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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer, producer and director, also actor · Died February 5, 1993, aged 83 · Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (/ˈmæŋkəwɪts/ MANG-kə-wits; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American filmmaker. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks. Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mankiewicz studied at Columbia University and graduated in 1928. He moved overseas to Europe, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and translated German intertitles into English for UFA. On the advice of his screenwriter brother Herman, Mankiewicz moved back to the United States, and was hired by Paramount Pictures as a dialogue writer. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starring Jack Oakie. He next moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he served as a producer for several films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Woman of the Year (1942). Mankiewicz left MGM after a dispute with Louis B. Mayer. In 1944, Mankiewicz began working for Twentieth Century-Fox, where he produced The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). He made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck (1946) after Ernst Lubitsch had dropped out due to illness. Mankiewicz remained at Fox, directing a broad range of genre films. Consecutively, in 1950 and 1951, he won two Academy Awards each for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). In 1953, Mankiewicz formed his own production company Figaro, where he independently produced, as well as wrote and directed, The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and The Quiet American (1958). In 1961, Mankiewicz took over direction from Rouben Mamoulian for Cleopatra (1963). Production was beset with numerous difficulties, including a heavily publicized extramarital affair between stars Taylor and Richard Burton. Relatively late into production, Darryl F. Zanuck reassumed control of Fox as studio president and briefly fired Mankiewicz for excessive overruns. Released in 1963, Cleopatra became the year's highest-grossing film and earned mixed reviews from critics. Mankiewicz's reputation suffered, and he did not return to direct another film until The Honey Pot (1967). Mankiewicz then directed There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and the documentary King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1972), sharing credit with Sidney Lumet on the latter. His final film Sleuth (1972), starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, earned Mankiewicz his fourth and final Oscar nomination as Best Director. In 1993, Mankiewicz died in Bedford, New York, at the age of 83.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 11, 1909
Died
February 5, 1993 (aged 83)
From
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Writer, producer and director, also actor
Titles
50 on MovieCove · 80 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 11% in 30 days

What are Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films like?

Across their 49 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy18 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama13 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Crime8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 87th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 74th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile
: browse their Biography movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 90th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
29%
Morality
27%
Self
17%
Power
11%
Society
8%
Survival
5%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love16 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception11 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice8 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass8 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 49 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 26 · Serious 9 · Dark 14

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 19 · Stylized 22 · Heightened 8

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 17 · Charged 22 · Intense 10

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 25 · Shifting 18 · Whiplash 6

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 26 · Some laughs 14 · Funny 9

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 26 · Even-paced 23 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 23 · Engaged 18 · Full focus 8

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 22 · Affecting 17 · Heavy 10

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 39 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
28
Romantic
21
Joyful
13
Melancholic
15
Contemplative
9
Other
48

How their films linger

Feel-good18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet20 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 7 with a twist

  • Happy21
  • Bittersweet15
  • Tragic6
  • Ambiguous5
  • Cyclical2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 50 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joseph L. Mankiewicz's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

80 credits, 50 with a MovieCove page; 17 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • National Theatre Live: All About Eve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Writer

  • Pleins feux (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Original Film Writer

  • Pleins feux (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Original Film Writer

  • A Letter to Three Wives(1985)

    Original Film Writer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • That's Entertainment, Part II(1976)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Sleuth(1972)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • There Was a Crooked Man...(1970)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis(1969)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Honey Pot(1967)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Carol for Another Christmas(1964)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Cleopatra(1963)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Suddenly, Last Summer(1959)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Quiet American(1958)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Guys and Dolls(1955)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Barefoot Contessa(1954)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Julius Caesar(1953)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • 5 Fingers(1952)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • People Will Talk(1951)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • All About Eve(1950)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • No Way Out(1950)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • House of Strangers(1949)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • A Letter to Three Wives(1949)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Pirate(1948)

    Additional Writing · Writer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Escape (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Director

  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Late George Apley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Director

  • Somewhere in the Night(1946)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Dragonwyck(1946)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Keys of the Kingdom(1944)

    Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Reunion in France(1942)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Cairo(1942)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Woman of the Year(1942)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Feminine Touch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Producer

  • The Wild Man of Borneo(1941)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Philadelphia Story(1940)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Strange Cargo(1940)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1939)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • A Christmas Carol(1938)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The Shining Hour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Producer · Screenplay

  • The Shopworn Angel(1938)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Three Comrades(1938)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Mannequin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Additional Writing · Producer

  • The Great Waltz(1938)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Double Wedding(1937)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Bride Wore Red(1937)

    Additional Writing · Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Love on the Run(1936)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • The Gorgeous Hussy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Producer

  • Fury(1936)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Three Godfathers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Producer · Writer

  • I Live My Life(1935)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Broadway Melody of 1936(1935)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Reckless(1935)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Forsaking All Others(1934)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Our Daily Bread(1934)

    Dialogue

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Manhattan Melodrama(1934)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Alice in Wonderland(1933)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Too Much Harmony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Story

  • Emergency Call (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Screenplay

  • Diplomaniacs(1933)

    Original Story · Writer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • If I Had a Million(1932)

    Adaptation · Story · Writer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Night After Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Writer

  • Million Dollar Legs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Story

  • Sky Bride (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Screenplay

  • This Reckless Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Screenplay · Story

  • Sooky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Story · Writer

  • Newly Rich (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Writer

  • Skippy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Writer

  • June Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Screenplay · Story

  • Finn and Hattie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Writer

  • The Gang Buster (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Dialogue

  • Only Saps Work (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Adaptation · Screenplay

  • The Social Lion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Screenplay

  • Paramount on Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Screenplay

  • The Light of Western Stars(1930)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Slightly Scarlet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Screenplay

  • The Saturday Night Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Title Graphics

  • Woman Trap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Reporter (as Joseph Mankiewicz)

  • Fast Company (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Screenplay

  • The River of Romance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Screenplay

  • The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu(1929)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 76 titles from 1929 to 2019.

Biggest box office

Cleopatra (1963)

$58M worldwide

Highest rated

All About Eve (1950)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Cleopatra (1963)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 76: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting22 of 76: 8 only directing, 14 with another role · typical Midcredits score87thWriting46 of 76: 30 only writing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score78thProducing23 of 76: 15 only producing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score77thOther crew5 of 76: 3 only other crew, 2 with another role

76 titles, 19 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1920s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew1930s36 · crew1940s16 · crew1950s9 · crew1960s3 · crew1970s4 · crew1980s1 · crew1990s1 · crew2010s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 50; across their 49 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Approval · how many liked their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Reach · how many have seen their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Midcredits score across 50 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up31
  • 50th to 74th12
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

28 of their 50 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved10
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser28
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · writer

A Letter to Three Wives (1985)

80th percentile spread · 37% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

All About Eve (1950)

Midcredits 98th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 64/100 and the plot and story 50/100 in their films, across 48 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Joseph L. Mankiewicz's work okay for kids?

Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore6 titles12–47 · median 32 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity9 titles5–48 · median 13 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity6 titles3–34 · median 8 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles21–49 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles6–58 · median 18 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Joseph L. Mankiewicz work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Franz Waxman shares the most, 10.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles