Patty Dunning
Actor · Born September 11, 1951 (75) · Des, Moines, Iowa, USA
Patty Dunning was born on September 11, 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Her first role was as Patty Myers in A Thief in the Night (1972). She went on to an uncredited role in All the King's Horses (1977), then was featured in the second installment of the "Thief in the Night" series, A Distant Thunder (1978) as the same character. Her last appearance in the series would be the third installment, Image of the Beast (1981). She went on to be featured in The Shepherd (1984) and Life Flight: The Movie (1987). Dunning largely fell out of the industry entirely after the franchise wrapped up, although in 2019 and 2020 she appeared in two short films, Knee High (2019) and Domicile (2020). In an interview she gave a few years ago, she said she hadn't been totally on board with the message of the movie at first, but she rapidly fell into line. Now she lives quietly in Iowa; she is a pediatric physical therapist and she is married.
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Biography from IMDb.
- September 11, 1951 (75)
- Des, Moines, Iowa, USA
- Actor
- 3 on MovieCove · 6 credits in all
What are Patty Dunning's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 3
Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Heroas Patty Myers in A Thief in the Night (1972)
Moods and endings
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 Patty Dunning's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Patty Dunning'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
6 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page.
Knee High (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Life Flight: The Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
The Shepherd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Image of the Beast(1981)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
A Distant Thunder(1978)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
A Thief in the Night(1972)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 6 titles from 1972 to 2023.
How do Patty Dunning's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 25th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 15th percentile for acclaim.
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 3 titles are Divisive.
- Divisive2
- Cult Classic1
Reviewers score the acting 22/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 53, detractors 15. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
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 Patty Dunning work with?
People who share at least 2 of Patty Dunning's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Donald W. Thompson shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Donald W. ThompsonShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Donald W. Thompson
Writers
- Russell S. Doughten Jr.Shared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Russell S. Doughten Jr.
Actors
- Maryann RachfordShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Maryann Rachford
- Thom RachfordShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Thom Rachford
- Herb BrownShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Herb Brown
- Sandy ChristenShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Sandy Christen
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Wes PhillippiShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978), A Thief in the Night (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Wes Phillippi
- James L. BerryShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978)See all 2 shared titles with James L. Berry
- Richard A. GirvinShared titles: Image of the Beast (1981), A Distant Thunder (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Richard A. Girvin