Harold Robbins (May 21, 1916 – October 14, 1997) was an American author of popular novels. One of the best-selling writers of all time, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages. Robbins was born Harold Rubin in New York City in 1916, the son of Frances "Fannie" Smith and Charles Rubin. His parents were well-educated Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire, his father from Odessa and his mother from Neshwies (Nyasvizh), south of Minsk. Robbins later falsely claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys' home. Instead he was raised by his father, a pharmacist, and his stepmother, Blanche, in Brooklyn. Robbins dropped out of high school in the late 1920s to work in a variety of jobs, including errand boy, bookies' runner, and inventory clerk in a grocers. He was employed by Universal Pictures from 1940 to 1957, starting off as a clerk and rising to an executive. His first book was Never Love a Stranger (1948). The Dream Merchants (1949) was a novel about the American film industry, from its beginning to the sound era in which Robbins blended his own life experiences with history, melodrama, sex, and glossy high society into a fast-moving story. His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers – featuring a protagonist who was a loose composite of Howard Hughes, Bill Lear, Harry Cohn, and Louis B. Mayer. The Carpetbaggers takes the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamor of Hollywood. Its sequel, The Raiders, was released in 1995. After The Carpetbaggers and Where Love Has Gone (1962) came The Adventurers (1966), based on Robbins's experiences living in South America, including three months spent in the mountains of Colombia with a group of bandits. The book was adapted into a film in 1970, also titled The Adventurers. He created the ABC television series The Survivors (1969-1970), starring Ralph Bellamy and Lana Turner. Robbins' editors included Cynthia White and Michael Korda and his literary agent was Paul Gitlin. ... Source: Article "Harold Robbins" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 21, 1916
- October 14, 1997 (aged 81)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, also producer
- 9 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
What are Harold Robbins' films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 8
Light 0 · Serious 3 · Dark 6
Grounded 2 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 4
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- 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 Harold Robbins' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Harold Robbins' 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
14 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Harold Robbins' Body Parts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
The Lonely Lady(1983)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
The Dream Merchants (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
The Betsy(1978)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
The Pirate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
The Adventurers(1970)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Harold Robbins' The Survivors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Stiletto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Nevada Smith(1966)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Where Love Has Gone(1964)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
The Carpetbaggers(1964)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
The Pusher(1960)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
King Creole(1958)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Never Love a Stranger(1958)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 1958 to 2001.
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 Harold Robbins' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 47th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the dialogue 34/100 and the plot and story 41/100 in their films, across 9 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 Harold Robbins' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Harold Robbins work with?
People who share at least 2 of Harold Robbins' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joseph E. Levine shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Edward DmytrykShared titles: The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Dmytryk
Writers
- John Michael HayesShared titles: Nevada Smith (1966), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964)See all 3 shared titles with John Michael Hayes
Actors
- Steve McQueenShared titles: Nevada Smith (1966), Never Love a Stranger (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Steve McQueen
- Felice OrlandiShared titles: The Pusher (1960), Never Love a Stranger (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Felice Orlandi
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Frank BrachtShared titles: Nevada Smith (1966), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Bracht
- Joseph MacDonaldShared titles: The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph MacDonald
- Walter ScharfShared titles: Where Love Has Gone (1964), King Creole (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Walter Scharf
- Raymond ScottShared titles: The Pusher (1960), Never Love a Stranger (1958)See all 2 shared titles with Raymond Scott
Producers
- Joseph E. LevineShared titles: The Adventurers (1970), Nevada Smith (1966), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Where Love Has Gone (1964)See all 4 shared titles with Joseph E. Levine
- Robert R. WestonShared titles: The Lonely Lady (1983), The Betsy (1978)See all 2 shared titles with Robert R. Weston