Betty Grable filmography
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Image:Betty Grable 20th Century Fox.jpg (1916–1973) in her famous 1943 pin-up. It was shot by studio photographer Frank Powolny and became one of the biggest-selling photographs of World War II, selling over five million copies.]]
This is a complete filmography of Betty Grable, an American actress, dancer, and singer. As a major contract star for 20th Century-Fox during the 1940s and 1950s, she starred in a succession of musicals and romantic comedies.
Grable began her career in 1929 at age twelve, after which she was fired from a contract when it was learned she signed up under false identification. She made her film debut in Happy Days (1929) as an unbilled extra appearing in blackface. Grable had contracts with RKO Radio Pictures and Paramount Pictures during the 1930s, and she starred in roles as college students in a string of B-movies. In the campus musical Pigskin Parade (1936), she received positive reviews, but her performance was overshadowed by newcomer Judy Garland.
She eventually came to prominence in the Broadway musical Du Barry Was a Lady (1939) and signed an exclusive long-term contract with 20th Century-Fox. After replacing Alice Faye in Down Argentine Way (1940), she became the studio's biggest asset throughout the following decade, starring in a series of commercially successful musicals and comedies, often co-starring with renowned leading men, including Victor Mature, Don Ameche, John Payne, Tyrone Power, and Dan Dailey. Between 1941 and 1951, she was consistently listed in the "Top Ten Moneymaking Stars Poll", sometimes as the only female on the list. In 1943 and 1944, she was the number one box office draw in the United States. Her famous 1943 pin-up became one of the most-identified photographs of World War II.
The majority of Grable's films followed the traditional backstage musical genre point-by-point. Plot point one: boy meets girl; plot point two: boy teams up with girl; plot point three: girl dumps boy; and plot point four: boy and girl reunite in time for the finale. Despite the often similar storylines, her films remained immensely popularity for over a decade, some of them becoming the year's highest-grossing films, including Springtime in the Rockies (1942), Coney Island (1943), The Dolly Sisters (1945), and When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948). Two of her greatest successes were Pin Up Girl (1944) (which showcased her famous pin-up) and Mother Wore Tights (1947). The 1949 western comedy The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend was Grable's first film in nine years to lose money financially.
The changing tastes of the public and the waning popularity of the musical genre in the early 1950s contributed to Grable's career decline. Although Wabash Avenue and My Blue Avenue (both 1950) were successes, some of her films thereafter failed to live up to their hype. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), a comedy about three models scheming to marry wealthy husbands, was one of her last big successes for Fox. She co-starred with newcomer Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall, and while tabloids publicized a rivalry between the three women, they nevertheless became close friends. In 1953, she declined to renew her contract with Fox, hoping to revitalize her stage career. This move was not successful and, after falling into bankruptcy, Grable returned to the studio for what would be her final film: the satirical comedy How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955), which parodied her earlier films in some aspects.
Credits
=Film appearances=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of acting credits in film, with directors and principal cast members |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Director ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Co-stars ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row"| Happy Days
| align="center"| 1929 | Chorus Girl | {{sortname|Benjamin|Stoloff}} | {{unbulleted list|{{Nowrap|Charles E. Evans}}|Marjorie White|Richard Keene}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Let's Go Places
| align="center"| 1930 | Chorine | {{Nowrap|{{sortname|Frank R.|Strayer}}}} | {{unbulleted list|Joseph Wagstaff|Lola Lane}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| {{Nowrap|New Movietone Follies of 1930}}
| align="center"| 1930 | Chorine | {{sortname|Benjamin|Stoloff|Benjamin Stoloff|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|El Brendel|Marjorie White}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Whoopee!
