Skip to content
MovieCove
William Rose

William Rose

Writer · Died February 10, 1987, aged 72 · Jefferson City, Missouri, USA

William Rose was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, USA, and travelled to Canada at the outbreak of World War II, while the US was still neutral, in order to join up and fight the Nazis. This took him to Britain, where he decided to stay after the war.   He spent his demobilisation money on a course in screenwriting, and then became a writer of British and American comedies such as Ladykillers, Genevieve, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!, as well as more serious films such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.  He retired to Jersey, where he died in 1987 at the age of 72.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 12, 1914
Died
February 10, 1987 (aged 72)
From
Jefferson City, Missouri, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 24 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 37% in 30 days

What are William Rose's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Society.

Genres

Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 79th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 82nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action 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
29%
Society
26%
Power
17%
Bonds
14%
Self
14%
Community4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 9 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 5 · Charged 5 · Intense 1

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

Steady 4 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 3

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

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 7

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 1

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

Casual 8 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
8
Absurd
5
Tense
5
Joyful
3
Thrilling
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet5

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 William Rose's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for William Rose'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

24 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • Dhamaal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Original Story

  • Guess Who(2005)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • The Ladykillers(2004)

    Original Film Writer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Made In Ealing: The Story of Ealing Studios (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    as Interviewee

  • Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Screenplay

  • The Secret of Santa Vittoria(1969)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner(1967)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Flim-Flam Man(1967)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming(1966)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Island Splendor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Writer

  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Davy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Screenplay

  • Big Time Operators(1957)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Man in the Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Screenplay · Story

  • The Ladykillers(1955)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Touch and Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Screenplay

  • High and Dry(1954)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Genevieve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Screenplay · Story

  • Glory at Sea(1952)

    Adaptation

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Song of Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Story

  • I'll Get You for This (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Screenplay

  • My Daughter Joy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Screenplay

  • Once a Jolly Swagman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Screenplay

  • Esther Waters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 23 titles from 1948 to 2007.

Biggest box office

Guess Who (2005)

$103M worldwide

Highest rated

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

The Ladykillers (2004)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 23: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleWriting22 of 23: 22 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score79th

By decade

1940s2 · crew1950s11 · crew1960s5 · crew1970s2 · crew1980s1 · acting2000s2 · 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 William Rose's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 79th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 11 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 11

Approval · how many liked their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 11 titles divides audiences: 6 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Broadly Agreed2

Most loved · writer

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Midcredits 96th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 64/100 and the plot and story 56/100 in their films, across 11 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 William Rose's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 31 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles3–34 · median 19 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles7–64 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles6–31 · median 13 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian 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 William Rose work with?

People who share at least 2 of William Rose's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Stanley Kramer shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers