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Joel McCrea

Joel McCrea

Actor, also producer · Died October 20, 1990, aged 84 · South Pasadena, California, USA

Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he became best known. He appeared in over one hundred films, starring in over eighty, among them Alfred Hitchcock's espionage thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), Preston Sturges' comedy classics Sullivan's Travels (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942), the romance film Bird of Paradise (1932), the adventure classic The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Gregory La Cava's bawdy comedy Bed of Roses (1933), George Stevens' romantic comedy The More the Merrier (1943), William Wyler's These Three, Come and Get It (both 1936) and Dead End (1937), Howard Hawks' Barbary Coast (1935), and a number of western films, including Wichita (1955) as Wyatt Earp and Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962), opposite Randolph Scott. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joel McCrea, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 5, 1905
Died
October 20, 1990 (aged 84)
From
South Pasadena, California, USA
Works as
Actor, also producer
Titles
51 on MovieCove · 98 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 2% in 30 days

What are Joel McCrea's films like?

Across their 49 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Drama32 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 58th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 59th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 86th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime 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
Bonds
29%
Morality
28%
Self
16%
Survival
9%
Society
8%
Power
8%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love13 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds13 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice10 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity9 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition7 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 49 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 31 · Stylized 16 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 14 · Charged 28 · Intense 7

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

Steady 20 · Shifting 28 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 28 · Some laughs 15 · Funny 6

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

Slow burn 21 · Even-paced 27 · Relentless 1

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

Casual 35 · Engaged 13 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 46 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

45 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 36 of 45 analyzed roles.

Hero
36 of 45
Ally
4 of 45
Mentor
3 of 45
Shapeshifter
1 of 45
Herald
1 of 45
Show the 45 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
27
Romantic
20
Melancholic
17
Warm
11
Hopeful
14
Other
39

How their films linger

Bittersweet23 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful23 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy20
  • Bittersweet25
  • Tragic2
  • 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 Joel McCrea's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 20 of their 51 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (13).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joel McCrea'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

98 credits, 51 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood(2008)

    as John Neville Jr. (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Mustang Country(1976)

    as Dan

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • The Great American Cowboy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    as Narrator

  • Cry Blood, Apache(1970)

    Producer · as Pitcalin as an Older Man

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Sioux Nation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Actor

  • The Young Rounders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Actor

  • Ride the High Country(1962)

    as Steve Judd

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • The Crowning Experience (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    as Prologue Narrator

  • Wichita Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Show 26 episodes · as Marshal Mike Dunbar

  • The Gunfight at Dodge City(1959)

    as Bat Masterson

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Fort Massacre(1958)

    as Vinson

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Cattle Empire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    as John Cord

  • The Tall Stranger(1957)

    as Ned Bannon

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Gunsight Ridge(1957)

    as Mike Ryan

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Trooper Hook(1957)

    as Sgt. Clovis Hook

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Oklahoman(1957)

    as John

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The First Texan(1956)

    as Sam Houston

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Wichita(1955)

    as Wyatt Earp

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Stranger on Horseback(1955)

    as Judge Richard 'Rick' Thorne

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Black Horse Canyon(1954)

    as Del Rockwell

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Border River(1954)

    as Clete Mattson

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Lone Hand(1953)

    as Zachary Hallock

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Rough Shoot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    as Lt. Col. Robert Taine

  • The San Francisco Story(1952)

    as Rick Nelson

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Cattle Drive(1951)

    as Dan Mathews

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Hollywood Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Joel McCrea

  • Frenchie(1950)

    as Sheriff Tom Banning

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Saddle Tramp(1950)

    as Chuck Conner

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Stars in My Crown(1950)

    as Josiah Doziah Gray

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The Outriders(1950)

    as Will Owen

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Colorado Territory(1949)

    as Wes McQueen

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • South of St. Louis(1949)

    as Kip Davis

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Four Faces West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Ross McEwen

  • Ramrod (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    as Dave Nash

  • The Virginian(1946)

    as The Virginian

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • The Unseen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as David Fielding

  • The Great Moment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as William Thomas Green Morton

  • Buffalo Bill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as William Frederick 'Buffalo Bill' Cody

  • The More the Merrier(1943)

    as Joe Carter

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Stars on Horseback (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Actor

  • The Palm Beach Story(1942)

    as Tom Jeffers

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Sullivan's Travels(1941)

    as John Sullivan

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Great Man's Lady(1941)

    as Mr. Sempler

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Reaching for the Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Russ Eliot

  • Foreign Correspondent(1940)

    as John Jones

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Primrose Path(1940)

    as Ed Wallace

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • He Married His Wife(1940)

    as T.H. Randall

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Espionage Agent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Barry Corvall

  • They Shall Have Music(1939)

    as Peter McCarthy

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Union Pacific(1939)

    as Jeff Butler

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Youth Takes a Fling (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Joe Meadows

  • Three Blind Mice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Van Dam Smith

  • Wells Fargo(1937)

    as Ramsay MacKay

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Dead End(1937)

    as Dave

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Woman Chases Man(1937)

    as Kenneth Nolan

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Internes Can't Take Money(1937)

    as Jimmie Kildare

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Banjo on My Knee(1936)

    as Ernie Holley

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Come and Get It(1936)

    as Richard Glasgow

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Adventure in Manhattan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as George Melville

  • Two in a Crowd(1936)

    as Larry Stevens

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • These Three(1936)

    as Dr. Joseph 'Joe' Cardin

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Splendor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Brighton Lorrimore

  • Barbary Coast(1935)

    as Jim Carmichael

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Woman Wanted (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Tony

  • Our Little Girl(1935)

    as Donald Middleton

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Private Worlds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Dr. Alex MacGregor

  • The Richest Girl in the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Anthony Travers

  • Half a Sinner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as John Adams

  • Gambling Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)

    as Garry Madison

  • Chance at Heaven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Blacky Gorman

  • One Man's Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Jimmy Watt

  • Bed of Roses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as Dan

  • The Silver Cord (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)

    as David Phelps

  • Rockabye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Jacobs 'Jake' Van Riker Pell

  • The Sport Parade(1932)

    as Sandy Brown

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • The Most Dangerous Game(1932)

    as Robert Rainsford

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Bird of Paradise(1932)

    as Johnny Baker

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • The Lost Squadron (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Red

  • Business and Pleasure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)

    as Lawrence Ogle

  • Girls About Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Jim Baker

  • The Common Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as John 'Jack' Neville

  • Born to Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Barry Craig

  • Kept Husbands(1931)

    as Richard 'Dick' Brunton

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Once a Sinner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Tommy Mason

  • Lightnin' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as John Marvin

  • The Silver Horde(1930)

    as Boyd Emerson

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Framed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    as Waiter (uncredited)

  • Dynamite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Marco

  • So This Is College(1929)

    as Bruce Nolan (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • The Single Standard(1929)

    as Party Guest (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Jazz Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Todd Sayles

  • The Divine Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Extra (uncredited)

  • Dead Man's Curve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)

  • The Enemy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Extra (uncredited)

  • The Fair Co-Ed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Actor

  • Torrent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Stunts

  • A Self-Made Failure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Stunts

  • Penrod and Sam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    Stunts

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 98 titles from 1923 to 2008.

Biggest box office

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

$10K worldwide

Highest rated

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Film career

Top draw in 17 MovieCove titles.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting95 of 98: 95 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score59thOther crew3 of 98: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1920s11 · 8 acting · 3 crew1930s40 · acting1940s17 · acting1950s22 · acting1960s3 · acting1970s4 · acting2000s1 · acting

Billing

usually 2nd · top billed in 45% of 22 roles
283843

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. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Joel McCrea's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 51; across their 49 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Approval · how many liked their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Reach · how many have seen their films

43rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 49

Midcredits score across 51 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up16
  • 50th to 74th18
  • 25th to 49th15
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

31 of their 51 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser31
  • Broadly Agreed9
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · actor, producer

Cry Blood, Apache (1970)

61st percentile spread · 75% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 70/100 in their films, across 48 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

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 Joel McCrea's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 40 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles6–33 · median 21 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 8 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 41 · moderateMedian 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 Joel McCrea work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joel McCrea's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Alfred Newman shares the most, 7.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers