Marc Connelly, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, is best known as being one of the leading wits of the Algonquin Round Table and for being a collaborator with George S. Kaufman, with whom he wrote many plays, including Merton of the Movies (1947). His Broadway career spanned 65 years, from 1915, when he got his first writing credit on a Broadway play for contributing lyrics to that year's edition of the musical revue "Hip! Hip! Hooray!", until the year of his death, 1980. His last play, "The Stitch in Time", started previews on December 29, 1980. (The play, alas, never officially opened.) He was born ninety years earlier, on December 13, 1890 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, the son of actors Patrick Joseph Connelly and Mabel Louise Cook, who also ran a hotel. He began writing plays as a youngster, and after serving as a cub reporter for the "Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph", he moved to New York City to seek his fame and fortune. In The Big Apple, he wrote the book for the 1916 musical-comedy "The Amber Empress", a flop that closed after 15 performances. He provided lyrics for the 1918 musical "The Maid of the Mountains", which did a little bit better, closing after 37 curtain calls. He became a member of the Algonquin Round Table in the year after the Great War ended. Two years later, in 1921, he and fellow Round Table habitué Kauffman scored a success with their first collaboration, the comedy "Dulcy", which ran for 241 performances. Other collaborations followed. They had three productions in 1922, the original comedy "To the Ladies", the musical revue "The '49ers", and "Merton of the Movies", the latter of which proved a hit, running for 392 performances. The more modestly successful musical comedy "Helen of Troy, New York" followed in 1923, a year that also saw their comedy "The Deep Tangled Wildwood" flop, closing after just 16 performances. They came back in early 1924 with the comedy "Beggar on Horseback", which was a hit (and which was briefly revived in 1925), but their other offering of 1924, the musical comedy "Be Yourself", was not a success. Their partnership broke up, and in 1926, Connelly scored a modest hit with his original comedy "The Wisdom Tooth", which ran for 160 performances. His next play, the comedy "The Wild Man of Borneo" written in collaboration with Herman J. Mankiewicz (who would go on to win an Oscar writing the original screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941) with Orson Welles) was a flop, closing after 15 performances. But his next venture on The Great White Way, the Old Testament-inspired musical play "The Green Pastures", was his biggest hit yet. Not only did "The Green Pastures" run for 640 performances, it brought Connelly the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He did not have another play on the boards until 1934's "The Farmer Takes a Wife", which closed after 104 showings. His 1937 comedy "Having Wonderful Time" was a hit, the last of his career, with 372 performances. Though he would write three more original plays between 1942 and 1948, none of them was success. His last, posthumous show, which made it to Broadway 32 years after his last original, didn't even merit an opening. In addition to writing, Connelly also produced, directed and acted on Broadway, and he also acted on the screen and in TV. He co-directed the 1936 cinema adaptation of his The Green Pastures (1936) and worked as a screenwriter for the movies and television, scoring an Oscar nod for Captains Courageous (1937) and an Emmy nomination for the 1951 "Hallmark Hall of Fame" adaptation of his "The Green Pastures". Connelly's memoir, "Voices Offstage", was published in 1968. He died on December 21, 1980, eight days before his last play, "The Stitch in Time", went into previews (one of the reasons it likely didn't open as the 90 year old playwright wasn't around to make revisions).
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Biography from IMDb.
- December 13, 1890
- December 21, 1980 (aged 90)
- McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA
- Writer and actor, also director
- 11 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are Marc Connelly's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self 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 0 · Earnest 11
Light 8 · Serious 3 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2
Gentle 8 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 9 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 2
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 9 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet3
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 Marc Connelly's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Marc Connelly'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
27 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
A Case of Libel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Borgia Stick (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
The Trials of O'Brien (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Les verts pâturages (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Černošský Pánbůh a proroci (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Tall Story(1960)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
The Spirit of St. Louis(1957)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Crowded Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The Pink Hussar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Merton of the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Cabin in the Sky(1943)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Reunion in France(1942)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
I Married a Witch(1942)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Wild Man of Borneo(1941)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Dulcy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Captains Courageous(1937)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Green Pastures(1936)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
The Farmer Takes a Wife(1935)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all filmsElmer and Elsie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Cradle Song (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Make Me a Star(1932)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Exit Smiling(1926)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Beggar on Horseback (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)
Merton of the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
To the Ladies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
Dulcy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)
The Sleep of Cyma Roget (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles from 1920 to 1968.
Biggest box office
I Married a Witch (1942)
Highest rated
Captains Courageous (1937)
Most popular right now
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Film career
- 1957Screen debut· The Spirit of St. Louis
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 Marc Connelly's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 79th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 76th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 11 titles divides audiences: 7 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 52/100 and the plot and story 49/100 in their films, across 11 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 Marc Connelly work with?
People who share at least 2 of Marc Connelly's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Franz Waxman shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Victor FlemingShared titles: Captains Courageous (1937), The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)See all 2 shared titles with Victor Fleming
Actors
- Murray HamiltonShared titles: Tall Story (1960), The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)See all 2 shared titles with Murray Hamilton
- Eddie 'Rochester' AndersonShared titles: Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Green Pastures (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
- Oscar PolkShared titles: Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Green Pastures (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Oscar Polk
- Rex IngramShared titles: Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Green Pastures (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Rex Ingram
Composers and editors
- Franz WaxmanShared titles: The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), Reunion in France (1942), Captains Courageous (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Franz Waxman
- Cyril J. MockridgeShared titles: Tall Story (1960), The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)See all 2 shared titles with Cyril J. Mockridge
- Elmo VeronShared titles: Reunion in France (1942), Captains Courageous (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Elmo Veron
Producers
- Joseph L. MankiewiczShared titles: Reunion in France (1942), The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph L. Mankiewicz
