While Ronald Reagan will always be known as the 40th President of the United States, before entering politics, he had a successful career as a Hollywood star. With acclaimed roles in dramas, war movies, and Westerns, Reagan’s impressive entertainment career showcased him as a heroic leading man and likely influenced the American public’s desire for him to then act as the country’s commander-in-chief. While Reagan has continued to remain a prominent figure on the big screen, such as through Dennis Quiad’s performance in the 2024 biopic exploring his presidency, looking back on his movies, several great roles stand out.
Although many actors have played Reagan in movies and TV shows, the former president himself has also portrayed some truly iconic characters. Reagan’s Hollywood career was categorized by variety as he portrayed everything from real-life football legend George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American to the chimpanzee teaching psychologist Peter Boyd in Bedtime for Bonzo. While Reagan has been remembered as one of the world’s most significant political figures, looking back on his pre-presidential career, he also had some truly great movies.
10 Hellcats Of The Navy (1957)
Ronald Reagan as Commander Casey Abbott
Hellcats of the Navy was a highly notable release in Ronald Reagan’s acting career, as it’s the only time he shared the screen with his wife, who was billed under her maiden name as Nancy Davis. The Reagans were both actors and met as a result of Ronald’s role as president of the Screen Actors Guild, as he helped remove her name from the notorious Hollywood blacklist of potential communist sympathizers (via History.) They married in 1952, and their lone movie together was this WWII submarine drama.
While seeing the future President and First Lady sharing the screen together was the main reason to check out Hellcats of the Navy, it also told a solid story as Commander Casey Abbott (Reagan) charted the minefields in the waters of Japan. With an engaging love triangle and some impressive action sequences, the film was formulaic but satisfying. As an engaging document of an actual combat operation in WWII, plus the inclusion of Ronald and Nancy, Hellcats of the Nacy has earned its spot in history film.
9 The Bad Man (1941)
Ronald Reagan as Gil Jones
The Bad Man was a Western story that’s been told several times before. The first version was a 1923 silent film; the second was a pre-Code Western with Walter Huston from 1930; there was also a 1937 Boris Karloff movie called West of Shanghai that moved the action to China; and finally, a version featuring Ronald Reagan in a likable performance as the ranchman Gil Jones. As a story of forbidden love, sinister bandits, and financial woes, The Bad Man was a rough-and-tumble character Western that highlighted Reagan’s impressive onscreen charisma.
The Bad Man was also released under the title Two-Gun Cupid, and things really kicked into gear once Wallace Beery showed up as the famous bandit Pancho Lopez and stole Gil’s cattle. There’s a lot of over-the-top energy in The Bad Man, and Beery, in particular, played his role for laughs to great effect. While it does not have the same appeal and lasting power as the best Westerns ever made, there’s still plenty to offer here, and Reagan showcased the heroism and leading man charm that helped win him the presidency so many years later.
8 Desperate Journey (1942)
Ronald Reagan as Flying Officer Johnny Hammond
Desperate Journey was a movie that’s remembered primarily due to its incredible star power, as Ronald Reagan shared the screen with Hollywood icon Error Flynn. This WWII action and aviation movie featured a group of airmen whose ship was shot down and captured by German soldiers near the Polish border. With no choice but to escape the Third Reich using their own cunning and wits, the five captured survivors plot their escape using their brains, brawn, and fists.
While Desperate Journey’s plot was similar to that of other propaganda pictures from the same period, such as Target for Tonight and Man Hunt, it was an enjoyable WWII movie made while the conflict was still ongoing. In many ways, Desperate Journey was a forerunner to the later popular sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, which featured a cast of POVs during WWII. While Reagan was occasionally criticized for his lack of acting range, Desperate Journey was perfectly in his wheelhouse, and he gave a compelling performance as the flying officer Johnny Hammond.
7 Storm Warning (1951)
Ronald Reagan as Burt Rainey
Bigotry, violence against women, and familial dysfunction were explored in Storm Warning, a thrilling noir about an investigative journalist brutally killed by the Ku Klux Klan. As a film produced amid McCarthyism and the Red Scare, the fear and anxieties portrayed in Storm Warning directly relate to the hostile culture out of which it was produced, and the movie has been criticized for not going far enough to address the racist history of the KKK. While Storm Warning was a film packed with melodrama and messages, looking back on it through a modern lens, it could have gone much deeper.
However, the highly political nature of Storm Warning made it a fascinating historical document, especially considering Ronald Reagan’s future as the President of the United States. With some elements of its plot ripped off from A Streetcar Named Desire, Storm Warning represented the social woes of its time, as well as the shortcomings in Hollywood in getting the true heart of bigotry and prejudices. With Ginny Rogers and Ronald Reagan giving great performances, a solid story and some strong direction help make up for its flaws.
6 The Hasty Heart (1949)
Ronald Reagan as Yank, the American
Based on a play by John Patrick, The Hasty Heart told the story of wounded soldiers in a Pacific mobile surgery unit immediately after World War II. With Ronald Reagan as the lone American who was simply known as Yank alongside an Englishman, a New Zealander, an Australian, and an African, The Hasty Heart boasted a powerful message about the value of love for countrymen from around the world. With Patricia Neal as Sister Margaret Parker, the nurse looking after them, this was a compassionate, melodramatic movie.
While The Hasty Heart was packed with themes of comradery and solidarity, things took a serious turn as the men rallied around the newly arrived Scottish soldier they knew would die. While The Hasty Heart was known as a Reagan picture, it was Richard Todd as the Scott named Lachie who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. With real sincerity and some heartfelt vulnerability, The Hasty Heart was one of Reagan’s most emotional movies.
5 Bedtime For Bonzo (1951)
Ronald Reagan as Professor Peter Boyd
Throughout his presidency, the perceived ridiculousness of Ronald Reagan starring in a movie opposite a chimpanzee was a consistent joke by commentators and in the media. However, looking back on Bedtime for Bonzo, this story about a psychologist trying to teach human morals to a primate holds up really well. As a film addressing themes of education, genetics, and emotional stability, Bedtime for Bonzo was deeper than its initial concept suggested, as its clever script powerfully explored the nature versus nurture theory.
Although the production was not without its issues, as Reagan was nearly strangled on set when the chimpanzee grabbed his tie-neck (via Mental Floss), Bedtime for Bonzo was popular enough to gain a sequel without Reagan’s involvement called Bonzo Goes to College. With a legacy that even found its way into punk rock history with The Ramones song “My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg),” Bedtime for Bonzo was a uniquely lighthearted entry in Reagan’s filmography.
4 Dark Victory (1939)
Ronald Reagan as Alec Hamm
Screen legends Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Ronald Reagan all come together for the melodramatic triumph of Dark Victory. With a tour-de-force performance from Davis, this emotionally intense story featured a young socialite deciding how she’ll meet her final days after she’s diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. With underlying themes of bravery and courage, this poignant tearjerker knowingly pulled at audiences’ heartstrings with a protagonist it’s impossible not to feel for.
Reagan had a small but effective supporting role as the playboy Alec Hamm, although it was Davis who truly stole the show. Dark Victory had elements of soap opera theatrically in the intensity of its narrative, but it’s all conveyed through such incredible performances that the viewer can’t help but be lured in by its tragedy. While Dark Victory has to get a mention when discussing the best Reagan films, he was vastly overshadowed by Davis.
3 The Killers (1964)
Ronald Reagan as Jack Browning
The Killers was a worthy remake of a classic film noir that acted as the second screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story of the same name. As Ronald Reagan’s final movie role before entering politics, he ended this era of his career on a high note as The Killers stood as one of the best film noirs ever made. Starring opposite Lee Marvin, The Killers was about two hitmen who, after their victim didn’t attempt to escape being murdered, tried to uncover the mystery of who ordered the hit and what their intentions were.
While the previous 1947 version of The Killers was a favorite of Hemingway, who called it “the only good picture ever made of a story of mine” (via Far Out), this updated version outdid its predecessor in many ways. As a more streamlined and vivid adaptation, The Killers was an engrossing film noir packed with mystery and intrigue. As one of Reagan’s finest films, it’s interesting to think where his career would have gone had he remained in the movies after this release and how he would have fared in the more gritty New Hollywood movement of the 1970s.
2 Knute Rockne, All American (1940)
Ronald Reagan as George Gipp
This sports biopic told the true story of Notre Dame’s legendary football coach, Knute Rockne, and the impressive success of the Fighting Irish football team. With Ronald Reagan as George Gipp, Notre Dame’s first Walter Camp All-American, who died tragically at age 25 due to complications from strep throat, Knute Rockne, All American, acted as a powerful showcase of the tenacity of American sportsmanship. An iconic release in Reagan’s back catalog, the future President was even often referred to as the Gipper in the media.
The legacy of Reagan’s role Knute Rockne, All American was so great that he actually revived the famous movie quote “Win one for the Gipper” as a slogan during his presidential campaign. With incredible relevance, the phrase was later uttered by the likes of George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bob Dole to highlight Reagan’s political relevance even after his death. As an emotional film with plenty of poignant scenes, Ronald Reagan was an essential part of the success of Knute Rockne, All American.
1 Kings Row (1942)
Ronald Reagan as Drake McHugh
Anyone who has propagated the long-standing rumor that Ronald Reagan can’t act will be quickly silenced by his career-best performances in Kings Row. Based on the novel by Henry Bellamann, Reagan played the wealthy Drake McHugh, who’s forced into work after his trust fund dried up. After injuring his legs in an accident, McHugh became an amputee, which led to the most emotive and powerful scene in his career as he heartbreakingly screams, “Where’s the rest of me?” when discovering his newfound circumstances.
Reagan clearly connected with this scene as he titled his 1965 autobiography, Where’s the Rest of Me?, which he wrote during his run for governor of California. While Kings Row was nominated for several Academy Awards, Reagan’s performance was not one of them, and he unfortunately never gained a nomination throughout his entire acting career. While it may not have earned the accolades it deserved, Kings Row was truly Ronald Reagan’s greatest achievement as an actor.
Sources: History, Mental Floss, Far Out
