Writing

Ranald MacDougall

Born — Died

1915-03-10 — 1973-12-12

Place of birth

Schenectady, New York, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

35 titles

Ranald MacDougall (March 10, 1915 – December 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as Mildred Pierce (1945), The Unsuspected (1947), June Bride (1948), and The Naked Jungle (1954), and shared screenwriting credit for 1963's Cleopatra. He also directed a number of films, including 1957's Man on Fire with Bing Crosby and 1959's The World, the Flesh and the Devil, both of which featured actress Inger Stevens. Born in Schenectady, New York, MacDougall came from an impoverished working-class family. His father was a crane operator and union organizer, whose frequent strikes forced MacDougall to leave school before finishing the eighth grade to help support the family. He…

Known for

Behind the camera

Cleopatra poster
7.1

Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.

Cleopatra

1963

Mildred Pierce poster
7.6

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Mildred Pierce

1945

Dark of the Sun poster
6.6

A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.

Dark of the Sun

1968

Secret of the Incas poster
5.9

Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) is a tourist guide determined to make his fortune by finding the Sunburst, an Inca treasure.

Secret of the Incas

1954

Objective, Burma! poster
6.9

A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle.

Objective, Burma!

1945

The Mountain poster
6.9

Selfish Chris Teller pressures his older brother, a retired climber, to accompany him on a treacherous Alpine climb to loot the bodies of plane crash victims.

The Mountain

1956

June Bride poster
7.1

A magazine's staff, including bickering ex-lovers Linda and Carey, cover an Indiana wedding, which goes slightly wrong.

June Bride

1948

We're No Angels poster
7.2

Three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of the Ducotels, the only store that gives supplies on credit. They initially intend to take advantage of them but have a change of heart after they find the family is in financial troubles.

We're No Angels

1955

The Naked Jungle poster
6.6

The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.

The Naked Jungle

1954

The Hasty Heart poster
6.9

In the final days of World War II, in a MASH unit in Burma, a severely wounded corporal watches in dismay as fellow soldiers pack-up to return home but a caring nurse and five remaining soldiers bring him solace.

The Hasty Heart

1949

Queen Bee poster
6.3

A wicked Southern woman ruthlessly manipulates her family.

Queen Bee

1955

Queen Bee poster
6.3

A wicked Southern woman ruthlessly manipulates her family.

Queen Bee

1955

That Man Bolt poster
5.2

Fred Williamson chop-sockeys his way through this popular blaxploitation adventure as Jefferson Bolt, a Kung Fu expert assigned to deliver a cool $1 million to Mexico City from Hong Kong with a stop in Los Angeles. When Bolt discovers the cash is dirty mob money and his gal has been killed, he heads back to the Far East to get even.

That Man Bolt

1973

The House in the Square poster
6.4

Atomic scientist Peter Standish travels back in time to 1784, an era he has read about in his forefather's diaries. He falls in love with his forefather's cousin, Helen, but his contemporaries of 1784 are perplexed by his strange talk and the odd knowledge he possesses.

The House in the Square

1951

Bright Leaf poster
6.0

Two tobacco growers battle for control of the cigarette market.

Bright Leaf

1950

The World, the Flesh and the Devil poster
6.4

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point, tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white, and Burton, who is black.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

1959

The World, the Flesh and the Devil poster
6.4

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point, tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white, and Burton, who is black.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

1959

The Breaking Point poster
7.0

A fisherman with money problems hires out his boat to transport criminals.

The Breaking Point

1950

Fame Is the Name of the Game poster
7.0

A brash, big-time investigative reporter, looking into the death of a call girl, uncovers her diary and tries to find her killer among the names contained in it.

Fame Is the Name of the Game

1966

The Unsuspected poster
6.7

The secretary of an affably suave radio mystery host mysteriously commits suicide after his wealthy young niece disappears.

The Unsuspected

1947

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County poster
7.0

A simple-minded blacksmith named Charley, well loved by the townsfolk, saves for a year to send off for a mail-order bride.

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County

1970

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County poster
7.0

A simple-minded blacksmith named Charley, well loved by the townsfolk, saves for a year to send off for a mail-order bride.

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County

1970

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County poster
7.0

A simple-minded blacksmith named Charley, well loved by the townsfolk, saves for a year to send off for a mail-order bride.

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County

1970

The Subterraneans poster
5.1

A disillusioned writer explores the subterranean depths of San Francisco's North Beach district.

The Subterraneans

1960

Go Naked in the World poster
5.1

A domineering San Francisco businessman is determined to put an end to his son's romance with a high-priced hooker.

Go Naked in the World

1961

Go Naked in the World poster
5.1

A domineering San Francisco businessman is determined to put an end to his son's romance with a high-priced hooker.

Go Naked in the World

1961

Possessed poster
6.9

After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.

Possessed

1947

Man on Fire poster
6.0

Bitter over their divorce, a wealthy businessman prevents his ex-wife from seeing their child. She then takes him to custody court and a judge tries to determine what will be best for the child.

Man on Fire

1957

Man on Fire poster
6.0

Bitter over their divorce, a wealthy businessman prevents his ex-wife from seeing their child. She then takes him to custody court and a judge tries to determine what will be best for the child.

Man on Fire

1957

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell poster
7.2

Posing as a man over 70, a lecturer (Clifton Webb) enters an old-folks home to prove age is a state of mind.

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell

1951

The Decision of Christopher Blake poster
3.8

A young boy begins to have fantasies when he learns his parents are planning to divorce. Director Peter Godfrey's 1948 drama stars Ted Donaldson, Alexis Smith, Robert Douglas, Cecil Kellaway, John Hoyt, Mary Wickes and Harry Davenport.

The Decision of Christopher Blake

1948

The Decision of Christopher Blake poster
3.8

A young boy begins to have fantasies when he learns his parents are planning to divorce. Director Peter Godfrey's 1948 drama stars Ted Donaldson, Alexis Smith, Robert Douglas, Cecil Kellaway, John Hoyt, Mary Wickes and Harry Davenport.

The Decision of Christopher Blake

1948

Jigsaw poster
7.0

After inadvertently ingesting some sugar laced with LSD, a man wakes up with amnesia and in the middle of a murder plot.

Jigsaw

1968

Magic Carpet poster
9.0

A young student living in Rome gets a job as a tour guide and falls in love with a young stowaway who is being sought by the police.

Magic Carpet

1972

Magic Carpet poster
9.0

A young student living in Rome gets a job as a tour guide and falls in love with a young stowaway who is being sought by the police.

Magic Carpet

1972