William A. Wellman

William A. Wellman

Highest Rated: 100% The Public Enemy (1931)

Lowest Rated: 40% The High and the Mighty (1954)

Birthday: Feb 29, 1896

Birthplace: Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

Having directed nearly 80 motion pictures throughout his career, William Wellman was an extraordinarily prolific director whose output contained a number of cinematic gems amidst a rather unexceptional canon. Wellman started his career during the silent era and had the prestige of directing the World War I actioner, "Wings" (1927), which was the first motion picture to ever win an Oscar for Best Picture. He spent the next 10 years directing a string of forgettable movies until reaching new heights with the scathing screwball comedy "Nothing Sacred" (1937) and the original version of "A Star Is Born" (1937), which earned him the only Academy Award of his career. Wellman went on to direct the dark and gritty Western "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), the tone of which ran counter to America's thirst for escape from the war, therefore sealing its fate as a commercial failure, though it lived on as one of Wellman's masterpieces. From there, he helmed a number of great Westerns and war-themed movies like "The Story of G.I. Joe" (1945), "Yellow Sky" (1948) and "Battleground" (1949). Late in his career, Wellman teamed with John Wayne on the terror-in-the-skies thriller "The High and the Mighty" (1954), but rode off into the sunset on the back of several mediocre films until his retirement in 1958. Though his career was uneven, Wellman directed enough film classics to be considered one of the premier directors of Hollywood's Golden Age.

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Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet 25% Lafayette Escadrille Director,
Producer,
Screenwriter 		- 1958
No Score Yet 45% Darby's Rangers Director - 1958
No Score Yet 90% Goodbye, My Lady Director - 1956
No Score Yet 45% Blood Alley Director,
Producer 		- 1955
98% 81% A Star Is Born Writer - 1954
No Score Yet 51% Track of the Cat Director - 1954
No Score Yet 50% Ring of Fear Director - 1954
40% 59% The High and the Mighty Director - 1954
83% 62% Island in the Sky Director - 1953
No Score Yet 36% My Man and I Director - 1952
No Score Yet 83% Westward the Women Director - 1951
No Score Yet 10% It's a Big Country Director - 1951
No Score Yet 37% Across the Wide Missouri Director - 1951
No Score Yet 67% The Next Voice You Hear Director - 1950
No Score Yet 86% The Happy Years Director - 1950
75% 83% Battleground Director - 1949
No Score Yet 80% Yellow Sky Director - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet Behind the Iron Curtain Director - 1948
No Score Yet 57% The Iron Curtain Director - 1948
50% 37% Magic Town Director,
Producer 		- 1947
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gallant Journey Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer 		- 1946
No Score Yet No Score Yet This Man's Navy Director - 1945
77% 73% G.I. Joe Director - 1945
No Score Yet 50% Buffalo Bill Director - 1944
91% 91% The Ox-Bow Incident Director - 1943
67% 51% Lady of Burlesque Director - 1943
No Score Yet 47% The Great Man's Lady Director,
Producer 		- 1942
No Score Yet 36% Thunder Birds Director - 1942
82% 56% Roxie Hart Director - 1942
No Score Yet No Score Yet Reaching for the Sun Director - 1941
100% 85% Beau Geste Director,
Producer 		- 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Light That Failed Director - 1939
No Score Yet No Score Yet Men With Wings Director - 1938
100% 78% A Star Is Born Director - 1937
92% 69% Nothing Sacred Director - 1937
No Score Yet 65% Small Town Girl Director - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet Robin Hood of El Dorado Director - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet One Horse Town Director - 1936
No Score Yet 53% Call of the Wild Director - 1935
No Score Yet 40% Stingaree Director - 1934
No Score Yet No Score Yet The President Vanishes Director - 1934
No Score Yet 52% Frisco Jenny Director - 1933
88% 73% Wild Boys of the Road Director - 1933
No Score Yet No Score Yet College Coach Director - 1933
No Score Yet No Score Yet Central Airport Director - 1933
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lilly Turner Director - 1933
No Score Yet 66% Midnight Mary Director - 1933
No Score Yet No Score Yet Looking for Trouble Director - 1933
75% 66% Heroes for Sale Director - 1933
83% 53% Female Director - 1933
No Score Yet No Score Yet Love Is a Racket Director - 1932
No Score Yet 50% The Purchase Price Director - 1932
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Conquerors Director - 1932
No Score Yet 52% So Big Director - 1932
No Score Yet No Score Yet Pioneer Builders Director - 1932
No Score Yet 13% The Hatchet Man Director - 1932
No Score Yet 50% Other Men's Women Director - 1931
100% 84% The Public Enemy Director - 1931
82% 73% Night Nurse Director - 1931
No Score Yet 62% Star Witness Director - 1931
100% 41% Safe in Hell Director - 1931
No Score Yet No Score Yet Young Eagles Director - 1930
No Score Yet No Score Yet Eleven Men and a Girl Director - 1930
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dangerous Paradise Director - 1930
No Score Yet No Score Yet Chinatown Nights Director - 1929
No Score Yet No Score Yet Woman Trap Director - 1929
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Man I Love Director - 1929
85% No Score Yet Ladies of the Mob Director,
Producer 		- 1928
90% No Score Yet The Legion of the Condemned Director,
Producer 		- 1928
93% 79% Wings Director - 1927
No Score Yet 11% The Boob Director - 1926
No Score Yet No Score Yet You Never Know Women Director - 1926
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Knickerbocker Buckaroo Henry (Character) - 1919

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Combat! Unknown (Guest Star) 1963 1965