Donald E. Stewart (January 24, 1930 – April 28, 1999) was an American screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for Missing, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award, the London Film Critics’ Circle Award, a Christopher Award, and the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, all shared with the film’s director, Costa-Gavras. After his passing, the widow of credited screenwriter Donald E. Stewart discovered the Hostiles script while moving houses. Stewart had never submitted the manuscript to any studios, and she was surprised to come across it. After seeing Crazy Heart (2009) and Out of the Furnace (2013), she felt that Scott Cooper was the right person to bring it to the screen.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 14, 1935
- January 9, 2006 (aged 70)
- Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Writer and producer
- 9 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Donald E. Stewart's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.
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 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 7
Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 8
Steady 1 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 2
Casual 1 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 4
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 4
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic1
- 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 Donald E. Stewart's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Donald E. Stewart'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
10 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.
Hostiles(2017)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Dead Silence(1997)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Macon County Jail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Clear and Present Danger(1994)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Patriot Games(1992)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Hunt for Red October(1990)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Missing(1982)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Deathsport(1978)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Jackson County Jail(1976)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 1976 to 2017.
Biggest box office
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Highest rated
Missing (1982)
Most popular right now
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
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 Donald E. Stewart's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 77th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 9 titles divides audiences: 3 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the dialogue 50/100 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.
Is Donald E. Stewart's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity lighter.
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 Donald E. Stewart work with?
People who share at least 2 of Donald E. Stewart's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tom Clancy shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Phillip NoyceShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Phillip Noyce
Writers
- Tom ClancyShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992), The Hunt for Red October (1990)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Clancy
Actors
- Anne ArcherShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Anne Archer
- Harrison FordShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Harrison Ford
- Thora BirchShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Thora Birch
- James Earl JonesShared titles: Patriot Games (1992), The Hunt for Red October (1990)See all 2 shared titles with James Earl Jones
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Donald McAlpineShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Donald McAlpine
- James HornerShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with James Horner
- Neil TravisShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Neil Travis
Producers
- Mace NeufeldShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992), The Hunt for Red October (1990)See all 3 shared titles with Mace Neufeld
- Lis KernShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Lis Kern
- Robert RehmeShared titles: Clear and Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Rehme
- Roger CormanShared titles: Deathsport (1978), Jackson County Jail (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Roger Corman
