Variety's Scores

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For 17,760 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 44% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2.3 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 IMAX: Hubble 3D
Lowest review score: 0 Divorce: The Musical
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9,121 out of 17760
  2. Mixed: 7,003 out of 17760
  3. Negative: 1,636 out of 17760
17760 movie reviews
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    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Spellbound
    Alfred Hitchcock handles his players and action in suspenseful manner and, except for a few episodes of much scientific dialogue, maintains a steady pace in keeping the camera moving.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mildred Pierce
    At first reading James M. Cain's novel of the same title might not suggest screenable material, but the cleanup job has resulted in a class feature, showmanly produced by Jerry Wald and tellingly directed by Michael Curtiz.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Rhapsody in Blue
    Those who knew George Gershwin and the Gershwin saga may wax slightly vociferous at this or that miscue, but as cinematurgy, designed for escapism and entertainment, no matter the season, Rhapsody in Blue can't miss.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Isle of the Dead
    Isle of the Dead is a slow conversation piece about plagues and vampires on an eerie Greek island. It's better handled and directed than most though thriller fans will still find its lack of action a drag. Even Boris Karloff fans will note the tired way he rambles through it all.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lady on a Train
    Lady on a Train is a mystery comedy containing plenty of fun for both whodunnit and laugh fans. Melodramatic elements in the Leslie Charteris original are flippantly treated without minimizing suspense, and the dialog contains a number of choice quips that are good for hefty laughs.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Anchors Aweigh
    Anchors Aweigh is solid musical fare. The production numbers are zingy; the songs are extremely listenable; the color treatment outstanding.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1945)
    Here is an excellent film whose basic story could have been told within normal feature limits, but which, instead, is extended close to three hours. Longer or shorter, this panorama of British army life is depicted with a technical skill and artistry that marks it as one of the really fine pix to come out of a British studio.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Without Love
    Competent trouping and topflight production make Without Love a click. But there’s no gainsaying the general obviousness of it all, along with a somewhat static plot basis [from a play by Philip Barry].
    • 60 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Horn Blows at Midnight
    This one is a lightweight comedy that never seems able to make up its mind whether to be fantasy or broad slapstick. There are some good laughs but generally The Horn Blows at Midnight is not solid.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Picture of Dorian Gray
    In the adaptation by Albert Lewin, much of the offscreen narration, explaining among other things what is going on in Gray’s mind may be too much for most to grasp.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Three Caballeros
    It’s a gay, colorful, resplendent conceit. Neatly conceived, it ties in many Pan-American highlights through the medium of irascible Donald Duck, the wiseguy Joe Carioca (first introduced in Saludos Amigos), and a lovable character in Panchito, the little South American boy.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Objective, Burma!
    The film has considerable movement, particularly in the early reels, and the tactics of the paratroopers are authentic in their painstaking detail. However, while the scripters have in the main achieved their purpose of heightening the action, there are scenes in the final reels that could have been edited more closely.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Body Snatcher
    Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, and given tightly scripted adaptation, Snatcher seldom lacks interest.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    National Velvet
    Story is told with warmth and understanding.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    To Have and Have Not
    Warners give the pic its usually nifty productional accoutrements, and that includes casting, musical scoring and Howard Hawks’ direction but the basic story is too unsteady.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Meet Me in St. Louis
    Meet Me in St. Louis is wholesome in story [from the book by Sally Benson], colorful both in background and its literal Technicolor, and as American as the World's Series.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Thin Man Goes Home
    Based on the characterizations originally created by Dashiell Hammett, the story emerges as a neatly-fashioned whodunit. Richard Thorpe paces the plot nicely, overcoming, before too long, the hurdles of a rather slow opening.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
    More or less relegated but capital as the bulwark of the entire mission is Spencer Tracy's conception of Doolittle. Van Johnson is Ted Lawson and Phyllis Thaxter his wife. It's an inspired casting.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Mrs. Parkington
    Mrs Parkington is a successful picture from any angle. Film version of Louis Bromfield's novel is an absorbing and warmful presentation of the history of an American empire builder. With Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon topping a strong cast of competent performers, there's a smooth-flowing script despite the extended running time.
    • 95 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Double Indemnity
    Indemnity is rapidly moving and consistently well developed. It is a story replete with suspense, for which credit must go in a large measure to Billy Wilder’s direction.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Gaslight
    Patrick Hamilton's London stage melodrama, is given an exciting screen treatment by Arthur Hornblow Jr's excellent production starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Going My Way
    Bing Crosby gets a tailor-made role in Going My Way, and with major assistance from Barry Fitzgerald and Rise Stevens, clicks solidly to provide topnotch entertainment for wide audience appeal.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
    Done in the satirical Sturges vein, and directed with that same touch, the story makes much of characterization and somewhat wacky comedy, plus some slapstick, with excellent photography figuring throughout.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Lifeboat
    Hitchcock pilots the piece skillfully, ingeniously developing suspense and action. Despite that it’s a slow starter, the picture, from the beginning, leaves a strong impact and, before too long, develops into the type of suspenseful product with which Hitchcock has always been identified.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Destination Tokyo
    Destination Tokyo runs two hours and 15 minutes, and that's a lot of film. But none of it is wasted. In its unspooling is crammed enough excitement for possibly a couple of pictures.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Lassie Come Home
    From the novel of Eric Knight, and with Fred M. Wilcox directing his first feature picture, Lassie emerges as nice entertainment enhanced by color photography and good scenic shots.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Girl Crazy
    The story thread is light, but enough to string together the George and Ira Gershwin songs.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Son of Dracula
    This is another in the Universal series of Dracula horror features. It's a good entry of its type.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Phantom of the Opera
    Phantom of the Opera is far more of a musical than a chiller, though this element is not to be altogether discounted, and holds novelty appeal.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Watch on the Rhine
    Watch on the Rhine is a distinguished picture. It is even better than its powerful original stage version. It expresses the same urgent theme, but with broader sweep and in more affecting terms of personal emotion.
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