Amelio "Mel" Dinelli (6 October 1912, Albuquerque, New Mexico – 28 November 1991, Los Angeles, California)[1] was an American writer for theatre, radio, film and magazines, usually in the suspense genre.
He joined the Albuquerque Little Theatre company for its inaugural season in 1931, acting in two plays alongside future I Love Lucy star Vivian Vance.
[4][5] One of his earliest plays was Shubert Alley, about a young woman's rise to fame on Broadway, which was notable at the time for its all-female cast.
[7] Later in the 1940s he wrote for the CBS radio drama series Suspense, including the 1945 episode "To Find Help" which starred Frank Sinatra in one of his first dramatic roles.
He wrote a number of other Hollywood screenplays including The Spiral Staircase, The Window, and Fritz Lang's House by the River.