James Lee Toback (born November 23, 1944) is an American screenwriter and film director. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Toback, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Biography from TMDB.
- November 23, 1944 (81)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, director, actor and producer
- 19 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are James Toback's films like?
Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.
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 14
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 6 · Dark 7
A split, not a type: Grounded 10 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
Gentle 3 · Charged 11 · Intense 3
Steady 6 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 3
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 12 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 4
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 4
Roles they play
- Mentoras Dr. Hubbins in Giving It Up (1999)
- Mentoras Professor Hassan Al-Ibrahim Ben Rabinowitz in When Will I Be Loved (2004)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous10
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 James Toback's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for James Toback'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, 19 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
An Imperfect Murder(2017)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Mississippi Grind(2015)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
The Gambler(2014)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
River of Fundament (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Seduced and Abandoned(2013)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Tyson(2008)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
When Will I Be Loved(2004)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Death of a Dynasty(2003)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Harvard Man(2001)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Black & White(1999)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Giving It Up(1999)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Two Girls and a Guy(1997)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Bugsy(1991)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Alice(1990)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
The Big Bang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
POV (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Pick-up Artist(1987)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
Exposed(1983)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Love & Money(1981)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Fingers(1978)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Gambler(1974)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 22 titles from 1974 to 2017.
Film career
- 1999Screen debut· Black and White
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 James Toback's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 19; across their 17 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 35th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th9
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 19 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 37/100 in their films, across 16 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 James Toback's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
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 James Toback work with?
People who share at least 2 of James Toback's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Mailer shares the most, 6.
Actors
- Harvey KeitelShared titles: Bugsy (1991), The Pick-up Artist (1987), Exposed (1983), Fingers (1978)See all 4 shared titles with Harvey Keitel
- Robert Downey Jr.Shared titles: Black & White (1999), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), The Pick-up Artist (1987)See all 3 shared titles with Robert Downey Jr.
- Alec BaldwinShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), Seduced and Abandoned (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Alec Baldwin
- Sienna MillerShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), Mississippi Grind (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Sienna Miller
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Aaron YanesShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), Seduced and Abandoned (2013), Tyson (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Aaron Yanes
- Larry McConkeyShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), Tyson (2008), When Will I Be Loved (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Larry McConkey
- Oliver 'Power' GrantShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), When Will I Be Loved (2004), Black & White (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Oliver 'Power' Grant
- Suzy ElmigerShared titles: When Will I Be Loved (2004), Harvard Man (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Suzy Elmiger
Producers
- Michael MailerShared titles: An Imperfect Murder (2017), Seduced and Abandoned (2013), Harvard Man (2001), Black & White (1999), Giving It Up (1999), Two Girls and a Guy (1997)See all 6 shared titles with Michael Mailer
- Daniel BigelShared titles: Harvard Man (2001), Black & White (1999), Giving It Up (1999), Two Girls and a Guy (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Daniel Bigel
- Ron RotholzShared titles: When Will I Be Loved (2004), Harvard Man (2001), Black & White (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Ron Rotholz
- Edward R. PressmanShared titles: Harvard Man (2001), Black & White (1999), Two Girls and a Guy (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Edward R. Pressman
