This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

List of Marilyn Monroe Movies: Ranked Best To Worst

1. Bus Stop (1956)
43
6
Bus Stop
TV-G
43
6
Role:
Chérie
Starring:
Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, Don Murray, Betty Field
Directed By:
Joshua Logan
2. Some Like It Hot (1959)
128
15
Some Like It Hot
128
15

Chicago musicians Joe and Jerry accidentally witness a mafia murder and disguise as women to enlist into an all-female band to get out of town quickly. However, complications arise after Joe poses as a millionaire to impress the band's vocalist and ukulele player Sugar, while Jerry draws the attention of an actual millionaire who won't take refusal kindly.

Role:
Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
Starring:
Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Pat O'Brien, George Raft
Directed By:
Awards:
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical
3. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
50
6
The Seven Year Itch
50
6

The Seven Year Itch is a romantic comedy film, which tells the story of a married man, whose family goes away for the summer. However, in the meantime, he feels attracted to his beautiful neighbor.

Role:
The Girl
Starring:
Carolyn Jones, Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keyes, Robert Strauss, Sonny Tufts
Directed By:
4. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
61
9
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
61
9

Show-girl Lorelei Lee, who is engaged to Gus Esmond Jr., takes friend Dorothy Shaw on a transatlantic cruise, where the beauties enjoy attention of admiring men. Gus’s wealthy father, who disapproves of their relationship and is convinced that Lorelei is after money, sends a private detective to keep a watch. The movie is remembered for number ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friends.’ 

Role:
Lorelei Lee
Starring:
Jane Russell, George Chakiris, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan
Directed By:
Howard Hawks
5. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
44
7
How to Marry a Millionaire
44
7

How to Marry a Millionaire is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of three women who are tired of being broke. They soon plan to trap and marry three eligible millionaires.

Role:
Pola Debevoise
Starring:
Directed By:
Jean Negulesco
6. Niagara (1953)
47
8
Niagara
TV-PG
47
8
Role:
Rose Loomis
Starring:
Joseph Cotten, Denis O'Dea, Jean Peters, Max Showalter
Directed By:
Henry Hathaway
7. Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
27
5
Don't Bother to Knock
TV-14
27
5

After being left by his girlfriend, pilot Jed Towers finds himself attracted to the beautiful Nell Forbes, while staying at a hotel in New York City. He soon learns that she is a babysitter, taking care of a child named Bunny. However, over time, he begins to doubt her mental stability, and feels that the child may be in some sort of danger.

Role:
Nell Forbes
Starring:
Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, Donna Corcoran, Jeanne Cagney
Directed By:
Roy Ward Baker
8. River of No Return (1954)
31
6
River of No Return
31
6

After completing his prison sentence, farmer Matt Calder returns his town in order to reunite with his young son. Meanwhile, a bar singer Kay is heading downriver with her boyfriend Harry, in order to explore a potential gold claim. When their raft sinks, Harry robs Matt of his gun and his horse, and he continues on his journey without Kay. Therefore, the three of them plan revenge.

Role:
Kay Weston
Starring:
Robert Mitchum, Rory Calhoun, Murvyn Vye, Tommy Rettig
Directed By:
9. All About Eve (1950)
58
13
All About Eve
TV-PG
58
13

The plot of the movie, which is based on Mary Orr’s 1946 short story The Wisdom of Eve, follows Eve Harrington who meets her idol, Margo Channing, and is eventually taken into latter’s household. What Margo, a successful theatre actress, does not know is that Eve plans to use her and everyone around her to boost her own career and attain super stardom.

Starring:
Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Gary Merrill
Directed By:
10. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
28
6
The Asphalt Jungle
28
6

Released from prison, criminal Erwin ‘Doc’ Riedenschneider contacts a corrupt lawyer for financial backing before planning a major jewelry robbery. He hires a safe-cracker, a getaway driver and a gunman for the heist, which goes as planned. But an alarm results in shootout, killing one of them. What ensue is betrayal, deceit, murder and suicide, as the police hunt each one of them.

