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John Guillermin

John Guillermin

Director, writer and producer · Died September 27, 2015, aged 89 · London, England, UK

Yvon Jean Guillermin, known professionally as John Guillermin (November 11, 1925 – September 27, 2015) was a British film director, writer, and producer who was most active in big budget, action adventure movies throughout his lengthy career. He was born in London and attended Cambridge University. His more famous films include I Was Monty's Double (1958), Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959), Tarzan Goes to India (1962), The Waltz of the Toreadors (1962), The Blue Max (1966), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), The Towering Inferno (1974), King Kong (1976), Death on the Nile (1978) and King Kong Lives (1986). From the 1980s he worked on much less prestigious projects, and his final films consisted of lower budgeted theatrical releases and made-for-TV movies. Guillermin also directed fifteen episodes of the late-1950s sitcom The Adventures of Aggie. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Guillermin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 11, 1925
Died
September 27, 2015 (aged 89)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 39% in 30 days

What are John Guillermin's films like?

Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Genres

Action10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 47th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Crime4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 54th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Adventure3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 19th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 37th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 64th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

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.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
29%
Power
21%
Survival
18%
Self
14%
Bonds
12%
Ideas
4%
Society
1%
Justice7 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed6 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 21 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 10 · Serious 7 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 12 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 14 · Intense 7

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 3

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 15 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 11 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 12 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 17 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
17
Thrilling
9
Romantic
5
Melancholic
5
Absurd
3
Other
12

How their films linger

Bittersweet10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet9
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous1

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 John Guillermin's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Guillermin'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

42 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Tracker(1988)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • King Kong Lives(1986)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Sheena(1984)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Sahara(1983)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Mr. Patman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director

  • Death on the Nile(1978)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director

  • King Kong(1976)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • The Towering Inferno(1974)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Shaft in Africa(1973)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Skyjacked(1972)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • El Condor(1970)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Bridge at Remagen(1969)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • House of Cards(1968)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • P.J.(1967)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Blue Max(1966)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Rapture (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Director

  • Guns at Batasi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director

  • Tarzan Goes to India(1962)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Waltz of the Toreadors(1962)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • The Day They Robbed the Bank of England(1960)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Never Let Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Director · Story

  • Tarzan's Greatest Adventure(1959)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Hell, Heaven or Hoboken(1958)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Whole Truth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Director

  • Sailor of Fortune (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Show 22 episodes · Director

  • Town on Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Director

  • Thunderstorm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • The Crowded Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Director

  • Adventure in the Hopfields (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Director

  • Operation Diplomat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Director · Writer

  • Your Favorite Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Strange Stories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Director

  • Miss Robin Hood(1952)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Song of Paris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Director

  • Four Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director

  • Two on the Tiles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director

  • Smart Alec (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director

  • Paper Gallows(1950)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • High Jinks in Society (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Melody in the Dark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Producer · Writer

  • Bless 'em all (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Associate Producer

Career shape

A full career of 41 titles from 1949 to 1988.

Biggest box office

The Towering Inferno (1974)

$116M worldwide

Highest rated

Death on the Nile (1978)

Midcredits 89th

Most popular right now

The Towering Inferno (1974)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing39 of 41: 33 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score45thWriting7 of 41: 0 only writing, 7 with another roleProducing4 of 41: 1 only producing, 3 with another role

41 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1940s3 · crew1950s17 · crew1960s10 · crew1970s7 · crew1980s4 · crew

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 John Guillermin's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 44th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 21 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 48th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

48thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Approval · how many liked their films

41stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Reach · how many have seen their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Broadly Agreed5
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · director

Sahara (1983)

63rd percentile spread · 36% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Death on the Nile (1978)

Midcredits 89th · 81% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 21 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 John Guillermin's work okay for kids?

Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, 2 of the 5 categories sit near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 64 · intenseMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity9 titles19–60 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles27–57 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 35 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 61 · intenseMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does John Guillermin work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Guillermin's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Max Benedict shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Editors

Producers