Writing

Richard Levinson

Born — Died

1934-08-07 — 1987-03-12

Place of birth

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Known for

Writing

Credits

24 titles

Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Levinson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Prototype poster
6.3

An intelligent android (Michael) constructed by a research team is taken outdoors and successfully passed off as human in a trial run. When the government hears of this, they order their own set of tests in Washington. When the project leader realizes the military want the android for a soldier, he can't accept it, and he and Michael go into hiding to avoid their clutches.

Prototype

1983

The Execution of Private Slovik poster
7.4

The story of Eddie Slovik, who was executed by the Army in 1945, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the Civil War.

The Execution of Private Slovik

1974

Rollercoaster poster
6.0

A young terrorist kills and injures patrons of a Norfolk amusement park by placing homemade explosives on the track of one of its roller coasters. After staging a similar incident in Pittsburgh, he sends a tape to a meeting of major amusement park executives in Chicago, demanding $1 million to make him stop.

Rollercoaster

1977

The Guardian poster
5.5

The residents of a New York apartment building are shocked when one of them is shot during a burgulary. They decide to hire a security expert to patrol the building, but he seem a little over-committed to his work.

The Guardian

1984

That Certain Summer poster
6.6

The first US teleplay to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. The boy does not know that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years.

That Certain Summer

1972

Guilty Conscience poster
6.0

Amid acrimonious divorce proceedings, Louise (Blythe Danner) unwittingly puts her life in danger when she contests the prenuptial agreement she signed before marrying attorney Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins). He plans to kill her to resolve the situation. Armed with information on how her cheating husband conducts his business and personal affairs, she demands more money from him -- but will Arthur have the final word?

Guilty Conscience

1985

Behind the camera

Prototype poster
6.3

An intelligent android (Michael) constructed by a research team is taken outdoors and successfully passed off as human in a trial run. When the government hears of this, they order their own set of tests in Washington. When the project leader realizes the military want the android for a soldier, he can't accept it, and he and Michael go into hiding to avoid their clutches.

Prototype

1983

The Execution of Private Slovik poster
7.4

The story of Eddie Slovik, who was executed by the Army in 1945, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the Civil War.

The Execution of Private Slovik

1974

Rollercoaster poster
6.0

A young terrorist kills and injures patrons of a Norfolk amusement park by placing homemade explosives on the track of one of its roller coasters. After staging a similar incident in Pittsburgh, he sends a tape to a meeting of major amusement park executives in Chicago, demanding $1 million to make him stop.

Rollercoaster

1977

The Guardian poster
5.5

The residents of a New York apartment building are shocked when one of them is shot during a burgulary. They decide to hire a security expert to patrol the building, but he seem a little over-committed to his work.

The Guardian

1984

That Certain Summer poster
6.6

The first US teleplay to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. The boy does not know that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years.

That Certain Summer

1972

That Certain Summer poster
6.6

The first US teleplay to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. The boy does not know that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years.

That Certain Summer

1972

Guilty Conscience poster
6.0

Amid acrimonious divorce proceedings, Louise (Blythe Danner) unwittingly puts her life in danger when she contests the prenuptial agreement she signed before marrying attorney Arthur Jamison (Anthony Hopkins). He plans to kill her to resolve the situation. Armed with information on how her cheating husband conducts his business and personal affairs, she demands more money from him -- but will Arthur have the final word?

Guilty Conscience

1985

Istanbul Express poster
5.4

An art dealer on a special mission is pulled into dangerous intrigue while railway detective Cheval tries to help and pursues criminals on the Istanbul Express.

Istanbul Express

1969

The Judge and Jake Wyler poster
2.5

A retired lady judge runs a private detective agency with a charming ex-con as her leg man and various parolees helping in the day-to-day operation.

The Judge and Jake Wyler

1972

The Judge and Jake Wyler poster
2.5

A retired lady judge runs a private detective agency with a charming ex-con as her leg man and various parolees helping in the day-to-day operation.

The Judge and Jake Wyler

1972

Murder by Natural Causes poster
6.9

An elaborate mystery involving a famous mentalist, his unfaithful wife who is trying to literally scare him to death, the best friend of the family, and the wife's ham-actor lover -- not only an intriguing who- (or whether) dunit, but also a literate, adult dramatic puzzle with an endless series of twists.

Murder by Natural Causes

1979

Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster? poster
9.0

An alcoholic drifter decides to run for sheriff in a small town. However, in order to get elected, he must find out who killed a visiting preacher.

Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?

1971

Crisis at Central High poster
7.0

The historic federal-state controversy over the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, as seen through the eyes of Elizabeth Huckaby, one of the teachers and girls' vice principal.

Crisis at Central High

1981

Rehearsal for Murder poster
6.1

A year after his fiancée's death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.

Rehearsal for Murder

1982

Take Your Best Shot poster
7.0

An actor whose career has gone flat resolves to pursue a more stable occupation while also trying to save his troubled marriage.

Take Your Best Shot

1982

Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami poster
7.0

There is no question that the Arab terrorist portrayed by Robert Davi is guilty of killing five US citizens in Barcelona. Even his lawyers have zero respect for the rabidly sociopathic Davi. But Jewish defence attorney Ron Leibman is obsessed with the concept of Due Process, and has vowed that Davi will receive a scrupulously fair trial when the terrorist is extradited to America. The defence mounted by Leibman confounds and aggravates government prosecutor Sam Waterston--but he, like Leibman, remains a man of judiciary integrity.

Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami

1988

My Sweet Charlie poster
6.8

A pregnant white Southern girl and a black New York lawyer, both on the run in rural Texas, meet up in a boarded-up, abandoned house and realize they both need each other in order to survive.

My Sweet Charlie

1970

Two on a Bench poster
6.3

An outgoing young girl and a square stockbroker meet on a park bench in Boston and are mistaken for international spies and chased by both sides.

Two on a Bench

1971

Two on a Bench poster
6.3

An outgoing young girl and a square stockbroker meet on a park bench in Boston and are mistaken for international spies and chased by both sides.

Two on a Bench

1971

The Gun poster
8.7

The odyssey of an American handgun and the dramatic way it reshapes the lives of its various owners.

The Gun

1974

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects poster
8.0

When a famous fashion designer is found murdered, Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD is baffled by her dying clue, prompting him to bring in his son, mystery writer Ellery Queen, to help in the investigation. This was the pilot film for the short-lived TV series.

Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects

1975

Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You poster
8.5

Detective Ellery Queen has to solve a series of murders where the victims were killed in numerically descending ages, the male victims were strangled with blue cords and the female victims with pink ones.

Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You

1971

The Storyteller poster
9.0

A television writer is troubled by accusations that a young boy's death resulted from actions the boy copied from the writer's teleplay.

The Storyteller

1977

Stone poster
9.0

Dennis Weaver is a Joseph Wambaugh-type novelist cop and Pat Hingle is his hard-nosed superior who wants him to stick to police work or get off the force in this pilot to the short-lived series.

Stone

1979