Cyril Wolf Mankowitz was an English writer, playwright, and screenwriter. He was born in 1924 in the East End of London to Russian-Jewish parents. He was educated at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was tutored by F.R. Leavis. His background informed his successful novels Make Me an Offer (1952), A Kid for Two Farthings (1953), and My Old Man’s a Dustman (1956). Make Me an Offer was adapted for the screen in 1954. In 1955, A Kid for Two Farthings was adapted as a film by Carol Reed, for which Mankowitz wrote the screenplay. He wrote screenplays for many successful films which have received awards including the Oscar, BAFTA, and the Cannes Grand Prix. Mankowitz also wrote the book for the West End musical Expresso Bongo (1958) and collaborated on the screenplays for the Bond films Doctor No (1962) and Casino Royale (1967). Several of his plays were turned into films or television plays, including The Bespoke Overcoat (1953/1956).

Wolf Mankowitz died in 1998.

Plays

—. The Bespoke Overcoat. London: Samuel French, 2011.