John McCarten

John McCarten (September 10, 1911, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – September 25, 1974, New York City) was an American writer who contributed about 1,000 pieces for The New Yorker, serving as the magazine's film critic from 1945 to 1960 and Broadway theatre critic from 1960 to 1967.

McCarten was born in Philadelphia into an Irish-American family. After serving in the Merchant Marine, he started writing for American Mercury, Fortune, and Time during the 1930s. He gained a reputation as something of a nemesis of Alfred Hitchcock in particular, whose films McCarten regularly panned. The screenplay for the 1956 British romantic comedy film The Silken Affair was adapted from an idea by McCarten.

In 1960, McCarten switched to theatre criticism, where he was no less tough; on one occasion, theatrical producer David Merrick had McCarten barred from the opening night of Do Re Mi.