Melchior Lengyel
Writer · Died October 23, 1974, aged 94 · Balmazújváros, Hungary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lengyel was born Lebovics Menyhért in Balmazújváros, Hungary. He started his career as a journalist. He worked first in Kassa (Košice), then later in Budapest. His first play, A nagy fejedelem (The Great Prince) was performed by the Thalia Company in 1907. The Hungarian National Theatre performed his next drama A hálás utókor (The Grateful Posterity) in 1908 for which he received the Vojnits Award from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, given every year for the best play. Taifun (Typhoon), one of his plays, written in 1909, became a worldwide success and is still performed today. It was adapted to the screen in the United States in 1914. His articles were often published in Nyugat (West), the most important Hungarian literary journal in the first half of the 20th century. During World War I, he was sent to Switzerland by the Hungarian daily newspaper Az Est (The Evening) as a reporter. His pacifist articles and other publications written in 1918 were also published in German and French papers and were collected in a book called Egyszerű gondolatok (Simple Thoughts). His story "The Miraculous Mandarin" (in Hungarian: A csodálatos mandarin), a “pantomime grotesque” came out in 1916. It is the story which inspired Béla Bartók, the famous Hungarian composer, to create in 1924 the ballet The Miraculous Mandarin. After World War I, Lengyel went to the United States for a longer stay and published his experiences in 1922 in a book Amerikai napló (American Journal). In the 1920s, he was active in the film industry. For some time, he was story editor at May-Film in Berlin. In 1929/30, he was co-director of a Budapest theatre. In 1931, he was sent by the Hungarian newspaper Pesti Napló (Pest Journal) to London as its reporter. The story of his Utopian novel A boldog város (The Happy City) came out in 1931; it was set in an American city that lay in the depths of a chasm created by the great Californian earthquake. He moved to Hollywood, California in 1937 and became a screenwriter. Some of his stories became worldwide successes, such as Ninotchka (1939), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story, and To Be or Not to Be (1942). Lengyel returned to Europe in 1960 and settled down in Italy. In 1963, he received the Great Award of Rome for his literary works. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Lengyel often visited Hungary and wanted to repatriate to his country. However, some weeks after his returning in 1974, he died in Budapest at the age of 94. The city library of Balmazújváros, his native town, was named after him in 2004. A complete list of Lengyel's works as well as the articles and references about him and his publications were compiled by one of the librarians on this occasion. Description above from the Wikipedia article Edwin Justus Mayer, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 12, 1880
- October 23, 1974 (aged 94)
- Balmazújváros, Hungary
- Writer
- 9 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are Melchior Lengyel's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 6
Light 7 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 4
Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 5 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 5
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
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 Melchior Lengyel's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Melchior Lengyel'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
22 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.
To Be or Not to Be(1983)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all filmsNinotschka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Ninotchka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Silk Stockings(1957)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
A Royal Scandal(1945)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Days of Glory(1944)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
To Be or Not to Be(1942)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
They Met in Bombay(1941)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Ninotchka(1939)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Angel(1937)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Antonia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Caravan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Caravane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Police File 909 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Typhoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Strange Cargo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Die berühmte Frau (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)
The Gypsy Baron (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)
Forbidden Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
A táncosnő (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)
The Typhoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)
Career shape
A full career of 21 titles from 1914 to 1983.
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 Melchior Lengyel's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 75th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 9 titles divides audiences: 6 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 65/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
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.
Who does Melchior Lengyel work with?
People who share at least 2 of Melchior Lengyel's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ernst Lubitsch shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Ernst LubitschShared titles: To Be or Not to Be (1983), A Royal Scandal (1945), To Be or Not to Be (1942), Ninotchka (1939), Angel (1937)See all 5 shared titles with Ernst Lubitsch
Writers
- Edwin Justus MayerShared titles: To Be or Not to Be (1983), A Royal Scandal (1945), To Be or Not to Be (1942), They Met in Bombay (1941)See all 4 shared titles with Edwin Justus Mayer
- Lajos BiróShared titles: A Royal Scandal (1945), The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Lajos Biró
Actors
- Sig RumanShared titles: A Royal Scandal (1945), To Be or Not to Be (1942), Ninotchka (1939)See all 3 shared titles with Sig Ruman
- Peter LorreShared titles: Silk Stockings (1957), They Met in Bombay (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Lorre
- Felix BressartShared titles: To Be or Not to Be (1942), Ninotchka (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Felix Bressart
- Melvyn DouglasShared titles: Ninotchka (1939), Angel (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Melvyn Douglas
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Werner R. HeymannShared titles: To Be or Not to Be (1942), Ninotchka (1939), Angel (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Werner R. Heymann
- Dorothy SpencerShared titles: A Royal Scandal (1945), To Be or Not to Be (1942)See all 2 shared titles with Dorothy Spencer
- William H. DanielsShared titles: They Met in Bombay (1941), Ninotchka (1939)See all 2 shared titles with William H. Daniels
