Special Report
Once Popular Movies That Are Now All But Forgotten
May 9, 2022 3:00 pm
Last Updated: May 9, 2022 3:19 pm
5. David and Bathsheba (1951)
> Ticket sale to IMDb review ratio: 12,633.1 tickets per review
> Inflation-adjusted box office: $269.7 million (29.4 million tickets)
> IMDb audience rating: 6.1/10 (2,331 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 32% (417 reviews)
> Starring: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey
This Technicolor epic portrays the love affair between King David and Bathsheba, occasionally flashing back to famous biblical events. Sweeping spectacle and Gregory Peck’s committed performance helped make it a commercial success.
4. Come Blow Your Horn (1963)
> Ticket sale to IMDb review ratio: 13,098.1 tickets per review
> Inflation-adjusted box office: $135.3 million (14.8 million tickets)
> IMDb audience rating: 6.0/10 (1,128 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (730 reviews)
> Starring: Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb, Molly Picon
Sitcom legend Norman Lear wrote the script for this musical comedy, based on a play by Neil Simon. It stars Sinatra as Alan Baker, a womanizing Manhattanite who teaches his younger brother some tricks of the trade. Look for a cameo from fellow rat packer Dean Martin.
3. Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966)
> Ticket sale to IMDb review ratio: 13,336.1 tickets per review
> Inflation-adjusted box office: $169.4 million (18.5 million tickets)
> IMDb audience rating: 5.8/10 (1,387 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (1,516 reviews)
> Starring: Nancy Kwan, Akim Tamiroff
Walt Disney received his sole story credit (as “Retlaw Yensid”) for this adventure comedy, which puts a modern twist on Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe.” Cast away to a remote island, a navy pilot (Van Dyke) engages with tribal women and an astro-chimp named Floyd.
2. Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
> Ticket sale to IMDb review ratio: 14,028.1 tickets per review
> Inflation-adjusted box office: $486.2 million (53.1 million tickets)
> IMDb audience rating: 6.6/10 (3,784 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (4,993 reviews)
> Starring: Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie
This sequel to “The Robe” follows a Christian slave (Mature) through the ranks of gladiator training and into the arena. Themes of faith play out against a tapestry of epic set pieces and romantic encounters.
1. The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
> Ticket sale to IMDb review ratio: 34,448.1 tickets per review
> Inflation-adjusted box office: $431.3 million (47.1 million tickets)
> IMDb audience rating: 4.5/10 (1,367 reviews)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (2,100 reviews)
> Starring: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay
Tom Laughlin returns as Billy Jack for the third installment of his Western action series. This time around, the half-blooded Native American joins a freedom school in the fight against establishment forces. The film overcame negative reviews on its way to the top of the domestic box office, where it stayed for three weeks.
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