---
name: "W.R. Burnett"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/w-r-burnett"
fi1m_id: "w-r-burnett"
imdb_id: "nm0122446"
tmdb_id: 80728
wikidata_id: "Q1287768"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "25 November 1899"
died: "25 April 1982"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-21T04:14:24.814909+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."
---

# W.R. Burnett

## Identity

W.R. Burnett

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/w-r-burnett
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** w-r-burnett
- **IMDb ID:** nm0122446
- **TMDB ID:** 80728
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1287768
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._R._Burnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1287768, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122446/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/80728

Writer. Born 25 November 1899 in Springfield, Ohio, USA. Died 25 April 1982.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 25 November 1899, Springfield, Ohio, USA
- **Died:** 25 April 1982
- **Active:** 1931–1963
- **Also known as:** William Riley Burnett
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as writer, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 80 (2), 1940s 76 (2), 1950s 74 (2), 1960s 82 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 76 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Crime 5, Action 4, Thriller 3, War 2, Adventure 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $17m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._R._Burnett, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1287768, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122446/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/80728

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Great Escape*](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md) (82)

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

## Biography

W.R. Burnett, also known as William Riley Burnett, was an American novelist and screenwriter. Born on 25 November 1899 in Springfield, Ohio, he died on 25 April 1982 in Santa Monica, California. He is regarded as a pioneer of the gangster novel, with his debut *Little Caesar* (1929) helping to establish the genre.

Burnett moved to Hollywood in 1930 and became a prolific screenwriter, contributing to more than 60 films. His novels *High Sierra* (1940) and *The Asphalt Jungle* (1949) were adapted into notable films, and he wrote or co-wrote screenplays including *Scarface* (1932), *This Gun for Hire* (1942) and *The Great Escape* (1963). He received Academy Award nominations for *Wake Island* (1942) and *The Great Escape*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, cpl.org, web.archive.org.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *The Great Escape* (1963), Fi1m 82, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md)
- *The Racket* (1951), Fi1m 60, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-racket.md)
- *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950), Fi1m 88, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/the-asphalt-jungle.md)
- *Wake Island* (1942), Fi1m 73, Story, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *High Sierra* (1941), Fi1m 79, Novel, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/high-sierra.md)
- *Scarface* (1932), Fi1m 85, Continuity, Dialogue — [page](https://film.one/film/scarface-1932.md)
- *Little Caesar* (1931), Fi1m 74, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/little-caesar.md)

## Complete filmography (52)

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

- *Cool Breeze* (1972), Novel
- *Stiletto* (1969), Writer
- *Ice Station Zebra* (1968), Screenplay
- *The Jackals* (1967), Story
- *4 for Texas* (1963), Writer
- *Cairo* (1963), Novel
- *The Great Escape* (1963), Screenplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-escape.md)
- *Sergeants 3* (1962), Writer
- *The Lawbreakers* (1961), Writer
- *The Asphalt Jungle* (1961), series, Novel
- *September Storm* (1960), Screenplay
- *The Badlanders* (1958), Novel
- *Short Cut to Hell* (1957), Screenplay
- *Accused of Murder* (1956), Screenplay, Novel
- *I Died a Thousand Times* (1955), Novel, Screenplay
- *Illegal* (1955), Screenplay
- *Screen Director's Playhouse* (1955), series, Story
- *Captain Lightfoot* (1955), Novel, Writer
- *Night People* (1954), Screenplay
- *Dangerous Mission* (1954), Writer
- *Arrowhead* (1953), Novel
- *Law and Order* (1953), Novel
- *The Racket* (1951), Screenplay — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/the-racket.md)
- *Iron Man* (1951), Novel
- *Vendetta* (1950), Screenplay
- *The Asphalt Jungle* (1950), Novel — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-asphalt-jungle.md)
- *Colorado Territory* (1949), Novel
- *Yellow Sky* (1948), Story
- *Belle Starr's Daughter* (1948), Screenplay
- *The Man I Love* (1946), as Additional Writing
- *Nobody Lives Forever* (1946), Screenplay, Novel
- *San Antonio* (1945), Screenplay
- *Background to Danger* (1943), Screenplay
- *Action in the North Atlantic* (1943), Additional Dialogue
- *Crash Dive* (1943), Story
- *Wake Island* (1942), Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/wake-island.md)
- *This Gun for Hire* (1942), Screenplay
- *The Get-Away* (1941), Screenplay
- *High Sierra* (1941), Screenplay, Novel — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/high-sierra.md)
- *Law and Order* (1940), Screenplay
- *Dark Command* (1940), Novel
- *King of the Underworld* (1939), Story
- *Some Blondes Are Dangerous* (1937), Novel
- *Wild West Days* (1937), Novel
- *Dr. Socrates* (1935), Story
- *The Whole Town's Talking* (1935), Story
- *Dark Hazard* (1934), Novel
- *Scarface* (1932), Dialogue, Continuity — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/scarface-1932.md)
- *The Beast of the City* (1932), Story
- *Law and Order* (1932), Novel
- *The Finger Points* (1931), Writer
- *Little Caesar* (1931), Novel — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/little-caesar.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1943: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Wake Island*

### Other awards — 2 won

- The Grand Master 1980: The Grand Master (won)
- O. Henry Award 1930: O. Henry Award (won)

*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/w-r-burnett