Wallace Beery Movies

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

Wallace Beery (1885-1949) was an American Oscar® winning actor.  Beery has an incredible 241 acting credits on his IMDb page.  Sadly were not able to find box office grosses on many of his silent movies in the 1910s and 1920s.  We did find box office information on all of his movies from 1930 to 1949…as well as handful of his silent movies.  This page will rank Wallace Beery movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Shorts, cameos and many of his silent movies were not included in the rankings. This page comes from a request by Søren.

Wallace Beery in his Oscar winning role in 1931’s The Champ

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

Wallace Beery 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 any way you want.

  • Sort Wallace Beery movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Wallace Beery movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Wallace Beery movies by domestic box office rank
  • Sort Wallace Beery 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 Wallace Beery movie received and how many Oscar® wins each movie won.
  • Sort Wallace Beery 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 search and sort button to make this page very interactive.
 
Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery in 1932’s Grand Hotel

Possibly Interesting Facts About Wallace Beery

1. Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was born in Clay County, Missouri in 1885.

2. At the age of 16 Wallace Beery ran away from home and joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant elephant trainer.

3. At the age of 19 Wallace Beery joined his brother, Noah Beery, in New York.  He soon after began appearing on Broadway.  By the time he was 30 he was appearing in silent movies.

4. Wallace Beery was married 2 times.  Her first marriage was to actress Gloria “Sunset Blvd.” Swanson from 1916 to 1919.  His second marriage was to Rita Gilman from 1924 to 1939.  Gilman and Beery had one child…..a daughter named Carol Ann.

5. Wallace Beery’s nephew was Noah Beery, Jr.  Noah Beery Jr. had 173 IMDb credits…..but he is best remembered for playing James Garner’s dad in the television show The Rockford Files.

6. Wallace Beery was nominated for two Best Actor Oscars®.  Beery first nomination was for 1930’s The Big House.  He won the Best Actor Oscar® for 1931’s The Champ.  Beery shared the Oscar® win with Frederic March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)..though legend has it that Beery actually got one less vote than March….but the rules at the time declared it a tie…so they both got Oscars®.

7. Wallace Beery almost played the title role in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz but due to other film roles at MGM, he was forced to turn down the role.  Beery turned down the role of Captain William Bligh in 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty  because he was unwilling to work with Clark Gable.

8.  Wallace Beery insisted on being paid $1 more than any other MGM star. In 1932 he was paid  $10,001 a week. That made him the highest-salaried actor in the world at the time.

9.  From 1916 to 1951 Wallace Beery held the world’s record for the largest black sea bass. He caught the fish off California’s Santa Catalina Island.

10. Check out Wallace Berry‘s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Adjusted Worlwide Box Office Grosses on 21 Wallace Beery Movies

  1. China Seas (1935) $287.60 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  2. Grand Hotel (1932) $283.20 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  3. Tugboat Annie (1933) $268.70 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  4. Hell Divers (1931) $256.70 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  5. A Date With Judy (1948) $254.30 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  6. Treasure Island (1934) $237.90 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  7. Dinner at Eight (1933) $225.40 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  8. The Big House (1930) $221.90 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  9. Stand Up And Fight (1939) $221.50 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  10. The Bowery (1933) $209.50 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  11. Min and Bill (1931) $209.30 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  12. Stablemates (1938) $198.10 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  13. Viva Villa! (1934) $196.50 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  14. West Point Of The Air (1935) $131.90 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  15. The Secret Six (1931) $118.10 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  16. The Mighty McGurk (1947) $110.00 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  17. Jackass Mail (1942) $108.10 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  18. A Lady’s Morals (1930) $98.50 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  19. Way For A Soldier (1930) $82.00 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  20. Alias A Gentleman (1948) $75.20 million in adjusted worldwide box office
  21. Big Jack (1949) $49.30 million in adjusted worldwide box office

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.  Golden Globe® is a registered trademark of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

Steve’s Wallace Beery YouTube Video

 

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51 thoughts on “Wallace Beery Movies”

  1. There are only 2 people on the current Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. 1 Appeared with Wally 4 times and has since passed on and the other is still living.

