The rankings come from Quigley Publishing Co.'s annual list (since 1932) of top money making stars, which based on a poll of hundreds of theater executives. The list does not rank stars only on how much cash their films made, but on what theater owners say about who attracts audiences on their star power alone.
1.
Shirley Temple
(1938 films: Just Around the Corner, Little Miss Broadway, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm)
2.
Clark Gable
(1938 films: Too Hot to Handle, Test Pilot)
3.
Sonja Henie
(1938 films: My Lucky Star, Happy Landing)
4.
Mickey Rooney
(1938 films: Boys Town, Love Finds Andy Hardy, Lord Jeff, Hold That Kiss, Love is a Headache, Judge Hardy's Children, Stablemates, Out West with the Hardys)
5.
Spencer Tracy
(1938 films: Boys Town, Test Pilot, Mannequin)
6.
Robert Taylor
(1938 films: A Yank at Oxford, Three Comrades, The Crowd Roars, )
7.
Myrna Loy
(1938 films: Man-Proof, Test Pilot, Too Hot to Handle)
8.
Jane Withers
(1938 films: Keep Smiling, Always in Trouble, Rascals)
9.
Alice Faye
(1938 films: In Old Chicago, Sally Irene and Mary, Alexander's Ragtime Band, You're a Sweetheart - released Dec 1937)
10.
Tyrone Power
(1938 films: Alexander's Ragtime Band, In Old Chicago, Marie Antoinette, Suez)
She does it again. Go Shirley!
ReplyDeleteTom: I guess the only one that surprises me is the Jane Withers entry, but I am sure that has more to do with my failed memory and not her talent or popularity. She was a delightful guest when Robert Osborne had the “Private Screening: Child Stars” gathering some years back. It seemed she rarely stopped smiling or laughing. This, as opposed to Dickie Moore, who struck me as troubled. Interesting that this ten were all affiliated with Twentieth Century Fox or MGM at the time. No Paramount. No Warners. It is fun to reflect on these. Thank you. Gerald.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying these posts. Fascinating!
ReplyDelete@Snow: yep, and she makes the top 10 again the next year, not surprisingly.
ReplyDelete@Gerald, I did not see the 2006 TCM special, but I did see an "A&E Biography" special a few years ago. Also thank you for providing the information about the studios; I should have done that. Paramount, Warners, and Universal are represented in the next years.
@DKoren, thanks so much. I only have information for 10 years, as reported in a chart from Life magazine. I'd like to find rankings on other years if I could.
So glad Shirley is tops again. Fun to see good old Tyrone climbing the charts.
ReplyDeleteGordon, I loved the Child Star TCM special, too. Jane seemed like a sweetheart and Dickie did seem a bit troubled but he did find his sweetheart in Janie Powell :)