S.N. Behrman
Writer · Died September 9, 1973, aged 80 · Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for The New Yorker. His son is the composer David Behrman. Behrman's family immigrated from what is now Lithuania to the United States, where Samuel Nathaniel Behrman was born, the youngest of three sons, in a tenement in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1893. From the late 1920s through the 1940s, S. N. Behrman was considered one of Broadway's leading authors of "high comedy," was often produced by the famous Theatre Guild, and wrote for such stars as Ina Claire, Katharine Cornell, Jane Cowl, and the acting team of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who became his good friends. In Hollywood, Behrman enjoyed a lucrative second career as a screenwriter. He wrote screenplays for Greta Garbo, including Queen Christina, Conquest, and her final film, Two-Faced Woman. With Sonya Levien, he co-wrote the screen play for the 1930 film version of Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, starring Charles Farrell and Rose Hobart. His experiences in Hollywood found dramatic form in the play Let Me Hear the Melody (1951), a failure that closed in pre-Broadway tryouts. He also collaborated on the screenplays for Anna Karenina (1935), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), and Waterloo Bridge (1940). S. N. Behrman died in 1973 at the age of eighty. He was survived by his wife, Elza Heifetz Behrman, the sister of violinist Jascha Heifetz, whom he had married in his forties, and a son
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 9, 1893
- September 9, 1973 (aged 80)
- Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Writer
- 16 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
What are S.N. Behrman's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
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 14
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 4 · Dark 6
A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 2
Gentle 4 · Charged 9 · Intense 2
A split, not a type: Steady 8 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 2
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 11 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 4
Resolved 15 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- 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 S.N. Behrman's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for S.N. Behrman'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, 16 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Fanny(1961)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Me and the Colonel(1958)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Gaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Quo Vadis(1951)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
The Pirate(1948)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Two-Faced Woman(1941)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Waterloo Bridge(1940)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
No Time for Comedy(1940)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Love Affair(1939)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Cowboy and the Lady(1938)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Conquest(1937)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Parnell(1937)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
A Tale of Two Cities(1935)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Anna Karenina(1935)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
The Scarlet Pimpernel(1934)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Queen Christina(1933)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
As Husbands Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
My Lips Betray (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Brief Moment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Tess of the Storm Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
Surrender (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
The Brat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Daddy Long Legs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
The Man Who Came Back (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Lightnin' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Liliom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
The Sea Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles from 1930 to 1961.
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 S.N. Behrman's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 77th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 16 titles divides audiences: 9 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 63/100 and the plot and story 50/100 in their films, across 15 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 S.N. Behrman'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 S.N. Behrman work with?
People who share at least 2 of S.N. Behrman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Herbert Stothart shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Mervyn LeRoyShared titles: Quo Vadis (1951), Waterloo Bridge (1940)See all 2 shared titles with Mervyn LeRoy
- Clarence BrownShared titles: Conquest (1937), Anna Karenina (1935)See all 2 shared titles with Clarence Brown
Writers
- Salka ViertelShared titles: Two-Faced Woman (1941), Conquest (1937), Anna Karenina (1935), Queen Christina (1933)See all 4 shared titles with Salka Viertel
- Julius J. EpsteinShared titles: Fanny (1961), No Time for Comedy (1940)See all 2 shared titles with Julius J. Epstein
- George FroeschelShared titles: Me and the Colonel (1958), Waterloo Bridge (1940)See all 2 shared titles with George Froeschel
- Sonya LevienShared titles: Quo Vadis (1951), The Cowboy and the Lady (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Sonya Levien
Actors
- Reginald OwenShared titles: The Pirate (1948), Conquest (1937), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Anna Karenina (1935), Queen Christina (1933)See all 5 shared titles with Reginald Owen
- Greta GarboShared titles: Two-Faced Woman (1941), Conquest (1937), Anna Karenina (1935), Queen Christina (1933)See all 4 shared titles with Greta Garbo
- Charles BoyerShared titles: Fanny (1961), Love Affair (1939), Conquest (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Charles Boyer
- Maria OuspenskayaShared titles: Waterloo Bridge (1940), Love Affair (1939), Conquest (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Maria Ouspenskaya
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Herbert StothartShared titles: Waterloo Bridge (1940), Conquest (1937), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Anna Karenina (1935), Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935), Queen Christina (1933)See all 6 shared titles with Herbert Stothart
- Blanche SewellShared titles: The Pirate (1948), Queen Christina (1933)See all 2 shared titles with Blanche Sewell
- George BoemlerShared titles: Two-Faced Woman (1941), Waterloo Bridge (1940)See all 2 shared titles with George Boemler
- Joseph RuttenbergShared titles: Two-Faced Woman (1941), Waterloo Bridge (1940)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph Ruttenberg
Producers
- David O. SelznickShared titles: A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Anna Karenina (1935)See all 2 shared titles with David O. Selznick
