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Jack Cummings

Jack Cummings

Producer, also writer · Died April 28, 1989, aged 84 · New Brunswick, Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John "Jack" Cummings (February 16, 1905 – April 28, 1989) was an American film producer and director. He was the second husband of Betty Kern, daughter of Jerome Kern. Cummings spent most of his career at his uncle Louis B. Mayer's studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he began work in the 1920s. Mayer started his nephew out as an office boy and expected him to work his way up through the ranks. Cummings became a staff producer at MGM in 1934, where he worked in the B-feature unit for two years. In 1936, he produced the extravagant Cole Porter musical Born to Dance, which established his reputation as a respected producer. Cummings remained at MGM even after his uncle was fired from the studio in 1951, working with talent such as the Marx Brothers, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, and Fred Astaire and producing some of the era's best-known musicals, including 1953's Kiss Me Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He left MGM to become an independent producer affiliated with Twentieth Century-Fox and produced the 1959 remake of The Blue Angel and the 1960 movie version of the Abe Burrows-Cole Porter Broadway musical Can-Can. In 1964, he returned to MGM one last time to produce the Elvis Presley musical Viva Las Vegas. Other credits included Easy to Wed, It Happened in Brooklyn, Three Little Words, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Interrupted Melody, and The Teahouse of the August Moon. Jack Cummings was the son of Ida Mayer Cummings, sister of Louis B Mayer. He had two sisters, Ruth (married to film director Roy Rowland) and Mitzi (married to film producer Sol Baer Fielding), as well as a younger half brother Leonard 'Sonny' Cummings. Mr. Cummings was survived by his four daughters, Julie Cummings Siff, of Manhattan, Kathy Cummings St. Aubin, of Los Angeles, Linda Kern Cummings, of Danville, Ky., and Carla Luisa Cummings, of Los Angeles.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 16, 1905
Died
April 28, 1989 (aged 84)
From
New Brunswick, Canada
Works as
Producer, also writer
Titles
31 on MovieCove · 49 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 26% in 30 days

What are Jack Cummings' films like?

Across their 28 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy18 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 59th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 44th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Musical3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 68th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Musical movies
Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 80th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography 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
45%
Self
22%
Morality
15%
Society
11%
Ideas
3%
Power
2%
Survival
1%
Romantic love16 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds9 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition7 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity6 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice4 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 28 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 25 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

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

Grounded 7 · Stylized 20 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 23 · Charged 5 · Intense 0

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

Steady 24 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 19 · Funny 5

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 19 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 28 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 28 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
23
Romantic
18
Warm
10
Tense
4
Hopeful
4
Other
15

How their films linger

Feel-good25 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun19 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy24
  • Bittersweet4

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 Jack Cummings' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 31 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jack Cummings' 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

49 credits, 31 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Pipe Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Producer

  • Viva Las Vegas(1964)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Second Time Around(1961)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Bachelor Flat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Producer

  • Can-Can(1960)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Blue Angel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Producer

  • The Teahouse of the August Moon(1956)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Interrupted Melody(1955)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Many Rivers to Cross(1955)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Last Time I Saw Paris(1954)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers(1954)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Rose Marie(1954)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Kiss Me Kate(1953)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Give a Girl a Break(1953)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Sombrero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Producer

  • Lovely to Look At(1952)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Texas Carnival(1951)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Two Weeks with Love(1950)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Three Little Words(1950)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Neptune's Daughter(1949)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • The Stratton Story(1949)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Romance of Rosy Ridge(1947)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Fiesta(1947)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • It Happened in Brooklyn(1947)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Easy to Wed(1946)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • Bathing Beauty(1944)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Broadway Rhythm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    Producer

  • I Dood It (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Producer

  • Ship Ahoy(1942)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Go West(1940)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Broadway Melody of 1940(1940)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Two Girls on Broadway(1940)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Honolulu(1939)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Listen, Darling(1938)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Yellow Jack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Producer

  • Broadway Melody of 1938(1937)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Born to Dance(1936)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan Escapes(1936)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Winning Ticket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Producer

  • Jail Birds of Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Producer

  • Plane Nuts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director

  • Hello Pop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director

  • Beer and Pretzels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director

  • Nertsery Rhymes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    Director

  • Swing High (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Director

  • Over the Counter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Director

  • Crazy House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • Gems of M-G-M (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • Los tres chiflados (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show Creator

Career shape

A full career of 45 titles, 44 of them dated from 1930 to 1976.

Biggest box office

Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)

$6.2M worldwide

Highest rated

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Midcredits 88th

Most popular right now

Viva Las Vegas (1964)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing8 of 45: 8 only directing, 0 with another roleProducing36 of 45: 36 only producing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score60thOther crew1 of 45: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1930s15 · crew1940s10 · crew1950s14 · crew1960s4 · crew1970s1 · 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 Jack Cummings' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 31; across their 28 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Reach · how many have seen their films

51stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Midcredits score across 31 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th17
  • 25th to 49th7

Shape of the crowd

None of their 31 titles divides audiences: 24 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser24
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed2

Most loved · producer

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Midcredits 88th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 50/100 and the plot and story 39/100 in their films, across 28 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.

Who does Jack Cummings work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jack Cummings' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Blanche Sewell shares the most, 10.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Mixed roles