| align="center"| 1930 | Goldwyn Girl | {{sortname|Thornton|Freeland}} | {{unbulleted list|Eddie Cantor|Ethel Shutta|Eleanor Hunt}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Kiki
| align="center"| 1931 | Goldwyn Girl | {{sortname|Sam|Taylor|Sam Taylor (director)}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Palmy Days
| align="center"| 1931 | Goldwyn Girl | {{Nowrap|{{sortname|A. Edward|Sutherland}}}} | {{unbulleted list|Charlotte Greenwood|Barbara Weeks|Spencer Charters}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| The Greeks Had a Word for Them
| align="center"| 1932 | Hat Check Girl | {{sortname|Lowell|Sherman}} | {{unbulleted list|Joan Blondell|Madge Evans|Ina Claire}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Probation
| align="center"| 1932 | Ruth Jarrett | {{sortname|Richard|Thorpe}} | {{unbulleted list|John Darrow|Sally Blane}} | Grable's first credited role |
| scope="row"| {{Nowrap|The Age of Consent}}
| align="center"| 1932 | Student at Dormitory | {{sortname|Gregory|La Cava}} | {{unbulleted list|Dorothy Wilson|Arline Judge}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Hold 'Em Jail
| align="center"| 1932 | Barbara Jones | {{sortname|Norman|Taurog}} | {{unbulleted list|Bert Wheeler|Robert Woolsey|Edna May Oliver}} | |
| scope="row"| The Kid from Spain
| align="center"| 1932 | Goldwyn Girl | {{sortname|Leo|McCarey}} | {{unbulleted list|Eddie Cantor|Lyda Roberti|Robert Young}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Child of Manhattan
| align="center"| 1933 | Lucy McGonegle | {{sortname|Edward|Buzzell}} | {{unbulleted list|Nancy Carroll|John Boles}} | |
| scope="row"| Cavalcade
| align="center"| 1933 | Girl on couch | {{sortname|Frank|Lloyd}} | {{unbulleted list|Diana Wynyard|Clive Brook|Una O'Connor}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| Melody Cruise
| align="center"| 1933 | First Stewardess | {{sortname|Mark|Sandrich}} | {{unbulleted list|Charles Ruggles|Phil Harris}} | Uncredited |
| scope="row"| {{Nowrap|What Price Innocence?}}
| align="center"| 1933 | Beverly Bennett | {{sortname|Willard|Mack}} | {{unbulleted list|Jean Parker|Minna Gombell|Willard Mack}} | |
| scope="row"| {{Nowrap|The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi}}
| align="center"| 1933 | Band Singer with Ted Fio Rito | {{sortname|Edwin L.|Marin}} | {{unbulleted list|Mary Carlisle|Buster Crabbe}} | |
| scope="row"| The Gay Divorcee
| align="center"| 1934 | Dance Specialty | {{sortname|Mark|Sandrich|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Fred Astaire|Ginger Rogers}} | |
| scope="row"| Student Tour
| align="center"| 1934 | Cayenne | {{sortname|Charles|Reisner}} | {{unbulleted list|Jimmy Durante|Charles Butterworth|Maxine Doyle}} | |
| scope="row"| By Your Leave
| align="center"| 1934 | Frances Gretchell | {{sortname|Lloyd|Corrigan}} | {{unbulleted list|Frank Morgan|Genevieve Tobin}} | |
| scope="row"| The Nitwits
| align="center"| 1935 | Mary Roberts | {{sortname|George|Stevens}} | {{unbulleted list|Bert Wheeler|Robert Woolsey}} | |
| scope="row"| Old Man Rhythm
| align="center"| 1935 | Sylvia | {{sortname|Edward|Ludwig}} | {{unbulleted list|Charles 'Buddy' Rogers|George Barbier}} | |
| scope="row"| Collegiate
| align="center"| 1936 | Dorothy | {{sortname|Ralph|Murphy}} | {{unbulleted list|Joe Penner|Jack Oakie|Ned Sparks}} | |
| scope="row"| Follow the Fleet
| align="center"| 1936 | Trio Singer | {{sortname|Mark|Sandrich|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Fred Astaire|Ginger Rogers}} | |
| scope="row"| Don't Turn 'Em Loose
| align="center"| 1936 | Mildred Webster | {{sortname|Benjamin|Stoloff|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Lewis Stone|James Gleason|Bruce Cabot}} | |
| scope="row"| Pigskin Parade
| align="center"| 1936 | Laura Watson | {{sortname|David|Butler|David Butler (director)}} | {{unbulleted list|Stuart Erwin|Patsy Kelly|Judy Garland|Jack Haley}} | |
| scope="row"| This Way Please
| align="center"| 1937 | Jane Morrow | {{sortname|Robert|Florey}} | {{Nowrap|Charles 'Buddy' Rogers}} | |
| scope="row"| Thrill of a Lifetime
| align="center"| 1937 | Gwen | {{sortname|George|Archainbaud}} | The Yacht Club Boys | |
| scope="row"| College Swing
| align="center"| 1938 | Betty | {{sortname|Raoul|Walsh}} | {{unbulleted list|George Burns|Gracie Allen|Martha Raye|Bob Hope|Edward Everett Horton}} | |
| scope="row"| Give Me a Sailor
| align="center"| 1938 | Nancy Larkin | {{sortname|Elliott|Nugent}} | {{unbulleted list|Bob Hope|Jack Whiting|Martha Raye}} | |
| scope="row"| Campus Confessions
