---
name: "Leigh Brackett"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/leigh-brackett"
fi1m_id: "leigh-brackett"
imdb_id: "nm0102824"
tmdb_id: 4298
wikidata_id: "Q298242"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "7 December 1915"
died: "18 March 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 87
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-24T06:10:53.243121+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."
---

# Leigh Brackett

## Identity

Leigh Brackett

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/leigh-brackett
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** leigh-brackett
- **IMDb ID:** nm0102824
- **TMDB ID:** 4298
- **Wikidata ID:** Q298242
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_Brackett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298242, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102824/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4298

Writer. Born 7 December 1915 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 18 March 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 7 December 1915, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 18 March 1978
- **Active:** 1946–1980
- **Also known as:** Leigh Douglass Brackett, Leigh Brackett Hamilton
- **Frequently works with:** [Howard Hawks](https://film.one/person/howard-hawks.md), [Jules Furthman](https://film.one/person/jules-furthman.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 87, as writer, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 84 (1), 1950s 88 (1), 1970s 84 (2), 1980s 92 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 88 to 80 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Crime 3, Drama 3, Mystery 3, Action 1, Adventure 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $556m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_Brackett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298242, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0102824/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4298

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Empire Strikes Back*](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back.md) (92)
- **Apple TV:** [*The Long Goodbye*](https://film.one/film/the-long-goodbye.md) (86)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Rockford Files*](https://film.one/tv/the-rockford-files.md) (83)

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

## Biography

Leigh Brackett was an American author and screenwriter, known for her science fiction novels and her work on several Hollywood films. She began publishing short stories in science fiction magazines in 1940 and her first novel appeared in 1944. Director Howard Hawks hired her after reading one of her books, leading to a long collaboration that included screenplays for *The Big Sleep* (1946), *Rio Bravo* (1959), *Hatari!* (1962), *El Dorado* (1966) and *Rio Lobo* (1970).

Brackett also wrote the screenplay for *The Long Goodbye* (1973). In the late 1970s George Lucas commissioned her to write the first draft of the screenplay for *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980). She delivered the draft shortly before her death from cancer in March 1978; she received a co-writing credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the finished film. She was married to science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton.

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), Fi1m 92, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back.md)
- *The Rockford Files* (1974), Fi1m 83, Writer, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-rockford-files.md)
- *The Long Goodbye* (1973), Fi1m 86, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-goodbye.md)
- *Rio Bravo* (1959), Fi1m 88, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/rio-bravo.md)
- *The Big Sleep* (1946), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-sleep.md)

## Complete filmography (16)

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

- *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980), Screenplay — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/the-empire-strikes-back.md)
- *Archer* (1975), series, Writer
- *The Rockford Files* (1974), series, Story, Writer — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-rockford-files.md)
- *The Long Goodbye* (1973), Screenplay — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-long-goodbye.md)
- *Rio Lobo* (1970), Screenplay
- *El Dorado* (1966), Screenplay
- *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, Writer
- *Hatari!* (1962), Screenplay
- *13 West Street* (1962), Novel
- *Gold of the Seven Saints* (1961), Writer
- *Checkmate* (1960), series, Writer
- *Rio Bravo* (1959), Screenplay — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/rio-bravo.md)
- *The Unholy Four* (1954), Novel
- *Crime Doctor's Man Hunt* (1946), Screenplay
- *The Big Sleep* (1946), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-big-sleep.md)
- *The Vampire's Ghost* (1945), Screenplay, Story

## Gallery

- ![Leigh Brackett](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-54bbc0be2784.jpg) Leigh Brackett — Unknown; most likely a professional photographer, possibly with "Amazing Stories" magazine., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Leigh_Brackett_1941.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Исходник — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leigh_Brackett_1941.JPG (2025)](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-a17a463c6df9.jpg) Исходник — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leigh_Brackett_1941.JPG (2025) — Fargoh, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Leigh_Brackett_1941_Recreated_and_Colored.jpg/1280px-Leigh_Brackett_1941_Recreated_and_Colored.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Leigh Brackett c. 1973](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-0591b77d9ef5.png) Leigh Brackett c. 1973 — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Leigh_Brackett_c_1973.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Cover of March 1951 issue of en:Planet Stories. Artist is en:Allen Anderson. Copyright was either Anderson, or more likely Fiction House, who published the maga (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-21152ec626e5.jpg) Cover of March 1951 issue of en:Planet Stories. Artist is en:Allen Anderson. Copyright was either Anderson, or more likely Fiction House, who published the maga (2011) — en:User:Mike Christie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Planet_Stories_March_1951_cover.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Cover of Planet Stories, Spring 1945](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-5bc1bb4ef222.jpg) Cover of Planet Stories, Spring 1945 — Harry Lemon Parkhurst, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Planet_stories_1945spr.jpg/1280px-Planet_stories_1945spr.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Cover of Planet Stories, Fall 1949](https://film.one/media/person/102257/gallery-506fe2e30701.jpg) Cover of Planet Stories, Fall 1949 — Love Romances Publishing / Allen Anderson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Planet_stories_1949fal.jpg/1280px-Planet_stories_1949fal.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 4 won, 4 nominated

- Poussière Prize 2023: Poussière Prize (won)
- Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel 2020: Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel (won), for *Shadow Over Mars*
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame 2014: Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame (won)
- British Fantasy Award for Best Collection 2006: British Fantasy Award for Best Collection (nominated), for *Sea Kings of Mars*
- Locus Award for Best Collection 2006: Locus Award for Best Collection (nominated), for *Sea Kings of Mars*
- Hugo Awards 1981: Best Dramatic Presentation (won), for *Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back*
- Locus Award for Best Anthology 1976: Locus Award for Best Anthology (nominated), for *The Best of Planet Stories #1: Strange Adventures on Other Worlds*
- Hugo Awards 1956: Best Novel (nominated), for *The Long Tomorrow*

*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/leigh-brackett