90 Samuel Goldwyn Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Regina Hubbard is a beautiful and brilliant woman who aspires for wealth in a world where fathers only considered sons as legal heirs. She is financially dependent on her husband Horace, who is at a sanitarium for many years, due to his heart condition. However, when she needs him for her plans, she tries to manipulate her daughter into bringing him back.

The Best Years of Our Lives is an Oscar-winning American drama film which tells the story of three World War II veterans, who return home to a small town in America, only to find that they and their families have been changed irreparably. 

A retired automobile manufacturer and his wife take a vacation to Europe, which is to be their ‘second honeymoon’. While the wife falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, the husband meets a woman who is quite opposite to his wife- self-assured, confident and able to take care of herself.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is an adventure romantic drama film which tells the story of Ben-Hur, a wealthy young Jewish prince, who is a friend fo the powerful Roman tribune, Messala. Ben-Hur’s life gets ugly when an accident and a false accusation leads him to getting arrested falsely. Instead of helping him, Messala, who has now become arrogant and corrupt, makes sure that Be-Hur is jailed and separated from the rest of his family.  

Palmy Days is a musical comedy film, which tells the job of an assistant working for a fake psychic, who decides to leave her job, and join a bakery instead.  

An academic makes up his mind to learn about the evolving American slang to finish working on a comprehensive encyclopedia and chances upon a nightclub performer. She agrees to teach him slang vocabulary in exchange for a place to stay.

The Pride of the Yankees is a biographical film which revolves around the life and career of Lou Gehrig, famed baseball player, whose premature and tragic death had touched the entire nation. The film puts emphasis on his relationship with his parents, especially his mother, and also shows his friendships with players, journalists, as well as his romantic relationship with a woman.

Tonight or Never is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of Nella Vargo, an opera singer. Although she used to be one of the best singers, she starts receiving criticism for not putting her soul into her work.  She soon meets a mysterious man, whom she believes to be a gigolo. He tells her that she will never be able to revive her career, until she can experience true love. 

The musical comedy follows Sally Morgan who has fallen in love with mixed-race Native American Wanenis. When she flees her wedding with Sheriff Bob Wells, with the help of a completely oblivious Henry Williams who is just giving her a ride, they are pursued by Wells and Henry’s nurse Mary. 

A poor Brooklyn boy inherits $77 million from his biological father; but to get it he must travel to Egypt. Traveling in the same ship is his father’s common-law wife and her rogue boyfriend, intending to lay claim on the booty and so is his sponsor, who is also expecting a share.  Then there is a local sheikh who is unwilling to give up the money. 

Based on a novel of the same name, this romantic drama film is about Heathcliff, an orphaned boy who is found on the streets by Mr Earnshaw.  He brings him home to live with his own children Cathy and Hindley. Over the years, Cathy and Heathcliff develop feelings for one another, although Hindley despises Heathcliff. However, their neighbor Edgar also falls for Cathy, and proposes to her. Heathcliff decides to disappear from her life forever.

On a hot summer afternoon, Emma Jones is gossiping with her neighbors about the affair that Mrs. Anna Maurrant is having with her milkman Steve Sankey. However, when the rude and unfriendly Frank Maurrant arrives all of a sudden, they are forced to change the subject. The next morning, Frank Maurrant informs his wife that he is traveling to Stamford on business purposes. Mrs. Maurrant sees this as the perfect opportunity to meet with Sankey, but she is unaware of the fact that her husband Frank is going to return soon.

After all his efforts to raise money for a cathedral fails, a Bishop Henry Brougham finds himself quite depressed. However, his life takes an interesting turn, after he is visited by Dudley, who claims to be an angel. Henry is a bit annoyed, but his wife takes kindly to Dudley.

These Three is a romantic drama film which revolves around Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, two schoolteachers, both of whom are in love with the same man Dr. Joe Cardin. Their lives are turned upside down when one of their students cooks up a malicious lie.

After her parents’ death while trying to cross the California desert, Barbara is rescued and raised by a rancher. Fifteen years later, an engineer comes to their settlement with the task of diverting the Colorado River and begins to vie with a local cowboy for Barbara’s affection. But his task is not easy as his employer refuses to release the required fund, resulting in catastrophic flood. 

Due to a case of mistaken identity, Eddie is taken away to Mexico by a group of bank robbers. In order to escape the police, he claims to be a bullfighter. However, the detectives refuse to believe it, until they see Eddie in the ring.  

Stella is a girl from a small town, who gets married to a socialite named Stephen Dallas, a man with whom she has nothing in common. Their marriage eventually fails, and after the birth of their daughter, Stephen returns to New York, leaving his daughter with Stella. However, Stella is unable to provide for her daughter properly, and upon realizing this, she sends her daughter to live with Stephen.

The Westerner is a western drama film which takes us to a town named Vinegaroon, in Texas 1882, where Judge Roy Bean has appointed himself as the hanging judge. He conducts trials from his saloon, and makes a corrupt living by seizing property unlawfully, as well as by collecting fines. Those who oppose him are sentenced for hanging. However, things change with the arrival of a drifter named Cole Harden.

After his father kills himself after losing his fortune, his son Stephen Dallas tries to build his wealth on his own so that he can get married to his fiancée Helen Morrison. However, just before he was about to reach his goal, he reads in a newspaper that Helen has got married already. Therefore, he gets married to Stella Martin, the daughter of a mill-worker. Years later, Stephen runs into Helen, who is now a wealthy widow with three sons. Stephen finds himself attracted to Helen once again, and decides to ask Stella for a divorce.

Martin, a mobster returns home to the New York neighborhood, where he had grown up. However, his mother rejects him because of his gangster lifestyle. He soon finds out that his old girlfriend Francey is now working as a prostitute. He also meets his childhood friend who is struggling to become an architect.

Young history enthusiast Eddie, a simple-minded delivery boy in West Rome, Oklahoma, is banished from the town by dishonest politicians. He collides with a cart and in an unconscious state, dreams of being a slave in Ancient Rome. There, too, he faces troubles with corruption similar to his home town, and gets embroiled in a plot against the life of the Emperor. 

A gambler in New York is challenged to take a female missionary to Havana. However, they fall for each other on the way.

During the Second World War, an American servicewoman puts up with her granduncle, Rollo Dane. The plot then turns backwards into Rollo’s childhood, when his father brings home a girl called Lark, who begins to live with them. Over the time, they fall in love; but cannot marry due to his sister’s scheme. Now that Lark’s nephew and his niece have fallen in love, can the old man sit idle?  

The story is told in flashback through the eyes of Eloise Winters. The now alcoholic Eloise is trapped in an unhappy marriage and has a difficult relationship with her daughter. While she is contemplating divorcing her husband, she reminisces about her first true love with Walt Dreiser before the beginning of World War II.  

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fantasy comedy drama film which tells the story of a clumsy accountant who fantasizes about being a hero. Neither his mother, nor his fiancée, nor his best friend respects him. His life however takes a turn when he gets involved in a dangerous conspiracy.

They Shall Have Music is a 1939 drama film which revolves around a boy who runs away from home, and eventually ends up in a music school for poor children. When the school suffers financial hardships, he comes up with a plan to save it.    

Strike me Pink is a comedy musical film, which tells the story of a shy and meek man named Eddie Pink, who becomes manager of an amusement park which is filled with mobsters.

The elite society of Paris is intimidated by a bold thief known by the name of Arsene Lupin, who continues to rob them of their precious possessions. The scandal creates a fear in the city. But Detective Guerchard of French Police is certain of the mysterious thief’s identity, and is also confident of how he is going to apprehend the thief.

Cynara is a 1932 romantic drama film, which revolves around the theme of adultery. The film tells the story of a British lawyer, who has to pay a heavy price after he has an affair with a young woman. 

Lumberman Barney Glasgow leaves his girlfriend Lotta Morgan, and instead gets married to Emma Louise, his wealthy boss’s daughter. Over the years, he manages to become quite rich, and after twenty three years, he meets Lotta Bostrom, the daughter of his former girlfriend who has now passed away. She looks exactly like her mother, and Barney can’t stop himself from being attracted to her.

Kitty, Alan and his cousin, Gerald have been close friends since their childhood. Both Alan and Gerald are in love with Kitty while Kitty loves only Alan. Later, on leave from the front during the WWI, Allan proposes to Kitty, which she accepts joyfully. When they find no one to marry them, they decide to spend the night together. 

Fired by his editor due to his incompetence, an idiotic reporter seeks to redeem himself after he accidentally uncovers a network of Nazi spies in Washington. 

AJ Raffles is a jewel thief who decides to give up his criminal life behind, after he falls in love with Lady Gwen. However, when he learns about his friend Bunny’s attempted suicide, as he was unable to pay off his gambling debts, Raffles decides to take on one more job for the sake of his friend. Therefore he sets his eyes on the Melrose necklace, but complications arise because a gang of thieves are also after the same necklace.

After finding her fiance dead, Mary Rutledge goes to work at a rowdy gambling house in 1950s San Francisco. She soon falls for another man named Carmichael.

Mary Smith, the bored daughter of presidential hopeful Horace Smith, is living a scandal-free life. She falls in love with cowboy Stretch Willoughby who hates high society. Mary pretends to be a maid hiding her true identity and the two get married. Life gets complicated as both of her lives catch up with one another. 

In this musical comedy remake of Harold Lloyd's 1936 film The Milky Way, milkman Burleigh Sullivan, by a mere good fortune, manages to knock out middleweight boxing champion Speed MacFarlane. Later, he agrees to take up boxing professionally on the insistence of Speed's manager, Gabby Sloane. His success make him arrogant; however, he does not know that the matches have been fixed by Gabby.

Bankrupt novelist, Tony Barrett, and his wife, Dora, are forced to move into Tony’s run-down farm in Connecticut. There Tony’s neighbor buys a piece of his land and Dora returns to New York. Tony stays behind and becomes romantically involved with his neighbor’s daughter Manya. Tragedy strikes the night Manya weds her fiancé, Fredrick. 

Set against the backdrop of the Moro Rebellion in 1906, the film focuses on the bravery and dedication of a small American contingent stationed at the Philippine island of Mindanao, where the local population is being regularly killed and abducted by Moro guerrillas. The main task of the contingent is to train the native Philippine Constabulary so that they can defend themselves.  

Hugh Drummond is a demobilized British captain, who is getting bored with civilian life. Therefore, he places an advertisement in a newspaper stating that he is offering his services for ‘any excitement’, and he soon receives a response from a woman named Phyllis, who claims to be in danger. He learns that her uncle is being treated in a hospital, but she feels that something is not right about the place. She also feels that she is being watched constantly.

When Willie returns home from East Africa, once again a failure, his aristocrat father is furious. However, Willie smooth talks him into letting him stay and then goes on to use his charm on an heiress, who is also a family friend. Impressed, she breaks her engagement to a Russian Grand Duke; but imposes one condition; that he will never see his old girlfriend. 

Our Very Own is an American drama film, which tells the story of a young girl, Gail, who discovers that she is adopted, during a heated argument with her sister Joan. She sets off in search of her biological parents and her true identity, with the reluctant support of her adoptive parents. 

I Want You is an American drama film, which tells the story of an American small businessman who writes a letter to a World War II veteran, requesting that his son George is not drafted into the Korean War, so that he is able to continue working for his family’s company. 

When Danny is drafted in the US Army, his best friend, Joe, also gets himself drafted.  As they set sail for South Pacific, they find that their friends, Virginia and Mary, have also enlisted as nurses. During the voyage, Danny smuggles in Mary and is sent to the brig for it. The story then goes on to narrate how he dupes Japanese soldiers to surrender and becomes a hero. 

