Writing

Alec Coppel

Born — Died

1907-09-17 — 1972-01-22

Place of birth

Melbourne, Australia

Known for

Writing

Credits

16 titles

Alec Coppel (17 September 1907 – 22 January 1972) was an Australian-born screenwriter, novelist and playwright. He spent most of his career in London and Hollywood, specialising in light thrillers, mysteries and sex comedies. He is best known for the films Vertigo(1958), The Captain's Paradise (1953), Mr Denning Drives North (1951) and Obsession (1949), and the plays I Killed the Count and The Gazebo. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alec Coppel, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Vertigo poster
8.1

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Vertigo

1958

The Black Knight poster
6.4

John, a blacksmith and swordsmith, is tutored at Camelot. As a commoner, he can't hope to win the hand of Lady Linet, daughter of the Earl of Yeoniland, so he creates a secret alternate identity as the Black Knight. In this new role, he is now able to help King Arthur when Saracens and Cornish men—disguised as Vikings -- plot to take over the country.

The Black Knight

1954

No Highway in the Sky poster
7.0

James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.

No Highway in the Sky

1951

The Captain's Paradise poster
5.7

Mediterranean ferryboat captain Henry St James has things well organized - a loving and very English wife Maud in Gibraltar, and the loving if rather more hot-blooded Mistress, Nita in Tangiers. A perfect life. As long as neither woman decides to follow him to the other port.

The Captain's Paradise

1953

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom poster
6.8

Harriet Blossom is married to Robert Blossom, a businessman who'd rather spend the night at his bra factory than at home with her. One day, Harriet's sewing machine breaks, so Robert sends a repairman, Ambrose, to fix it. It's lust at first sight for Harriet, who convinces Ambrose to hide out in the attic for a tryst. When her new beau shows no desire to leave, the pair begin a years-long love affair right under Robert's nose.

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom

1968

Hell Below Zero poster
7.0

Duncan Craig signs on a whaling ship, partly because his own business deal has fallen through, partly to help Judie Nordhall find her father. Rumor has it that her father may have been murdered by Erik Bland, son of her father's partner and her one-time lover. Duncan and Erik find themselves on rival whaleboats and, ultimately, on an ice floe.

Hell Below Zero

1954

Behind the camera

Vertigo poster
8.1

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Vertigo

1958

The Black Knight poster
6.4

John, a blacksmith and swordsmith, is tutored at Camelot. As a commoner, he can't hope to win the hand of Lady Linet, daughter of the Earl of Yeoniland, so he creates a secret alternate identity as the Black Knight. In this new role, he is now able to help King Arthur when Saracens and Cornish men—disguised as Vikings -- plot to take over the country.

The Black Knight

1954

No Highway in the Sky poster
7.0

James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.

No Highway in the Sky

1951

The Captain's Paradise poster
5.7

Mediterranean ferryboat captain Henry St James has things well organized - a loving and very English wife Maud in Gibraltar, and the loving if rather more hot-blooded Mistress, Nita in Tangiers. A perfect life. As long as neither woman decides to follow him to the other port.

The Captain's Paradise

1953

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom poster
6.8

Harriet Blossom is married to Robert Blossom, a businessman who'd rather spend the night at his bra factory than at home with her. One day, Harriet's sewing machine breaks, so Robert sends a repairman, Ambrose, to fix it. It's lust at first sight for Harriet, who convinces Ambrose to hide out in the attic for a tryst. When her new beau shows no desire to leave, the pair begin a years-long love affair right under Robert's nose.

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom

1968

Hell Below Zero poster
7.0

Duncan Craig signs on a whaling ship, partly because his own business deal has fallen through, partly to help Judie Nordhall find her father. Rumor has it that her father may have been murdered by Erik Bland, son of her father's partner and her one-time lover. Duncan and Erik find themselves on rival whaleboats and, ultimately, on an ice floe.

Hell Below Zero

1954

Obsession poster
6.8

A British psychiatrist devises a devilish revenge plot against his wife's lover.

Obsession

1949

The Swordsman of Siena poster
4.1

A 16th-century Spanish overlord hires Thomas Stanswood (Stuart Granger) to protect his, less than eager, fiancee (Sylva Koscina) from rebels. Thomas finds himself drawn to both the fiancee and the rebels side.

The Swordsman of Siena

1962

Over the Moon poster
5.8

Young Jane Benson just about manages to make ends meet running the large family house in Yorkshire. In love with local doctor Freddie Jarvis, she suggests they marry, but almost at once finds she has inherited eighteen million pounds. He makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the money and what it can buy, and Jane sets off alone on a spree pursued by two ardent suitors. Jarvis finds he has gained notoriety for turning down such a catch and his plans for ernest research are soon compromised.

Over the Moon

1939

Moment to Moment poster
5.1

When an erring wife's supposedly dead lover turns up an amnesiac, it's her unsuspecting shrink husband who's enlisted to get those memories back.

Moment to Moment

1966

Two on the Tiles poster
6.7

A married couple both face temptations while separated for a few days. The husband meets an attractive female fellow traveler in Paris while the wife accidentally spends a night aboard a Royal Navy ship with a male friend after she is stranded following a party. Despite knowing the essential innocence of both husband and wife, their sinister new butler uses information about their discretions to demand blackmail payments.

Two on the Tiles

1951

Mr. Denning Drives North poster
6.4

When well-off aircraft designer Denning finds his daughter's current boyfriend is a nasty character he tries to buy him off, ending up hitting him and causing his death when he falls. Instead of calling the police he dumps the body in a lonely spot on the road to the North, making it look like a hit-and-run accident. Weeks later there is still no report of the body being found, and Denning starts to go to pieces. When he lets his wife into his secret the two start making enquiries, possibly making things worse.

Mr. Denning Drives North

1951

Appointment with a Shadow poster
5.7

George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Nader is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal.

Appointment with a Shadow

1957

No artwork available
10.0

A group of private detectives working for a jeweler pursue a gang of thieves in Argentina.

Just like a Woman

1939

Smart Alec poster
9.0

A young artist plots "the perfect murder" in order to inherit his wealthy uncle's fortune.

Smart Alec

1951

Brass Monkey poster
6.4

Carroll Levis, a radio variety host, gets involved in murder and theft.

Brass Monkey

1948