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Irving Rapper

Irving Rapper

Director, also producer · Died February 20, 1999, aged 101 · London, England, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irving Rapper (16 January 1898, or 1902 – 20 December 1999) was an England-born American film director. Born to a Jewish family in London, England, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and stage director on Broadway while studying at New York University. In 1936, he went to Hollywood, where he was hired by Warner Bros. as an assistant director and dialogue coach. He proved invaluable in translating and mediating for non-native English-speaking directors. By the early 1940s, he had metamorphosed into one of the hottest directors on the Warner Bros. lot. He made his directing debut with the 1941 film Shining Victory, in which his friend Bette Davis appeared as a show of support for him. He would go on to direct her in four more films, Now, Voyager (1942), The Corn Is Green (1945), Deception (1946), and Another Man's Poison (1952). In later years, Rapper admitted that he found Davis very difficult to work with and that she would, "...hold the whole set hostage, stopping production for a day, because of her mood." Rapper's film One Foot in Heaven (1941) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film. Perhaps his best film in a studio other than Warner Bros. was The Brave One (1956) about a Mexican boy who must rescue his bull from a brutal fight against a top matador, which earned the then-blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo an Academy Award for his original screenplay despite being a box office failure. Additional credits include The Voice of the Turtle (1947), The Glass Menagerie (1950), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), and The Miracle, a 1959 remake of the 1912 hand-colored, black-and-white film The Miracle. Biopics directed by Rapper include The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), Rhapsody in Blue (1945), Pontius Pilate (co-director, 1962) and his last film, Born Again (1978), about convicted Watergate conspirator and former Richard Nixon aide Charles Colson. Rapper died at the age of 101 on 20 December 1999 at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he had been a resident since 1995.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 16, 1898
Died
February 20, 1999 (aged 101)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Director, also producer
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 36 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 38 days to Oct 27Down 6% in 30 days

What are Irving Rapper's films like?

Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Drama7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 45th percentile
: browse their Biography movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: 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
Self
28%
Bonds
26%
Morality
20%
Society
12%
Power
8%
Survival
3%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFaith2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 16 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 10 · Intense 2

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

Steady 9 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 10 · 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 11 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 13 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Romantic
8
Warm
4
Contemplative
5
Melancholic
4
Other
15

How their films linger

Hopeful9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1
  • 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 Irving Rapper's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Irving Rapper'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

36 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Born Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • The Christine Jorgensen Story(1970)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • Pontius Pilate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director

  • Joseph and His Brethren(1961)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Constantine and the Cross(1961)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • The Miracle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Director

  • Marjorie Morningstar(1958)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Brave One(1956)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Strange Intruder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • Bad for Each Other(1953)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Forever Female(1953)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Another Man's Poison(1951)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • The Glass Menagerie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Director

  • Anna Lucasta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Director

  • The Voice of the Turtle(1947)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Deception(1946)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Rhapsody in Blue(1945)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Corn Is Green(1945)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Mark Twain(1944)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Now, Voyager(1942)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Gay Sisters(1942)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • One Foot in Heaven(1941)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Shining Victory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Director

  • All This, and Heaven Too(1940)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet(1940)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Invisible Stripes(1939)

    Dialogue Coach

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Dust Be My Destiny(1939)

    Script Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Juarez(1939)

    Dialogue Coach

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Off the Record (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Dialogue

  • The Sisters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Assistant Director

  • The Life of Emile Zola(1937)

    Dialogue Coach

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Kid Galahad(1937)

    Assistant Director · Dialogue Coach

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Go Getter(1937)

    Dialogue Coach

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Stage Struck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    Dialogue

  • The Story of Louis Pasteur(1936)

    Assistant Director

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Hole in the Wall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Assistant Director

Career shape

A full career of 35 titles from 1929 to 1978.

Biggest box office

Now, Voyager (1942)

$10K worldwide

Highest rated

Now, Voyager (1942)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

The Brave One (1956)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing22 of 35: 21 only directing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting2 of 35: 2 only writing, 0 with another roleProducing1 of 35: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew11 of 35: 11 only other crew, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score79th

By decade

1920s1 · crew1930s10 · crew1940s12 · crew1950s8 · crew1960s2 · crew1970s2 · 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 Irving Rapper's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 75th percentile, the median of all 25; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Reach · how many have seen their films

49thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up13
  • 50th to 74th8
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

18 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser18
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, producer

Joseph and His Brethren (1961)

66th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Now, Voyager (1942)

Midcredits 96th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 64/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 16 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 Irving Rapper work with?

People who share at least 2 of Irving Rapper's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Max Steiner shares the most, 8.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles