Betty Grable
Credits
Film appearances
Title Year Role Director Co-stars Notes
Happy Days 1929 Chorus Girl Benjamin Stoloff, Charles E. Evans Marjorie White Richard Keene
Uncredited
Let’s Go Places 1930 Chorine Frank R. Strayer
Joseph Wagstaff
Lola Lane
Uncredited
1930
New Movietone Follies of 1930 1930 Chorine Benjamin Stoloff
El Brendel
Marjorie White
Uncredited
Whoopee! 1930 Goldwyn Girl Thornton Freeland
Eddie Cantor
Ethel Shutta
Eleanor Hunt
Uncredited
1931
Kiki 1931 Goldwyn Girl Sam Taylor Mary Pickford Uncredited
Palmy Days 1931 Goldwyn Girl A. Edward Sutherlandn Charlotte Greenwood Barbara Weeks Spencer Charters Uncredited
The Greeks Had a Word for Them 1932 Hat Check Girl Lowell Sherman
Joan Blondell
Madge Evans
Ina Claire
Uncredited
Probation 1932 Ruth Jarrett Richard Thorpe
John Darrow
Sally Blane
Grable’s first credited role
The Age of Consent 1932 Student at Dormitory Gregory La Cava
Dorothy Wilson
Arline Judge
Uncredited
Hold ‘Em Jail 1932 Barbara Jones Norman Taurog
Bert Wheeler
Robert Woolsey
Edna May Oliver
The Kid from Spain 1932 Goldwyn Girl Leo McCarey
Eddie Cantor
Lyda Roberti
Robert Young
Uncredited
Child of Manhattan 1933 Lucy McGonegle Edward Buzzell
Nancy Carroll
John Boles
Cavalcade 1933 Girl on couch Frank Lloyd
Diana Wynyard
Clive Brook
Una O’Connor
Uncredited
Melody Cruise 1933 First Stewardess Mark Sandrich
Charles Ruggles
Phil Harris
Uncredited
What Price Innocence? 1933 Beverly Bennett Willard Mack
Jean Parker
Minna Gombell
Willard Mack
The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi 1933 Band Singer with Ted Fio Rito Edwin L. Marin
Mary Carlisle
Buster Crabbe
The Gay Divorcee 1934 Dance Specialty Mark Sandrich
Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers
Student Tour 1934 Cayenne Charles Reisner
Jimmy Durante
Charles Butterworth
Maxine Doyle
By Your Leave 1934 Frances Gretchell Lloyd Corrigan
Frank Morgan
Genevieve Tobin
The Nitwits 1935 Mary Roberts George Stevens
Bert Wheeler
Robert Woolsey
Old Man Rhythm 1935 Sylvia Edward Ludwig
Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers
George Barbier
1936
Collegiate 1936 Dorothy Ralph Murphy
Joe Penner
Jack Oakie
Ned Sparks
Follow the Fleet 1936 Trio Singer Mark Sandrich
Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers
Don’t Turn ‘Em Loose 1936 Mildred Webster Benjamin Stoloff
Lewis Stone
James Gleason
Bruce Cabot
Pigskin Parade 1936 Laura Watson David Butler
Stuart Erwin
Patsy Kelly
Judy Garland
Jack Haley
1937
This Way Please 1937 Jane Morrow Robert Florey Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers
Thrill of a Lifetime 1937 Gwen George Archainbaud The Yacht Club Boys
1938
College Swing 1938 Betty Raoul Walsh
George Burns
Gracie Allen
Martha Raye
Bob Hope
Edward Everett Horton
Give Me a Sailor 1938 Nancy Larkin Elliott Nugent
Bob Hope
Jack Whiting
Martha Raye
Campus Confessions 1938 Joyce Gilmore George Archainbaud, Eleanore Whitney, William Henry
Grable received top billing for the first time
Man About Town 1939 Susan Hayes Mark Sandrich
Jack Benny
Dorothy Lamour
Million Dollar Legs 1939 Carol Parker Nick Grinde
John Hartley
Donald O’Connor
Jackie Coogan
Dorothea Kent
The Day the Bookies Wept 1939 Ina Firpo Leslie Goodwins Joe Penner
Down Argentine Way 1940
Glenda Crawford
Glenda Cunningham
Irving Cummings
