From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sy Bartlett (July 10, 1900 – May 29, 1978) was an American author and screenwriter/producer of Hollywood films. Born Sacha Baraniev in Ukraine, he immigrated to the United States at the age of four and adopted the name Sidney Bartlett. Bartlett died in Hollywood on May 29, 1978, aged 77, from cancer. Sy Bartlett was born on July 10, 1900 in the Black Sea seaport of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1904, settling in Chicago. Bartlett attended Northwestern University and was trained at the Medill School of Journalism. He worked as a newspaper reporter before moving to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. His first credited work was for RKO Studios in 1933 and he wrote 28 screenplays from 1933 to 1969. In the 1950s he became interested in producing films, and with film star Gregory Peck founded Melville Productions in 1956. Bartlett enjoyed being a Hollywood socialite in the 1930s and was well known for the Sunday barbecues he frequently hosted. He was sometimes connected by tabloids to scandals on occasion, and married three times, each time to Hollywood actresses – Alice White, Ellen Drew, and Patricia Owens. Of Jewish descent, Bartlett was understandably strongly anti-Nazi, once striking an employee of the German consulate in the face during a nightclub argument. Following World War II, Bartlett returned to Hollywood and joined 20th Century Fox as a writer. In 1946, he began a collaboration with Beirne Lay which resulted in the 1948 publication of the novel Twelve O'Clock High (Harper & Brothers), and in December 1949, the release of the film based on the same story (work on production began a year before publication).
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 10, 1900
- May 29, 1978 (aged 77)
- Mykolaiv, Ukraine
- Writer and producer
- 14 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
What are Sy Bartlett's films like?
Across their 14 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 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 13
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 4 · Dark 6
Grounded 7 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 6 · Intense 5
Steady 7 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 3
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 5
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic3
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 Sy Bartlett's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Sy Bartlett'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
30 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Che!(1969)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
In Enemy Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
A Gathering of Eagles(1963)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Cape Fear(1962)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Outsider(1961)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Beloved Infidel(1959)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Pork Chop Hill(1959)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
The Big Country(1958)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Suspicion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
The Last Command(1955)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
That Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Red Beret (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Twelve O'Clock High(1949)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Down to the Sea in Ships(1949)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
13 Rue Madeleine(1947)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Two Yanks in Trinidad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Road to Zanzibar(1941)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Sandy Gets Her Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
The Amazing Mr. Williams(1939)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Cocoanut Grove (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
Sergeant Murphy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
Danger Patrol (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
The Man Who Cried Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Under Your Spell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Boulder Dam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Going Highbrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Kansas City Princess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
The Big Brain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles from 1933 to 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 Sy Bartlett's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 14 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 59/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 14 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 Sy Bartlett's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 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 Sy Bartlett work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sy Bartlett's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gregory Peck shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Delbert MannShared titles: A Gathering of Eagles (1963), The Outsider (1961)See all 2 shared titles with Delbert Mann
- Henry KingShared titles: Beloved Infidel (1959), Twelve O'Clock High (1949)See all 2 shared titles with Henry King
- Henry HathawayShared titles: Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)See all 2 shared titles with Henry Hathaway
Writers
- James R. WebbShared titles: Cape Fear (1962), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Big Country (1958)See all 3 shared titles with James R. Webb
- Don HartmanShared titles: The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Road to Zanzibar (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Don Hartman
Actors
- Gregory PeckShared titles: Cape Fear (1962), Beloved Infidel (1959), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Big Country (1958), Twelve O'Clock High (1949)See all 5 shared titles with Gregory Peck
- Woody StrodeShared titles: Che! (1969), Pork Chop Hill (1959)See all 2 shared titles with Woody Strode
- Paul ComiShared titles: Cape Fear (1962), The Outsider (1961)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Comi
- Bob HopeShared titles: The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Road to Zanzibar (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Bob Hope
Composers and cinematographers
- Sam LeavittShared titles: Cape Fear (1962), Pork Chop Hill (1959)See all 2 shared titles with Sam Leavitt
- Leonard RosenmanShared titles: The Outsider (1961), Pork Chop Hill (1959)See all 2 shared titles with Leonard Rosenman
- Leon ShamroyShared titles: Beloved Infidel (1959), Twelve O'Clock High (1949)See all 2 shared titles with Leon Shamroy
- Alfred NewmanShared titles: Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), Twelve O'Clock High (1949)See all 2 shared titles with Alfred Newman
Producers
- Darryl F. ZanuckShared titles: Twelve O'Clock High (1949), 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)See all 2 shared titles with Darryl F. Zanuck
