13 thoughts on “Vera Miles Movies”

1. HI WH: Thanks for the feedback about Vera. I have never seen Topaz and on reflection my nomination for the wooden spoon would be between The Trouble with Brucie and The Wrong Man.

   However that is just in comparison with Hitch’s classics like Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window and the 3 Al Leach movies. As your own post implies Hank Fonda is almost always worth watching and his performance in Wrong Man was no exception I liked the jazz opening.

   In a 1950s interview Hitch said that he thought the 3 best “leading men” generally that decade were Archie, my Jimmy and The Great Mumbler. Hirsch was of course still a night club performer/wannabe rock singer when Hitch made that statement, so the Great Alfred had obviously never had the benefit of Joel’s later critical opinions.

   I wonder if The Master of Suspense would have been influenced by the thoughts of The Master of Critics and would those harsh opinions have encouraged Hitch to retrospectively drop Mr Mumbles from the 50s ‘Big Three’!

   Certainly Alfred seemed to permanently retain his high opinion of the other two: I saw a photograph taken at a later-years ceremony to honor Hitch and he was sitting flanked on either side by Archibald and my Jimmy – all 3 of them in advanced middle years and smiling fondly at each other!

   Reply

   1. Actually, Cary Grant made 4 movies with Hitchcock, not 3:

      North By Northwest
      To Catch a Thief
      Suspicion
      Notorious

      Reply

      1. Hey Flora…you are 100% correct. I watch all of these movies pretty regularly…with the exception of Suspicion. Good catch.

         Reply

2. Somehow with this rather short number of connections, Vera Miles is # 700 on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. She was never on before. These are the people on the current list she has appeared with.

   35 HARRY DEAN STANTON The Wrong Man (1956)
   44 JAMES MASON A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   48 JOHN CARRADINE The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   87 ROBERT LOGGIA Psycho II (1983)
   97 JEANNE MOREAU 5 Branded Women (1960)
   104 HARRY ANDREWS A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   123 JEFF GOLDBLUM Into the Night (1985)
   145 DAN AYKROYD Into the Night (1985)
   146 MARTIN BALSAM Psycho (1960)
   169 CLINT HOWARD Gentle Giant (1967)
   169 CLINT HOWARD The Wild Country (1970)
   188 MICHELLE PFEIFFER Into the Night (1985)
   203 KURT RUSSELL Follow Me, Boys! (1966)
   210 BRUCE MCGILL Into the Night (1985)
   215 STACY KEACH The FBI Story (1959)
   264 JAMES GARNER One Little Indian (1973)
   264 JAMES GARNER The Castaway Cowboy (1974)
   269 JOHN WAYNE Hellfighters (1968)
   269 JOHN WAYNE The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   269 JOHN WAYNE The Searchers (1956)
   297 HENRY FONDA The Wrong Man (1956)
   321 GEORGE SANDERS A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   352 BRIAN KEITH A Tiger Walks (1964)
   352 BRIAN KEITH Those Calloways (1965)
   374 ANTHONY PERKINS Psycho (1960)
   374 ANTHONY PERKINS Psycho II (1983)
   378 JODIE FOSTER One Little Indian (1973)
   391 LLOYD BRIDGES Pride of the Blue Grass (1954)
   391 LLOYD BRIDGES Wichita (1955)
   395 GEOFFREY KEEN Web of Evidence (1959)
   410 WOODY STRODE The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   413 RANCE HOWARD Gentle Giant (1967)
   413 RANCE HOWARD The Wild Country (1970)
   458 SAM ELLIOTT Molly and Lawless John (1972)
   459 ANTHONY QUAYLE The Wrong Man (1956)
   463 TOM SKERRITT Those Calloways (1965)
   465 STUART WHITMAN Run for the Roses (1977)
   471 PETER GRAVES Sergeant Ryker (1968)
   471 PETER GRAVES Wichita (1955)
   474 TONY CURTIS BrainWaves (1983)
   524 JACK ELAM Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955)
   524 JACK ELAM The Wild Country (1970)
   524 JACK ELAM Wichita (1955)
   570 CLIFF ROBERTSON Autumn Leaves (1956)
   589 BERNARD LEE Web of Evidence (1959)
   610 PAT HINGLE One Little Indian (1973)
   619 JOHN LE MESURIER A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   661 ANN DORAN The FBI Story (1959)
   661 ANN DORAN The Rose Bowl Story (1952)
   665 MAURICE DENHAM 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
   691 DUB TAYLOR The Charge at Feather River (1953)
   691 DUB TAYLOR The Wild Country (1970)
   715 LEE VAN CLEEF The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
   715 LEE VAN CLEEF The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   725 BARRY SULLIVAN It Takes All Kinds (1969)
   743 LEO MCKERN WEB OF EVIDENCE (1959)
   759 NEHEMIAH PERSOFF The Wrong Man (1956)
   760 LEE MARVIN Sergeant Ryker (1968)
   760 LEE MARVIN The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   781 EDWARD ANDREWS A TIGER WALKS (1964)
   785 JAMES BROWN THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER (1953)
   787 IRENE PAPAS Into the Night (1985)
   846 MARTIN BENSON 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET (1956)
   866 PERCY HERBERT A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   877 LLOYD NOLAN Sergeant Ryker (1968)
   904 JACK ALBERTSON A TIGER WALKS (1964)
   907 STROTHER MARTIN The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   909 JAMES STEWART The FBI Story (1959)
   909 JAMES STEWART The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   935 STERLING HAYDEN So Big (1953)
   966 JIM BACKUS The Rose Bowl Story (1952)
   974 CECIL PARKER 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
   977 ROBERT FLEMYNG A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   998 ADAM WEST THE FBI STORY (1959)
   HM (863) EDMOND O’BRIEN The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   HM (961) DAVID BOWIE INTO THE NIGHT (1985)

   Vera worked with 14 Academy Award Winners

   CLIFF ROBERTSON Autumn Leaves (1956)
   EDMOND O’BRIEN The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   GEORGE SANDERS A TOUCH OF LARCENY (1960)
   HENRY FONDA The Wrong Man (1956)
   JAMES STEWART The FBI Story (1959)
   JAMES STEWART The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   JANE WYMAN So Big (1953)
   JOAN CRAWFORD Autumn Leaves (1956)
   JODIE FOSTER One Little Indian (1973)
   JOHN WAYNE Hellfighters (1968)
   JOHN WAYNE The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   JOHN WAYNE The Searchers (1956)
   LEE MARVIN Sergeant Ryker (1968)
   LEE MARVIN The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
   MARTIN BALSAM Psycho (1960)
   SUSAN HAYWARD Back Street (1961)
   VAN HEFLIN 5 Branded Women (1960)
   WALTER BRENNAN Those Calloways (1965)

   Reply

   1. Hey Dan
      1. Thanks for these lists…they are always appreciated.
      2. Wow….shocked she is on the Oracle 1000….though I suspect….especially since she has not worked in almost a quarter of a century that she is quickly falling down the list.
      3. First list….good to see John Wayne as her most frequent Oracle co-star….3 movies…and could have been 4 if her Green Berets part had not reached the cutting role floor at the last minute.
      4. Good ole Kurt Russell…..sadly Kurt is becoming one of the last connections to the good ole days of Hollywood….I wonder how much he remembers from his teenage days hanging out with Elvis, James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, Walt Disney and so many others.
      5. 14 Oscar winning co-stars would fall under the less than average category…..but at least it is in double digits.
      Good stuff as always!

      Reply

3. Vera Miles, Psycho’s other leading lady. And she’s still with us.

   Bob’s movie buff pals probably haven’t seen Psycho in decades, otherwise how can they forget Lila Crane in that creepy house searching for her sister and finding Norman Bates murderous mother hiding in the cellar… boo! 😉

   I’ve seen 10 of the 34 films on the chart, favorites are – Psycho, Psycho II, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

   The Wrong Man isn’t one of my favorite Hitchock movies. I, Confess is the other 50’s Hitch I rarely watch.

   I do enjoy The Trouble With Harry, even though there’s not much to it.

   Looking at the adjusted box office chart – Psycho was a huge hit, a sensation in it’s time.

   Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up.

   Reply

   1. My goodness – with that Stevie guy any mention of the Amazing Alfred, Psycho or anything related to it is like switching on a record!

      Trouble with Harry is actually my own least fave Hitch movie, followed by Wrong Man. Rear Window and Psycho would vie for the accolade of my most fave followed by the movies Hitch indicated in the 1950s that he would like to make with the Great Mumbler which never came to pass.

      All kidding aside though Hitch is one of the few directors in old Hollywood whose status and Legend have equaled that of the greatest stars. I have always considered him as the John Wayne of directors in terms of popular recognition and prestige. We shall never see his like again is an old cliche but it applies to Hitch. Indeed in a fairer word Alfred would have been Irish – or at least a Mancunian!

      Reply

      1. Hey Bob…..hmmmm….Steve and Hitch….it sounds a little bit like another UMR Hall of Famer, you know the one that talks about Brando all the time….lol. Good points on Hitch. Good stuff!

         Reply

   2. Hey Steve.
      1. Tally count….Steve 10, Flora 9 and me 9. Though I suspect Bob has the most…as his comment mentions 8……and I would be shocked if he had not seen Hellfighters….plus at least one or two of her 1950s movies.
      2. I agree….it is hard to forget Miles in Psycho….after Leigh’s supporting role ends…it turns into a John Gavin/Vera Miles mystery movie.
      3. I have seen all of your favorites and like them all….with The Psycho Who Shot Liberty Valance being my Top 2.
      4. Both I, Confess and The Wrong Man are decent movies…but not ones I re-watch very regularly. I imagine that I have only watched The Wrong Man once….and that total is so low when I think about all the times I have seen the Grant/Hitch movies, the Stewart/Hitch movies and other Hitch movies.
      5. Psycho is currently ranked as the 163rd biggest hit of all-time at Box Office Mojo (that information is still there….but for how much longer) and 212th on our UMR Top Ticket sellers list (that information will always be out there).
      6. Thanks for the voted up, the visit and the tally count. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

4. I’m so glad you produced this page while Vera Miles is still alive. Great that she worked with my favourite director twice.

   Before I comment on how many movies I have seen, one correction. In the co-star column for The Wrong Man, you have Henry Fonda listed as Henry Fonday. A correction would add the Henry Fonda link to his page.

   Also, I must disagree with Bob who says that it is hard to remember Vera Miles in Psycho. After all, an iconic scene is her going into the basement and pushing Mother around to see she is a skeleton and screaming her head off and then Norman as Mother going to kill her to be tacked by John Gavin.

   I have only seen 9 Vera Miles movies. However, 7 of these are in the top 10.

   The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is Psycho.

   The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Follow Me Boys.

   The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is A Touch of Larceny.

   Favourite Vera Miles Movies:

   Psycho
   The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
   The Searchers
   Back Street
   The Wrong Man – based on a true story

   Other Vera Miles Movies I Have Seen:

   The F.B.I Story
   Wichita
   Autumn Leaves
   A Touch of Larceny

   Reply

   1. Hey Flora….shocked we are tied with a tally count of 9. I figured you would destroy my tally (as you normally do). Luckily…that Fonda/Fonday error was not out there long….it has since been fixed…thanks for the heads up on that error. I agree with you. The second half of the movie is a Vera Miles movie….it is just not as shocking as the infamous shower scene. I have seen 4 of your 5 favorites….with Back Street escaping me. I am not a huge fan of The F.B.I. Story….it is more of an advertisement for the greatness of the FBI than it is a movie. I would like to see Autumn Leaves…even though it did not make your favorites list. One of Joan Crawford’s last leading roles. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

5. HI BRUCE: When a movie buff like me thinks of Vera Miles, that buff immediately thinks of her as a Hitchcock girl because of Psycho. Yet I think that the only other movie that Hitch directed her in is Fonda’s The Wrong Man [?] the great Alfred’s weakest effort in my opinion that I personally have seen.

   Also when most people recall Psycho they probably will remember mainly Janet and that shower scene, and the now legendary figure(s) of Norman/Mother. Some in my movie buffs group say they can’t clearly remember Vera in Psycho at all– and for goodness sake those guys and gals are so movies-knowledgeable they know who even Joel is [and I don’t mean just McCrea]!

   Vera was good in the Searchers, but The Duke overshadowed EVERYONE in that one in what one film historian insists was the “finest male movie performance of the 1950s” [that could well be an understatement: even Hirsch gives his own joint-favourite whipping boy 4 stars for The Searchers].

   However Vera was always pleasant to watch and she particularly impressed me in the following other movies: Liberty Valance, Wichita, FBI Story, Beau James and 23 Paces to baker Street. So I’ll get in a “Vote Up” for Vera’s page before Mr Posters does. Her page is sure to attract him like a magnet as it will give him an opportunity to again bore the a** of us all by drooling about how great a guy that Limey Hitch was.

   I last saw Vera in an episode of the Columbo television series [1973’s Lovely but Lethal] In that one she was in complete contrast to the ‘nice girl’ she often played [though not in my Joan’s Autumn Leaves] in her peak years in the movies: she “offered” herself to the young Marty Sheen in return for a valuable formula and when he refused to part with it she murdered him! Her net worth is reportedly $8 million dollars right now. Amazing she’s 90.

   Reply

   1. Hey Bob….thanks for the comment on Vera Miles. You are correct, Hitchcock had her under contract for years…yet they only made two movies together…The Wrong Man and Psycho. I would put Topaz as his weakest effort…..as for The Wrong Man…..I thought Fonda was pretty good in the lead role…..but it would be in my bottom half of Hitch movies.

      Speaking of Joel…I thought he had a page on her….but she is not in “the book”. Of the ones that impressed you….I liked The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance the best…..not too impressed with the FBI Story. Good stuff on Vera and Columbo. 90 and still going strong…and with 8 million dollars to play around with…not too bad. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.