Don Ameche
Carmen Miranda
Charlotte Greenwood
Tin Pan Alley 1940 Lily Blane Walter Lang
Alice Faye
John Payne
Jack Oakie
Moon Over Miami 1941 Kathryn ‘Kay’ Latimer Walter Lang
Don Ameche
Robert Cummings
Carole Landis
Jack Haley
A Yank in the RAF 1941 Carol Brown Henry King Tyrone Power
I Wake Up Screaming 1941 Jill Lynn H. Bruce Humberstone
Victor Mature
Carole Landis
Song of the Islands 1942 Eileen O’Brien Walter Lang
Victor Mature
Jack Oakie
Footlight Serenade 1942 Pat Lambert Gregory Ratoff
John Payne
Victor Mature
Jane Wyman
Springtime in the Rockies 1942 Vicky Lane Irving Cummings
John Payne
Carmen Miranda
Cesar Romero
Harry James
Coney Island 1943 Kate Farley Walter Lang
George Montgomery
Cesar Romero
Sweet Rosie O’Grady 1943
Madeline Marlowe
Rosie O’Grady
Irving Cummings
Robert Young
Adolphe Menjou
Four Jills in a Jeep 1944 Herself William A. Seiter
Kay Francis
Carole Landis
Alice Faye
Martha Raye
Carmen Miranda
Pin Up Girl 1944
Lorry Jones
Laura Lorraine
H. Bruce Humberstone
John Harvey
Martha Raye
Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe 1945 Bonnie Collins George Seaton
Dick Haymes
Phil Silvers
William Gaxton
The Dolly Sisters 1945 Yansci ‘Jenny’ Dolly Irving Cummings
John Payne
June Haver
Do You Love Me 1946 Girl in Taxi (cameo) Gregory Ratoff
Maureen O’Hara
Dick Haymes
Harry James
Grable had a cameo as a fan of Harry James’s character
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim 1947 Cynthia Pilgrim George Seaton
Dick Haymes
Anne Revere
Mother Wore Tights 1947 Myrtle McKinley Burt Walter Lang
Dan Dailey
Mona Freeman
Hollywood Bound 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).
That Lady in Ermine 1948
Francesca
Angelina
Ernst Lubitsch
Otto Preminger (uncredited)
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Cesar Romero
Lubitsch died early into production.
Preminger finished the film but insisted on Lubitsch receiving full credit.
When My Baby Smiles at Me 1948 Bonny Kaye Walter Lang
Dan Dailey
Jack Oakie
June Havoc
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend 1949 Winifred Jones Preston Sturges
Cesar Romero
Rudy Vallee
Wabash Avenue 1950 Ruby Summers Henry Koster
Victor Mature
Phil Harris
Remake of Grable’s earlier hit Coney Island
My Blue Heaven 1950 Kitty Moran Henry Koster
Dan Dailey
David Wayne
Jane Wyatt
Mitzi Gaynor
Call Me Mister 1951 Kay Hudson Lloyd Bacon
Dan Dailey
Danny Thomas
Remake of Grable’s earlier hit A Yank in the RAF
Meet Me After the Show 1951 Delilah Lee Richard Sale
Macdonald Carey
Rory Calhoun
Eddie Albert
The Farmer Takes a Wife 1953 Molly Larkins Henry Levin
Dale Robertson
Thelma Ritter
How to Marry a Millionaire 1953 Loco Dempsey Jean Negulesco
Marilyn Monroe
Lauren Bacall
Three for the Show 1955 Julie Lowndes H.C. Potter
Jack Lemmon
Marge Champion
Gower Champion
How to Be Very, Very Popular 1955 Stormy Tornado Nunnally Johnson
Sheree North
Robert Cummings
Charles Coburn
Tommy Noonan
Box Office ranking
Exhibitors voted Grable among the most popular stars in the country in the Quigley Moving Picture Poll.
1941 – 16th (US)
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
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)
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)
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)
