W.R. Burnett

W.R. Burnett

1899-11-25 Springfield, Ohio, USA 50 Credits
Filter by:

Complete Filmography

Cool Breeze

Cool Breeze

1972

Novel

5.1

A paroled crook masterminds a $3 million jewelry theft to fund a bank for businessmen.

Stiletto

Stiletto

1969

Writer

5.2
Writing

A rich, jet-setting playboy has a secret life: he's also a professional Mafia hitman. When he decides it's time to retire from that life, he finds tha...

Ice Station Zebra

Ice Station Zebra

1968

Screenplay

6.3
Writing

A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arcti...

The Jackals

The Jackals

1967

Story

5.0
Writing

Bad bank robber falls in love with granddaughter of miner he and his men planned to rob of gold, has change of heart.

4 for Texas

4 for Texas

1963

Writer

5.1
Writing

In the 1870s, two rival businessmen, Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, on a stagecoach heading to Galveston, Texas, must pull together to protect $100,000 ...

Cairo

Cairo

1963

Novel

4.7

An assortment of international criminals plans to steal priceless Egyptian artifacts from a Cairo museum. MGM remake of Asphalt Jungle set in Egypt.

The Great Escape

The Great Escape

1963

Screenplay

7.9
Writing

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-secu...

Sergeants 3

Sergeants 3

1962

Writer

5.4
Writing

Mike, Chip, and Larry are three lusty, brawling U. S. Cavalry sergeants stationed in Indian Territory in 1870.

The Lawbreakers

The Lawbreakers

1961

Writer

5.5
Writing

The story of a scheme to double-cross the syndicate and steal its money, and of a police commissioner '​s efforts to investigate homicides that take p...

September Storm

September Storm

1960

Screenplay

4.8
Writing

American fashion model Anne Traymore, swimming off the isle of Majorca, loses a bracelet, which the handsome Manuel del Rio Montoya returns to her. Sh...

The Badlanders

The Badlanders

1958

Novel

6.2

Two men are released from the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma in 1898. One, The Dutchman, is out to get both gold and revenge from certain people i...

Short Cut to Hell

Short Cut to Hell

1957

Screenplay

5.7
Writing

A hitman is found out because he was paid off in traceable stolen money. On the run, he kidnaps the girlfriend of the police detective in charge of h...

Accused of Murder

Accused of Murder

1956

Screenplay, Novel

4.5
Writing

A police detective finds himself entangled in the web of the underworld when he falls in love with a nightclub singer accused of murdering a crooked l...

I Died a Thousand Times

I Died a Thousand Times

1955

Novel, Screenplay

6.1
Writing

After aging criminal Roy Earle is released from prison he decides to pull one last heist before retiring — by robbing a resort hotel.

Illegal

Illegal

1955

Screenplay

6.4
Writing

A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to find out later he was innocent. Now the drunken attorney...

Captain Lightfoot

Captain Lightfoot

1955

Novel, Writer

6.3
Writing

In 1815, Michael Martin, member of an Irish revolutionary society, turns highwayman to support it, and soon becomes an outlaw. In Dublin, he meets fam...

Night People

Night People

1954

Screenplay

5.9
Writing

A US intelligence officer, stationed in Germany, is caught in a political dilemma when the Russians kidnap a young Army private, the son of prominent ...

Dangerous Mission

Dangerous Mission

1954

Writer

5.8
Writing

A policeman tries to protect a young woman against a hit man, when she flees New York after witnessing a mob killing.

Arrowhead

Arrowhead

1953

Novel

5.9

Director Charles Marquis Warren's 1953 western stars Charlton Heston and Jack Palance. Chief of Scouts Ed Bannon works for the US Army at Fort Clark, ...

Law and Order

Law and Order

1953

Novel

5.1

Frame Johnson's attempt to settle down in Tombstone is interrupted when a mob tries to mete out some frontier justice.

The Racket

The Racket

1951

Screenplay

6.3
Writing

The big national crime syndicate has moved into town, partnering up with local crime boss Nick Scanlon. McQuigg, the only honest police captain on the...

Iron Man

Iron Man

1951

Novel

6.1

In Coaltown, Pennsylvania, miner Coke Mason hopes to better himself, buy a radio store, and marry Rose Warren. His gambler brother George thinks Coke ...

Vendetta

Vendetta

1950

Screenplay

Writing

The daughter of a slain man pushes her brother toward vengeance in 19th-century Corsica.

The Asphalt Jungle

The Asphalt Jungle

1950

Novel

7.5

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of v...

Colorado Territory

Colorado Territory

1949

Novel

7.0

After escaping from jail, outlaw Wes McQueen is convinced by his old partner in crime to do one last heist.

Yellow Sky

Yellow Sky

1948

Story

6.9
Writing

In 1867, a gang robs a bank and flees into the desert. Out of water, the outlaws encounter a ghost town called Yellow Sky and its only residents, a ho...

Belle Starr's Daughter

Belle Starr's Daughter

1948

Screenplay

4.1
Writing

The daughter of famous outlaw Belle Starr arrives at the town where her mother was murdered to find her killer.

The Man I Love

The Man I Love

1946

Additional Writing

6.2

Tough torch singer Petey Brown, visiting her family, finds a nest of troubles: her sister, brother, and the neighbor's wife are involved in various wa...

Nobody Lives Forever

Nobody Lives Forever

1946

Screenplay, Novel

6.2
Writing

A con artist falls for the rich widow he's trying to fleece.

San Antonio

San Antonio

1945

Screenplay

5.7
Writing

Rancher Clay Hardin arrives in San Antonio to search for and capture Roy Stuart, notorious leader of a gang of cattle rustlers. The vicious outlaw is ...

Background to Danger

Background to Danger

1943

Screenplay

6.6
Writing

An American gets caught up in wartime action in Turkey.

Action in the North Atlantic

Action in the North Atlantic

1943

Additional Dialogue

7.1

Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as pa...

Crash Dive

Crash Dive

1943

Story

6.2
Writing

A US Navy submarine, the USS Corsair, is operating in the North Atlantic, hunting German merchant raiders that are preying on Allied shipping. Its new...

Wake Island

Wake Island

1942

Screenplay, Story

5.7
Writing

In late 1941, with no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island b...

This Gun for Hire

This Gun for Hire

1942

Screenplay

6.9
Writing

Sadistic killer-for-hire Philip Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, ...

The Get-Away

The Get-Away

1941

Screenplay

5.4
Writing

A jailed cop befriends a mob chieftain and stages a breakout with him.

High Sierra

High Sierra

1941

Screenplay, Novel

7.1
Writing

Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.

Law and Order

Law and Order

1940

Screenplay

Writing

Bill Ralston arrives in town planning to settle down but quickly gets caught up in the fight between the townspeople and Poe Daggett and his gang. He ...

Dark Command

Dark Command

1940

Novel

6.3

When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local ba...

King of the Underworld

King of the Underworld

1939

Story

6.4
Writing

Physician Carole Nelson, suspected of having ties to notorious gangster Joe Gurney, must prove her innocence or the Medical Board will revoke her lice...

Some Blondes Are Dangerous

Some Blondes Are Dangerous

1937

Novel

1.0

"Iron Man" Mason is a talented but rather dimwitted prizefighter. Against the advice of his crusty old manager George Regan, Mason dumps his ever-lovi...

Wild West Days

Wild West Days

1937

Novel

Retired lawman Kentucky Wade and his three buddies, Mike Morales, "Dude" Hanford and "Trigger" Benton come to Brimstone and help their friends Larry M...

Dr. Socrates

Dr. Socrates

1935

Story

6.4
Writing

Dr. Socrates gave up his brilliant career as surgeon in a prominent hospital because his betrothed died under his knife. He is now a struggling doctor...

The Whole Town's Talking

The Whole Town's Talking

1935

Story

6.8
Writing

Ordinary man-in-the-street Arthur Ferguson Jones leads a very straightforward life. He's never late for work and nothing interesting ever happens to h...

Dark Hazard

Dark Hazard

1934

Novel

5.4

Jim is a compulsive gambler. He meets Marge at a boarding house and they get married. His gambling causes problems. When he runs into old flame Valeri...

Scarface

Scarface

1932

Dialogue, Continuity

7.4

In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to pr...

The Beast of the City

The Beast of the City

1932

Story

5.9
Writing

Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick is after gangster Sam Belmonte. He uses his own corrupt brother Ed to watch over Daisy who was associated with Belmonte.

Law and Order

Law and Order

1932

Novel

4.0

A legendary lawman and his cohorts set out to restore order to the dangerous streets of Tombstone, Ariz.

The Finger Points

The Finger Points

1931

Writer

6.6
Writing

Lee is a fresh young kid from the South when he gets a job with The Press. His first assignment on gangsters gets his name in the paper, the police on...

Little Caesar

Little Caesar

1931

Novel

6.9

A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?