---
name: "Frank Cavett"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/frank-cavett"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "27 December 1905"
died: "25 March 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 65
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T02:16:39.288027+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."
---

# Frank Cavett

Writer. Born 27 December 1905 in Ohio. Died 25 March 1973.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 27 December 1905, Ohio
- **Died:** 25 March 1973
- **Active:** 1944–1952
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 65, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 74 (1), 1950s 56 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Cavett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1443069, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0147119/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/141611

## Biography

Frank Cavett (27 December 1905 – 25 March 1973) was an American screenwriter. He was born in Jackson, Ohio, attended Ohio University and Yale University, and graduated from the Baker School of Drama at Yale. He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director for Paramount Pictures on Long Island before moving into screenwriting.

Cavett received two Academy Awards. He shared the award for Best Screenplay with Frank Butler for *Going My Way* (1944) and the award for Best Motion Picture Story with Fredric M. Frank and Theodore St. John for *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1952). He was also nominated for Best Original Story for *Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman* (1947), shared with Dorothy Parker. His other credits include the original story for *Second Chorus* (1940) and screenplays or stories for *The Corn Is Green* (1945) and *Across the Wide Missouri* (1951).

Earlier in his career he co-wrote the Broadway play *Forsaking All Others* (1934) with Edward Roberts.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, oac.cdlib.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1952), Fi1m 56, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-show-on-earth.md)
- *Going My Way* (1944), Fi1m 74, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/going-my-way.md)

## Complete filmography (12)

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

- *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1952), Story — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-greatest-show-on-earth.md)
- *Across the Wide Missouri* (1951), Story
- *Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman* (1947), Story
- *The Corn Is Green* (1945), Screenplay
- *Going My Way* (1944), Screenplay — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/going-my-way.md)
- *Syncopation* (1942), Screenplay
- *Second Chorus* (1941), Story, Assistant Director
- *Tom Brown's School Days* (1940), Screenplay
- *Rulers of the Sea* (1939), Story, Screenplay
- *Comet Over Broadway* (1938), Writer
- *Forsaking All Others* (1934), Screenplay
- *Vanity Street* (1932), Story

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- 1953: Best Story (won), for *The Greatest Show on Earth*
- 1948: Best Story (nominated), for *Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman*
- 1945: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *Going My Way*

*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/frank-cavett