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Marshall Neilan

Marshall Neilan

Director, actor, writer and producer · Died October 27, 1958, aged 67 · San Bernardino, California, USA

In the early days of silent pictures, Marshall Neilan was a top director for Goldwyn Pictures. He had also directed a small number of Louis B. Mayer's independently produced melodramas, but there was a mutual dislike between the two men. During the festivities inaugurating the merger of Metro and Goldwyn Pictures on April 26, 1924, Neilan grew disgusted at the prospect of listening to Mayer's speech and interrupted everything by ordering his cast and crew back to the set of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924). Mayer later viewed the picture and ordered the downbeat ending re-shot over Neilan's loud protests. Mayer, wanting to instill his absolute authority over all production matters, held firm. The prospect of working for Mayer in the new Metro-Goldwyn super-studio was unbearable and Neilan quit. His was the first outright desertion from the studio that others over the next three decades would aspire to be a part of.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
April 10, 1891
Died
October 27, 1958 (aged 67)
From
San Bernardino, California, USA
Works as
Director, actor, writer and producer
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 105 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 1% in 30 days

What are Marshall Neilan's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 80th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 63rd percentile
: browse their Comedy 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
Morality
33%
Bonds
20%
Power
17%
Self
15%
Society
9%
Survival
6%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 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 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 3

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 1

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

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 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1

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

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Joyful
3
Melancholic
3
Warm
2
Bittersweet
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Feel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • 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 Marshall Neilan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Marshall Neilan'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

105 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • A Face in the Crowd(1957)

    as Senator Worthington Fuller

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(1938)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Thanks for Listening (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Director

  • A Star Is Born(1937)

    as Bert (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Sing While You're Able (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Director

  • Swing It Professor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Director

  • Hollywood Boulevard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Cinegrill Customer (uncredited)

  • This Is the Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Director

  • The Lemon Drop Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Director

  • Chloe, Love Is Calling You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Director · Writer

  • Social Register (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Director

  • War Mamas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director

  • Catch-As Catch-Can (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director

  • Ex-Sweeties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Director

  • Hell's Angels(1930)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Sweethearts on Parade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • The Vagabond Lover (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • Tanned Legs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • The Awful Truth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • Black Waters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • Taxi 13 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director

  • His Last Haul (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director

  • Take Me Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director

  • 3-Ring Marriage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director

  • Her Wild Oat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • Venus of Venice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • Everybody's Acting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director · Producer · Story

  • Diplomacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • The Great Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • Mike (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director · Story

  • Wild Oats Lane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director · Producer

  • The Skyrocket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • The Sporting Venus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Director

  • Tess of the D'Urbervilles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Director

  • Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Director

  • The Rendezvous (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Director

  • The Eternal Three (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Director · Story

  • The Strangers' Banquet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Minnie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Fools First (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    Director

  • Penrod(1922)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Lotus Eater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Director · Producer

  • Bits of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Director · Story

  • Bob Hampton of Placer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    Director · Producer

  • Dinty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Producer · Story

  • Go and Get It (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Producer

  • Don't Ever Marry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Producer

  • The River's End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Producer

  • In Old Kentucky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Her Kingdom of Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Daddy-Long-Legs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · as Jimmie Mc Bride (as Marshall A. Neilan)

  • The Unpardonable Sin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Three Men and a Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Out of a Clear Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • Heart of the Wilds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • Hit-the-Trail Holliday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • M'Liss(1918)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • Stella Maris(1918)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • War Relief (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • A Little Princess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • A Strange Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Jaguar's Claws (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • Freckles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Girl at Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Bottle Imp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • Those Without Sin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Country That God Forgot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Writer

  • Mice and Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Captain George Lovell

  • Madame Butterfly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Lt. Pinkerton

  • A Girl of Yesterday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Stanley Hudson

  • Rags (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Keith Duncan

  • May Blossom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Richard Ashcroft

  • The Commanding Officer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Capt. Waring

  • The Love Route (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Actor

  • The Country Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Tom Wilson

  • Love, Oil and Grease (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Director · as Ray Beaudine

  • Sherlock Bonehead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Director · Story

  • Don't Monkey with the Buzz Saw (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Director · Story · as The Henpecked Husband

  • Men and Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Will Prescott

  • Classmates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Bert Stafford

  • The Billionaire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Bert

  • The House of Discord (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as The Daughter's Sweetheart

  • The Hobo and the Myth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    Actor

  • The Wall of Money (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    Writer · as Neilan - Idea Man

  • The Harvest of Flame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    Director · as The Foreman

  • The Animal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as The Wife's former suitor

  • Man's Duty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Joe, the Devoted One

  • Mental Suicide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Neilan - an Architect

  • The Picket Guard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Officer

  • The Powder Flash of Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Jed

  • The Guerilla Menace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Jed

  • Women and War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as The Stay-at-home

  • In Love and War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as David's Rival - the Lawyer

  • The Spirit of the Flag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Doctor

  • The Wanderer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)

  • The Sheriff of Stone Gulch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1913)

    Director · as Black McCarty - Desperado

  • The Wanderer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    Actor

  • Calamity Anne's Ward (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    Actor

  • The Bandit of Point Loma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    Actor

  • Cupid Through Padlocks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    as Charley Bradley

  • 'Walk, -- You, Walk!' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    as Sam

  • The Peace Offering (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1912)

    as Arthur

Career shape

A full career of 105 titles from 1912 to 1957.

Biggest box office

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

$196 worldwide

Highest rated

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Hell's Angels (1930)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting38 of 105: 32 only acting, 6 with another roleDirecting70 of 105: 48 only directing, 22 with another roleWriting14 of 105: 2 only writing, 12 with another roleProducing10 of 105: 0 only producing, 10 with another role

105 titles, 23 with more than one role — directing and acting overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1910s57 · 35 acting · 28 crew1920s32 · crew1930s15 · 2 acting · 13 crew1950s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Marshall Neilan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 80th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser4

Most divisive · director, producer

Penrod (1922)

94th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Midcredits 98th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 53/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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 Marshall Neilan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Marshall Neilan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Frances Marion shares the most, 2.

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers