Jay Dratler
Writer · Died September 21, 1968, aged 57 · New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jay Dratler (September 14, 1910- September 25, 1968) was an American screenwriter and novelist. Born in New York City, his mother was from Austria. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the late 1920s, he studied at the Sorbonne in France and the University of Vienna, becoming fluent in French and German. He returned to the United States in 1932. Cashing in on his exceptional language skills on his return to the United States, he was employed as an editor by a New York publisher and translated the books Goya and Zeppelin from German to English. He moved to Hollywood and become a successful screenwriter and novelist. He wrote six novels, many screenplays and more than twenty television scripts. He was considered very influential during the classic era of film noir in the 1940s. He won both an Academy Award and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Call Northside 777, and was nominated for an Oscar for his writing on Laura. The 1948 film Pitfall was based on Dratler's novel of the same title. Late in life, Dratler began learning Spanish and became fluent, moving to Mexico City in the sixties. Dratler died of a heart attack at the British-American Hospital in Mexico City in 1968. His body was returned to New York. He was survived by his widow Berenice, a daughter, and a son, Jay Dratler, Jr., who became a professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law, specializing in intellectual property law.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- September 14, 1911
- September 21, 1968 (aged 57)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer
- 15 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
What are Jay Dratler'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 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 11
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 4 · Dark 4
A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
Gentle 5 · Charged 6 · Intense 3
Steady 7 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 4
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 1
A split, not a type: Casual 5 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 1
Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Other1
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 Jay Dratler's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Jay Dratler'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
25 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.
The Addams Family(1964)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Burke's Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
I Aim at the Stars(1960)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
The Desperate Hours(1955)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all filmsThe Fabulous Oliver Chantry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Revlon Mirror Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
We're Not Married!(1952)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Las Vegas Story(1952)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Dancing in the Dark(1949)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Impact(1949)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
That Wonderful Urge(1948)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Pitfall(1948)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Call Northside 777(1948)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
The Dark Corner(1946)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
It's in the Bag!(1945)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Laura(1944)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Higher and Higher(1943)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Get Hep to Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
The Wife Takes a Flyer(1942)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Fly By Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Confessions of Boston Blackie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Meet Boston Blackie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Where Did You Get That Girl? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Girls Under 21 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
La Conga Nights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1940 to 1964.
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 Jay Dratler's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 15 titles divides audiences: 9 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 61/100 and the plot and story 52/100 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.
Who does Jay Dratler work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jay Dratler's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Cyril J. Mockridge shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Henry HathawayShared titles: Call Northside 777 (1948), The Dark Corner (1946)See all 2 shared titles with Henry Hathaway
- Richard WallaceShared titles: It's in the Bag! (1945), The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Wallace
Writers
- Gina KausShared titles: We're Not Married! (1952), The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942)See all 2 shared titles with Gina Kaus
- Fred KohlmarShared titles: That Wonderful Urge (1948), The Dark Corner (1946)See all 2 shared titles with Fred Kohlmar
- William BowersShared titles: Pitfall (1948), Higher and Higher (1943)See all 2 shared titles with William Bowers
Actors
- Fred AllenShared titles: We're Not Married! (1952), It's in the Bag! (1945)See all 2 shared titles with Fred Allen
- Victor MooreShared titles: We're Not Married! (1952), It's in the Bag! (1945)See all 2 shared titles with Victor Moore
- Vincent PriceShared titles: The Las Vegas Story (1952), Laura (1944)See all 2 shared titles with Vincent Price
- Helen WalkerShared titles: Impact (1949), Call Northside 777 (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Helen Walker
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Cyril J. MockridgeShared titles: We're Not Married! (1952), Dancing in the Dark (1949), That Wonderful Urge (1948), The Dark Corner (1946)See all 4 shared titles with Cyril J. Mockridge
- Louis R. LoefflerShared titles: We're Not Married! (1952), Dancing in the Dark (1949), That Wonderful Urge (1948), Laura (1944)See all 4 shared titles with Louis R. Loeffler
- J. Watson Webb Jr.Shared titles: Call Northside 777 (1948), The Dark Corner (1946)See all 2 shared titles with J. Watson Webb Jr.
- Joseph MacDonaldShared titles: Call Northside 777 (1948), The Dark Corner (1946)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph MacDonald
Producers
- Samuel BischoffShared titles: The Las Vegas Story (1952), Pitfall (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Samuel Bischoff
- Darryl F. ZanuckShared titles: Call Northside 777 (1948), That Wonderful Urge (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Darryl F. Zanuck
