9 thoughts on “George Seaton Movies”

1. Adjusting movie grosses for inflation is broadly done by one of 2 main methods:

   (1) The Ticket Price inflation method (used by Bruce Cogerson and Box Office Mojo for example) – showing what a movie would gross today if the same number of people went to see it at current box office ticket prices.

   (2) The General Purchasing Power method employed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and Wikipedia- demonstrating what a movie’s actual gross in a given year long ago would buy in OVERALL terms in today’s economy.

   These two methods produce markedly different results in most years. In all years apart from those from 1967-1979 the ticket inflation figure would greatly exceed the purchasing power calculation – sometimes even by as much as 100%.

   However from 1967-1979 the boot was on the other foot: the purchasing power calculation was greater than the ticket inflation adjustment. Example:

   AIRPORT 1970-Actual Gross $102.4 million
   Ticket Inflation figure: $605 million
   General Purchasing Power figure:$791.6 million

   GODFATHER 1972-Actiual Gross $134.1 million
   Ticket Inflation figure: $722.6 million
   General Purchasing Power figure-$953.5 million

   The ticket inflation figures and Actual gross figures are provided by Bruce; the general purchasing power figures are provided by the inflation calculator of the US Bureau of Labor stats when Bruce’s Actual figures are fed into it – ie $134.1 million earned in 1972 would buy goods OVERALL in today’s market to the value of $953.5 million regardless what cinema ticket prices are.

   As I have said in Part One a different source using the general purchasing power method shows Airport’s gross exceeding that of The Godfather by about $100 million.

   Only domestic grosses have been quoted as I could find no global actual gross for Airport. The US Bureau of Labor stats gives The Godfather’s 1972 earnings an adjusted 2022 worldwide purchasing power of $1.74 billion though The Numbers box office site suggests a worldwide adjusted purchasing power gross of $1.91 billion and Wikipedia hints at over $2 billion potentially- $2.07 billion to be precise.

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2. HI BRUCE Thanks for the feedback. Your figures will always be the definitive ones when measuring ticket inflation as you seek to do, and as you say Godpop sold more tickets than Airport with both movies clocking up massive sales. So your figures for Godpop/Airport are spot on when one uses your particular selected process.

   However the alternative inflation measure that I was quoting was based on purchasing power changes and not ticket sales over the decades and that will always produce a different result from the ticket inflation way of caluclating stats.

   That’s because ticket prices by and large inflated at a different rate from general prices over the years so obviously you would not get the same outcome under the 2 different processes. See example in my 2nd post.

   The particular purchasing-power method of claculating inflation that I was talking about was very complicated and took into account of a multitude of factors such as demographic trends, changes in cinemagoing habits, competetiton from other entertainment outlets such as TV, sport – and even such things as bingo halls!

   So under that method Airport outgrossed Godpop. However the good news is that whilst there are even yet-further different methods of calculatngn inflation of movie grosses YOURS is the definitive one for me and it is your figures that I have in my own database.

   I DO also collect inflation caluclations by the purchasing power method used by the US Bureau of Labor Stats – but my calculations there are based on the ACTUAL gross figures that YOU helpfully provide in your wonderfully comprehensive annual reviews which are my Bible when compiling purchasing power inflation figures.

   Also regardless of inflation methods, where Godpop does always score is as a film that was both a big moneymaker AND a massive critical success – “A blockbuster with brains” Variety called in when it was released. Anyway please take care.

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3. I have seen 18 George Seaton films in the chart.

   The HIGHEST rated movie I have seen is The Wizard of Oz.

   The highest rated movie I have NOT seen is Diamond Horseshoe.

   The LOWEST rated movie I have seen is The Hook.

   Favourite George Seaton Movies:

   The Wizard of Oz
   The Song of Bernadette
   Miracle on 34th Street
   Stage Door
   Airport
   Teacher’s Pet
   Moon Over Miami
   The Counterfeit Traitor
   36 Hours

   Other George Seaton Movies I Have Seen:

   The Country Girl
   A Day at the Races
   A Night at the Opera
   The Proud and the Profane
   Apartment For Peggy
   The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
   Chicken Every Sunday
   The Big Lift
   The Hook

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   1. Hey Flora thanks for checking out our George Seaton page. This was another subject I found while looking around my Oscar book. Tally count: 18 for you, 15 for Bob (he included some movies that Seaton only produced) and 12 for me (I counted some of the ones Bob mentioned). I have seen 7 of your favorites and 3 of your others. Steve will be upset that both Marx Brothers movies made your “others” list. That was the 2 of the 3 that I have seen from the other list. As for the remaining movie….The Country Girl is good….but it was a one and done movie for me. I have no desire to ever see it again. Good comment.

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      1. Hi, Bruce. Of the Seaton as producer films Bob mentioned, I have seen:

         The Bridges at Toko-Ri – favourite
         The Tin Star – favourite
         The Rat Race

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4. FULL LIST OF PERLBERG AND SEATON FILMS I HAVE SEEN
   The asterisked ** ones involved Seaton in production only and therefore are not included in Bruce’s lists above.

   Day at the Races
   Night at the Opera
   Wizard of Oz
   Song of Bernadette
   Somebody Loves Me-Betty Hutton’ final hit film**
   Little Boy Lost
   The Country Girl
   The Bridges at Toko Ri – William Holden**
   The Proud and the Profane
   The Tin Star -Henry Fonda**
   Teacher’s Pet
   But Not for Me-Clark Gable**
   The Rat Race-Tony Curtis**
   The Counterfeit Traitor
   Airport

   Accordingly I have seen 10 of the movies on Bruce’s lists and 15 Perlberg-Seaton films all told

   NOTE: As Bruce records George died in 1979 but today Celebrity Net Worth site puts his net worth at $13 million. A figure of $5 million is mentioned for William Perlberg.

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   1. Hey Bob…tally count: On the movies listed in table….18 for Flora, 10 for me and you. Looking at the movies Seaton produced the totals are Flora 18, you at 15 and me at 12. The Perlberg/Seaton production company produced some classics for sure. Thanks for the net worth information. Good stuff as always.

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5. Perlberg-Seaton productions were a familiar brand to me in the 1950s. From Diamond Horseshoe in 1945 onward William Perlberg (1900-1968) produced all of George Seaton’s movies and they formed their own production company in Nov 1950 with a contract being signed with Paramount to release their films.

   The partnership ended in 1965 and when Seaton subsequently signed with Universal he had his biggest box-office hit ever: Airport. Under a highly-complicated alternative method of adjusting for inflation that I have seen Airport outgrosses The Godfather by about $100 million in the adjusted figures whereas Bruce gives the honours to Godpop $722-605 million

   The Perlberg-Seaton production company came to my attention via the 4 William Holden films that the company made in the post 1940s era and Holden in those days was a big idol of mine: the 4 were The Country Girl/Proud and Profane/The Counterfeit Traitor and The Bridges at Toko Ri.

   Bridges at Toko Ri is not mentioned in Bruce’s charts above: it was directed by Mark Robson and George Seaton was at the production end only. Indeed William “Golden” Holden seemed a great fave with Perlberg and Seaton: on top of the 4 films that I have mentioned George directed and wrote the screen play for 1948’s Apartment for Peggy which William of course produced. Bruce lists it above but I have not seen it.

   A full list of the Perlberg-Seaton movies that I have seen is in my post 2. My fave among all of them is 1958’s Teacher’s Pet starring my Doris and The King followed by Golden Holden’s Counterfeit Traitor.

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   1. Hey Bob. Thanks for all of this information on Mr. Seaton. I saw he had a ton of producing credits, we generally do not include those in the rankings. That still left a ton of movies in the writing and directing category. Perlberg-Seaton productions was unknown to me before reading your comment….maybe I did not research him as well as I thought.

      As for Godfather vs Airport…….I know it was massive……but not really too close to the Godfather. On our most tickets sold page….I have The Godfather in 29th place and Airport in 54th place….both are awesome totals. Sounds like the trio of Seaton/Holden/Perlberg were a good team. Good first comment.

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