Madeleine Ruthven (October 26, 1893 – February 20, 1978) was an American screenwriter and poet active from 1923 to 1936.

She got her start as a newspaperwoman, working for The Houston Press from 1918 to 1920, and fiction writer publishing in magazines like The Black Cat,[1] before moving to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting.

[2] She began writing stories and title cards before moving her way into penning full screenplays.

[3] In the 1950s, Ruthven was named by fellow screenwriter Richard J. Collins as a Communist sympathizer and put on the blacklist.

[4] In addition to writing and/or contributing to over a dozen screenplays over the course of her years in the industry, she also wrote a book of poetry published by Los Angeles-based Primavera Press called Summer Denial.