
The Searching Wind (1946)
1996
Mars Attacks! (1996)
1941
The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)
1934
Behold My Wife! (1934)
1935
Accent on Youth (1935)
1952
Les Miserables (1952)
1956
Behind The High Wall (1956)
1932
The Miracle Man (1932)
1939
...One Third of a Nation... (1939)
1934
Thirty Day Princess (1934)
1947
Love From A Stranger (1947)
1973
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)
AA Best Supp Actress Nom
1977
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
1946
Mr. Ace (1946)
1932
Madame Butterfly (1932)
1931
Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931)
1982
Hammett (1982)
1992
Used People (1992)
1976
God Told Me To/Demon (1976)
1934
Good Dame (1934)
Sylvia Sidney 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 Sylvia Sidney films by co-stars of her movies
- Sort Sylvia Sidney films by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Sylvia Sidney films by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Sylvia Sidney films by 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 Sylvia Sidney film received.
- Sort Sylvia Sidney films 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 |
| 2 | Beetlejuice (1988) | Geena Davis & Michael Keaton |
73.70 | 193.3 | 221.70 | 10 | 78 | 01 / 01 | 97.0 | |
| 1 | Dead End (1937) AA Best Picture Nom |
Humphrey Bogart | 3.40 | 140.1 | 140.10 | 65 | 80 | 04 / 00 | 95.3 | |
| 3 | The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) | Henry Fonda & Fred MacMurray |
5.60 | 239.4 | 239.40 | 9 | 57 | 01 / 00 | 91.6 | |
| 5 | Fury (1936) | Spencer Tracy | 2.30 | 98.5 | 187.10 | 89 | 86 | 01 / 00 | 90.5 | |
| 4 | Blood on the Sun (1945) | James Cagney | 9.40 | 299.4 | 299.40 | 18 | 51 | 01 / 01 | 90.1 | |
| 6 | Street Scene (1931) | Beulah Bondi | 2.30 | 116.2 | 116.20 | 43 | 78 | 00 / 00 | 89.4 | |
| 7 | City Streets (1931) | Gary Cooper | 2.30 | 116.2 | 116.20 | 44 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 88.4 | |
| 9 | An American Tragedy (1931) | Directed by Josef Von Sternberg | 2.90 | 148.1 | 148.10 | 28 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 8 | You Only Live Once (1937) | Henry Fonda | 2.20 | 90.4 | 152.20 | 111 | 81 | 00 / 00 | 87.6 | |
| 10 | You And Me (1938) | George Raft | 2.80 | 110.5 | 110.50 | 82 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 87.4 | |
| 11 | Jennie Gerhardt (1933) | Mary Astor | 2.30 | 108.8 | 108.80 | 28 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 85.0 | |
| 13 | Pick-Up (1933) | George Raft | 2.70 | 125.9 | 125.90 | 20 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 84.0 | |
| 12 | Merrily We Go To Hell (1932) | Fredric March & Cary Grant |
2.30 | 111.5 | 111.50 | 25 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 84.0 | |
| 14 | Violent Saturday (1955) | Victor Mature & Lee Marvin |
3.60 | 74.0 | 74.00 | 91 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 82.4 | |
| 16 | Damien: Omen II (1978) | William Holden | 26.80 | 123.4 | 123.40 | 24 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 15 | Sabotage/A Woman Alone (1936) | Directed by Alfred Hitchcock | 1.10 | 46.9 | 46.90 | 139 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 77.8 | |
| 18 | Ladies of the Big House (1932) | Jane Darwell | 2.20 | 105.3 | 105.30 | 31 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 76.9 | |
| 17 | Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935) | Melvyn Douglas | 1.50 | 65.9 | 65.90 | 87 | 67 | 00 / 00 | 75.6 | |
| 19 | The Searching Wind (1946) | Robert Young | 3.10 | 94.9 | 94.90 | 101 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 75.3 | |
| 20 | Mars Attacks! (1996) | Jack Nicholson & Annette Bening |
37.80 | 92.1 | 247.20 | 39 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 74.8 | |
| 21 | The Wagons Roll at Night (1941) | Humphrey Bogart | 1.80 | 70.2 | 113.80 | 127 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 72.0 | |
| 21 | Behold My Wife! (1934) | Gene Raymond | 1.80 | 82.9 | 82.90 | 68 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 70.4 | |
| 22 | Accent on Youth (1935) | Herbert Marshall | 1.50 | 67.1 | 67.10 | 84 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 67.9 | |
| 23 | Les Miserables (1952) | Michael Rennie & Debra Paget |
3.10 | 59.9 | 59.90 | 117 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 66.7 | |
| 25 | Behind The High Wall (1956) | Tom Tully & John Gavin |
2.00 | 40.0 | 40.00 | 137 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 62.9 | |
