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David Snell

David Snell

Composer · Died March 27, 1967, aged 69 · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia David L. Snell (10 September 1897, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – 27 March 1967, Glendale, California) was a pianist, conductor, composer and music director. He composed the music for over 170 shorts, series or feature films. Snell studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin College and the Meyer Conservatory of Music. He formed his own orchestra, and was the musical director for several stage productions. He joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's music department in 1937, turning out music for a range of films from low-cost "B" movies to expensive features. He would spend his entire film career with MGM. He was conductor, composer, and music director for MGM for twenty-one years. The work could be high pressure. In November 1938 Franz Waxman had just five days to put together the fifty-minute score for A Christmas Carol so it could be released in time for the holiday season. Snell helped out, writing the opening and closing credit cues and half a dozen other cues based on themes provided by Waxman. Snell wrote music for many full-length films, shorts and B-movie series such as Dr. Kildare, Maisie and The Thin Man. His songs include Under The Stars, Downstream Drifter, Come Back Little Girl Of Mine and Once Over Lightly. His scores often showed first-rate craftsmanship, but his work has generally been ignored, perhaps because in most cases he chose to simply underscore the dialog as opposed to contributing complementary musical ideas. However, for the 1947 Lady in the Lake, based on the Raymond Chandler novel and set around Christmas time, Snell chose to use a choir singing a cappella, providing an austere and effective "black and white" score to accompany the stark black and white cinematography. The moody music echoed Christmas carols. David L. Snell died in 1967.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 10, 1897
Died
March 27, 1967 (aged 69)
From
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Works as
Composer
Titles
46 on MovieCove · 129 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 28Up 15% in 30 days

What are David Snell's films like?

Across their 38 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy25 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Action4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 61st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 52nd percentile
: browse their Crime 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
45%
Morality
25%
Self
21%
Power
5%
Society
3%
Survival
1%
Family bonds17 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love14 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception13 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age8 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice7 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth5 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 38 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 34 · Serious 4 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 28 · Stylized 10 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 24 · Charged 14 · Intense 0

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

Steady 26 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 4

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

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 20 · Funny 14

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

Slow burn 17 · Even-paced 20 · 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 30 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 36 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
24
Joyful
17
Thrilling
10
Tense
7
Hopeful
8
Other
30

How their films linger

Feel-good26 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun20 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCozy3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy27
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic1

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 David Snell's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 46 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for David Snell'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

129 credits, 46 with a MovieCove page.

  • Mr. Wakefield's Crusade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Conductor

  • Q: The Winged Serpent(1982)

    as Attorney

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Hanky Panky(1982)

    as Clerk in Club

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Accident(1967)

    Musician

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • My Old Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Composer · Music Director

  • Alias a Gentleman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    Composer

  • A Southern Yankee(1948)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Killer McCoy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Composer

  • Song of the Thin Man(1947)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Dark Delusion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Composer

  • Undercover Maisie(1947)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Love Laughs at Andy Hardy(1946)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Lady in the Lake(1946)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Bad Bascomb (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    Composer

  • Up Goes Maisie(1946)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Hidden Eye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    Composer

  • Dangerous Partners (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    Composer

  • Twice Blessed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    Music Director

  • Between Two Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    Composer

  • Keep Your Powder Dry(1945)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • What Next, Corporal Hargrove?(1945)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • The Thin Man Goes Home(1944)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Gentle Annie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    Composer

  • Maisie Goes to Reno(1944)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble(1944)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Rationing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    Composer

  • See Here, Private Hargrove(1944)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Twenty Years After (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    Composer

  • Swing Fever(1943)

    Music Director

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The Man from Down Under(1943)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Youngest Profession(1943)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • The War Against Mrs. Hadley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Jackass Mail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Sunday Punch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Grand Central Murder(1942)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's New York Adventure(1942)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Kid Glove Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Acro-Batty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • The Courtship of Andy Hardy(1942)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Nazi Agent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • The Vanishing Virginian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Music Score Producer

  • Flag of Mercy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Tish(1942)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • We Must Have Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Composer

  • Tarzan's Secret Treasure(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Shadow of the Thin Man(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Football Thrills of 1940 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Composer

  • Ringside Maisie(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Billy the Kid(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Love Crazy(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The People Vs. Dr. Kildare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Composer

  • Washington Melodrama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Composer

  • Third Dimensional Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Composer

  • The Wild Man of Borneo(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Maisie Was a Lady(1941)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Dr. Kildare's Crisis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Gallant Sons(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Third Finger, Left Hand(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Sky Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Wyoming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Dr. Kildare Goes Home(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Golden Fleecing(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Gold Rush Maisie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Andy Hardy Meets Debutante(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • A Way in the Wilderness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Phantom Raiders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Hollywood: Style Center of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • 20 Mule Team (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Composer

  • The Ghost Comes Home(1940)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Judge Hardy and Son(1939)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Henry Goes Arizona (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • The Secret of Dr. Kildare(1939)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Thunder Afloat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Blackmail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Captain Spanky's Show Boat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Music Arranger

  • The Women(1939)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • These Glamour Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever(1939)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Stronger Than Desire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • The Giant of Norway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Yankee Doodle Goes to Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Angel of Mercy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Prophet Without Honor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Radio Hams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Calling Dr. Kildare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • The Hardys Ride High (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Somewhat Secret (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • The Story of Dr. Jenner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • The Story of Alfred Nobel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • Heroes at Leisure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Composer

  • They All Come Out(1939)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • The Great Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Once Over Lightly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Out West with the Hardys(1938)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Grid Rules (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Young Dr. Kildare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Nostradamus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Football Thrills of 1937 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • The Man on the Rock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Party Fever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • It's in the Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Bravest of the Brave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Love Finds Andy Hardy(1938)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Magician's Daughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Anaesthesia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Hollywood Goes to Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Sound Director

  • Joaquin Murrieta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • What Do You Think? Tupapaoo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • The Forgotten Step (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Snow Gets in Your Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • That Mothers Might Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Billy Rose's Casa Mañana Revue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • Judge Hardy's Children (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • The Canary Comes Across (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • What Do You Think? (Number Three) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Composer

  • You're Only Young Once(1937)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Madame X (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • My Dear Miss Aldrich (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • Married Before Breakfast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • Carnival in Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • Song of Revolt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • A Family Affair (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Composer

  • Mad Love(1935)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Thin Man(1934)

    Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Hold Your Man(1933)

    Additional Music

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Faithless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 123 titles from 1932 to 1992.

Biggest box office

Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

$5.9M worldwide

Highest rated

The Women (1939)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)

Film career

  • 1982Screen debut· Hanky Panky

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 123: 2 only acting, 0 with another roleMusic114 of 123: 113 only music, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score62ndOther crew8 of 123: 7 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

1930s58 · crew1940s61 · crew1960s1 · crew1980s2 · acting1990s1 · 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 David Snell's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 46; across their 38 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Reach · how many have seen their films

34thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 38

Midcredits score across 46 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th22
  • 25th to 49th15
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 46 titles divides audiences: 29 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser29
  • Broadly Agreed14
  • Mixed1

Most loved · composer

The Women (1939)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 60/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles; fans 65, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

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 David Snell work with?

People who share at least 2 of David Snell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Carey Wilson shares the most, 11.

Directors

Writers

Actors

  • Sara Haden10 titles    See all 10 shared titles with Sara Haden
  • Fay Holden9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Fay Holden
  • Lewis Stone9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Lewis Stone
  • Mickey Rooney9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Mickey Rooney

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers