Philip Dunne

Writing

Philip Dunne

Born — Died

1908-02-11 — 1992-06-02

Place of birth

New Rochelle, New York, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

40 titles

Philip Ives Dunne (February 11, 1908 – June 2, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox. He crafted well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium. Dunne was a leading Screen Writers Guild organizer and was politically active during the "Hollywood Blacklist" episode of the 1940s–1950s. He is best known for the films How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Robe (1953) and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965).[1] Dunne received two Academy Award nominations for screenwriting: How Green Was My Valley (1941) and D…

Known for

How Green Was My Valley poster
7.3

Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.

How Green Was My Valley

1941

The Robe poster
6.8

Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like his slave, Demetrius, but when Demetrius escapes with the robe, Marcellus experiences disturbing visions and feels guilty for his actions. Convinced that destroying the robe will cure him, Marcellus sets out to find Demetrius — and discovers his Christian faith along the way.

The Robe

1953

The Egyptian poster
6.5

In eighteenth-dynasty Egypt, Sinuhe, a poor orphan, becomes a brilliant physician and with his friend Horemheb is appointed to the service of the new Pharoah. Sinuhe's personal triumphs and tragedies are played against the larger canvas of the turbulent events of the 18th dynasty. As Sinuhe is drawn into court intrigues he learns the answers to the questions he has sought since his birth.

The Egyptian

1954

The Agony and the Ecstasy poster
7.0

During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

1965

Wild in the Country poster
6.3

A troubled young man discovers that he has a knack for writing when a counselor encourages him to pursue a literary career.

Wild in the Country

1961

The Rains Came poster
6.1

Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Tom Ransome get in the way, but everyone shapes up when faced by earthquake, flooding, and plague.

The Rains Came

1939

Behind the camera

How Green Was My Valley poster
7.3

Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.

How Green Was My Valley

1941

The Robe poster
6.8

Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like his slave, Demetrius, but when Demetrius escapes with the robe, Marcellus experiences disturbing visions and feels guilty for his actions. Convinced that destroying the robe will cure him, Marcellus sets out to find Demetrius — and discovers his Christian faith along the way.

The Robe

1953

The Egyptian poster
6.5

In eighteenth-dynasty Egypt, Sinuhe, a poor orphan, becomes a brilliant physician and with his friend Horemheb is appointed to the service of the new Pharoah. Sinuhe's personal triumphs and tragedies are played against the larger canvas of the turbulent events of the 18th dynasty. As Sinuhe is drawn into court intrigues he learns the answers to the questions he has sought since his birth.

The Egyptian

1954

The Agony and the Ecstasy poster
7.0

During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

1965

Wild in the Country poster
6.3

A troubled young man discovers that he has a knack for writing when a counselor encourages him to pursue a literary career.

Wild in the Country

1961

The Rains Came poster
6.1

Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Tom Ransome get in the way, but everyone shapes up when faced by earthquake, flooding, and plague.

The Rains Came

1939

Pinky poster
7.1

Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school. Pinky tells her grandmother that she has been "passing" for white while at school in the North. In addition, she has fallen in love with a young white doctor, who knows nothing about her black heritage.

Pinky

1949

Demetrius and the Gladiators poster
6.6

The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.

Demetrius and the Gladiators

1954

Johnny Apollo poster
6.8

Wall Street broker Robert Cain, Sr., is jailed for embezzling. His college graduate son Bob then turns to crime to raise money for his father's release. As assistant to mobster Mickey Dwyer, then falls for Dwyer's girl Lucky. He winds up in the same prison as his father.

Johnny Apollo

1940

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir poster
7.5

In 1900, young widow Lucy Muir learns that her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

1947

David and Bathsheba poster
5.8

King David enters into an adulterous affair with the beautiful Bathsheba, which has tragic consequences for his family and Israel.

David and Bathsheba

1951

Anne of the Indies poster
6.4

After buccaneer captain Anne Providence spares Pierre LaRochelle and recruits him into her pirate crew, their growing attraction is tested when Captain Blackbeard reveals LaRochelle's true identity as a former French navy officer.

Anne of the Indies

1951

Way of a Gaucho poster
5.8

In 1875 Argentina, after killing a man, a gaucho is sentenced to harsh army duty but he deserts the army and becomes a bandit leader.

Way of a Gaucho

1952

Way of a Gaucho poster
5.8

In 1875 Argentina, after killing a man, a gaucho is sentenced to harsh army duty but he deserts the army and becomes a bandit leader.

Way of a Gaucho

1952

Forever Amber poster
6.1

Amber St Clair, orphaned during the English Civil War and raised by a family of farmers, aspires to be a lady of high society; when a group of cavaliers ride into town, she sneaks away with them to London to achieve her dreams.

Forever Amber

1947

The Count of Monte Cristo poster
6.8

Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

The Count of Monte Cristo

1934

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake poster
7.2

Sir Arthur Blake has inherited title and lands from his brother. He also has his orphaned nephew Benjamin working for him as a bonded servant. While he believes the lad was born out of wedlock and so cannot claim the inheritance, he is taking no chances. Benjamin eventually rebels against his uncle and sets sail to try and make his fortune. This may enable him to return to prove his claim to being the rightful heir to the estate.

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake

1942

The Late George Apley poster
6.8

Bostonites George and Catherine Apley live a proper life in a social circle. However, their daughter Eleanor's love for Howard Boulton and their son John's union with Myrtle threatens their home.

The Late George Apley

1947

Stanley and Livingstone poster
6.4

When American newspaperman and adventurer Henry M. Stanley comes back from the western Indian wars, his editor James Gordon Bennett sends him to Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone, the missing Scottish missionary. Stanley finds Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume.") blissfully doling out medicine and religion to the happy natives. His story is at first disbelieved.

Stanley and Livingstone

1939

Hilda Crane poster
6.9

After two failed marriages, a disillusioned woman returns to her hometown to start life anew.

Hilda Crane

1956

Hilda Crane poster
6.9

After two failed marriages, a disillusioned woman returns to her hometown to start life anew.

Hilda Crane

1956

The Luck of the Irish poster
6.1

Following American reporter Stephen Fitzgerald from Ireland to New York, a grateful leprechaun acts as the newsman's servant and conscience.

The Luck of the Irish

1948

In Love and War poster
6.7

Three Marines take shore leave in San Francisco during World War II. Frankie O'Neill visits his lower-class dysfunctional family; Nico Kantaylis visits his pregnant fiancée; and the upper-class Alan Newcombe visits his high-living playgirl girlfriend. Each must decide whether to make the best of his situation or break out of it. O'Neill drowns his troubles in alcohol, losing the respect of a potential lover; Kantaylis marries his fiancée, but realizes he may not survive the war to see his child; while Newcombe sheds his decadent girlfriend for a pure-hearted Hawaiian nurse. Later, in battle, a heroic act costs one of the Marines his life.

In Love and War

1958

Escape poster
5.7

A convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes and goes on the lam, aided by a local girl.

Escape

1948

The Last of the Mohicans poster
6.4

The story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns—in part—a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of between 500 to 1,500 Anglo-American troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by the last Mohicans.

The Last of the Mohicans

1936

Blindfold poster
6.3

A patient being psychoanalyzed by Dr. Snow is a government scientist. General Pratt hides him in a secret place known as "Base X," forcing Dr. Snow to wear a blindfold whenever he is taken there ...

Blindfold

1966

Blindfold poster
6.3

A patient being psychoanalyzed by Dr. Snow is a government scientist. General Pratt hides him in a secret place known as "Base X," forcing Dr. Snow to wear a blindfold whenever he is taken there ...

Blindfold

1966

Student Tour poster
6.7

A philosophy professor accompanies his school's rowing team on a worldwide tour.

Student Tour

1934

The View from Pompey's Head poster
3.8

Anson Page, a lawyer with Southern roots leaves New York, his wife and his kids for Georgia. His assignment is to investigate the case of Garvin Wales, a famous writer, now nearly blind and embittered, whose royalties have apparently never reached him. Back in his native South, Page finds himself immediately exposed to what he had fled : racial and class prejudices. But he also meets his former love, Dinah, now married to go-getter uncouth businessman Mickey Higgins. Will he find out whatever happened to 2,000 dollars in rights Wales did not cash? Will Dinah and Anson renew their love story?

The View from Pompey's Head

1955

The View from Pompey's Head poster
3.8

Anson Page, a lawyer with Southern roots leaves New York, his wife and his kids for Georgia. His assignment is to investigate the case of Garvin Wales, a famous writer, now nearly blind and embittered, whose royalties have apparently never reached him. Back in his native South, Page finds himself immediately exposed to what he had fled : racial and class prejudices. But he also meets his former love, Dinah, now married to go-getter uncouth businessman Mickey Higgins. Will he find out whatever happened to 2,000 dollars in rights Wales did not cash? Will Dinah and Anson renew their love story?

The View from Pompey's Head

1955

The View from Pompey's Head poster
3.8

Anson Page, a lawyer with Southern roots leaves New York, his wife and his kids for Georgia. His assignment is to investigate the case of Garvin Wales, a famous writer, now nearly blind and embittered, whose royalties have apparently never reached him. Back in his native South, Page finds himself immediately exposed to what he had fled : racial and class prejudices. But he also meets his former love, Dinah, now married to go-getter uncouth businessman Mickey Higgins. Will he find out whatever happened to 2,000 dollars in rights Wales did not cash? Will Dinah and Anson renew their love story?

The View from Pompey's Head

1955

A Salute to France poster
7.5

Commissioned to prepare Allied troops for the liberation of Europe, the film uses a blend of staged narratives and historical footage to promote solidarity and dispel the myth that France was a nation of willing collaborators.

A Salute to France

1944

Lydia Bailey poster
6.8

A young Boston lawyer, Albron Hamlin, goes to Haiti in 1802 to find Lydia Bailey, whose estate he must settle. The island is war-torn in the strife between Toussaing L'Overture, the black president, and the French who are trying to retake possession of the country. Hamlin finds Lydia and, against the background of war and rebellion, they fall in love while helping the Haitians against the French.

Lydia Bailey

1952

Suez poster
5.5

Ferdinand de Lesseps, disappointed in love, is sent as a junior diplomat to the Isthmus of Suez, and realizes it's just the place for a canal.

Suez

1938

Ten North Frederick poster
7.1

After her father's funeral, Ann Chapin thinks back over the last five years of his life, years of apparent political and personal failure dominated by a selfish and dissatisfied wife, eased only by alcohol. But it starts to emerge that he had in fact one brief and unsuspected period of happiness and love.

Ten North Frederick

1958

Ten North Frederick poster
7.1

After her father's funeral, Ann Chapin thinks back over the last five years of his life, years of apparent political and personal failure dominated by a selfish and dissatisfied wife, eased only by alcohol. But it starts to emerge that he had in fact one brief and unsuspected period of happiness and love.

Ten North Frederick

1958

The Inspector poster
7.1

At the end of WW2, a compassionate Dutch policeman helps smuggle a Jewish woman into British Palestine.

The Inspector

1962

Lancer Spy poster
6.0

An Englishman impersonates an imprisoned German officer and "returns" to Germany to become a national hero. A female German spy is assigned to check him out but falls in love with him.

Lancer Spy

1937

Three Brave Men poster
6.3

A lawyer takes the case of a Navy clerk who sues after he's fired for suspected Communist beliefs.

Three Brave Men

1956

Three Brave Men poster
6.3

A lawyer takes the case of a Navy clerk who sues after he's fired for suspected Communist beliefs.

Three Brave Men

1956