BJ Nolan, a former millionaire, is quite careless with his money as he spends most of it on his crazy schemes. However, his son, Kenneth, is quite the opposite, and gets a large inheritance from his mother. BJ enlists the help of  a young architect named Virginia to con the money out of Kenneth.

The Masquerader is a drama film which tells the story of Sir John Chilcote, a politician with a high-pressure position in the Parliament, which he is unable to handle anymore. In addition, he is also having a troubled relationship with his neglected wife Eve. Therefore, in order to ease his tensions, he decides to take the help of his unemployed cousin John, who is his doppelganger. Things however get complicated when Eve begins to fall for John, thinking that it is her ‘reformed’ husband.

Celebrated cricketer A. J. Raffles is also a master burglar and safecracker. Nicknamed "The Amateur Cracksman", he takes full advantage of the invitations offered by the aristocrats.  Then he falls in love with the sister of an old friend and when he learns about his friend’s gambling debt, he decides to accept another weekend invitation. 

Three former Broadway showgirls, Jean, Polaire and Schatze, decide to find affluent husbands. So, they put on a façade of being millionaires by renting luxurious penthouse apartment and Chanel dresses. Each one endowed with different personality traits ranging from kind-hearted to untrustworthy, the three girls soon realize that it is easier to make plans than put them in action and reap its fruits.

Colman is a thief who is sentenced to prison, and is soon sent to Devil’s Island. He soon gets romantically involved with the wife of the cruel and sadistic warden.

Aristocratic Helen Drummond accompanies her father, Lord Athleigh, to Dublin for peace talks during the Irish War of Independence. As Irish revolutionary Dennis Riordan is not known publicly, Helen doesn’t recognize him when he saves them from assassination. Unaware of his identity, she falls for him. Though later he reveals the truth, they both feel helpless in love. Based on true facts. 

A young servant girl is seduced and impregnated by a Russian prince. After she loses the baby and moves to the city, she descends into a life of poverty and prostitution. When the prince learns of her crimes, he feels guilty and attempts to redeem her and himself.

Nana, a Paris streetwalker, is noticed by theater producer Gaston Greiner who makes her a part of his latest musical. Soon Nana turns a theater star, but the stardom brings on suitors making Greiner jealous and furious. When two brothers, Lt. George Muffat and Col. Andre Muffat, fall for Nana’s charms, it creates a bitter rivalry between them, ending in a tragedy. 

Since Brighton’s parents are going through financially difficult times, they are disappointed after he marries Phyllis, a girl from an impoverished family. Although Phyllis is supportive of his career, and wants him to continue his struggle to become a writer, his mother has other plans for him. She forces him to get a job, and have an affair with a wealthy cousin to advance his career even further.

In 1941, the peaceful life of a Ukrainian village is shattered when they are brutally attacked by the Nazi planes followed by ground strike. Some villagers seek refuge in the hills and get together to rise up against the cruelty, especially when a Nazi doctor begins using the village children to fulfil the blood requirement of their wounded soldier.

An old man staying at a hotel with his daughter in the middle of the Sahara Desert, is trying to keep the location of a treasure a secret, from a group of criminals who are determined to loot the treasure. Soon, a gentleman thief arrives at the hotel with a plan to obtain the treasure, but things get complicated when he falls for the daughter.

Based on a play of the same name, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters, this film tells the story of investigator Sherlock Holmes, trying to bring down the criminal mastermind Moriarty as he also solves a crime involving a blackmailed prince.  

Famed Venetian explorer Marco Polo and his assistant Binguccio, travel to Peking to seek out the palace of Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan. Upon reaching, Marco becomes a favorite of the Khan and also falls in love with the Princess Kukachin. However, he has to contend with the emperor’s devious adviser, Ahmed, who wants to overthrow the Khan. 

Distressed since his last few films are failing, a movie producer named Oliver Merlin chooses a young simple girl to critically evaluate his movies from the point of view of a common man. Things get interesting, when her advice eventually makes his latest film a success.