    Ah, Wilderness! (1935) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Slave Ship (1937) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    Stablemates (1938) – 245 Mickey Rooney
    The Mighty McGurk (1947) – 198 Dean Stockwell
    West Point of the Air (1935) – 245 Mickey Rooney

    The following actors who appeared on the original list back in 2000 and have fallen off are listed below with their 2000 rank. Besides the immortal Bess Flowers 3 others on the list appeared with him in a film in the 1920’s. One was 11 years old in that 1922 epic which starred Douglas Fairbanks.

    20 Mule Team (1940) – 506 Douglas Fowley
    A Date with Judy (1948) – 120 Robert Stack, 222 Bess Flowers, 281 Elizabeth Taylor, 959 Leon Ames
    A Message to Garcia (1936) – John Carradine
    Alias a Gentleman (1948) – 50 Jeff Corey, 740 George Chandler, 959 Leon Ames
    Barbary Coast Gent (1944) – 14 John Carradine, 969 Byron Foulger
    Barnacle Bill (1941) – 571 Charles Lane
    Big Jack (1949) – 379 Ann Doran, 503 Richard Conte
    China Seas (1935) – 234 Akim Tamiroff
    Old Hutch (1936) – 740 George Chandler
    Old Ironsides (1926) – 222 Bess Flowers
    Rationing (1944) – 506 Douglas Fowley
    Robin Hood (1922) – 379 Ann Doran
    Salute to the Marines (1943) – 278 Keye Luke, 508 Robert Blake, 859 Myron Healey, 963 Frank Ferguson
    Sergeant Madden (1939) – 27 Marc Lawrence, 222 Bess Flowers, 783 James Flavin
    Slave Ship (1937) – 323 George Sanders
    The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937) – 783 James Flavin, 989 Bruce Cabot
    The Bowery (1933) – 410 George Raft, 571 Charles Lane
    The Bugle Sounds (1942) – 682 Ray Teal
    The Lost World (1925) – 384 Gilbert Roland, 515 Bessie Love
    The Mighty Barnum (1934) – 100 Ian Wolfe
    The Mighty McGurk (1947) – 75 Cameron Mitchell, 783 James Flavin
    The Secret Sin (1931) – 507 Ralph Bellamy
    This Man’s Navy (1945) – 740 George Chandler
    Thunder Afloat (1939) – 571 Charles Lane, 959 Leon Ames
    Way for a Sailor (1930) – 187 Ray Milland

    Wallace appeared with 20 Oscar winners in films including 1 in 1917! Check out the infamous comedy short with an actual plot that has Wallace and 6 other Oscar winners and numerous others in it.

    20 Mule Team (1940) – Anne Baxter
    A Date with Judy (1948) – Elizabeth Taylor
    Ah, Wilderness! (1935) – Lionel Barrymore
    China Seas (1935) – Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel
    Dinner at Eight (1933) – Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler
    Grand Hotel (1932) – Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore
    Hell Divers (1931) – Clark Gable
    Johanna Enlists (1918) – Mary Pickford
    Min and Bill (1930) – Marie Dressler
    Old Ironsides (1926) – Gary Cooper
    Rugged Water (1925) – Warner Baxter
    Slave Ship (1937) – George Sanders, Jane Darwell, Joseph Schildkraut, Warner Baxter
    The Bad Man (1941) – Lionel Barrymore
    The Bugle Sounds (1942) – Donna Reed
    The Little American (1917) – Mary Pickford
    The Secret Six (1931) – Clark Gable
    The Slippery Pearls (1931) – Gary Cooper, Victor McLaglen, Warner Baxter, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Loretta Young
    Treasure Island (1934) – Lionel Barrymore
    Tugboat Annie (1933) – Marie Dressler
    Viva Villa! (1934) – Joseph Schildkraut
    Way for a Sailor (1930) – 187 Ray Milland
    West Point of the Air (1935) – Walter Brennan

    Reply

    2. Hey Dan…..thanks for the lists.
      1. I figured Dean Stockwell and Mickey Rooney would be listed here.
      2. Speaking of Dean Stockwell….seems he is a forgotten treasure…..you never hear him talking about the old days…..in one of the Warner Brothers famous pictures they got all their legends together for a studio picture….and there is little Dean sitting amongst all-time legends…the man has to have some great stories.
      3. It is scary to think that some of those movies are rapidly closing in on 100 years….so to see them on the 2000 Oracle list is impressive.
      4. Robert Blake at 508…seems he is never in the news anymore…..I actually had to check to see if he was still alive….83 and still alive and still out of jail.
      5. The Slippery Pearls?…is that also known as The Stolen Jools? I can actually watch that 20 minute short…..just have never gotten around to it…..but boy is it loaded with stars.
      6. 20 is a pretty good total for a person that passed away in 1949. Looks Slippery Pearls and Slave Ship were loaded with Oscar winners.
      As always…thanks for the comment and for checking out our latest page.

      Reply

        1. I need to check that movie out….it is only 21 minutes long….but packed with stars….I have picked up that DVD many many times….but I never checked it out. Thanks for the information.

          Reply

    1. Hey Dan….thanks for the catch….it took me many views before I realized my mistake….I kept reading Soldier and saying Sailor….I blame the long car ride yesterday….lol. It is fixed now…here and in my database.

      Reply

  3. Hi

    For someone who had so much success and yet to most young people, he’d be completely unheard of. I would say his golden period would be from ’30 to ’35. After that, although still a star, the quality of his movies seemed to decline. Although still making money.
    I would say his best movie was Dinner at Eight, followed by Grand Hotel. I seen Min and Bill many years ago as a kid, also The Champ, apparently he didn’t treat Jackie Cooper, his young co-star, very well.
    Strange he won the Oscar as a tie, as it wasn’t a tie, he was one vote behind. But I suppose he got it for sentimental reasons. The remake of The Champ isn’t bad.
    Interesting page, who’s next!

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris….wow you found this page quick….I have not even gotten around to pushing the page to the sites I usually share the links at. I would agree with you his peak would have been from The Big House (1930) and China Seas (1935). He was very successful as a supporting actor in his silent days….but at first the studios did not like his voice….so he was contract less for awhile….before hitting it big with The Big House. I have only seen 4 of his movies…but all 4 are the “golden period” you mentioned….Dinner At Eight, Grand Hotel, The Champ and China Seas.

      From what I read….he was more than a little difficult to get along with…..Gloria Swanson did not have many nice things to say about him…..so reading that he did not treat Jackie Cooper well…is not a surprise at all. There is a story that he bullied his way into that tie. Back then….the studios announced who won….so they would show up and get their Oscar…apparently Beery heard he lost by one vote…..and stormed into Louis B. Mayer’s office and demanded/begged (depends on what story you believe) for the Oscar……at which point a tie was declared……after that Price Waterhouse took over that voting process.

      As always…..I appreciate you sharing your movie thoughts…..good comment as always.

      Reply

  4. Actually I forgot to add the HOF after my name. That is what happens when you make the Hall of Fame. It makes my signature even more valuable. 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hey Stein HOF……your add on looks good…..I figure since we inducted you into our UMR Hall of Fame….you have the right to make your signature more valuable….lol. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

  5. Nice! The first page of 2017. Have to say I have always liked his acting but he might be one of the least handsome leading men ever. I like the trivia. I had no idea he was married to Swanson. Too bad his silent movies did not make the page.

    Reply

    1. Hey Stein…thanks for checking out our first page of 2017….I would agree he was a rugged looking man…..but he had a great screen presence. Yeah….I wish I would have found more of his silent movies too….but I think 53 Beery movies is a pretty good sample of his career…..the Numbers.com only has 2 of his movies…so I have them beat…lol.

      Reply

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