---
name: "Dale Van Every"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/dale-van-every"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "23 July 1896"
died: "28 May 1976"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T00:47:17.832771+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."
---

# Dale Van Every

Writer. Born 23 July 1896 in Michigan. Died 28 May 1976.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 23 July 1896, Michigan
- **Died:** 28 May 1976
- **Active:** 1931–1942
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 71 (2), 1940s 75 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Adventure 2, Drama 2, Action 1, Comedy 1, Family 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $5m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Van_Every, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q999726, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886861/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33247

## Biography

Dale Van Every (23 July 1896 – 28 May 1976) was an American screenwriter, film producer and author. Born in Michigan, he attended Stanford University after serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in the First World War. He began his career as a journalist with United Press before moving into writing for stage and screen in the late 1920s.

His screen credits include the adaptation of *Trader Horn* (1931), the screenplay for *Murders in the Rue Morgue* (1932), and the adaptation of *The Talk of the Town* (1942). He shared an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of *Captains Courageous* (1937). Van Every also produced several films and wrote historical non-fiction, including a biography of Charles Lindbergh and a multi-volume series on the American frontier.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, catalog.afi.com, imdb.com, goodreads.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *The Talk of the Town* (1942), Fi1m 75, Adaptation — [page](https://film.one/film/the-talk-of-the-town.md)
- *Captains Courageous* (1937), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md)
- *Trader Horn* (1931), Fi1m 58, Adaptation, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/trader-horn.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

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

- *Sealed Cargo* (1951), Screenplay
- *The Talk of the Town* (1942), Adaptation — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-talk-of-the-town.md)
- *Dr. Cyclops* (1940), Producer
- *Spawn of the North* (1938), Screenplay
- *Souls at Sea* (1937), Screenplay
- *Captains Courageous* (1937), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md)
- *More Than a Secretary* (1936), Screenplay
- *Annapolis Farewell* (1935), Writer
- *Men Without Names* (1935), Story
- *After Office Hours* (1935), Story
- *Wings in the Dark* (1935), Adaptation, Story
- *Love Birds* (1934), Story
- *I'll Tell the World* (1934), Screenplay
- *Uncertain Lady* (1934), Producer
- *The Poor Rich* (1934), Associate Producer, Screenplay
- *Saturday's Millions* (1933), Screenplay
- *Nagana* (1933), Writer
- *Air Mail* (1932), Story
- *The All-American* (1932), Story
- *Tom Brown of Culver* (1932), Story
- *Murders in the Rue Morgue* (1932), Screenplay
- *The Unexpected Father* (1932), Screenplay
- *A House Divided* (1931), Screenplay
- *The Spirit of Notre Dame* (1931), Screenplay
- *East of Borneo* (1931), Story
- *Virtuous Husband* (1931), Screenplay
- *Trader Horn* (1931), Writer, Adaptation — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/trader-horn.md)
- *Those Three French Girls* (1930), Story
- *Navy Blues* (1929), Adaptation
- *Marianne* (1929), Screenplay
- *Desert Nights* (1929), Story
- *Telling the World* (1928), Story

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1938: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Captains Courageous*

*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/dale-van-every