William Holden Movies

William Holden in 1969's The Wild Bunch
William Holden in 1969’s The Wild Bunch

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

This William Holden page comes from a suggestion from fellow movie watcher mckbirdbks, as well as lots of Holden support from more movie lovers Steve Lensman, Flora Breen Robison and BERN1960 (whose every comment lately has been…”still waiting on that William Holden page”). So without any further delay…here is a movie page on the one… the only…. William Holden.

William Holden (1918-1981) was an Oscar® winning actor who appeared in motion pictures from 1939 to 1981. After appearing in two uncredited parts, Holden got his big break in 1939’s Golden Boy. Golden Boy was not a huge hit, but people became aware of William Holden the actor. For the next 10 years, he appeared in numerous movies, but it is safe to say his career was disappointing. That changed when Holden appeared in 1950’s Sunset Boulevard. He received his first Oscar® nomination for that role and it started a 10 year run for Holden that was filled with classic blockbuster movies. He won an Oscar® for 1953’s Stalag 17, appeared in the box office hits….1954’s Sabrina, 1954’s The Bridges of Toko-Ri, and 1955’s Picnic. He also helped Grace Kelly win her Oscar® for 1954’s The Country Girl and was the lead actor in 1957’s The Bridge on the River Kwai…which won the Oscar® for Best Picture.

From 1962 to 1981, Holden would appear in almost one movie a year. During this time period only three movies really stand out….1969’s The Wild Bunch, 1974’s The Towering Inferno and 1976’s Network….for which Holden would receive his final Oscar® nomination. William Holden passed away in November 1981 from injuries from a fall and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. And finally…… one of my father’s favorite movies was The Bridge on the River Kwai….so I am sure he would be happy to see that it finished ranked number one of all of Holden’s movies according to Cogerson Movie Score.

His IMDb page shows 77 acting credits from 1938-1981. This page will rank 66 William Holden movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, cameos and his uncredited or bit roles were not included in the rankings.

What a cast! Bogart, Hepburn and William Holden in 1954's Sabrina
What a cast! Bogart, Hepburn and William Holden in 1954’s Sabrina

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

William Holden 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 William Holden movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort William Holden movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort William Holden movies by yearly box office rank
  • Sort William Holden movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort William Holden movies by how many Oscar® nominations and Oscar® wins each movie won received
  • Sort William Holden 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.
 
William Holden in his Oscar® winning performance in 1953's Stalag 17
William Holden in his Oscar® winning performance in 1953’s Stalag 17

Possibly Interesting Facts About William Holden

1. William Holden was Ronald Reagan’s best man, when Reagan married Nancy Davis in 1952. Holden also did the honors for lifelong friend, Glenn Ford, when Ford married Cynthia Hayward in 1977.

2. According to the book, Golden Boy: The Untold Story of William Holden by Bob Thomas, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn considered getting married while filming the 1954’s Sabrina. Hepburn ended the relationship when she found out Holden could no longer have children. When Hepburn and Holden were filming 1964’s Paris When It Sizzles, Holden tried to rekindle the relationship. At one point, Holden climbed a tree outside Hepburn’s hotel window looking for a kiss from her. After the kiss, Holden promptly fell out of the tree and crashed landed on a parked car.

3. William Holden appeared on Quigley Publishing’s Top Ten Money Making Stars list six times between 1954-1961. In 1956 he appeared as the number one Top Money Making Star.

4. William Holden received 3 Oscar® nominations for acting. He won the Oscar® for 1953’s Stalag 17. His other two nominations were for 1950’s Sunset Boulevard and 1976’s Network. He never received a Golden Globe® nomination.

5. He was so grateful to Barbara Stanwyck for her insistence on casting him in 1939’s Golden Boy, that he sent her flowers every year on the anniversary of the first day of the filming. He was also grateful to Montgomery Clift for turning down the lead role in Sunset Boulevard. After Clift turned the role down, the role went to Holden. Sunset Boulevard is considered the turning point in Holden’s 40 year career.

6. Has one of the shortest acceptance speeches in the history of the Oscars®. When his named was called as Best Actor for Stalag 17, Holden walked to the podium, said “Thank you” and left the stage.

7. Entertainment Weekly voted William Holden as the 63rd Greatest Movie Star. Holden also finished 25th in the American Film Institute’s Greatest Screen Legends poll.

8. William Holden was married one time in his life. Holden married Ardis Ankerson in 1941. They divorced in 1971. William Holden had three children….sons Peter and Scott and daughter, Virginia. Virginia was Ankerson’s daughter from her first marriage. Holden legally adopted her.

9. Roles William Holden turned down or was seriously considered for: Strangers on a Train, North By Northwest, The Guns of Navarone, The Omen, The Americanization of Emily, Mister Roberts and The Trouble With Harry.

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

Steve’s William Holden You Tube Video

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

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109 thoughts on “William Holden Movies”

  1. I have only seen a few of his movies, but the ones I have seen are all classics in every sense of the word. The Wild Bunch is one of the best westerns, Network has one of the greatest lines ever “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore” and S.O.B. is very funny and a great look at Hollywood. The only other Holden movie I have seen is the Earthling which I saw a bunch of times a long time ago. Looking at your hub it looks like I should pay attention to his movie career in the 1950 s. Interesting hub as usual. Checking out the comments I will answer the trivia question, it is from one of the great scenes in The Wild Bunch of course

    Reply

    1. Hey hinton1966….well the three movies you picked are all good movies….The Wild Bunch was considered ultraviolent when it first came out but I bet it would be rated PG-13 these days. Network got Oscars for Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway….but Holden has the biggest part and the most likeable part…while Robert Duvall gets to play the evil network exectuive. SOB is a movie I have not seen in years…but one I want to see again….I think if you get a chance you should check out some of his movies from the 1950s…Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17 and The Bridge on the River Kwai…are all classics and made during his peak run….thanks for the comments

      Reply

  2. “If they move, kill em!” A classic Holden quote from which movie? Anyone?

    Excellent work Cogerson, one of my favourite Hollywood actors.

    Good to see River Kwai at the top of your list, which reminds me I should order the blu-ray.

    Another favourite I still watch regularly is Stalag 17, Charlton Heston was considered for the role but I can’t imagine anyone but Holden pulling it off so well. How he can make an unlikable character like Sefton likeable was deserving of the Oscar.

    I’ve never seen Country Girl or Picnic.

    Sunset Boulevard is a classic and Towering Inferno I usually watch every xmas.

    I wish more Oscar winners would just say thank you and leave instead of gushing at the podium for 15mins. 🙂

    “That boy has got to die!” Holden was good in Damien Omen II, an enjoyable sequel to The Omen. Give it a go Flora, there’s only one gory death scene when an elevator cable rips a man in half. 😉

    Reply

    1. Hey Steve…hey look it is a William Holden hub. I figured all those votes you placed for him….you should finally see his hub. I know the answer to your question…but I will refrain from answering….other than to say it is one of the Top 100 movies of all-time according to AFI…#80 on that list.

      The Blu-Ray on Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best out there…highly recommend buying it. Having seen Picnic and The Country Girl….I would recommed The Country Girl…more….if only to see Grace Kelly in her Oscar winning role and an awesome Bing Crosby as the alcoholic has been actor. I can not image Flora sitting down to watch Damien: Omen II…even if there is only one gory death scene….I remember as a kid that Damien used to scare the crap out of me. And finally with regards to leaving a comment…I will copy Holden and only say Thank you.

      Reply

  3. Too bad he never worked with Hitch! He would have been a wonderful addition to Hitch films-not as a villain as Hitch’s villains were rarely villains in their other films, but he could have played an everyman type role. I can see him being offered Forsythe’s role in Harry.

    Hooray for William holden!

    Of his top ten box office hits: I have seen 8 of them. Have not seen Casino Royale or dear Ruth (I haven’t even heard of Dear Ruth)

    Of hit Top Ten Critics Picks: I have seen 9 of them. the only one I’ve not seen is The Wild Bunch-bit too violent for me. For some stupid reason it is being remade.

    Of his top ten movie score hits: I have seen all ten. Hooray!

    I have seen 13 of his top 20, and 15 of his top 30, so the remainder of the films I’ve seen are all over the place.

    Overall: I have seen 26 of his films. That is 40% of his career. The highest ranking film I’ve seen outside of the top ten -those I’ve already said I’ve seen – is #12-The World of Suzie Wong. The lowest ranking is #63-Alvarez Kelly-ouch! It’s not a great film, but it isn’t bad enough to be down near the bottom. It should be somewhere in the middle, neither bad nor great.

    The films I’ve seen include two genres I do not normally watch-westerns and war films.

    The earliest film I’ve seen is his first credited role: Golden Boy.

    The latest film I’ve seen was his last: SOB.

    My 5 favourite films in alphabetical order that I could watch over and over:

    Born Yesterday-what? A comedy not starring Cary Grant?

    The Bridge on the River Kwai-a war film!

    Sabrina-well of course the better of the two films they made together, also with Bogart…

    Stalag 17-what, a POW film? me? Yes!I’m also a Peter Graves fan…

    Sunset Blvd-probably what you expected to see in my top five

    Now about that Alvarez Kelly. Yes, Widmark and Kelly work wonderful together. I am just not into cival war films told from the Confederate side. I do watch it when it is on TV. But I do not own a copy.

    I am interested in seeing any film he made during the studio system era that I haven’t seen.

    I am not interested and do not want to *ever* see Damien: The Omen Part II. I’d rather watch The Wild Bunch and that is not my kind of western.

    Reply

    1. Hey Flora…hard to believe Hitch and Holden did not make a movie together…especially since Hitch offered him a few roles. I think Holden would have been a better lead in Torn Curtain or Trouble With Harry…but no way could he replace the great Cary Grant.

      A little bit about Dear Ruth..(1) It was so popular it actually has a sequel 1949’s Dear Wife and (2) There is an urban legend that J.D. Salinger got the name for his hero Holden Caulfield in “The Catcher in the Rye” when he saw a marquee for Dear Ruth, starring ‘William Holden’ and Joan Caulfield, but it is not true.

      You double the amount of William Holden movies I have seen as I have only seen 13 of the 66. I have seen all 5 of your Top 5 movies…with Bridge on the River Kwai being my favorite…if only because it reminds me of my father so much. Stalag 17 is great as well …another favorite of my father’s. I have not seen S.O.B. lately but I remember it playing on HBO all the time during the 1980s.

      As for Alvarez Kelly…I went and checked out my Richard Widmark hub….and it came in at #53 for him…so it is being ranked pretty close to both actors….I have not seen the movie….but I know my local library has the movie so maybe I will check it out….as always I greatly appreciate your very detailed comments.

      Reply

  4. Thankk you Cogerson. William Holden is a true Hollywood star. You have done a great job here. I sit trying to imagine him as Mr. Roberts. And funny thing, I can imagine it. An odd fact, William Holden’s role in ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’, does not appear in the book.

    Now, I am having a hard time seeing him in the lead role in ‘Norh by Northwest’.

    Reply

    1. Hey mcbirdbks….it might have taken awhile…but your request is finally here…..I figured after 3 second place finishes in the polls…and the fact that my mother wanted to see a Holden hub…it was time to do one. I agree with you…I can see Holden in Mister Roberts…but no way can I see him in North by Northwest….it is amazing that Hitchcock wanted him in so many movies…and yet they managed to not make one together….glad you like the hub and I appreciate your votes up.

      Reply

  5. GREAT WEB SITE ON WILLIAM HOLDEN. I recently saw Apartment for Peggy on TV. It was as good as I remembered. He was a very good actor and I always enjoyed his films. The Wild Bunch was a violent movie though – so many wonderful films that he wss in. Thanks for all the informatiion.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for stopping by BERN1960. Sorry you thought The Wild Bunch was so violent. Glad you liked all the information.

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      1. Hello Cogerson – a special thank you from your mother. I have always enjoyed seeing William Holden on screen. He made some great movies and too many to mention as my favorite films. YOU DID NOT MENTION THE ANIMAL SHELTER OR HOME IN AFRICA HE SET UP AND THAT STEPHANIE POWERS CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN IN HIS MEMORY. GREAT HUB. THANKS FROM A GREATFUL MOM. LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE OF YOUR WONDERFUL PAges.

        Reply

        1. Hey BERN1960/Mom….I am glad you like the William Holden hub…I think Dad would have liked seeing The Bridge on the River Kwai as the number one rated movie…but he would have said Stalag 17 was too low at #8. Thanks for sharing about Holden and his animal shelters he and long time partner Stefanie Powers set up and still operate today….as always thanks for the comments.

          Reply

    2. Cogerson’s Mom-I remember Peter Graves saying when he hosted Biography on A&E that Holden wanted to be remembered for his charity work more than be remembered for his acting.

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      1. Hey Flora….my mother has told me that I have not emphasized William Holden’s charity work enough…so here is a little more information….the William Holden Wildlife Foundation was founded to carry on his important efforts and to meet the ever-increasing demand for alternatives to extinction. The foundation�s education program currently serves over 10,000 students per year. Holden was also managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa.

        Reply

        1. Cogerson – thanks for the update on William Holden’s charity work. Very important news for preventing extinction. Remember the Star Trek movie The Voyage Home where they go back in time to get Humpback Whales that we humans had nearly destroyed and that affected the future…THANKS AGAIN.

          Reply

          1. Hey Bern1960….yep I realize that human beings can be harsh on animals and the environment…..but knowing Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock can travel back in time and right our wrongs makes me feel better. I am glad William Holden was not only concerned about animals…but that he actually did something about that concern.

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