| 25 | The Miracle Man (1932) | Chester Morris | 0.80 | 38.6 | 38.60 | 137 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 61.5 | |
| 26 | ...One Third of a Nation... (1939) | Leif Erickson | 1.50 | 56.9 | 56.90 | 148 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 60.4 | |
| 27 | Thirty Day Princess (1934) | Cary Grant & Edward Arnold |
0.80 | 37.7 | 37.70 | 136 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 59.4 | |
| 29 | Love From A Stranger (1947) | John Hodiak | 1.70 | 49.2 | 49.20 | 142 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 58.1 | |
| 31 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973) AA Best Supp Actress Nom |
Joanne Woodward | 2.70 | 16.6 | 16.60 | 101 | 64 | 02 / 00 | 52.2 | |
| 29 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) | Dennis Quaid | 8.60 | 41.8 | 41.80 | 63 | 56 | 01 / 00 | 51.6 | |
| 30 | Mr. Ace (1946) | George Raft | 1.40 | 41.8 | 41.80 | 131 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 50.7 | |
| 33 | Madame Butterfly (1932) | Cary Grant | 0.80 | 38.8 | 38.80 | 136 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 49.9 | |
| 34 | Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931) | Phillips Holmes | 0.60 | 29.7 | 29.70 | 185 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 45.0 | |
| 35 | Hammett (1982) | Frederic Forrest | 0.00 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 174 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 40.3 | |
| 36 | Used People (1992) | Shirley MacLaine | 18.00 | 46.6 | 46.60 | 69 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 36.9 | |
| 37 | God Told Me To/Demon (1976) | Tony Lo Bianco | 1.30 | 6.5 | 6.50 | 135 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 28.8 | |
| 38 | Good Dame (1934) | Fredric March | 0.70 | 34.3 | 34.30 | 144 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 28.6 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Sylvia Sidney – All From Lupino’s Excellent Comment
- Sylvia Sidney was born August 8th, 1910 as Sophia Kosow in New York (Bronx).
2. Sylvia Sidney had an ongoing affair with Paramount producer BP Schulberg in the 30’s, who was 18 years her senior.
3. Sylvia Sidney was married 3 times, had one son, Jodie, who suffered from ALS and to whom she was highly devoted. He died in 1987.
4. Sylvia Sidney had a reputation for being very outspoken, she was often referred to as being cantankerous.
5. Sylvia Sidney played the tragic Cio-Cio San in the nonmusical version of 1932’s Madame Butterfly which led to a brand of Japanese condoms being named the “Sylvia Sidneys”.
6. Sylvia Sidney was nominated for Golden Globes® and Emmy Awards®, she won the Golden Globe® for her work in the first TV movie dealing with HIV, An early Frost in 1985.
7. Sylvia Sidney was an expert on needle pointing and wrote 2 books on that topic.
8. Sylvia Sidney made one movie with Alfred Hitchcock and William Wyler….she did not get along with either legendary director.
9. Director Tim Burton was a fan of Sylvia Sidney. He cast her as Juno in Beetlejuice and as Grandma Flo in Mars Attacs!. Sidney had the following to say about him: “The way Tim Burton treated me, I really felt like a star!”
10. Sylvia Sidney died from throat cancer aged 88, being a lifelong smoker she didn’t even stop during chemo-therapy.
Check out Sylvia Sidney’s movie career compared to current and classic actors. Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.
Hey Bob and Lupino. Your conversation is keeping Ms. Sidney in the top pages of the day chart. I imagine this makes (as he in fact commented on) Lupino very happy. I find it amazing that you guys have been able to find so much on this billing subject. I will continue to play Switzerland on this matter.
Lupino….glad you had a nicely peaceful night.
Bob…glad you are enjoying this “entertainment”
HI BRUCE
After years of seeing her career decline from the top billed heyday years of the 1930s ,if Sylvia were aware of her high position in the Cogerson day chart she might well want to paraphrase Cagney’s immortal line in White Heat “Made it back ma, top of the World again!”
Yep she almost made back to the top spot again….I always like seeing some 2017 UMR pages make it back on the Top 12 Daily Pages…..normally….some of my big view getters…Pixar vs DreamWorks, Marvel vs DC, John Wayne , $100 Million Hits, Elvis and Black Hawk Down take up half of the list….and then new pages take up the second half of the list…so when a 2017 makes it back….I think it could be a winning page.
Do I detect some sort of irony or even sarcasm here from Switzerland?????
😉
HI LUPINO
1 Certainly no sarcasm on my part as I was simply trying to close out matters on a light rather than an argumentative one.
2 However the Work Horse will have to speak for himself as indeed who among US would dare be so presumptuous as to speak for him – apart from Wife o Cogerson of course!
Hey Bob….I am just glad Lupino has you not thinking about M.L…..lol.
Hey Lupino….since I live in the realm of sarcasm….I think you are correct in your detection of it…..lol.
😉
HI LUPINO/STEVE/WORK HORSE 1 The following is part of an article that I have reproduced from Wikipedia about their Trail of Lonesome Pine poster that gives Fred MacMurray, Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda billing in that order. Wikipedia has obviously gone to much trouble to authenticate the purpose and period of release of the poster as well as how widespread was its usage. You will see from the extract that Wikipedia regards original posters like the Fred top billed one to be of the greatest historical importance of all posters and Wiki mentions that many variations of the Pine one have since been produced
2 Probably for copyright purposes, it was not possible for me to extract and reproduce here an image of the poster along with the wording below but you can view the poster and the whole article by simply googling “Wikipedia – Original theatrical poster for Trail of the Lonesome Pine”
.
3 I regard Wikipedia’s unequivocal article as a feather in the cap of Steve because his Sylvia Sidney video gives us a reproduction of the Original poster that now seems to be regarded as an historic treasure amongst movies memorabilia. How Steve does his reproductions he will probably never tell us because these magicians never reveal their tricks! though as long as he keeps showing the reproductions to us I am not really bothered about not knowing how he does his Harry Potter magic!!!
EXTRACT FROM WIKIPEDIA
“File:The Trail of the Lonesome Pine- 1936 Poster.png
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.
The_Trail_of_the_Lonesome_Pine-_1936_Poster.png (335 × 500 pixels, The poster is intended to provide an illustration for a well known and significant film, and the purpose of the poster is to suggest something of the film’s style. Of the various posters available this is the most appropriate, because unlike some others it is from the period of the film’s initial release, and was widely distributed to promote the film.
For an article about a film, the original poster is arguably one of the most important images that could be included. Various posters and artwork have been produced over the years to publicise this film, however this is the original artwork, intended for wide distribution. As such it has historical significance to the article.
file size: 329 KB, MIME type: image/png) ”
4 My own conclusion from the information provided by Wikipedia about the poster and by Lupino about the billing order on his DVD material is therefore that the original agreement gave Fred top billing on posters and Sylvia billing on screen. At that time both were probably on a par as stars and had the clout to fight for an equal share of a billing arrangement similar to that agreed between Wayne/Stewart for Liberty Valance (1962)and Curtis/Lemmon for The Great Race (1965)
5 Rita Hayworth and Deb Kerr fought over top billing in the 1958 Separate Tables and poor Burt Lancaster as star/producer had to release two sets of posters simultaneously to promote the film, one showing Rita first and the other with Deb on top. To avoid complicating matters further he put himself last although bigger than both of them at that juncture.
6 Today all of the posters for the 1959 Suddenly Last Summer that I’ve seen have the order of billing Liz Taylor/Katie Hepburn/Monty Clift. However when the movie was released there were two sets of posters issued and whilst Liz was invariably billed first 2nd billing was alternated between Monty and Katie,
7 Also it is interesting to note from Steve’s Sylvia Sidney posters that in the 1933 Pick Up and the 1938 You and Me Sylvia was billed before George Raft but in the 1946 Mr Ace George had come into his own as a great gangster star and was billed above Sidney. Tat demonstrates why Steve’s posters are often a significant learning curve for me and why I so look forward to his new videos.l
Hey Bob….thanks for all of this research on the movie. Not sure if it is enough to change Lupino’s mind though.
HI WH
You’re probably right –
“A Man convinced against his will
Remains unconvinced still”!
Hello BOB,
this is were you go wrong 🙂
I was alone at home last night and I immensly enjoyed being “forced” to surf the web and search through my movie library for facts to nurture our discussion, something I rarely have the time or opportunity to do this extensively. I found some great sites/blogs with wonderful reproductions of movie posters and some new or forgotten information. We also brought Sylvia’s site back to the top 3 of “Todays Top Pages”. So, with my deepest thanks for a fun evening, I rest my case.
Your wiki information is highly appreciated!
HI LUPINO
1 Yeah it’s great fun and it’s just a pity Bruce takes it all so seriously !!!
2 There’s always a learning curve in these friendly discussions/debates because frankly any posters for Trail of the Lonesome Pine I had ever seen prior to Steve’s post to me starting the ball rolling gave Sylvia Sidney top billing so until we started researching the matter I never realised that there were so many variations of the billing whether official or unofficial.
3 Also until Steve’s video and your remarks about the DVD prompted me to look more closely at Sylvia’s career I hadn’t quite realised how massive she was in the 30s getting billed above Tracy, Fonda and Cary Grant as Steve said as well as George Raft in their two 30s films together. It’s just a pity that top stardom for her declined from the 40s onward. Ah, the spoils of time!
4 Anyway thanks for all the “entertainment” and have a good rest of week.
BOB,
don’t underestimate the master of the house. I can imagine him smiling while reading our heated discussion, wondering how two grown up man can spend so much energy and time stubbornly “fighting” over an eigthy year old promo for a movie 😉
Have a good week, too!
Hey Bob….Friendly debates rarely actually change some bodies original thoughts….each new point brings out a counterpoint….it could go on forever…lol.
HI LUPINO 1 Thanks for coming back to me again. When originally responding to a post from Steve I quoted for the sake of completeness the full order of star billing that Wikipedia demonstrated and still demonstrates was on the THEATRICAL release posters for Trail of the Lonesome Pine: Fred MacMurray/Sylvia Sidney/Henry Fonda in that order.
2 I quoted accurately and don’t think it’s a question of you and I agreeing to differ because I am not disputing what you are saying but your material does not necessarily make incorrect Wikipedia’s assurances about the billing on the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL posters.
3 For example I have explained that for the 1940 Strange Cargo MGM gave Gable top billing on the original PROMOTIONAL posters for that movie and Crawford first billing on all other posters [and on the screen]. Also Cary Grant and Irene Dunne made 3 movies together and for one of those at least top billing was split geographically on posters– ie Cary came first in certain states and Irene in others.
4 However in my response to Steve I was not really interested in demonstrating the precise billing between Fred and Sylvia and my purpose was to quote a movie in which Sidney got billed above FONDA and both Wikipedia’s poster, which is the version selected by Steve billing Fred first, and your material are agreed that Sylvia did indeed come before Henry.
5 Therefore so in relation to my object regarding Steve as George W Bush might say “Mission Accomplished!” and if you wish to dispute that the theatrical release posters DID NOT give Fred 1st billing then your quarrel is with Wikipedia and not with me. I quoted in good faith that site which is all I could do because I was not even born when those posers were initially showcased at theatres.
6 I have though seen posters on other sites which give Fred top billing in different versions of the poster, some that give Henry top billing and yet others billing Sylvia first. One might have to have sight of the actual contracts to know the precise agreement between the stars over billing. Liz Taylor secured unequivocal top billing in every respect over Brando in Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) but Marlon’s contract gave him final approval of the visual promotional material that would be used for the film
7 Anyway it’s always enjoyable discussing movie matters with you and I am not being at all
simply polite or patronising when I commend you on the crystal clarity of any post you have ever sent me.
🙂
Hello Steve,
wonderful video on Sylvia Sidney! I love the posters for Pick Up, The Woman Alone and You only live once…also the one for Dead End with the incorrect billing of Bogey ahead of Miss Sidney. Of the stills, I find her highly beautiful in the one from You only live once. Thank you very much for honoring one of my favorite actresses this way 😉
Thanks Lupino, glad you liked the video.
I don’t think I’ve seen You Only Live Once, but You Only Live Twice is a big favorite of mine. Making these videos has got me in the mood to catch up on many movies I’ve missed or ignored over the years.
Hey Steve….that happens to me too…I do a page on somebody then I start watching more of their movies.
Hey Steve,
this happens to me while talking movies here on this site. Since my more or less spontaneous suggestion of a Gina Lollobrigida page on her 90th. birthday, I have watched 4 of her movies, two of those (early italian ones) I didn’t even knew they existe before!
BTW, I prefer You only live once to You only live twice, but that might be because they forgot to offer Sylvia a heavy, bitchy part lol.
Hey Lupino. Same thing happens my way too…as soon as I do a new page…I start seeing that person’s movies ever where I look.
Hey Lupino….glad you found Steve’s Sylvia video….two new internet items on her in 4 months….the Sidney re-discovering is happening…lol.
And it’ about time 🙂
Now I have to work on the re-discovering of your local girl!
Hey Lupino….not thinking Steve has a Margaret Sullavan video….but I imagine one will be coming in the future.