From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Benjamin D. Maddow (August 7, 1909 in Passaic, New Jersey – October 9, 1992 in Los Angeles, California) was a prolific screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 1970s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began his career working within the American documentary movement in the 1930s. In 1936 he co-founded the short-lived left-wing newsreel The World Today. Under the pseudonym of David Wolff, Maddow co-wrote the screenplay to the Paul Strand–Leo Hurwitz documentary landmark, Native Land (1942). He earned his first feature screenplay credit with Framed (1947). Other screenplays include Clarence Brown's Intruder in the Dust (1949, an adaptation of the William Faulkner novel), John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950, for which he received an Academy Award nomination), Johnny Guitar (1954, credited to Philip Yordan, God's Little Acre (1958, an adaptation of the Erskine Caldwell novel officially credited to Philip Yordan as a HUAC-era "front" for Maddow), and, again with Huston, an Edgar Award for Best Mystery Screenplay) and The Unforgiven (1960). As a documentarian he directed and wrote such films as Storm of Strangers, The Stairs, and The Savage Eye (1959), which won the BAFTA Flaherty Documentary Award. Maddow made his solo feature directorial debut with the striking, offbeat feature An Affair of the Skin (1963), a well-acted story of several loves and friendships gone sour and marked by the rich characterisations which had distinguished his best screenplays. In 1961, Maddow and Huston co-wrote the episode "The Professor" of the 1961 television series The Asphalt Jungle. In 1968 he wrote a screenplay based on Edmund Naughton's novel McCabe; while a film adaptation of the novel was ultimately produced as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Maddow wasn't credited on the film. His final screenplay was for the horror melodrama The Mephisto Waltz (1970).
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 7, 1909
- October 9, 1992 (aged 83)
- Passaic, New Jersey, USA
- Writer, director and producer, also editor
- 21 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
What are Ben Maddow's films like?
Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 20
Light 0 · Serious 8 · Dark 13
Grounded 10 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 14 · Intense 7
Steady 5 · Shifting 15 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 19 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 15 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 15 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 13 · Heavy 5
Resolved 17 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet10
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous7
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 Ben Maddow's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Ben Maddow'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
32 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Slow Fires: On the Preservation of the Human Record (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Man on a String(1972)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Mephisto Waltz(1971)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
The Chairman(1969)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The Way West(1967)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
An Affair of the Skin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
The Balcony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Two Loves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Savage Eye(1959)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
The Unforgiven(1960)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Murder by Contract(1958)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
God's Little Acre(1958)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
No Down Payment(1957)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Men in War(1957)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Gun Glory(1957)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Johnny Guitar(1954)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The Naked Jungle(1954)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
The Wild One(1953)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Shadow in the Sky(1952)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
The Steps of Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
The Asphalt Jungle(1950)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Intruder in the Dust(1949)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Man from Colorado(1948)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Framed(1947)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Native Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Valley Town: A Study of Machines and Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
United Action Means Victory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
People of the Cumberland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
The World Today: The Black Legion - Shadow of Fascism Over America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
The Bridge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles, 28 of them dated from 1937 to 1987.
Biggest box office
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Highest rated
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Most popular right now
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
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 Ben Maddow's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 71st percentile, the median of all 21; across their 21 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th9
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
14 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser14
- Broadly Agreed4
Reviewers score the dialogue 52/100 and the plot and story 49/100 in their films, across 21 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 Ben Maddow's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Ben Maddow work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ben Maddow's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Philip Yordan shares the most, 6.
Directors
- John HustonShared titles: The Unforgiven (1960), The Asphalt Jungle (1950)See all 2 shared titles with John Huston
- Anthony MannShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Mann
Writers
- Philip YordanShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Gun Glory (1957), Men in War (1957), No Down Payment (1957), Johnny Guitar (1954), The Naked Jungle (1954)See all 6 shared titles with Philip Yordan
Actors
- Burt LancasterShared titles: The Unforgiven (1960), Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Burt Lancaster
- Herschel BernardiShared titles: The Savage Eye (1959), Murder by Contract (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Herschel Bernardi
- Aldo RayShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Aldo Ray
- Phillip PineShared titles: Murder by Contract (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Phillip Pine
Composers and cinematographers
- Jerry GoldsmithShared titles: The Mephisto Waltz (1971), The Chairman (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Jerry Goldsmith
- Bronislau KaperShared titles: The Way West (1967), Shadow in the Sky (1952)See all 2 shared titles with Bronislau Kaper
- Elmer BernsteinShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Elmer Bernstein
- Ernest HallerShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Ernest Haller
Producers
- Stanley KramerShared titles: The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969), The Wild One (1953)See all 2 shared titles with Stanley Kramer
- Harold HechtShared titles: The Way West (1967), Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Harold Hecht
- Sidney HarmonShared titles: God's Little Acre (1958), Men in War (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Sidney Harmon
- Jules SchermerShared titles: The Man from Colorado (1948), Framed (1947)See all 2 shared titles with Jules Schermer