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Samson Raphaelson

Samson Raphaelson

Writer · Died July 16, 1983, aged 89 · New York City, New York, USA

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Samson Raphaelson (March 30, 1894 in New York City – July 16, 1983 in New York City) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Born in New York City, Raphaelson worked on nine films with Ernst Lubitsch, including Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Shop Around the Corner (1939), Heaven Can Wait (1943), and That Lady in Ermine (1948). He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Hitchcock's Suspicion (1941). He is the author of the play Day of Atonement, which was made into The Jazz Singer (1927), the first talking picture, produced by Warner Brothers in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. Samson Raphaelson was also Ernst Lubitsch's favorite screenwriter. Samson Raphaelson considered Suspicion to be "in many ways my best screenplay." Raphaelson also co-wrote Lubitsch's only sound-era drama Broken Lullaby (The Man I Killed, 1932). Though praised by playwright Robert E. Sherwood as "the best talking picture that has yet been seen and heard," the film was a box office flop. Aside from his more popular work, Raphaelson also wrote the college fight song for the University of Illinois in 1921. Titled, "Fight, Illini!: The Stadium Song" the music was composed by Rose J. Oltusky. In 1977 the Writers Guild of America Awards granted him the "Laurel" for lifetime achievement. He taught playwriting at Columbia University until the last years of his life. His wife Dorshka (Dorothy Wegman) (1904-2005) was the author of 'Morning Song' and, until her death in 2005, was the second oldest surviving Ziegfeld Follies dancer. His nephew is filmmaker Bob Rafelson, and his grandson is photographer Paul Raphaelson. Description above from the Wikipedia article Samson Raphaelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 30, 1894
Died
July 16, 1983 (aged 89)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
21 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 65 days to Oct 28Down 30% in 30 days

What are Samson Raphaelson's films like?

Across their 20 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy12 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile
: browse their Drama 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
55%
Self
21%
Morality
11%
Power
5%
Ideas
4%
Society
3%
Romantic love13 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition3 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTradition vs change2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 20 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 16 · Serious 2 · Dark 2

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 8 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 5

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

Gentle 14 · Charged 5 · Intense 1

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

Steady 15 · 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 6 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 6

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 14 · Even-paced 6 · 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 15 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 17 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Romantic
16
Joyful
12
Warm
8
Melancholic
6
Tense
4
Other
11

How their films linger

Feel-good14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy12
  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous1

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 Samson Raphaelson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Samson Raphaelson'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, 21 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Frantz(2016)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • You've Got Mail(1998)

    Original Film Writer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · Original Film Writer

  • The Jazz Singer(1980)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • The Jazz Singer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Theatre Play

  • Startime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 1 episode · Theatre Play

  • But Not for Me(1959)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Hilda Crane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Theatre Play

  • Matinee Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

  • Main Street to Broadway(1953)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • The Jazz Singer(1952)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Bannerline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Theatre Play

  • Mr. Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Theatre Play

  • In the Good Old Summertime(1949)

    Original Film Writer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • That Lady in Ermine(1948)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • The Perfect Marriage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Theatre Play

  • Green Dolphin Street(1947)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Harvey Girls(1946)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Heaven Can Wait(1943)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Suspicion(1941)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Shop Around the Corner(1940)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Angel(1937)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Last of Mrs. Cheyney(1937)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Dressed to Thrill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Screenplay

  • Accent on Youth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Theatre Play

  • Ladies Love Danger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Director

  • The Gay Deception(1935)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Caravan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Writer

  • The Merry Widow(1934)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Caravane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Writer

  • Servants' Entrance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    Adaptation · Screenplay

  • Runaway Queen(1934)

    Screenplay

  • Trouble in Paradise(1932)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • One Hour with You(1932)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Broken Lullaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Screenplay

  • The Smiling Lieutenant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Screenplay

  • The Magnificent Lie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    Writer

  • The Jazz Singer(1927)

    Theatre Play

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles from 1927 to 1998.

Biggest box office

The Jazz Singer (1980)

$27M worldwide

Highest rated

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Suspicion (1941)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing1 of 36: 1 only directing, 0 with another roleWriting35 of 36: 35 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score76th

By decade

1920s1 · crew1930s15 · crew1940s8 · crew1950s9 · crew1980s2 · crew1990s1 · 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 Samson Raphaelson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of the 20 of 21 with a score; across their 20 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Approval · how many liked their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Reach · how many have seen their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · writer

Main Street to Broadway (1953)

59th percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Midcredits 99th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 62/100 and the plot and story 48/100 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 Samson Raphaelson's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 10 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 6 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 38 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Samson Raphaelson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Samson Raphaelson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ernst Lubitsch shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers