The best George Brent movies can range in decade and genre, but one thing remains certain: regardless of what type of role Brent was given, he would deliver in a subtle yet very efficient way. Brent wasn’t the kind of actor who overwhelmed a picture. He did not give off theatrical fireworks — to say the least.

Instead, he was able to portray intelligence, dry humor, quiet romantic authority, and composure. These underrated qualities allowed him to become an ideal screen partner for so many forceful Old Hollywood actresses, such as Bette Davis, Ruth Chatterton (his wife), Barbara Stanwyck, and Greta Garbo.

Though Brent has more than 100 acting credits to his name, he is perhaps best remembered for his years at Warner Bros. and the 11 films he made opposite Bette Davis. Though we’ve done our best to pick his absolute best movies here, you’ll see quite a lot of Davis collaborations, which is perhaps to be expected.

This ranking considers the overall quality of each film, Brent’s importance to the movie (though he often was a very important supporting character), his performance, and the lasting history of the film. Many fantastic Brent films just barely missed the cut; for those looking for more options of Brent films, his filmography definitely deserves a thorough digging into.

However, for now, these top 10 best George Brent movies will do the job!

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Honorable Mention: The Old Maid (1939)

Genre: Drama

Starring: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent

Directed by: Edmund Goulding

A single impulsive night links Charlotte Lovell (Davis), her cousin Delia Lovell (Hopkins), and returning adventurer Clem Spender (Brent) for decades in The Old Maid… for better or for worse.

This 1939 drama is set during and after the Civil War and begins with Delia about to walk down the aisle and marry a man for a rather socially advantageous reason. When her ex-flame, Clem — who thought he would be the one to marry her — returns unexpectedly, unresolved feelings reopen. Charlotte, who has always had a soft spot for Clem, finds herself in the middle of it all.

After Delia marries another, Charlotte is left to comfort Clem. Her connection to him leaves her carrying a secret baby — and that fact could destroy her standing in respectable society.

We’ve put The Old Maid on this list as an Honorable Mention, simply because Brent has limited screen time compared to Davis and Hopkins, the two female leads. However, his Clem is the reason why all of this drama lasts for decades, and his brief scenes showcase how he could star opposite some of the greatest Old Hollywood stars and easily allow them to shine.

Best for those who love prestige melodramas, complicated female relationships, and a wounded Bette Davis character.

RELATED: Why Every Soap Opera Fan Should Watch The Old Maid

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10. Female (1933)

Genre: Romantic Dramedy

Starring: Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Lois Wilson

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Female is very much Brent’s then-wife, Ruth Chatterton’s, vehicle. However, as can be expected from many of the films on this list, Brent’s supporting role helps complete the picture and make it memorable.

In this 1933 romantic drama, Chatterton plays Alison Drake, a powerful automobile company president who runs her business and personal life very much like a man — and she apologizes to no one. She’s efficient, sexually independent, and very wealthy.

Alison has no problem dismissing male employees once their usefulness has faded. Acting as a man of the time, she’s one of pre-Code Hollywood’s most interesting heroines.

Enter Jim Thorne (Brent), a gifted engineer, who refuses to become just another one of her disposable conquests. As a result, she finds her confidence challenged by this very intriguing man.

While still very much a dated film — this was 1933, after all — Female is a riveting pre-Code drama that also happens to be one of the very best George Brent movies.

Best for those who love unique pre-Code films, movies with provocative gender politics, and stories that follow women in business.

RELATED: 10 Forgotten Pre-Code Romances That Are Bolder Than Modern Movies

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9. My Reputation (1946)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner Anderson

Directed by: Curtis Bernhardt

There’s nothing like a great Brent romantic drama, is there? In My Reputation, he was paired opposite one of his frequent costars, Barbara Stanwyck. The film follows Jessica Drummond (Stanwyck), who struggles to adapt to polite society after her husband dies. While her neighbors, friends, and family expect her to follow strict societal codes about mourning, Jessica quietly struggles with loneliness.

And then, during a ski trip, she meets Major Scott Landis (Brent), a self-assured Army officer who treats her as a real, living woman — rather than as the widow everyone back home sees her as. Against gossip and family resistance, Jessica’s relationship with Scott Landis develops.

Best for those who prefer adult romantic dramas, restrained melodramas, and movies about rebuilding one’s life after a major loss.

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8. Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)

Genre: Romantic War Drama

Starring: Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent

Directed by: Irving Pichel

Brent shines in a supporting role opposite an absolutely stacked and talented cast in Tomorrow Is Forever. In this 1946 romantic World War I drama, Elizabeth MacDonald (Colbert) is told that her husband, John Andrew MacDonald (Welles), has died in the war. She is left pregnant and devastated.

Elizabeth’s employer, Larry Hamilton (Brent), helps her rebuild. Over the next few years, he becomes her stable husband — and the father of her children. However, Elizabeth has no idea that John, her first husband, has survived, yet he has severe injuries. 

He is eventually brought back to orbit around the Hamilton family as World War II approaches; drama obviously ensues. Tomorrow Is Forever is definitely one of the very best George Brent movies of all time.

Best for those who enjoy morally difficult love triangles and wartime melodramas.

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7. The Great Lie (1941)

Genre: Drama

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Mary Astor

Directed by: Edmund Goulding

There can never be a list of the best George Brent movies without including the melodrama that is The Great Lie. Once again — as is very common — he’s opposite Bette Davis, yet he also pairs masterfully with the vindictive Mary Astor here.

The Great Lie follows aviator Pete Van Allen (Brent) after he impulsively marries brilliant concert pianist Sandra Kovak (Astor). However, when he learns that a legal technicality — her previous divorce hasn’t been finalized — makes the marriage invalid, he returns to his longtime love Maggie Patterson (Davis).

This love triangle quickly becomes something altogether different when Sandra reveals that she’s pregnant with Pete’s baby… and then Pete is declared dead after a dangerous job. Suddenly, Maggie and Sandra have only each other and Steve’s unborn baby.

With many twists and turns, The Great Lie is definitely a must-watch for anyone looking for a good romance starring Brent.

Best for viewers who love melodramas, glossy Warner Bros. romances, romantic rivalry, and stories about secrets and sacrifice.

RELATED: Bette Davis & Mary Astor Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best

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6. In This Our Life (1942)

Genre: Drama

Starring: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Charles Coburn, Hattie McDaniel, Ernest Anderson

Directed by: John Huston

In This Our Life is a very interesting John Huston film — and just a very interesting drama from the 1940s in general, thanks to its direct acknowledgment of racial injustice. Though it is still very much of its time, this remarkably progressive film stands alone in its depiction of racism in 1940s America. Not many Hollywood films — starring some of the biggest stars of its time, no less — were talking about racial injustice during this time.

This film mixes romantic melodrama with moral drama. Bette Davis plays spoiled Stanley Timberlake, a young woman who destabilizes her Virginia family by running away with her sister Roy Timberlake’s (de Havilland) husband. 

Throughout all of her actions, the impulsive and entitled Stanley is also protected by her wealthy uncle (Coburn). Roy, meanwhile, responds to her sister’s betrayal by focusing on her career, rather than letting the scandal ruin her life.

When Roy reconnects with Stanley’s former fiancé, lawyer Craig Fleming (Brent), everything appears to be working out for her. But then, Stanley returns to the family fold.

When Stanley’s recklessness threatens Parry Clay (Anderson), a young Black man studying law in Craig’s office and the son of the family’s beloved housekeeper (McDaniel), the melodrama expands into less of a domestic drama and more into a harsher examination of privilege. As a result of this interest take, this film is one of the best George Brent movies of all time.

Best for those who enjoy Bette Davis’ most unsympathetic roles, family melodramas, and Old Hollywood movies that confront the racial injustices of their time.

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5. Baby Face (1933)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook

Directed by: Alfred E. Green

For many people, Baby Face is one of the greatest pre-Code films of all time. It also happens to be one of the best George Brent movies.

The film follows Lily Powers (Stanwyck), who, after years of exploitation by her father, decides to use the desires of powerful men as a way to get money and status. This leads to her traveling to New York and taking a low-level bank job. Eventually, she begins to climb the corporate hierarchy through seduction.

Brent arrives in a supporting role as Courtland Trenholm later in the film. He’s a respected executive who becomes more significant than any of Lily’s earlier conquests, solely because he offers her access to the highest level of privilege she’s been in reach of thus far.

Best for viewers who love morally ambiguous antiheroines, pre-Code cinema, and social climbing dramas.

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4. The Spiral Staircase (1946)

Genre: Horror

Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore

Directed by: Robert Siodmak

Set in a small New England town, The Spiral Staircase follows a murderer who is targeting women with physical disabilities. This harrowing situation puts a mute housemaid, Helen McCord (McGuire), in immediate danger. 

Professor Albert Warren (Brent) is the composed head of the household in the isolated Warren mansion. As a storm closes around the mansion, Helen is surrounded by tense servants, competing family members, and the threat that the killer is close. A great ‘40s horror.

Best for those who enjoy Gothic mysteries, old-dark-house thrillers, and psychological suspense.

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3. 42nd Street (1933)

Genre: Musical

Starring: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Guy Kibbee

Directed by: Lloyd Bacon

42nd Street is also one of the best George Brent movies of all time! In this certified classic 1933 musical, Warner Baxter plays a hard-driving director who risks his health to put on a Broadway musical that he needs to succeed financially. 

The production, however, depends on a temperamental star (Daniels), a wealthy backer (Kibbee), and a very crowded company of performers who are all fighting to stay in work during the Depression. Brent plays Daniels’ longtime lover and her former vaudeville partner.

Best for viewers who love backstage musicals and fast ensemble comedies about putting on a show that must succeed.

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2. Dark Victory (1939)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart

Directed by: Edmund Goulding

Now, we’re getting to the best of the best George Brent movies. Dark Victory is a tearjerker — and one of the greatest films between Davis and Brent.

In this 1939 romantic drama, carefree Long Island socialite Judith Traherne (Davis) is forced to confront her mortality after constant headaches eventually lead her to seek help from brain surgeon Dr. Frederick Steele (Brent).

At first, Judith treats her illness as yet another inconvenience that her confidence and money should be able to deal with. But when she gets a diagnosis that reveals her time on this Earth is limited, she’s forced to learn what it truly is to live — for the first time in her life. A great melodrama!

Best for those who appreciate classic Old Hollywood tearjerkers and romantic melodramas.

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1. Jezebel (1938)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent

Directed by: William Wyler

The very best George Brent movie of all time is, in our humble opinion, Jezebel. It’s also his greatest onscreen collaboration opposite his frequent costar, Bette Davis.

Set in 1850 New Orleans, Jezebel follows Julie Marsden (Davis) as she repeatedly tests the patience of her fiancé, banker Preston Dillard (Fonda). After she defiantly wears a scandalous red dress to a formal ball where other unmarried women are traditionally supposed to wear white, she causes a scandal — and faces social humiliation.

Pride separates the couple, and Julie refuses to accept that her choice to wear that scandalous red dress has led to permanent consequences. Brent, meanwhile, plays Buck Cantrell, a rebellious Southern suitor with charm and recklessness. He provides Davis a convenient alternative to Preston.

The film is set during the antebellum period of the South; those who have watched Gone With the Wind won’t be surprised by these depictions, as it’s a remarkably similar film. As a result, racial attitudes and plantation imagery were products of the period, something that modern viewers should recognize. 

The film’s drama is then set against an approaching yellow fever crisis, expanding the intimate drama and forming it into a historical epic. Truly a must-watch.

Best for viewers who enjoy historical melodramas, Southern Gothic atmospheres, and romantic power struggles.

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Watch the Best George Brent Movies Today

Sometimes, it might feel easy to pass off Brent as merely a dependable leading man who allowed his glamorous leading ladies to shine. However, that description often overlooks the skill Brent had. He was able to support some of Hollywood’s strongest personalities — Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, etc — without completely disappearing beside them.

Whether Brent was starring in a gritty pre-Code drama or a lavish melodrama, he continued to remind people why he was considered one of classic Hollywood’s most reliable — and underrated — screen partners. The best George Brent movies listed here prove why he remains one of the best, even decades after his career was at its peak.

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