Starring:
James Whitmore, Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, John McIntire, Louis Calhern
Directed By:
11. The Misfits (1961)
34
9
The Misfits
34
9

While going through her divorce, Roslyn, a beautiful ex-stripper, meets a cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland and Guido Racanelli, a former aviator who had served in the Second World War. Both men instantly find themselves attracted to Roslyn, and on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido’s half-finished desert home.

Role:
Roslyn Taber
Starring:
Clark Gable, John Huston, Eli Wallach, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter
Directed By:
12. Monkey Business (1952)
19
7
Monkey Business
19
7

Monkey Business is a comedy film which tells the story of a scientist who is able to develop the elixir of life, which can help adults become young once again. Things get hilarious when he and his wife actually drink it.  

Role:
Miss Lois Laurel
Starring:
Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe
Directed By:
Howard Hawks
13. The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
22
8
The Prince and the Showgirl
PG
22
8
Starring:
Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Richard Wattis, Jeremy Spenser
Directed By:
14. Let's Make It Legal (1951)
13
4
Let's Make It Legal
13
4

Miriam Halsworth is divorcing Hugh because of his addiction to gambling. Things get comically complicated when self-made millionaire, Victor Macfarland, Hugh’s rival for Miriam’s hand twenty years ago tries to win her back. As secrets are revealed, lovers are reconciled and Hugh earns Miriam’s forgiveness. 

Role:
Joyce Mannering
Starring:
Robert Wagner, Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey, Barbara Bates
Directed By:
Richard Sale
15. O. Henry's Full House (1952)
9
3
O. Henry's Full House
9
3
Starring:
Jeanne Crain, Charles Laughton, Oscar Levant, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark, Farley Granger
Directed By:
Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Henry King
16. We're Not Married! (1952)
15
5
We're Not Married!
15
5
Role:
Annabel Jones Norris
Starring:
Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lee Marvin, Mitzi Gaynor, Ginger Rogers, David Wayne, Victor Moore
Directed By:
Edmund Goulding
17. Love Nest (1951)
16
6
Love Nest
16
6
Role:
Roberta 'Bobbie' Stevens
Starring:
William Lundigan, June Haver, Frank Fay, Jack Paar
Directed By:
Joseph M. Newman
18. Home Town Story (1951)
13
5
Home Town Story
13
5
Role:
Iris Martin
Starring:
Donald Crisp, Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale Jr., Marjorie Reynolds
Directed By:
Arthur Pierson
19. There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
17
7
There's No Business Like Show Business
17
7

This musical comedy drama film takes us to 1919 and revolves around the lives and careers of Terence and Molly Donahue, a husband-and-wife vaudeville team. Over the years, their children Steve, Katy and Tim begin to join the act one by one as well. Things get complicated when Tim falls for a performer named Vicky. After things go sour between them, Tim abandons the act, and disappears.   

Role:
Vicky Parker
Starring:
Mitzi Gaynor, Ethel Merman, George Chakiris, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Johnnie Ray
Directed By:
Walter Lang
20. Clash by Night (1952)
18
8
Clash by Night
18
8

Clash By Night is a drama film which tells the story of a woman named Mae Doyle, who returns to her hometown in Monterey, California, after spending ten years on the East Coast. All this time, she was seeing a married politician who has now passed away. Although he had left her some money, unfortunately his wife and relatives took her to court and won the case. Although Mae has now become quite cynical in nature, she begins to date Jerry D’Amato, a good natured and unsophisticated fisherman. However, she dislikes his friend Earl, who seems to be a misogynist.

Role:
Peggy
Starring:
Barbara Stanwyck, J. Carrol Naish, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas
Directed By:
21. Ladies of the Chorus (1948)
11
7
Ladies of the Chorus
11
7
Role:
Peggy Martin
Starring:
Nana Bryant, Rand Brooks, Adele Jergens, Eddie Garr
Directed By:
Phil Karlson
22. The Fireball (1950)
6
3
The Fireball
6
3

Johnny Casar is a moody and angry young man, who lives at a Catholic orphanage which is run by a priest. One day, he decides to run away, and soon manages to become a world-class skater. However, he becomes extremely arrogant, and also starts womanizing and bullying others.  Things change when he gets sick with polio.

Starring:
Mickey Rooney, Beverly Tyler, Pat O'Brien, James Brown
Directed By:
Tay Garnett
23. Love Happy (1949)
7
4
Love Happy
7
4
Starring:
Raymond Burr, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Vera-Ellen
Directed By:
David Miller
24. Dangerous Years (1947)
5
3
Dangerous Years
5
3
Starring:
Richard Gaines, Jerome Cowan, Billy Halop, Ann E. Todd
Directed By:
Arthur Pierson
25. As Young as You Feel (1951)
10
8
As Young as You Feel
10
8
Role:
Harriet
Starring:
Thelma Ritter, Monty Woolley, David Wayne, Constance Bennett
Directed By:
Harmon Jones
26. Let's Make Love (1960)
14
15
Let's Make Love
14
15

Let’s Make Love is a musical romantic comedy film which tells the story of Jean Marc Clement, a billionaire, who learns that he is being satirized in an off-Broadway revue. He goes to the theatre, where he sees Amanda Dell rehearing a song. When the director mistakes him to be an actor, Jean decides to play along, as he finds himself attracted to Amanda.

Role:
Amanda Dell
Starring:
Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Directed By:

TV Shows

The Jack Benny Program
15
2
The Jack Benny Program
15
2
Starring:
Liberace, Kirk Douglas, James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Sean Connery, Gracie Allen, Irene Dunne
Directed By:
Frederick De Cordova, Ralph Levy, Norman Abbott, Seymour Berns, Don Weis

Special Appearance/Cameo

A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
12
7
A Ticket to Tomahawk
12
7

In a competition between a railroad and a stagecoach company to obtain the government franchise for Colorado territory, Kit Dodge Jr., daughter of a railroad executive, with the help of travelling salesman Johnny Behind-the-Deuces, is supporting the train-man to reach Tomahawk in time. But afraid of losing their business, a Stagecoach Company sends ruthless Dakota to stop the train at any cost. 

Role:
Clara (uncredited)
Starring:
Rory Calhoun, Anne Baxter, Walter Brennan, Dan Dailey, Connie Gilchrist
Directed By:
Richard Sale
Right Cross (1950)
9
6
Right Cross
9
6

Right Cross is a 1950 sports drama film, which revolves around a Mexican boxer fighting to retain his crown as well as win enough money to marry the girl he likes.

Role:
Dusky Ledoux (uncredited)
Starring:
Lionel Barrymore, Ricardo Montalban, June Allyson, Dick Powell
Directed By:
John Sturges
You Were Meant for Me (1948)
8
5
You Were Meant for Me
8
5

Chuck is a bandleader who falls for Peggy, a girl in his hometown. They soon get married and depart on a tour. However, their lives turn upside down due to the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and the two are forced to return home penniless and defeated. Chuck still decides not to give up.

Role:
Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Starring:
Jeanne Crain, Oscar Levant, Dan Dailey, Barbara Lawrence
Directed By:
Lloyd Bacon
Green Grass of Wyoming (1948)
9
6
Green Grass of Wyoming
9
6

Tensions exist between the families of a farmer who raises purebred racing horses and a rival horse rancher Rob. The farmer's niece falls for Ken, Rob's son, however, the relationship between the lovers is marred as things turn ugly between the families when Thunderhead, an untamed stallion, breaks onto Rob's ranch and unchains his finest racing horse.

Role:
Extra at Square Dance (uncredited)
Starring:
Charles Coburn, Burl Ives, Lloyd Nolan, Peggy Cummins
Directed By:
Louis King
Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948)
9
6
Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!
9
6

Snug Dominy leaves his mean step-mother and step-brother to take a job with neighbor Roarer McGill. Snug is in love with Roarer’s daughter who refuses to reveal her true feelings. When his step-brother tries to harm the two mules that Snug bought from Roarer, Snug saves the mules and later, uses them to rescue Roarer, thus earning his blessings to marry his daughter. 

Role:
Betty (uncredited)
Starring:
Walter Brennan, Natalie Wood, Anne Revere, June Haver
Directed By:
F. Hugh Herbert

Marilyn Monroe Awards

Golden Globe Awards
Winner World Film Favorite - Female 1962
Some Like It Hot Best Actress - Comedy or Musical 1960
Winner World Film Favorite - Female 1954