| align="center"| 1938 | Joyce Gilmore | {{sortname|George|Archainbaud|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Eleanore Whitney|William Henry}} | Grable received top billing for the first time |
| scope="row"| Man About Town
| align="center"| 1939 | Susan Hayes | {{sortname|Mark|Sandrich|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Jack Benny|Dorothy Lamour}} | |
| scope="row"| Million Dollar Legs
| align="center"| 1939 | Carol Parker | {{sortname|Nick|Grinde}} | {{unbulleted list|John Hartley|Donald O'Connor|Jackie Coogan|Dorothea Kent}} | |
| scope="row"| {{Nowrap|The Day the Bookies Wept}}
| align="center"| 1939 | Ina Firpo | {{sortname|Leslie|Goodwins}} | |
| scope="row"| Down Argentine Way
| align="center"| 1940 | {{unbulleted list|Glenda Crawford|Glenda Cunningham}} | {{sortname|Irving|Cummings}} | {{unbulleted list|Don Ameche|Carmen Miranda|Charlotte Greenwood}} | |
| scope="row"| Tin Pan Alley
| align="center"| 1940 | Lily Blane | {{sortname|Walter|Lang}} | {{unbulleted list|Alice Faye|John Payne|Jack Oakie}} | |
| scope="row"| Moon Over Miami
| align="center"| 1941 | Kathryn 'Kay' Latimer | {{sortname|Walter|Lang|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Don Ameche|Robert Cummings|Carole Landis|Jack Haley}} | |
| scope="row"| A Yank in the RAF
| align="center"| 1941 | Carol Brown | {{sortname|Henry|King|Henry King (director)}} | |
| scope="row"| I Wake Up Screaming
| align="center"| 1941 | Jill Lynn | {{sortname|H. Bruce|Humberstone}} | {{unbulleted list|Victor Mature|Carole Landis}} | |
| scope="row"| Song of the Islands
| align="center"| 1942 | Eileen O'Brien | {{sortname|Walter|Lang|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Victor Mature|Jack Oakie}} | |
| scope="row"| Footlight Serenade
| align="center"| 1942 | Pat Lambert | {{sortname|Gregory|Ratoff}} | {{unbulleted list|John Payne|Victor Mature|Jane Wyman}} | |
| scope="row"| Springtime in the Rockies
| align="center"| 1942 | Vicky Lane | {{sortname|Irving|Cummings|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|John Payne|Carmen Miranda|Cesar Romero|Harry James}} | |
| scope="row"| Coney Island
| align="center"| 1943 | Kate Farley | {{sortname|Walter|Lang|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|George Montgomery|Cesar Romero}} | |
| scope="row"| Sweet Rosie O'Grady
| align="center"| 1943 | {{unbulleted list|Madeline Marlowe|Rosie O'Grady}} | {{sortname|Irving|Cummings|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Robert Young|Adolphe Menjou}} | |
| scope="row"| Four Jills in a Jeep
| align="center"| 1944 | Herself | {{sortname|William A.|Seiter}} | {{unbulleted list|Kay Francis|Carole Landis|Alice Faye|Martha Raye|Carmen Miranda}} | |
| scope="row"| Pin Up Girl
| align="center"| 1944 | {{unbulleted list|Lorry Jones|Laura Lorraine}} | {{sortname|H. Bruce|Humberstone|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|John Harvey|Martha Raye}} | |
| scope="row"| Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe
| align="center"| 1945 | Bonnie Collins | {{sortname|George|Seaton}} | {{unbulleted list|Dick Haymes|Phil Silvers|William Gaxton}} | |
| scope="row"| The Dolly Sisters
| align="center"| 1945 | Yansci 'Jenny' Dolly | {{sortname|Irving|Cummings|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|John Payne|June Haver}} | |
| scope="row"| Do You Love Me
| align="center"| 1946 | Girl in Taxi (cameo) | {{sortname|Gregory|Ratoff|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Maureen O'Hara|Dick Haymes|Harry James}} | Grable had a cameo as a fan of Harry James's character |
| scope="row"| The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
| align="center"| 1947 | Cynthia Pilgrim | {{sortname|George|Seaton|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Dick Haymes|Anne Revere}} | |
| scope="row"| Mother Wore Tights
| align="center"| 1947 | Myrtle McKinley Burt | {{sortname|Walter|Lang|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Dan Dailey|Mona Freeman}} | |
| scope="row"| Hollywood Bound
| align="center"| 1947 | Various | Various | Various | Astor Pictures compilation of three 1930s RKO short subjects, Ferry-Go-Round (1934), A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935), and The Spirit of 1976 (1935). |
| scope="row"| That Lady in Ermine
| align="center"| 1948 | {{unbulleted list|Francesca|Angelina}} | {{unbulleted list|{{sortname|Ernst|Lubitsch}}|Otto Preminger (uncredited)}} | {{unbulleted list|Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.|Cesar Romero}} | {{unbulleted list|Lubitsch died early into production.|Preminger finished the film but insisted on Lubitsch receiving full credit.}} |
