---
name: "Calder Willingham"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/calder-willingham"
fi1m_id: "calder-willingham"
imdb_id: "nm0932229"
tmdb_id: 10769
wikidata_id: "Q459230"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "23 December 1922"
died: "21 February 1995"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-26T17:08:29.469619+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Calder Willingham

## Identity

Calder Willingham

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/calder-willingham
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** calder-willingham
- **IMDb ID:** nm0932229
- **TMDB ID:** 10769
- **Wikidata ID:** Q459230
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Willingham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q459230, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932229/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10769

Writer. Born 23 December 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia. Died 21 February 1995.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 23 December 1922, Atlanta, Georgia
- **Died:** 21 February 1995
- **Active:** 1957–1970
- **Frequently works with:** [Dustin Hoffman](https://film.one/person/dustin-hoffman.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 93 (1), 1960s 82 (2), 1970s 72 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 79 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 2, Western 2, Adventure 1, Romance 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $142m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Willingham, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q459230, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932229/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10769

## Streaming the US now

- **MUBI:** [*Paths of Glory*](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory.md) (93)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Graduate*](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md) (86)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*One-Eyed Jacks*](https://film.one/film/one-eyed-jacks.md) (78)
- **Apple TV:** [*Little Big Man*](https://film.one/film/little-big-man.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Calder Willingham was an American novelist and screenwriter. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he attended the Citadel briefly before moving to New York, where he published his first novel, *End as a Man*, in 1947. He later adapted it for the stage and screen as *The Strange One* (1957).

Willingham wrote or co-wrote screenplays for several notable films, including *Paths of Glory* (1957), *The Vikings* (1958), *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), *The Graduate* (1967, with Buck Henry), *Little Big Man* (1970) and *Rambling Rose* (1991), the last adapted from his own 1972 novel. He and Henry received a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay for *The Graduate* and an Academy Award nomination.

Willingham died in Laconia, New Hampshire, in 1995.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, latimes.com, georgiaencyclopedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Little Big Man* (1970), Fi1m 72, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/little-big-man.md)
- *The Graduate* (1967), Fi1m 86, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md)
- *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), Fi1m 78, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/one-eyed-jacks.md)
- *Paths of Glory* (1957), Fi1m 93, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory.md)

## Complete filmography (11)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Rambling Rose* (1991), Author, Screenplay
- *Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery* (1978), Writer
- *Thieves Like Us* (1974), Screenplay
- *Little Big Man* (1970), Screenplay — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/little-big-man.md)
- *The Graduate* (1967), Screenplay — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md)
- *Dağların Oğlu* (1965), Screenplay
- *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), Screenplay — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/one-eyed-jacks.md)
- *Spartacus* (1960), Scenario Writer
- *The Vikings* (1958), Screenplay
- *Paths of Glory* (1957), Screenplay — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/paths-of-glory.md)
- *The Strange One* (1957), Novel, Theatre Play, Screenplay

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1968: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *The Graduate*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/calder-willingham