Writing

John Collier

Born — Died

1901-03-03 — 1980-04-06

Place of birth

London, England, UK

Known for

Writing

Credits

11 titles

Known for

Wanted: Dead or Alive poster
7.1

Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television. The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

1958

The Story of Three Loves poster
6.0

Passengers on an ocean liner recall their greatest loves.

The Story of Three Loves

1953

The War Lord poster
6.2

A knight in the service of a duke goes to a coastal village where an earlier attempt to build a defensive castle has failed. He begins to rebuild the duke's authority in the face of the barbarians at the border and is making progress until he falls in love with one of the local women.

The War Lord

1965

Deception poster
6.7

After marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.

Deception

1946

Roseanna McCoy poster
6.1

It's the Hatfields vs. the McCoys in this 1949 film, with Farley Granger and Joan Evans as the hillbilly Romeo and Juliet whose forbidden romance rekindles a long-standing feud between their respective families.

Roseanna McCoy

1949

Sylvia Scarlett poster
6.3

When her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.

Sylvia Scarlett

1935

Series credits

Behind the camera

The Story of Three Loves poster
6.0

Passengers on an ocean liner recall their greatest loves.

The Story of Three Loves

1953

The War Lord poster
6.2

A knight in the service of a duke goes to a coastal village where an earlier attempt to build a defensive castle has failed. He begins to rebuild the duke's authority in the face of the barbarians at the border and is making progress until he falls in love with one of the local women.

The War Lord

1965

Deception poster
6.7

After marrying her long lost love, a pianist finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.

Deception

1946

Roseanna McCoy poster
6.1

It's the Hatfields vs. the McCoys in this 1949 film, with Farley Granger and Joan Evans as the hillbilly Romeo and Juliet whose forbidden romance rekindles a long-standing feud between their respective families.

Roseanna McCoy

1949

Sylvia Scarlett poster
6.3

When her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.

Sylvia Scarlett

1935

I Am a Camera poster
6.2

Just before the Nazis ascend to power in Berlin, Chris, an aspiring novelist from England, meets flamboyant cabaret entertainer Sally Bowles and an unusual friendship is born. As Sally feeds her extravagant tastes, Chris goes along for the ride, until their Jewish pal, Fritz, encounters trouble.

I Am a Camera

1955

Elephant Boy poster
6.6

In India, Toomai, a young mahout, helps lead the British on a large expedition to round up wild elephants.

Elephant Boy

1937

The Fountain of Youth poster
6.2

A darkly comic fable about vanity and desire, "The Fountain of Youth" follows a newly married couple whose relationship is destabilized by the arrival of a potion that promises centuries of youth and beauty—but in a quantity sufficient for only one person. As temptation and resentment grow, the gift becomes a catalyst for moral and emotional collapse. Written, directed, and narrated by Orson Welles and based on John Collier’s short story “Youth from Vienna,” the film uses stylized narration and experimental visual techniques to construct a compact essay on human vanity. (Note: Originally produced in 1956 as a television pilot and broadcast once in 1958 as part of NBC’s Colgate Theatre anthology series (S1E5); it later achieved independent archival and cultural status, including a 1958 Peabody Award.)

The Fountain of Youth

1958

Her Cardboard Lover poster
4.9

A flirt tries to make her fiancée jealous by hiring a gigolo.

Her Cardboard Lover

1942

Nattmagasinet poster
NR

The movie begins with a disenchanted poet who, having had his fill of the world, decides to hide out in a large department store. There are many floors, dusty nooks and crannies, and forgotten storerooms where he can secret himself. He believes he has found the peace and serenity he seeks--away from humankind--in order to write his poetry. To his initial horror, he finds he is not alone. There are Others who have also sought refuge in the dark places of the department store. He quickly finds himself at the mercy of this clandestine social underclass, for none may leave and risk exposing those who have spent years in the store. What quickly evolves is a chilling tale involving the poet and a young woman who had lost her way in the store while a mere child, and who has since spent her entire life as the downtrodden handmaid to the evil matriarch who rules her clan with an iron fist.

Nattmagasinet

1970