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Norman Tokar

Norman Tokar

Director, also producer · Died April 6, 1979, aged 59 · Newark, New Jersey, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Norman Tokar (November 25, 1919 in Newark, New Jersey - April 6, 1979 in Hollywood) was a prolific director (and occasionally writer and producer) of serial television and feature films, who directed many of the early episodes of Leave it to Beaver, and found his greatest success directing over a dozen films for Walt Disney Productions, spanning the 1950s to the 1970s. Description above from the Wikipedia article Norman Tokar, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 25, 1919
Died
April 6, 1979 (aged 59)
From
Newark, New Jersey, USA
Works as
Director, also producer
Titles
20 on MovieCove · 25 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 5% in 30 days

What are Norman Tokar's films like?

Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 56th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 74th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama 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
67%
Self
19%
Society
8%
Power
3%
Ideas
3%
Family bonds13 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 14 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 12 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 10 · Charged 5 · Intense 0

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

Steady 14 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

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 1 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 8

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 4 · 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 13 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
11
Warm
11
Hopeful
5
Absurd
5
Tense
4
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy12
  • Bittersweet3

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 Norman Tokar's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Norman Tokar'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

25 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Cat from Outer Space(1978)

    Director · Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Candleshoe(1977)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • No Deposit, No Return(1976)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • The Apple Dumpling Gang(1975)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Where the Red Fern Grows(1974)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Snowball Express(1972)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • M*A*S*H(1972)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Boatniks(1970)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Rascal(1969)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit(1968)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Doris Day Show(1968)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows

  • A Boy Called Nuthin’ (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director

  • The Happiest Millionaire(1967)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Follow Me, Boys!(1966)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Ugly Dachshund(1966)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Those Calloways(1965)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • A Tiger Walks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director

  • Savage Sam(1963)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Sammy, the Way-Out Seal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director · Writer

  • Big Red(1962)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Tab Hunter Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Naked City(1958)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows

  • The Donna Reed Show(1958)

    Show 17 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Leave It to Beaver(1957)

    Show 92 episodes · Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows

  • Those Whiting Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Show 1 episode · Director

Career shape

A full career of 25 titles from 1955 to 1978.

Biggest box office

The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)

$37M worldwide

Highest rated

Follow Me, Boys! (1966)

Midcredits 80th

Most popular right now

The Cat from Outer Space (1978)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing25 of 25: 22 only directing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score60thWriting2 of 25: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing1 of 25: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

25 titles, 3 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1950s4 · crew1960s13 · crew1970s8 · crew

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 Norman Tokar's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th14
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

None of their 20 titles divides audiences: 15 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser15
  • Mixed3

Most loved · director

M*A*S*H (1972)

Midcredits 95th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 65/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 15 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 Norman Tokar work with?

People who share at least 2 of Norman Tokar's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Walt Disney shares the most, 6.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers