Sterling Hayden Movies

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

Sterling Hayden (1916-1986) was an American actor, author, and sailor.   Hayden’s early career featured him in leading roles in westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s.  He became noted for supporting roles like his role as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and Capt. McCluskey in The Godfather. His IMDb page shows 73 acting credits from 1941 to 1982.   This page will rank Sterling Hayden movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles and movies that were not released in North American and a many of his low budget movies that we could not find box office on, were not included in the rankings.

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

1980’s 9 to 5

Sterling Hayden 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 Sterling Hayden movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Sterling Hayden movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Sterling Hayden movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Sterling Hayden movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Sterling Hayden movie received.
  • Sort Ben Sterling Hayden movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
1964’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Best IMDb trivia on Sterling Hayden

  1. Sterling Relyea Walter was born in Upper Montclair, New Jersey in 1916.

2.  Sterling Hayden nicknames:  The Most Beautiful Man in the Movies
and The Beautiful Blond Viking God.

3.  After two film roles, Sterling Hayden left Hollywood to fight in World War II. He enlisted in the army, trained in Scotland, but broke his ankle and was let out.  He returned to the US and tried to buy a half-interest in a schooner but could not raise the money. He joined the United States Marine Corps as a private, under the name John Hamilton. While at Parris Island, he was recommended for Officer Candidate School.  After graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and was transferred to service as an undercover agent with William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan’s Office of the Coordinator of Information.

4. Sterling Hayden was the original choice to play the knife thrower Britt in The Magnificent Seven (1960). The part went to James Coburn when Hayden proved unavailable.

5. Sterling Hayden was the first choice of producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown to play the role of Quint in Jaws (1975), but Hayden’s tax problems with the US government–he lived outside the country and if he entered the US he would have been arrested–precluded his taking the role.

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

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28 thoughts on “Sterling Hayden Movies”

  1. Hey Bob….El Paso has been fixed. Sorry for the delay. As you guessed….things are crazy right now. Earlier this semester I got my provisional teaching license. Now I am working on my regular teaching license…which means I am back in school….returning to my alma mater….and getting my second degree 31 years after my first one. Add in Sam’s musical (WoC and I volunteered lots of hours there)….I have not been home very much the last couple of weeks….but…still getting lots of comments and new material out. Also add in WoC’s parents in town and SoC1 in town…..crazy crazy. But….I have some free time tomorrow afternoon….hoping to get some UMR stuff done then…as the next 5 days after that are packed. Not to mention…I still have my classes I have to prep for…114 students in 3 different grades. One day…things will be calm again….just now right now.

    Reply

    1. HI BRUCE: I am glad El Paso is fixed. We regulars like to protect The Thin Woman’s place as Cogerson Queen and don’t take kindly to others like Lamour being given unwarranted concessions that might threaten to usurp Myrna’s reign! Poor little Gail Russell too deserves all the Cogerson love she can get as she was The Duke’s doomed protégé and twice was Laddie’s co-star!

      John Payne now getting a mention is a bonus: he was one of my B movie cowboy /action heroes [Tennessee’s Partner, The Eagle and the Hawk [1952] The Vanquished, Rails into Laramie, Road to Denver, Raiders of the Seven Seas,Caribbean, slightly Scarlet etc.] though of course young Bob like I’m sure many ‘virgin’ moviegoers used to in the early years mix him up with The Duke!

      Your personal academic achievements remind me in a way of my brother in Australia: you know, the guy who got to share in fruit donated by Brando and who knew somebody who knew somebody who got beaten up by Russell Crowe. My brother was always the brain-box among us 5 sons and collected degrees like some people collect records [or Hirschhorn reviews!]

      You also recall for me a local pop star from the 1950s, an adult called We Willie Harris, whose signature act was to come onto television dressed up as a schoolboy, sit at a classroom desk and sing “I’m going back to school again”.*** Diminutive English actor Gerald Campion who played teenage Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School on TV was actually 31- 39 over the series’ run!

      Anyway although it’s taking up your time, all of us regulars do I am sure admire what you are doing to continually improve yourself and we wish you ongoing success.

      ***86 year old Wee Willie Harris (born Charles William Harris, 25 March 1933, Bermondsey, London) is an English rock and roll singer. He is best known for his energetic stage shows and TV performances since the 1950s, when he was known as “Britain’s wild man of rock ‘n’ roll” He’s still musically active.
      [Wikipedia] Ah those English!

