Writer, director and producer Matt Cimber was born as Matteo Ottaviano in 1936 and began his career in the early 60s directing off-Broadway plays including works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Williams and the US premieres of the Jean Cocteau trilogy. During his theater years, Cimber rewrote Burning Bright with John Steinbeck which introduced Sandy Dennis who went on to win an Academy Award for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) . Cimber then directed the Broadway revival of Bus Stop, where he met future wife Jayne Mansfield. Matt made his cinematic directorial debut with the offbeat Single Room Furnished (1966), which was also Mansfield's last movie. He followed this movie with the film The Sexually Liberated Female (1970) which was based on a best-selling book The Sensuous Female by J. As the screenwriter / director of this film, Cimber made a satire which required the title be changed for release because the publisher rescinded the rights. Cimber did three immensely enjoyable blaxploitation pictures in the mid 70s: The Black 6 (1973), Lady Cocoa (1975) and the terrifically trashy The Candy Tangerine Man (1975) which was also Samuel L. Jackson 's favorite film. Matt made a rare foray into the horror genre with the disturbing psychological shocker The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976). His next work was based on a Mario Puzo story, a World War II drama A Time to Die (1982) starring Rex Harrison. Later that year Matt teamed up with Pia Zadora for two films: the underrated Butterfly (1981) and the fun Fake-Out (1982). Butterfly (1981) was the master filmmaker Orson Welles last film for which he received one of the film's three Golden Globe nominations. The following year Matt joined forces with actress Laurene Landon for the delightful action/adventure romps Hundra (1983) and Yellow Hair and the Pecos Kid (1984). Quentin Tarantino is quoted as saying Matt Cimber films were among his favorite. In the late 80s, Cimber created and directed the successful TV series GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (1986) . The show was lasted for four seasons on 103 stations in the US. More recent years of Cimber's work were dedicated to a documentary genre. He wrote and directed "An American Icon: Coca-Cola, the Early Years" (1997) and "The History of United Nations" (1996). He created and wrote the eight-minute intro for visitors to the United Nations for which he received a special commendation from the UN. After a twenty years absence in motion picture production, Matt Cimber made a comeback with the independent drama Miriam (2006).
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 1, 1936 (89)
- The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
- Director, writer, producer and actor
- 6 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
What are Matt Cimber's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 3
Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Matt Cimber's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Matt Cimber's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
24 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Deconstructing Dunning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Miriam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Stallone's Knockouts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Hundra(1983)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Fake-Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
A Time to Die(1982)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Butterfly(1981)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Tiger Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
That Girl from Boston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Lady Cocoa(1975)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Alias Big Cherry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Gemini Affair (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Candy Tangerine Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Black Six (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
He & She (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Mondo Hunt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Calliope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Sex & Astrology (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Sensually Liberated Female (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Black Is Beautiful - Africanus Sexualis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Man & Wife: An Educational Film for Married Adults (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Single Room Furnished (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1968 to 2016.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Matt Cimber's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 14th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 18th percentile for acclaim.
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 6 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 49/100 and the pacing 28/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Matt Cimber's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Matt Cimber work with?
People who share at least 2 of Matt Cimber's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John F. Goff shares the most, 4.
Writers
- John F. GoffShared titles: Hundra (1983), A Time to Die (1982), Butterfly (1981), Lady Cocoa (1975)See all 4 shared titles with John F. Goff
Actors
- Cihangir GaffariShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Cihangir Gaffari
- Laurene LandonShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Laurene Landon
- Luis LorenzoShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Luis Lorenzo
- Edward AlbertShared titles: A Time to Die (1982), Butterfly (1981)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Albert
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Ennio MorriconeShared titles: Hundra (1983), A Time to Die (1982), Butterfly (1981)See all 3 shared titles with Ennio Morricone
- Claudio M. CutryShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Claudio M. Cutry
- John CabreraShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with John Cabrera
- Eduard van der EndenShared titles: A Time to Die (1982), Butterfly (1981)See all 2 shared titles with Eduard van der Enden
Producers
- José TruchadoShared titles: Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold (1984), Hundra (1983)See all 2 shared titles with José Truchado
- Jefferson RichardShared titles: A Time to Die (1982), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Jefferson Richard