| scope="row"| When My Baby Smiles at Me
| align="center"| 1948 | Bonny Kaye | {{sortname|Walter|Lang|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Dan Dailey|Jack Oakie|June Havoc}} | |
| scope="row"| The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
| align="center"| 1949 | Winifred Jones | {{sortname|Preston|Sturges}} | {{unbulleted list|Cesar Romero|Rudy Vallee}} | |
| scope="row"| Wabash Avenue
| align="center"| 1950 | Ruby Summers | {{sortname|Henry|Koster}} | {{unbulleted list|Victor Mature|Phil Harris}} | Remake of Grable's earlier hit Coney Island |
| scope="row"| My Blue Heaven
| align="center"| 1950 | Kitty Moran | {{sortname|Henry|Koster|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Dan Dailey|David Wayne|Jane Wyatt|Mitzi Gaynor}} | |
| scope="row"| Call Me Mister
| align="center"| 1951 | Kay Hudson | {{sortname|Lloyd|Bacon|nolink=1}} | {{unbulleted list|Dan Dailey|Danny Thomas}} | Remake of Grable's earlier hit A Yank in the RAF |
| scope="row"| Meet Me After the Show
| align="center"| 1951 | Delilah Lee | {{sortname|Richard|Sale|Richard Sale (director)}} | {{unbulleted list|Macdonald Carey|Rory Calhoun|Eddie Albert}} | |
| scope="row"| The Farmer Takes a Wife
| align="center"| 1953 | Molly Larkins | {{sortname|Henry|Levin|Henry Levin (film director)}} | {{unbulleted list|Dale Robertson|Thelma Ritter}} | |
| scope="row"| How to Marry a Millionaire
| align="center"| 1953 | Loco Dempsey | {{sortname|Jean|Negulesco}} | {{unbulleted list|Marilyn Monroe|Lauren Bacall}} | |
| scope="row"| Three for the Show
| align="center"| 1955 | Julie Lowndes | {{sortname|H.C.|Potter}} | {{unbulleted list|Jack Lemmon|Marge Champion|Gower Champion}} | |
| scope="row"| How to Be Very, Very Popular
| align="center"| 1955 | Stormy Tornado | {{sortname|Nunnally|Johnson}} | {{unbulleted list|Sheree North|Robert Cummings|Charles Coburn|Tommy Noonan}} | |
=Box Office ranking=
For a number of years exhibitors voted Grable among the most popular stars in the country in the Quigley Moving Picture Poll.
The Washington Post (1923–1954) [Washington, D.C] January 2, 1942: 18.
- 1942 – 8th (US)
- 1943 – 1st (US), 5th (UK international stars)
- 1944 – 4th (US), 2nd (UK international stars)
- 1945 – 4th (US), 6th (UK international stars)
- 1946 – 9th (US)
- 1947 – 2nd (US)
- 1948 – 2nd (US)
- 1949 – 7th (US), 10th (UK international stars)
- 1950 – 4th (US)
- 1951 – 3rd (US)
- 1952 – 20th (US)
=Short subjects=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
- Crashing Hollywood (1931) — Frances Dean
- Ex-Sweeties (1931)
- Once a Hero (1931)
- Lady! Please! (1932)
- Hollywood Luck (1932)
- The Flirty Sleepwalker (1932)
- Hollywood Lights (1932)
- Over the Counter (1932)
- Air Tonic (1933)
- School for Romance (1934)
- Love Detectives (1934)
- Elmer Steps Out (1934)
- Business Is a Pleasure (1934)
- Susie's Affairs (1934)
- Ferry-Go-Round (1934)
{{col-break}}
- This Band Age (1935)
- The Spirit of 1976 (1935)
- A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935)
- Drawing Rumors (1935)
- A Quiet Fourth (1935)
- Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 11 (1936)
- Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936)
- Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937)
- Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 10 (1937)
- Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 (1938)
- Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
- The All-Star Bond Rally (1945)
- Hollywood Park (1946)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955)
{{col-end}}
=Stage work=
- Du Barry Was a Lady (1939)
- Guys and Dolls (1962; 1968)
- Hello, Dolly! (1965–1967)
- Born Yesterday (1968–1970; 1973)
- Belle Starr (1969)
Gallery
{{multiple image |header = Images of Betty Grable in film |perrow = 2 |total_width = 600 |align = center
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Betty Grable in Down Argentine Way.jpg
| caption1 = Down Argentine Way (1940)
| image2 = Betty Grable (1543678343).jpg
| caption2 = Tin Pan Alley (1940)
| image3 = Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda, 1942 (2).jpg
| caption3 = Carmen Miranda and Grable in
Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
| image4 = Sweet Rosie O'Grady (NYPL Hades-1918019-1943618).jpg
| caption4 = Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)
| image5 = Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall in How to Marry a Millionaire trailer.jpg
| caption5 = Marilyn Monroe (left), Grable (middle), and Lauren Bacall (right) in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
}}