Wilson Mizner
Writer · Died April 3, 1933, aged 56 · Benicia, California, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wilson Mizner (May 19, 1876 – April 3, 1933) was an American playwright, raconteur, and entrepreneur. His best-known plays are The Deep Purple, produced in 1910, and The Greyhound, produced in 1912. He was manager and co-owner of The Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, California, and was part of the failed project of his older brother, Addison, to create a new resort in Boca Raton, Florida. Taking considerable liberties with their lives, he and Addison are the protagonists of Stephen Sondheim's musical Road Show (alternately known as Wise Guys, Gold!, and Bounce). Wilson's playwriting career was undermined by his laziness and an opium addiction that started when he was prescribed painkillers after an assault. He was convicted in 1919 for running a gambling den on Long Island, and received a suspended sentence. After he was nearly beaten to death — the details are unknown — at Addison's invitation he followed him to Palm Beach, Florida, where Addison and other investors were announcing a new resort, Boca Raton, Florida. Wilson was secretary and treasurer of the Mizner Development Corporation created in 1925, in effect working for his brother. Unfortunately Addison's plans were financially unsound and the Corporation was forced into receivership within a year, and bankruptcy soon after. When Wilson returned to California he obtained backing from Jack L. Warner and Gloria Swanson and bought into and managed the Brown Derby, and wrote screenplays for some of the early talkies. His best known film work is the screenplay for the Michael Curtiz film 20,000 Years in Sing Sing. Wilson called his Hollywood years "a trip through a sewer in a glass-bottomed boat." Several of the brothers' friends from New York, including Marie Dressler and Ben Hecht, helped him in his later escapades.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 19, 1876
- April 3, 1933 (aged 56)
- Benicia, California, USA
- Writer
- 7 on MovieCove · 14 credits in all
What are Wilson Mizner's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet4
- 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 Wilson Mizner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on HBO Max (1).
Subscription and free streaming for Wilson Mizner'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
14 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Heroes for Sale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Little Giant(1933)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Mind Reader(1933)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Strictly Personal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Hard to Handle(1933)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Frisco Jenny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Lawyer Man(1932)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
One Way Passage(1932)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Winner Take All (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
The Dark Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
The Cock-Eyed World(1929)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
The Deep Purple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
The Law of Compensation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 1917 to 1933.
Biggest box office
One Way Passage (1932)
Highest rated
One Way Passage (1932)
Most popular right now
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
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 Wilson Mizner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 69/100 and the plot and story 49/100 in their films, across 7 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 Wilson Mizner work with?
People who share at least 2 of Wilson Mizner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert Lord shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Roy Del RuthShared titles: The Little Giant (1933), The Mind Reader (1933)See all 2 shared titles with Roy Del Ruth
Writers
- Robert LordShared titles: Hard to Handle (1933), The Little Giant (1933), The Mind Reader (1933), 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), One Way Passage (1932)See all 5 shared titles with Robert Lord
Actors
- Allen JenkinsShared titles: Hard to Handle (1933), The Mind Reader (1933), Lawyer Man (1932)See all 3 shared titles with Allen Jenkins
- Berton ChurchillShared titles: Hard to Handle (1933), The Little Giant (1933)See all 2 shared titles with Berton Churchill
- Claire DoddShared titles: Hard to Handle (1933), Lawyer Man (1932)See all 2 shared titles with Claire Dodd
- Helen VinsonShared titles: The Little Giant (1933), Lawyer Man (1932)See all 2 shared titles with Helen Vinson
Composers and cinematographers
- Bernhard KaunShared titles: The Mind Reader (1933), 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), Lawyer Man (1932)See all 3 shared titles with Bernhard Kaun
- Barney McGillShared titles: Hard to Handle (1933), 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)See all 2 shared titles with Barney McGill
- Robert KurrleShared titles: Lawyer Man (1932), One Way Passage (1932)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Kurrle
Producers
- Hal B. WallisShared titles: The Mind Reader (1933), Lawyer Man (1932), One Way Passage (1932)See all 3 shared titles with Hal B. Wallis
