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Charles MacArthur

Charles MacArthur

Writer · Died April 21, 1956, aged 60 · Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

Charles MacArthur was an American playwright, screenwriter, and journalist, renowned for his collaborations with Ben Hecht. Together, they co-wrote the classic play The Front Page (1928), a satirical look at newspaper reporters that has been adapted multiple times for stage and screen. MacArthur also co-wrote Twentieth Century (1932), a screwball comedy that became a Broadway hit. His work is celebrated for its sharp wit and insightful commentary on American society.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 5, 1895
Died
April 21, 1956 (aged 60)
From
Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 38 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 4% in 30 days

What are Charles MacArthur's films like?

Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 59th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies

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

share of theme weight
Bonds
41%
Morality
26%
Self
14%
Power
12%
Society
4%
Survival
4%
Romantic love7 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition8 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 19 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 9 · Serious 5 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 10 · Intense 7

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 15 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 6

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 6

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 9 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 4

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
13
Melancholic
8
Manic
5
Absurd
6
Romantic
7
Other
13

How their films linger

Bittersweet12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet11
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

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 Charles MacArthur's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Charles MacArthur'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

38 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page.

  • Switching Channels(1988)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • The Front Page(1974)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Mission: Impossible(1966)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Billy Rose's Jumbo(1962)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Jim Bowie(1956)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • Gunsmoke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Show 1 episode · as Taylor

  • Perfect Strangers(1950)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Twentieth Century (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Writer

  • The Front Page (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Writer

  • Lulu Belle(1948)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The Senator Was Indiscreet(1947)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Front Page (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    Writer

  • I Take This Woman(1940)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • His Girl Friday(1940)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Wuthering Heights(1939)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Gunga Din(1939)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Angels with Dirty Faces(1938)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Soak the Rich (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Barbary Coast(1935)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Spring Tonic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Theatre Play

  • Once in a Blue Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Director · Writer

  • The Scoundrel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Director · Producer · Story · as Flop House Bum

  • The President Vanishes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Writer

  • Crime Without Passion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · as Second Interviewer (uncredited)

  • Twentieth Century(1934)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Riptide(1934)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Rasputin and the Empress(1932)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Freaks(1932)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Sin of Madelon Claudet(1931)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • The Unholy Garden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Dialogue · Screenplay · Story

  • New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Adaptation

  • The Front Page(1931)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Love in Every Port (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    ADR Coordinator

  • Paid(1930)

    Adaptation · Writer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • Way for a Sailor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Additional Dialogue

  • Billy the Kid(1930)

    Additional Dialogue · Writer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Girl Said No (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Writer

  • Street of Chance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles from 1930 to 1988.

Biggest box office

Switching Channels (1988)

$9.1M worldwide

Highest rated

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Freaks (1932)

Film career

  • 1934Screen debut· Crime Without Passion

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 36: 3 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting4 of 36: 0 only directing, 4 with another roleWriting30 of 36: 26 only writing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score64thProducing3 of 36: 0 only producing, 3 with another roleOther crew3 of 36: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

36 titles, 4 with more than one role — writing and acting overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1930s22 · 2 acting · 22 crew1940s7 · crew1950s3 · 2 acting · 1 crew1960s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew1970s1 · crew1980s1 · crew

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 Charles MacArthur's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 20; across their 19 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Reach · how many have seen their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 19

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th8
  • 25th to 49th6

Shape of the crowd

11 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser11
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · writer

Paid (1930)

69th percentile spread · 21% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Midcredits 97th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 62/100 and the plot and story 52/100 in their films, across 19 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 Charles MacArthur's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 10 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles2–44 · median 11 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 29 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 29 · mildMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Charles MacArthur work with?

People who share at least 2 of Charles MacArthur's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ben Hecht shares the most, 14.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers