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.
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.
Year
Movie (Year)
Rating
S
Year Movie (Year) Rating S
1957
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
AA Best Picture Win
1976
Network (1976)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1950
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
AA Best Picture Nom
AA Best Actor Nom
1950
Born Yesterday (1950)
AA Best Picture Nom
1954
The Country Girl (1954)
AA Best Picture Nom
1954
Sabrina (1954)
1953
Stalag 17 (1953)
AA Best Actor Win
1974
The Towering Inferno (1974)
AA Best Picture Nom
1955
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)
AA Best Picture Nom
1955
Picnic (1955)
AA Best Picture Nom
1954
Executive Suite (1954)
1954
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
1947
Dear Ruth (1947)
1959
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
1960
The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
1956
The Proud and Profane (1956)
1969
The Wild Bunch (1969)
1948
Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
1948
Apartment For Peggy (1948)
1942
The Fleet's in (1942)
1953
The Moon Is Blue (1953)
1947
Blaze of Noon (1947)
1962
The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
1967
Casino Royale (1967)
1940
Our Town (1940)
AA Best Picture Nom
1956
Toward The Unknown (1956)
1949
Dear Wife (1949)
1941
I Wanted Wings (1941)
1968
The Devil's Brigade (1968)
1958
The Key (1958)
1948
The Man From Colorado (1948)
1939
Golden Boy (1939)
1939
Invisible Stripes (1939)
1953
Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
1978
Damien: Omen II (1978)
1950
Union Station (1950)
1940
Arizona (1940)
1981
S.O.B. (1981)
1951
Force of Arms (1951)
1949
Streets of Laredo (1949)
1951
Submarine Command (1951)
1964
Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
1978
Fedora (1978)
1962
The Lion (1962)
1973
Breezy (1973)
1949
Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)
1952
Boots Malone (1952)
1942
The Remarkable Andrew (1942)
1940
Those Where The Days! (1940)
1980
The Earthling (1980)
1953
Forever Female (1953)
1941
Texas (1941)
1964
The 7th Dawn (1964)
1972
The Revengers (1972)
1943
Young and Willing (1943)
1952
The Turning Point (1952)
1974
Open Season (1974)
1962
Satan Never Sleeps (1962)
1950
Father is a Bachelor (1950)
1948
The Dark Past (1948)
1971
Wild Rovers (1971)
1966
Alvarez Kelly (1966)
1942
Meet The Stewarts (1942)
1969
The Christmas Tree (1969)
1979
Escape to Athena (1979)
Cameo
1979
Ashanti (1979)
1980
When Time Ran Out... (1980)
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.
| 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 |
| 1 | The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) AA Best Picture Win |
Alec Guinness & Directed by David Lean |
30.40 | 586.2 | 586.20 | 1 | 88 | 08 / 07 | 99.9 | |
| 2 | Network (1976) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Faye Dunaway & Robert Duvall |
42.20 | 213.5 | 213.50 | 13 | 91 | 10 / 04 | 99.7 | |
| 4 | Sunset Blvd. (1950) AA Best Picture Nom AA Best Actor Nom |
Gloria Swanson & Directed by Billy Wilder |
6.70 | 150.8 | 150.80 | 24 | 90 | 11 / 03 | 99.0 | |
| 3 | Born Yesterday (1950) AA Best Picture Nom |
Judy Holliday & Directed by George Cukor |
11.80 | 264.0 | 264.00 | 5 | 81 | 05 / 01 | 99.0 | |
| 5 | The Country Girl (1954) AA Best Picture Nom |
Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly |
18.30 | 428.5 | 428.50 | 6 | 77 | 07 / 02 | 98.9 | |
| 5 | Sabrina (1954) | Humphrey Bogart & Audrey Hepburn |
11.40 | 267.8 | 267.80 | 21 | 83 | 06 / 01 | 98.8 | |
| 7 | Stalag 17 (1953) AA Best Actor Win |
Directed by Billy Wilder | 10.00 | 179.7 | 179.70 | 17 | 89 | 03 / 01 | 98.5 | |
| 6 | The Towering Inferno (1974) AA Best Picture Nom |
Paul Newman & Steve McQueen |
114.80 | 662.1 | 662.10 | 2 | 69 | 08 / 03 | 98.3 | |
| 7 | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jennifer Jones | 11.40 | 236.9 | 236.90 | 26 | 68 | 08 / 03 | 98.2 | |
| 9 | Picnic (1955) AA Best Picture Nom |
Kim Novak & Rosalind Russell |
18.10 | 376.1 | 376.10 | 9 | 65 | 06 / 02 | 97.1 | |
| 11 | Executive Suite (1954) | Barbara Stanwyck | 7.70 | 179.6 | 240.00 | 36 | 80 | 04 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 11 | The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) | Grace Kelly | 14.30 | 334.8 | 334.80 | 11 | 73 | 02 / 01 | 96.5 | |
| 12 | Dear Ruth (1947) | Joan Caulfield | 10.30 | 299.2 | 299.20 | 15 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 96.2 | |
| 16 | The Horse Soldiers (1959) | John Wayne | 10.90 | 195.1 | 195.10 | 21 | 76 | 00 / 00 | 96.1 | |
| 13 | The World of Suzie Wong (1960) | Nancy Kwan | 21.40 | 334.8 | 334.80 | 7 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 94.7 | |
| 17 | The Proud and Profane (1956) | Deborah Kerr | 11.10 | 218.4 | 218.40 | 23 | 62 | 02 / 00 | 93.5 | |
| 18 | The Wild Bunch (1969) | Ernest Borgnine & Warren Oates |
15.10 | 115.0 | 115.00 | 21 | 89 | 02 / 00 | 93.4 | |
| 19 | Rachel and the Stranger (1948) | Robert Mitchum | 6.30 | 170.2 | 203.20 | 39 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 92.3 | |
| 21 | Apartment For Peggy (1948) | Jeanne Crain | 7.20 | 195.0 | 195.00 | 30 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 92.1 | |
| 22 | The Fleet's in (1942) | Eddie Bracken | 5.00 | 185.9 | 185.90 | 45 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 90.7 | |
| 20 | The Moon Is Blue (1953) | Maggie McNamara | 12.40 | 222.6 | 222.60 | 11 | 52 | 03 / 00 | 90.6 | |
| 23 | Blaze of Noon (1947) | Anne Baxter | 5.00 | 145.7 | 145.70 | 68 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 87.1 | |
| 25 | The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) | Lilli Palmer | 7.70 | 110.9 | 110.90 | 32 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 25 | Casino Royale (1967) | David Niven & Woody Allen |
22.40 | 199.9 | 369.20 | 13 | 42 | 01 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 25 | Our Town (1940) AA Best Picture Nom |
Martha Scott | 1.80 | 68.4 | 68.40 | 117 | 77 | 00 / 00 | 85.7 | |
| 26 | Toward The Unknown (1956) | James Garner | 6.30 | 123.2 | 123.20 | 41 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 83.8 | |
| 28 | Dear Wife (1949) | Joan Caulfield | 4.80 | 120.1 | 120.10 | 61 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 83.6 | |
| 29 | I Wanted Wings (1941) | Ray Milland | 3.10 | 118.0 | 118.00 | 82 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 83.2 | |
| 27 | The Devil's Brigade (1968) | Cliff Robertson | 12.00 | 98.7 | 98.70 | 32 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 83.1 | |
| 30 | The Key (1958) | Sophia Loren | 6.30 | 112.9 | 112.90 | 39 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 82.3 | |
| 32 | The Man From Colorado (1948) | Glenn Ford | 5.30 | 141.8 | 141.80 | 67 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 81.0 | |
| 33 | Golden Boy (1939) | Barbara Stanwyck | 3.00 | 116.2 | 116.20 | 75 | 56 | 01 / 00 | 80.3 | |
| 31 | Invisible Stripes (1939) | Humphrey Bogart | 2.50 | 97.8 | 138.40 | 95 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 79.8 | |
| 35 | Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) | Eleanor Parker | 4.60 | 83.0 | 171.90 | 73 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 78.4 | |
| 37 | Damien: Omen II (1978) | Lee Grant | 26.80 | 123.4 | 123.40 | 24 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 78.3 | |
| 35 | Union Station (1950) | Nancy Olson | 4.10 | 91.4 | 91.40 | 76 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 77.8 | |
| 38 | Arizona (1940) | Jean Arthur | 2.80 | 108.4 | 108.40 | 60 | 56 | 00 / 00 | 77.6 | |
| 36 | S.O.B. (1981) | Julie Andrews | 14.90 | 57.7 | 57.70 | 58 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 76.4 | |
| 39 | Force of Arms (1951) | Nancy Olson | 4.00 | 86.9 | 121.70 | 89 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 76.2 | |
| 40 | Streets of Laredo (1949) | Macdonald Carey | 6.00 | 149.7 | 149.70 | 37 | 41 | 00 / 00 | 76.1 | |
| 41 | Submarine Command (1951) | Nancy Olson | 3.10 | 66.5 | 66.50 | 118 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 68.7 | |
| 43 | Paris When It Sizzles (1964) | Audrey Hepburn | 5.70 | 65.5 | 65.50 | 49 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 66.3 | |
| 42 | Fedora (1978) | Marthe Keller | 2.20 | 10.2 | 10.20 | 105 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 63.7 | |
| 44 | The Lion (1962) | Trevor Howard | 3.40 | 49.3 | 49.30 | 69 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 63.6 | |
| 45 | Breezy (1973) | Directed by Clint Eastwood | 5.30 | 32.3 | 32.30 | 59 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 61.3 | |
| 46 | Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) | Lucille Ball | 1.00 | 24.4 | 24.40 | 183 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 60.6 | |
| 48 | Boots Malone (1952) | Stanley Clements | 1.90 | 38.1 | 38.10 | 160 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 60.3 | |
| 49 | The Remarkable Andrew (1942) | Brian Donlevy | 1.10 | 42.5 | 42.50 | 169 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 60.3 | |
| 50 | Those Where The Days! (1940) | Bonita Granville | 1.10 | 41.3 | 41.30 | 161 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 59.6 | |
| 50 | The Earthling (1980) | Ricky Schroder | 0.50 | 1.9 | 1.90 | 168 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 57.9 | |
| 51 | Forever Female (1953) | Ginger Rogers | 2.50 | 44.4 | 44.40 | 144 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 56.1 | |
| 53 | Texas (1941) | Glenn Ford | 2.40 | 92.6 | 92.60 | 99 | 42 | 00 / 00 | 53.0 | |
| 52 | The 7th Dawn (1964) | Susannah York | 2.30 | 26.2 | 26.20 | 99 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 51.0 | |
| 54 | The Revengers (1972) | Susan Hayward & Ernest Borgnine |
4.50 | 28.8 | 28.80 | 68 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 46.5 | |
| 55 | Young and Willing (1943) | Susan Hayward | 1.40 | 50.0 | 50.00 | 132 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 45.9 | |
| 56 | The Turning Point (1952) | Edmond O'Brien | 1.10 | 21.8 | 21.80 | 196 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 41.9 | |
| 57 | Open Season (1974) | Peter Fonda | 1.40 | 8.0 | 8.00 | 124 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 36.7 | |
| 59 | Satan Never Sleeps (1962) | Clifton Webb | 3.70 | 53.4 | 53.40 | 64 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 36.3 | |
| 58 | Father is a Bachelor (1950) | Coleen Gray | 1.90 | 42.0 | 42.00 | 152 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 36.1 | |
| 61 | The Dark Past (1948) | Lee J. Cobb | 1.40 | 37.2 | 37.20 | 160 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 32.4 | |
| 60 | Wild Rovers (1971) | Ryan O'Neal | 5.50 | 35.6 | 35.60 | 58 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 32.2 | |
| 62 | Alvarez Kelly (1966) | Richard Widmark | 3.50 | 34.3 | 34.30 | 72 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 31.5 | |
| 63 | Meet The Stewarts (1942) | Frances Dee | 0.90 | 35.0 | 35.00 | 181 | 50 | 00 / 00 | 30.8 | |
| 64 | The Christmas Tree (1969) | Virna Lisi | 1.30 | 10.1 | 10.10 | 127 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 20.9 | |
| 65 | Escape to Athena (1979) Cameo |
David Niven & Roger Moore |
2.20 | 9.6 | 9.60 | 116 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 18.0 | |
| 65 | Ashanti (1979) | Michael Caine | 1.70 | 7.3 | 7.30 | 126 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 7.7 | |
| 66 | When Time Ran Out... (1980) | Paul Newman | 4.00 | 16.4 | 16.40 | 115 | 32 | 01 / 00 | 4.0 |
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.
For comments….all you need is a name and a comment….please ignore the rest.
Thanks for getting rid of the Gable movies and bringing on the Holden movies. I was wondering why I couldn’t see any Holden movies? I thought I was doing something wrong? Thanks for posting this. Nice to see my 2 favourites at No.2 & 4.
Hey Ken…..I was my fault….I have been moving my pages to a new website….and I got my table numbers mixed up….so I attached all of Gable movies here. As far as I know Holden did not make an appearance in Gone With The Wind….television’s Superman does…but not Holden. Picnic and Country Girl are classics…and both were monster hits. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing this Bruce Cogerson…It was a fascinating read and I particularly enjoyed the views and comments….I was very happy to see two of my favourites, Sunset Blvd and Stalag 17 do so well in the ratings.
Hey Catherine Q. Those are two of his most famous roles…..he and Billy Wilder should have made more movies together. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Hello Bruce. I just happened to see that Clark Gables films are ranked on your William Holden page. I disagree with Chris about Holden being an average film star. I think Holden gives a much better performance in “Network” than Peter Finch. Holden’s character is the heart and soul of that film. Holden also holds his own with John Wayne in “The Horse Soldiers”. And William Holden is great in “The Wild Bunch”
Hey Lyle….thanks for that catch….as I near the end of my nearly 4 month move off my old website to my new website…..I think I am getting lazy checking the final page after I print publish. I imagine this was confusing for people looking for William Holden movies…Holden Gable…they almost had the same career….lol. The correct table is now in place….and I am now paranoid that maybe I made the same mistake somewhere else.
I would not say Holden is an average movie star….but I agree with Chris about him falling short of legendary status….as I a test I just asked my three older children…all strangely seem to know a lot about movies for their young ages….and Holden went 0 for 3 in name recognition. I do agree with you Holden had the better and much bigger part in Network than Peter Finch. I think if Holden could have maintained his 1950s peak a little longer….he would have reached legend status.
Once again thanks for the catch on this page…..it is greatly appreciated….as I type this comment…..I am down to only having to flip 4 more pages…..thank goodness.
Hi
I always liked William Holden. He was a popular star who was in many big movies, but I think his main problem with today’s generation is that he didn’t have a strong screen persona.
Sunset Boulevard is remembered for Gloria Swanson, Born Yesterday, Judy Holiday, Bridge on the River Kwai, Alec Guiness, Network, Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway and Country Girl, Grace Kelly.
Even his Oscar winning film isn’t that well remembered, if you compare it with something like Shane, which he was meant to star in.
Nevertheless, he still had a great career. But surely this is the whole point of stardom, some people were average stars but others were legends that reached even beyond their own generation.
Hey Chris…..I would agree that if you asked somebody to list the top stars of yesteryear….it would take a very longtime before the name William Holden popped up. His peak was the 1950s…after the 1950s there were not too many highlights for Holden…with the exception of The Wild Bunch and Network…so his longevity after his peak hurt his possible “legend” status. That being said….the man had one awesome movie career. Thanks for stopping by and tallking movies.
Excellent movie page on William Holden. I have seen many of his films and my favorite are Force of Arms and Network. I actually met him, a couple of years before he died, he was very nice. Thanks for creating this great movie page, it will help others get to know his work.
Hey puertoricoplace…..wow…I am glad you got a chance to met the man….and even more impressed that he was such a nice man….some stars treat their fans pretty rudely. I am also glad you like my hub…..I think you are the first person to mention Force of Arms….I am not too familiar with that movie…but he made during his peak years…so I will try and find that movie…thanks for stopping by.