Frederick Knott

1916–2002 · English dramatist and playwright

Frederick Major Paull Knott was an English playwright and screenwriter known for complex crime-related plots. Although he was a reluctant writer and completed a small number of plays, two have become well-known: the London-based stage thriller Dial M for Murder, later filmed in Hollywood by Alfred Hitchcock, and the 1966 play Wait Until Dark, which was adapted to a Hollywood film directed by Terence Young. He also wrote the Broadway mystery Write Me a Murder.

Frederick Knott, in order

1. 1952 The Last Page: wrote · directed by Terence Fisher
2. 1954 Dial M for Murder: wrote · directed by Alfred Hitchcock · critics 89%, audiences 92% · streaming on Kanopy, TCM, Plex
3. 1967 The Honey Pot: wrote · directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
4. 1967 Wait Until Dark: wrote · directed by Terence Young
5. 1998 A Perfect Murder: wrote · directed by Andrew Davis · critics 57%, audiences 51% · streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+