From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Irving Lerner (7 March 1909, New York City - 25 December 1976, Los Angeles) Before becoming a filmmaker, Lerner was a research editor for Columbia University's Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, getting his start in film by making documentaries for the anthropology department. He then made films for the Rockefeller Foundation and other academic institutions, later becoming a film editor and second-unit director involved with the emerging American documentary movement of the late '30s. Lerner produced two documentaries for the Office of War Information during WW II and after the war became the head of New York University's Educational Film Institute. In 1948, Lerner and Joseph Strick shared directorial chores on a short documentary, Muscle Beach. Lerner then turned to low-budget, quickly filmed features. When not hastily making his own thrillers, Lerner worked as a technical advisor, a second-unit director, a co-editor and an editor. Lerner was cinematographer, director, or assistant director on documentary films such as One Third of a Nation (1939), Valley Town (1940), The Land (1942) directed by Robert Flaherty, and Suicide Attack (1950). Lerner was also producer of the OWI documentary Hymn of the Nations (1944), directed by Alexander Hammid, and featuring Arturo Toscanini, and co-director with Joseph Strick of the short documentary Muscle Beach (1948). Irving Lerner was also an important director and film editor with directing credits such as Studs Lonigan (1960) and editing credits such as Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960) and Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977). Lerner died during the cutting of New York, New York, and the film was dedicated to him. The "Blacklist": Irving Lerner was an American citizen and an employee of the United States Office of War Information during World War II who worked in the Motion Picture Division. Lerner was allegedly involved in espionage on behalf of Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU); Arthur Adams was Lerner's key contact. In the winter of 1944, a counterintelligence officer caught Lerner attempting to photograph the cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, which was part of the Manhattan Project. The cyclotron had been used in the creation of plutonium and Lerner was acting without authorization. Lerner resigned and went to work for Keynote Recordings, owned by Eric Bernay, another Soviet intelligence contact. Arthur Adams also worked at Keynote. Description above from the Wikipedia article Irving Lerner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 7, 1909
- December 25, 1976 (aged 67)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Director, producer and editor
- 12 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
What are Irving Lerner's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
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.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 2 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 7
Grounded 4 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 5
Steady 3 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 4
A split, not a type: Resolved 7 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous3
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 Irving Lerner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Men in War (1957) · production manager · production supervisor · free
- The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969) · director · free
- Custer of the West (1967) · producer · free
- Cry of Battle (1963) · director · free
- A Town Called Hell (1971) · director · free
- Captain Apache (1971) · producer · free
- Bad Man's River (1971) · producer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Irving Lerner'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
36 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Mustang: The House That Joe Built (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
The River Niger(1976)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
B. Must Die (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Steppenwolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
The Darwin Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Captain Apache(1971)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Bad Man's River(1971)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
A Town Called Hell(1971)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Custer of the West(1967)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Cry of Battle(1963)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Mr. Novak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Ben Casey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Target: The Corruptors! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Spartacus(1960)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Studs Lonigan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
City of Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Murder by Contract(1958)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Edge of Fury (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Men in War(1957)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
The Wild Party(1956)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Man Crazy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Suicide Attack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Muscle Beach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
To Hear Your Banjo Play (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Hymn of the Nations (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
The Autobiography of a 'Jeep' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Swedes in America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
The Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
A Place to Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Valley Town: A Study of Machines and Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
And So They Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
The Children Must Learn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
The Marines Come Thru(1938)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
China Strikes Back (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Pie in the Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Career shape
A full career of 33 titles from 1935 to 1977.
How do Irving Lerner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 36th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 29th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 40/100 in their films, across 10 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.
Who does Irving Lerner work with?
People who share at least 2 of Irving Lerner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Philip Yordan shares the most, 5.
Writers
- Philip YordanShared titles: Bad Man's River (1971), Captain Apache (1971), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969), Custer of the West (1967), The Wild Party (1956)See all 5 shared titles with Philip Yordan
- Bernard GordonShared titles: Bad Man's River (1971), Custer of the West (1967), Cry of Battle (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Bernard Gordon
Actors
- Robert ShawShared titles: A Town Called Hell (1971), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969), Custer of the West (1967)See all 3 shared titles with Robert Shaw
- Aldo SambrellShared titles: A Town Called Hell (1971), Bad Man's River (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Aldo Sambrell
- Charles StalnakerShared titles: Captain Apache (1971), Custer of the West (1967)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Stalnaker
- Lee Van CleefShared titles: Bad Man's River (1971), Captain Apache (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Lee Van Cleef
Composers and editors
- Waldo de los RíosShared titles: A Town Called Hell (1971), Bad Man's River (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Waldo de los Ríos
- Peter ParashelesShared titles: The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969), Custer of the West (1967)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Parasheles