Robert Rossen (March 16, 1908 – February 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film All the King's Men won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while Rossen was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director. He won the Golden Globe for Best Director and the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. In 1961 he made The Hustler, which was nominated for nine Oscars and won two. Rossen was nominated as Best Director and with Sidney Carroll for Best Adapted Screenplay but did not win either award. After directing and writing for the stage in New York, Rossen moved to Hollywood in 1937. There he worked as a screenwriter for Warner Bros. until 1941, and then interrupted his career to serve until 1944 as the chairman of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization Against the War, a body to organize writers for the effort in World War II. In 1945 he joined a picket line against Warner Bros., making an enemy of Jack Warner. After making one film for Hal Wallis's new-formed production company, Rossen made one for Columbia Pictures, another for Wallis and most of his later films for his own companies, usually in collaboration with Columbia. Rossen was a member of the American Communist Party from 1937 to about 1947, and believed the Party was "dedicated to social causes of the sort that we as poor Jews from New York were interested in." However, he finally ended all relations with the Party in 1949. Rossen was twice called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), in 1951 and in 1953. He exercised his Fifth Amendment rights at his first appearance, refusing to state whether he had ever been a Communist. As a result he was unofficially blacklisted by the Hollywood studio bosses, and he was unable to renew his passport. At his second appearance he named 57 people as current or former Communists and was removed from the unofficial blacklist. After this, he had to produce his next film, Mambo, in Italy in 1954 to repair his finances. While The Hustler in 1961 was a great success, conflict with the star of Lilith so disillusioned Rossen that he made no more films during the last three years of his life. Rossen's films for Warner generally described the conditions of working people, the portrayal of gangsters and racketeers, and opposition to fascism. He wrote that ambition and the desire for success were common themes in his work. His films often featured strong female characters. All Rossen's playscripts were adaptions except three which were based on real events. While head of production at Warner, Wallis considered that some of his best films were written by Rossen. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Rossen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 16, 1908
- February 18, 1966 (aged 57)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, director and producer
- 26 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
What are Robert Rossen's films like?
Across their 25 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
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 0 · Earnest 25
Light 1 · Serious 8 · Dark 16
Grounded 11 · Stylized 13 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 9 · Intense 15
Steady 6 · Shifting 17 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 24 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 20 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 9 · Heavy 15
Resolved 19 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet12
- Tragic6
- 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 Robert Rossen's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 26 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- The Roaring Twenties (1939) · writer · free
- The Sea Wolf (1941) · writer · free
- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) · writer · free
- All the King's Men (1949) · director, writer, producer · free
- A Walk in the Sun (1945) · writer · free
- Alexander the Great (1956) · director, writer, producer · free
- Mambo (1954) · director, writer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Robert Rossen'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
30 credits, 26 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Lilith(1964)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
The Cool World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Billy Budd(1962)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Hustler(1961)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
They Came to Cordura(1959)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Island in the Sun(1957)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Alexander the Great(1956)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Mambo(1954)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The Brave Bulls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
All the King's Men(1949)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The Undercover Man(1949)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
The Accused(1949)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Body and Soul(1947)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Desert Fury(1947)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Johnny O'Clock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
A Walk in the Sun(1945)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Rhapsody in Blue(1945)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Edge of Darkness(1943)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Blues in the Night(1941)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Out of the Fog(1941)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
The Sea Wolf(1941)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Flight from Destiny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
A Child Is Born(1939)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
The Roaring Twenties(1939)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Dust Be My Destiny(1939)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Racket Busters(1938)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Heart of the North(1938)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
They Won't Forget(1937)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Marked Woman(1937)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles from 1937 to 1964.
Biggest box office
The Hustler (1961)
Highest rated
The Hustler (1961)
Most popular right now
All the King's Men (1949)
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 Robert Rossen's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 26; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up11
- 50th to 74th10
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 26 titles divides audiences: 15 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved5
- Crowd Pleaser15
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the dialogue 57/100 and the plot and story 54/100 in their films, across 25 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.
Who does Robert Rossen work with?
People who share at least 2 of Robert Rossen's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Hal B. Wallis shares the most, 12.
Directors
- Lewis MilestoneShared titles: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), A Walk in the Sun (1945), Edge of Darkness (1943)See all 3 shared titles with Lewis Milestone
- Lloyd BaconShared titles: A Child Is Born (1939), Racket Busters (1938), Marked Woman (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Lloyd Bacon
- Anatole LitvakShared titles: Blues in the Night (1941), Out of the Fog (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Anatole Litvak
- Michael CurtizShared titles: The Sea Wolf (1941), Marked Woman (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Curtiz
Writers
- Jerry WaldShared titles: Out of the Fog (1941), The Roaring Twenties (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Jerry Wald
- Richard MacaulayShared titles: Out of the Fog (1941), The Roaring Twenties (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Macaulay
- Seton I. MillerShared titles: Dust Be My Destiny (1939), Marked Woman (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Seton I. Miller
Actors
- John GarfieldShared titles: Body and Soul (1947), Out of the Fog (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), Dust Be My Destiny (1939)See all 4 shared titles with John Garfield
- Priscilla LaneShared titles: Blues in the Night (1941), Dust Be My Destiny (1939), The Roaring Twenties (1939)See all 3 shared titles with Priscilla Lane
- Humphrey BogartShared titles: The Roaring Twenties (1939), Racket Busters (1938), Marked Woman (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Humphrey Bogart
- John LitelShared titles: A Child Is Born (1939), Dust Be My Destiny (1939), Marked Woman (1937)See all 3 shared titles with John Litel
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Heinz RoemheldShared titles: Blues in the Night (1941), Out of the Fog (1941), A Child Is Born (1939), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Marked Woman (1937)See all 5 shared titles with Heinz Roemheld
- Burnett GuffeyShared titles: They Came to Cordura (1959), All the King's Men (1949), The Undercover Man (1949)See all 3 shared titles with Burnett Guffey
- James Wong HoweShared titles: Body and Soul (1947), Out of the Fog (1941), Dust Be My Destiny (1939)See all 3 shared titles with James Wong Howe
- Warren LowShared titles: Desert Fury (1947), Out of the Fog (1941), Dust Be My Destiny (1939)See all 3 shared titles with Warren Low
Producers
- Hal B. WallisShared titles: The Accused (1949), Desert Fury (1947), The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Blues in the Night (1941), Out of the Fog (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), A Child Is Born (1939), Dust Be My Destiny (1939), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Heart of the North (1938), Racket Busters (1938), Marked Woman (1937)See all 12 shared titles with Hal B. Wallis
- Jack L. WarnerShared titles: Edge of Darkness (1943), The Sea Wolf (1941), Heart of the North (1938), Racket Busters (1938), Marked Woman (1937), They Won't Forget (1937)See all 6 shared titles with Jack L. Warner
- Henry BlankeShared titles: Edge of Darkness (1943), Blues in the Night (1941), Out of the Fog (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941)See all 4 shared titles with Henry Blanke
- Samuel BischoffShared titles: A Child Is Born (1939), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Racket Busters (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Samuel Bischoff