Writing

John Paxton

Born — Died

1911-05-21 — 1985-01-05

Place of birth

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

18 titles

John Paxton (May 21, 1911 – January 5, 1985) was an American screenwriter. Some of his films include Murder, My Sweet in 1944, Cornered in 1945, Crossfire in 1947 (an adaptation of the controversial novel The Brick Foxhole that earned him his only Oscar nomination). He helped adapt the screenplay for the controversial film The Wild One in 1953, starring Marlon Brando.

Known for

On the Beach poster
6.7

In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual covers growing despair. In denial about the loss of his wife and children in the holocaust, American Captain Towers meets careworn but gorgeous Moira Davidson, who begins to fall for him. The sub returns after reconnaissance a month (or less) before the end; will Towers and Moira find comfort with each other?

On the Beach

1959

The Wild One poster
6.5

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

The Wild One

1953

The Cobweb poster
5.7

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes – but drapes are the least of their problems.

The Cobweb

1955

Murder, My Sweet poster
7.2

After being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.

Murder, My Sweet

1944

On the Beach poster
6.2

The world has finally managed to blow itself up and only Australia has been spared from nuclear destruction and a gigantic wave of radiation is floating in on the breezes. One American sub located in the Pacific has survived and is met with disdain by the Australians. The calculations of Australia's most renowned scientist says the country is doomed. However, one of his rivals says that he is wrong. He believes that 1000 people can be relocated to the northern hemisphere, where his assumptions indicate the radiation levels may be lower. The American Captain is asked to take a mission to the north to determine which scientist is right.

On the Beach

2000

Fourteen Hours poster
7.3

A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of a building with the intention of committing suicide. A policeman makes every effort to argue him out of it.

Fourteen Hours

1951

Behind the camera

On the Beach poster
6.7

In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual covers growing despair. In denial about the loss of his wife and children in the holocaust, American Captain Towers meets careworn but gorgeous Moira Davidson, who begins to fall for him. The sub returns after reconnaissance a month (or less) before the end; will Towers and Moira find comfort with each other?

On the Beach

1959

The Wild One poster
6.5

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

The Wild One

1953

The Cobweb poster
5.7

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes – but drapes are the least of their problems.

The Cobweb

1955

Murder, My Sweet poster
7.2

After being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.

Murder, My Sweet

1944

On the Beach poster
6.2

The world has finally managed to blow itself up and only Australia has been spared from nuclear destruction and a gigantic wave of radiation is floating in on the breezes. One American sub located in the Pacific has survived and is met with disdain by the Australians. The calculations of Australia's most renowned scientist says the country is doomed. However, one of his rivals says that he is wrong. He believes that 1000 people can be relocated to the northern hemisphere, where his assumptions indicate the radiation levels may be lower. The American Captain is asked to take a mission to the north to determine which scientist is right.

On the Beach

2000

Fourteen Hours poster
7.3

A young man, morally destroyed by his parents not loving him and by the fear of being not capable to make his girlfriend happy, rises on the ledge of a building with the intention of committing suicide. A policeman makes every effort to argue him out of it.

Fourteen Hours

1951

Kotch poster
6.6

When retired salesman Joseph Kotcher begins to feel pressure to move out of the house he shares with the family of his son, he opts to embark on a road trip instead of settling in a retirement home. Befriending Erica, a young pregnant woman and his grandson's former nanny, Kotch begins to finds new meaning in life as he helps her prepare to welcome her baby into the world.

Kotch

1971

Crack-Up poster
5.8

Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck...which never happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a plot?

Crack-Up

1946

Crossfire poster
6.7

A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?

Crossfire

1947

Interpol poster
6.4

Spurred on by the death of his drug-addicted sister at the hands of ruthless narcotics kingpin Frank McNally, U.S. drug enforcement agent Charles Sturgis embarks on an investigation that takes him from New York to London, Lisbon, Rome, Naples and finally Athens in pursuit of McNally's shapely associate, Gina Broger.

Interpol

1957

How to Murder a Rich Uncle poster
7.0

A broke British nobleman targets his Canadian uncle, but other relatives get in the way.

How to Murder a Rich Uncle

1957

The Great Man's Whiskers poster
8.0

A young girl writes to President Abraham Lincoln to advise him to grow a beard.

The Great Man's Whiskers

1972

Cornered poster
6.2

A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.

Cornered

1945

A Prize of Gold poster
5.7

A U.S. sergeant, a British sergeant and a British pilot hijack gold for a German refugee's war orphans.

A Prize of Gold

1955

My Pal, Wolf poster
7.5

A lonely child, neglected by her parents, encounters and befriends a German Shepherd, but she's unaware the animal is a military dog being trained for service in WW2.

My Pal, Wolf

1944

So Well Remembered poster
5.2

A mill-owner's ambitious daughter almost ruins her husband's political career.

So Well Remembered

1947

Of Men and Music poster
7.0

A documentary featuring musicians including Artur Rubinstein, Jan Peerce-Nadine Conner, and Jascha Heifetz.

Of Men and Music

1951

No artwork available
8.0

Aftermath was the pilot for an unsold TV series called "The Code of Jonathan West"; it aired as part of The General Electric Theater. The film takes place just after the Civil War, in a small southern town – war-ravaged, impoverished, and seething with hatred and resentment.

Aftermath

1960