      Reply

  2. You and I have both provided comments on this page but unfortunately this may be my last visit to the page, just as Sterling as Jim Bowie had The Last Command [1955].

    You will see from my early comments that I was delighted when this Cogerson page emerged. Sterling was a big westerns/action movie idol of mine in the 1950s; and of course the icing on the cake was his ‘comeback’ in 1972’s Godpop alongside another great idol of mine though they had no scenes together.

    However I have mentioned also on the site that if any of the main details of a page is completely wrong the ‘buff’ purist in me finds it painful to keep re-visiting that page. I have twice written to The Work Horse asking him to substitute Gail Russell’s name for that of Dorothy Lamour in his co-star links column above, but my request has fallen on stony ground. It’s all a bit of a mystery but some alternatives do occur to me -for example:

    1/WH thinks I’m wrong: the siren voice of some Joel-type is telling him that Dottie IS the female lead in 1949’s El Paso.

    2/WH is too busy these days to properly read all posts.

    3/He thinks my own comments are too detailed.

    4/Somewhere in their family trees there is a connection between Dottie and Angela, Archie, Joel, Mr Gimme More, Sir Maurice and The Thin Woman OR even all of them. Thus Dottie is enjoying being “promoted beyond her station” on Cogerson.

    Indeed Dottie’s penultimate acting role was in “No Accounting for Murder” an episode that was aired on 22 March 1987 of Angela’s hit TV show Murder She Wrote. Lamour was 73 in that one and Lansbury 62, at stages in life when even WH would have been unlikely to have confused either of them with the role of the young temptress Delilah! [It comes to all of us Steve. They tell me I used to be a great Samson in school plays but that’s beyond me now; and even Jace would probably make a better Samson nowadays. However they would have to put hair on him for the hair-cutting scene; on the other hand I’ve still got mine and I bet I could still out-act Jace.

    Maybe though even Dottie’s appearance with Angela is enough to earn the former excessive Cogerson love. Anyway for now it is as I have said all a mystery though possibly someday WH will reveal all and like MacDonald and Eddy in our old friend Naughty Marietta I’ll be able to sing joyously-

    “Ah, sweet mystery of life
    At last I’ve found thee
    Ah, I know at last the secret of it all.
    All the longing, seeking, striving, waiting, yearning
    The burning hopes, the joy and idle tears that fall”

    Reply

    1. Hi Bob, hmmm you’ve got something there… I’ve looked up El Paso (1949) and Dorothy Lamour does not appear, even uncredited, in fact there’s no ‘paso’ in her filmography at all. Gail Russell was the leading lady. A genuine mistake from el capitan.

      But trying to get his attention is extremely difficult these days. I tried waving my arms and jumping up and down but to no avail. From what I remember Bruce is only allowed a limited time each day to browse the internet. WoC wears the trousers (US: pants) in that family. [wink]

      You might have a point about epic comments, if he’s in a hurry he’ll read the first and last paragraphs, probably. 😉

      Reply

      1. HI STEVE Thanks for applying your deductive powers to this puzzle. I appreciate your research confirming my own understanding that Gail was the one; but we must both bear in mind that WH seems to have access to deeply hidden sources that nobody else has ever discovered. He is our Christopher Columbus – who else on this planet but WH would ever have come across Hirsch for example?

        Your final supposition about “first and last paragraphs” might well be the answer: as Sherlock Holmes said when all other possibilities have been examined and dismissed, the one that remains must be the truth! Therefore say I do a 5-paragraph post and before transmitting it remove paras 2-4, would he then read everything that I have said?

        Of course if WH had listed only Sterling’s true MAIN co-star in El Paso, neither Dottie nor Gail would have gotten a mention: John Payne was the lead in that one and he got top billing over everybody else.

        Of course as we have seen often The Work Horse is like one of those distributors of films in the Italian or French cinema who arranges his/her own order of billing in favour of all kinds of strange performers. Conversely “Not even in my native Italy would he let me have top billing!” [Anna Magnani raging on set about her perceived contemptuous treatment of her by Mr Mumbles in their co-starring vehicle The Fugitive Kind in 1960].

        I hope you are enjoying your break but I look forward to your return to ‘full duty’

        Reply

        1. Bruce is easily distracted. He types out his reply moves to another webpage before posting that reply and loses it or forgets all about it, happens quite a bit.

          And this website is huge, it needs regular maintenance. I think only the IMDB and Wikipedia lists more movies, but they don’t have all the box office info that the UMR has.

          Barring an asteroid hitting Manchester, a top 40 video should be uploaded tomorrow. 🙂

          Reply

          1. HI STEVE Roll on tomorrow – but as the Gods know how much you love sci-fi an asteroid hitting Manchester shouldn’t be discounted-and they have to have some excuse for further delaying Brexit yet again!

            I meant to tell you about a boss of mine in the Northern Ireland Civil Service who was moody and sometimes if he passed us in the corridor, he would speak to underlings such as me, but at other times he ignored us.

            A co-worker of mine complained to the boss’ Secretary about the inconsistency and her defense of her Master was that he meant no discourtesy, but it was just that he was so preoccupied on occasions with important matters of state that he didn’t actually notice members of his staff.

            The co-worker replied that such was all very well, but it was noticeable that when a Government Minister or another VIP executive encountered our boss in the corridor the latter was never too preoccupied to see and acknowledge the former!

            By the same token you wave your arms and jump up and down but go unnoticed [“He looked through me as if I were a leafless tree! – Thomas Hardy ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’]; yet for a half-second at the end of 2016’s Split, Mr Gimme More makes a lightning appearance and the next day that almost ghostly apparition is heralded in great fanfare all over this site! “None so blind as those who WILL NOT see!” [Matthew Henry]

  3. Hello everybody,
    He is one of the best actor, I think, he was great in the Asphalt Jungle, a very great film and a very sad story.
    He was great in Johnny Guitar too, the best and before Crawford but in the mean time they were a very good team, I read somewhere on a book on Nicolas Ray that Miss Crawford wanted to be Gable. I read that during The film she was not very cool with the others actors.
    He was in Zero houre one of the last film of Linda Darnell, I did not see that film..
    Anyway, he is simply one of the great actor of classical hollywood and in the 50.
    A very good day for everybody and I hope that the fire are stopped in California.
    Pierre

    Reply

    1. Hey Pierre. Thanks for the thoughts on Sterling Hayden. I have read the same think about Crawford and the making of Johnny Guitar. I agree Hayden was a very good actor. I have not seen Zero Hours either. Good comment. Good to hear from you.

      Reply

  4. Old, grizzled Sterling Hayden would have been effective as Quint in Jaws, but Robert Shaw was so great I can’t imagine anyone better, especially in that speech about the USS Indianapolis which Shaw rewrote himself.

    I’ve seen 8 of the 36 films on the chart, less than I thought. Favorites are – The Godfather, Dr. Strangelove, Johnny Guitar and The Asphalt Jungle.

    Kubrick’s The Killing is on my to see list.

    Nice work Bruce and thanks for the video share. Vote Up!

    Reply

    1. HI STEVE

      For once I have beaten you and Flora [by a nose] as I have seen 15 of Sterling’s movies listed above by WH. If the Work Horse has seen more, then maybe he will keep silent and let me have my moment in the sun as the “season of good will towards all men” is approaching.

      The Killing is considered a minor masterpiece by film historians; though Kubrick [who was not a big name at the time ] had to make it on a shoestring budget of $330,000 -a paltry $3 million in today’s money according to the US bureau of Labor Stats – and shoot it in just 24 days.

      It is of course a heist film and Kubrick, who wrote the script for the film as well as directing it, chose Sterling for the lead because Stanley had been impressed with Hayden’s work in what many regard as THE heist film – Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle. Hayden was paid $40,000 for his part [about $370,000 in today’s money]. What have brilliant directors like Kubrick and Scorsese seen in actors like Hayden and Mr Mumbles that the Master has tended to overlook?

      Some of the sets for The Killing were made of cardboard and walls can be seen moving if there is any vibration on or near them; but I have been able to live with that and it is a film that I regularly think about, so I highly recommend it.

      Reply

      1. Congrats on your tally win bob. Your prizes will be air shipped later today….lol. Thanks for the return comment….good stuff as always.

        Reply

    2. Hey Steve…..mmmmm….I lost my comment to your comment…so here goes attempt number 2. Tally count…bob 15, Flora 13, me 9 and you 8. Interesting that 50% of your Sterling movies ended up on your favorites list. I love all of those movies…though I would replace The Asphalt Jungle with The Killing in my Top 4. I would highly recommend The Killing….a heist movie that has been copied and copied many times since it first came out. The first movie that showed the genius Kubrick at work. As for Jaws….I love Shaw as Quint…but feel…that Hayden would have been very interesting in that role….granted the USS Indianapolis scene might not even exist if Shaw had not done the part. Good comment….thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

    3. Hey Steve…..I love Shaw in Jaws…but I think Hayden would have been interesting too. I have seen 10 of the movies listed…..so I am slightly ahead of you. I have seen and enjoyed all of your favorites. The Killing is worth checking out. Thanks for the vote up.j

      Reply

      1. Well that is weird…my return comment to Steve finally shows up….I guess it was like Vger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture…..just weird.

        Reply

  5. Sterling Hayden is # 935 on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list; these are the other actors on the list he appeared with.

    4 DONALD SUTHERLAND Gas (1981)
    4 DONALD SUTHERLAND Novecento (1976)
    6 ROBERT DE NIRO Novecento (1976)
    14 ERNEST BORGNINE Johnny Guitar (1954)
    14 ERNEST BORGNINE The Last Command (1955)
    37 GERARD DEPARDIEU Novecento (1976)
    40 ROBERT DUVALL The Godfather (1972)
    44 JAMES MASON Prince Valiant (1954)
    48 JOHN CARRADINE Johnny Guitar (1954)
    51 FRANCO NERO Cipolla Colt (1976)
    55 KLAUS KINSKI Venom (1981)
    56 ELLIOTT GOULD The Long Goodbye (1973)
    62 JAMES CAAN The Godfather (1972)
    70 SUSAN SARANDON King of the Gypsies (1978)
    85 JACK WARDEN The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
    95 JAMES EARL JONES Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    100 ELI WALLACH Winter Kills (1979)
    124 MICHAEL GOUGH Venom (1981)
    125 SHANE RIMMER Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    127 BURT LANCASTER Novecento (1976)
    127 BURT LANCASTER Variety Girl (1947)
    137 SHELLEY WINTERS King of the Gypsies (1978)
    142 MARC LAWRENCE The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
    146 MARTIN BALSAM Cipolla Colt (1976)
    164 GABRIEL BYRNE The Outsider (1980)
    168 ROBERT WAGNER Prince Valiant (1954)
    180 DAVID CARRADINE The Long Goodbye (1973)
    181 JAMES COBURN Hard Contract (1969)
    182 BURGESS MEREDITH Hard Contract (1969)
    193 WILLIAM HOLDEN Blaze of Noon (1947)
    193 WILLIAM HOLDEN Variety Girl (1947)
    202 ERIC ROBERTS King of the Gypsies (1978)
    218 GEORGE SEGAL Loving (1970)
    223 JEFF BRIDGES Winter Kills (1979)
    227 KEENAN WYNN Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    227 KEENAN WYNN Loving (1970)
    235 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER The Long Goodbye (1973)
    285 OLIVER REED Venom (1981)
    338 TOMAS MILIAN Winter Kills (1979)
    341 CHARLES BRONSON Crime Wave (1954)
    359 DIANE KEATON The Godfather (1972)
    374 ANTHONY PERKINS Winter Kills (1979)
    403 AL PACINO The Godfather (1972)
    434 ROY SCHEIDER Loving (1970)
    445 DABNEY COLEMAN Nine to Five (1980)
    446 SENTA BERGER Le saut de l’ange (1971)
    452 JOHN HUSTON Winter Kills (1979)
    465 STUART WHITMAN Crime of Passion (1957)
    465 STUART WHITMAN Ternos Caçadores (1969)
    467 PAUL FIX Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
    467 PAUL FIX Johnny Guitar (1954)
    479 VIVECA LINDFORS Journey Into Light (1951)
    481 KAREN BLACK Hard Contract (1969)
    501 RAY MILLAND Variety Girl (1947)
    512 KEYE LUKE Manhandled (1949)
    521 ROYAL DANO Crime of Passion (1957)
    521 ROYAL DANO Johnny Guitar (1954)
    566 LILLI PALMER Hard Contract (1969)
    579 ALEX ROCCO The Godfather (1972)
    595 SLIM PICKENS Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    595 SLIM PICKENS The Last Command (1955)
    600 JANE FONDA Nine to Five (1980)
    625 ROD TAYLOR Top Gun (1955)
    646 ELIZABETH TAYLOR Winter Kills (1979)
    661 ANN DORAN Variety Girl (1947)
    687 FRANK SINATRA Suddenly (1954)
    691 DUB TAYLOR Crime Wave (1954)
    700 VERA MILES So Big (1953)
    708 JOHN DEHNER The Iron Sheriff (1957)
    708 JOHN DEHNER Top Gun (1955)
    715 LEE VAN CLEEF Arrow in the Dust (1954)
    715 LEE VAN CLEEF Gun Battle at Monterey (1957)
    734 JAMES WHITMORE The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
    780 MARLON BRANDO The Godfather (1972)
    795 HENRY GIBSON The Long Goodbye (1973)
    799 ANITA EKBERG Take Me to Town (1953)
    799 ANITA EKBERG Valerie (1957)
    801 BETTE DAVIS The Star (1952)
    812 GEORGE C. SCOTT Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    815 DANA ANDREWS Zero Hour! (1957)
    857 JOHN CRAWFORD The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
    907 STROTHER MARTIN The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
    921 RICHARD BRIGHT The Godfather (1972)
    970 YVONNE DE CARLO Shotgun (1955)
    990 PETER SELLERS Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    992 VITO SCOTTI The Godfather (1972)
    996 CLAUDE DAUPHIN Hard Contract (1969)
    HM (834) NICOL WILLIAMSON Venom (1981)
    HM (863) EDMOND O’BRIEN Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
    HM (976) BROOKE SHIELDS King of the Gypsies (1978)

    Sterling appeared with 35 Oscar winners in films.

    AL PACINO The Godfather (1972)
    ANNE BAXTER Blaze of Noon (1947)
    ANNE BAXTER The Come On (1956)
    BARRY FITZGERALD Variety Girl (1947)
    BETTE DAVIS The Star (1952)
    BING CROSBY Variety Girl (1947)
    BURT LANCASTER Novecento (1976)
    BURT LANCASTER Variety Girl (1947)
    DEAN JAGGER Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
    DEAN JAGGER The Eternal Sea (1955)
    DIANE KEATON The Godfather (1972)
    DONALD CRISP PRINCE VALIANT (1954)
    DOROTHY MALONE Winter Kills (1979)
    EDMOND O’BRIEN Denver and Rio Grande (1952)
    ELIZABETH TAYLOR Winter Kills (1979)
    ERNEST BORGNINE Johnny Guitar (1954)
    ERNEST BORGNINE The Last Command (1955)
    EVA MARIE SAINT Loving (1970)
    FRANK SINATRA Suddenly (1954)
    GARY COOPER Variety Girl (1947)
    GEORGE C. SCOTT Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    GLORIA GRAHAME Naked Alibi (1954)
    JAMES COBURN Hard Contract (1969)
    JANE DARWELL Journey Into Light (1951)
    JANE FONDA Nine to Five (1980)
    JANE WYMAN So Big (1953)
    JEFF BRIDGES Winter Kills (1979)
    JOAN CRAWFORD Johnny Guitar (1954)
    MARLON BRANDO The Godfather (1972)
    MARTIN BALSAM Cipolla Colt (1976)
    MERCEDES MCCAMBRIDGE JOHNNY GUITAR (1954)
    RAY MILLAND Variety Girl (1947)
    ROBERT DE NIRO Novecento (1976)
    ROBERT DUVALL The Godfather (1972)
    SHELLEY WINTERS King of the Gypsies (1978)
    SUSAN SARANDON King of the Gypsies (1978)
    THOMAS MITCHELL JOURNEY INTO LIGHT (1951)
    VICTOR MCLAGLEN Prince Valiant (1954)
    WILLIAM HOLDEN Blaze of Noon (1947)
    WILLIAM HOLDEN Variety Girl (1947)

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan. As always…thanks for these lists. So good ole Sterling has a spot on the Top 1000. I would say that is surprising…especially when you realize he left movies in 1958….and then only made a handful of movies since then. That covers almost 60 years of few movies…granted…he was a working machine in the 1950s.

      First list…did not notice anybody with more than two movies with him. I would imagine….he might have been a person people would have avoided….from his witch hunt testimony to the turmoil in his life. Still…the list is filled with many many stars and legends. 35 Oscar winning co-stars..is about average….looks like those winners are well spread out among his movies. Good stuff as always. Remember…you are the man. Thanks as always.

      Reply

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