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William A. Wellman
Director 1896 - 1975

William A. Wellman

Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

40 titles
Lafayette Escadrille

Lafayette Escadrille

William A. Wellman 1958 1h 33m 7.0

American youth and flying ace flys for France in World War I; meets & loves a French girl & prostitute.

Darby's Rangers

Darby's Rangers

William A. Wellman 1958 2h 1m

The lives, loves, and battles of fictional characters in the Army's First Ranger Battalion during WWII. An Army Major leads his men behind enemy lines in World War II.

Blood Alley

Blood Alley

William A. Wellman 1955 1h 50m 4.0

A merchant marine captain, rescued from the Chinese Communists by local visitors, is "shanghaied" into transporting the whole village to Hong Kong on an ancient paddle steamer.

Track of the Cat

Track of the Cat

William A. Wellman 1954 1h 42m 6.5

A family saga: In a stunning mountain valley ranch setting near Aspen, complex and dangerous family dynamics play out against the backdrop of the first big snowstorm of winter and an enormous panther with seemingly mythical qualities which is killing cattle.

The High and the Mighty

The High and the Mighty

William A. Wellman 1954 2h 27m 6.7

Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight - one that takes a terrifying suspense-building turn when disaster strikes high above the Pacific Ocean at the point of no return.

Island in the Sky

Island in the Sky

William A. Wellman 1953 1h 49m 7.0

A transport plane crash-lands in the frozen wastes of Labrador, and the plane's pilot, Dooley, must keep his men alive in deadly conditions while waiting for rescue.

Westward the Women

Westward the Women

William A. Wellman 1951 1h 58m 8.5

There's a deficit of good, honest women in the West, and Roy Whitman wants to change that. His solution is to bring a caravan of over 100 mail-order brides from Chicago to California. It will be a long, difficult and dangerous journey for the women. So Whitman hires hardened, cynical Buck Wyatt to be their guide across the inhospitable frontier.

Across the Wide Missouri

Across the Wide Missouri

William A. Wellman 1951 1h 18m 6.7

In the 1830's beaver trapper Flint Mitchell and other white men hunt and trap in the then unnamed territories of Montana and Idaho. Flint marries a Blackfoot woman as a way to gain entrance into her people's rich lands, but finds she means more to him than a ticket to good beaver habitat.

The Next Voice You Hear...

The Next Voice You Hear...

William A. Wellman 1950 1h 23m

The Next Voice You Hear... (1950) is a drama film in which a voice claiming to be that of God preempts all radio programs for days all over the world. It stars James Whitmore and Nancy Davis as Joe and Mary Smith, a typical American couple. It was based on a short story of the same name by George Sumner Albee.

Battleground

Battleground

William A. Wellman 1949 1h 58m 7.5

A bank heist goes wrong and six ruthless men escape into the forests of North Michigan with three million dollars, only to encounter a war veteran who still lives for the kill.

Yellow Sky

Yellow Sky

William A. Wellman 1948 1h 38m 8.3

In 1867, a gang led by James "Stretch" Dawson (Gregory Peck) robs a bank and flees into the desert. Out of water, the outlaws come upon a ghost town called Yellow Sky and its only residents, a hostile young woman named Mike (Anne Baxter) and her Grandpa (James Barton). The story is a Western adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

The Iron Curtain

The Iron Curtain

William A. Wellman 1948 1h 27m

The story of Soviet cypher-clerk Igor Gouzenko who was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa,Canada in 1943 and defected in 1945 to reveal the extent of Soviet espionage activities directed against Canada.

Magic Town

Magic Town

William A. Wellman 1947 1h 43m 5.0

Rip Smith's opinion-poll business is a failure...until he discovers that the small town of Grandview is statistically identical to the entire country. He and his assistants go there to run polls cheaply and easily, in total secrecy (it would be fatal to let the townsfolk get self-conscious).

Story of G.I. Joe

Story of G.I. Joe

William A. Wellman 1945 1h 48m 10.0

War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States.

Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill

William A. Wellman 1944 1h 30m 6.7

Scout William F. Cody (Joel McCrea) marries a U.S. senator's daughter (Maureen O'Hara), fights the Cheyenne and leads a Wild West show.

The Ox-Bow Incident

The Ox-Bow Incident

William A. Wellman 1943 1h 16m 8.5

The Ox-Bow Incident is a western film from William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda. The year is 1943, it’s the middle of World War 2, and makes an exceptional message about anti-heroism.

Lady of Burlesque

Lady of Burlesque

William A. Wellman 1943 1h 31m 6.0

After one member of their group is murdered, the performers at a burlesque house must work together to find out who the killer is before he strikes again.

Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air

Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air

William A. Wellman 1942 1h 18m 5.5

A veteran American flyer trains new recruits, including the acrophobic son of his dead war buddy. Complications arise when the younger man falls in love with his mentor's girl.

Roxie Hart

Roxie Hart

William A. Wellman 1942 1h 12m 8.0

A café in Chicago, 1942. On a rainy night, veteran reporter Homer Howard tells an increasing audience the story of Roxie Hart and the crime she was judged for in 1927.

Beau Geste

Beau Geste

William A. Wellman 1939 1h 52m 7.0

Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries.

Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred

William A. Wellman 1937 1h 17m 6.5

An eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit.

A Star is Born

A Star is Born

William A. Wellman 1937 1h 51m 6.8

Vicki Lester, played by Janet Gaynor, meets actor Norman Maine (Fredric March) and they marry, but soon after his career develops difficulties while hers flourishes.

Small Town Girl

Small Town Girl

William A. Wellman 1936 1h 46m

Kay is a girl living in a small rural town whose life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night, she meets young, handsome, and rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk and then proceeds to take her out on a night on the town.

Robin Hood of El Dorado

Robin Hood of El Dorado

William A. Wellman 1936 1h 25m

In the 1840's Mexico has ceded California to the United States, making life nearly impossible for the Mexican population due to the influx of land and gold-crazy Americans. Farmer Joaquin Murrieta revenges the death of his wife against the four Americans who killed her and is branded an outlaw.

The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild

William A. Wellman 1935 1h 31m 6.5

Jack Thornton has trouble winning enough at cards for the stake he needs to get to the Alaska gold fields. His luck changes when he pays $250 for Buck, a sled dog that is part wolf to keep him from being shot by an arrogant Englishman also headed for the Yukon.

Wild Boys of the Road

Wild Boys of the Road

William A. Wellman 1933 1h 8m 8.5

At the bottom of the depression, Tom's mother has been out of work for months when Ed's father loses his job. Not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomore's decide to hop the freights and look for work.

Midnight Mary

Midnight Mary

William A. Wellman 1933 1h 14m 9.0

An abused orphan sinks into a life of crime.

Heroes for Sale

Heroes for Sale

William A. Wellman 1933 1h 12m

The saga of honorable man Tom Holmes, whose Great War heroics earn fame and a medal for someone else, and his wounds result in morphine addiction and a string of challenges and tragedies.

The Purchase Price

The Purchase Price

William A. Wellman 1932 1h 8m 8.0

Barbara Stanwyck plays Joan Gordon, a torch singer who runs away from her gangster boyfriend (Lyle Talbot) to become a mail-order bride to a struggling North Dakota farmer (George Brent). Their relationship has a rocky start, but just as Joan realizes that she is developing feelings for her husband, her old boyfriend arrives to win her back.

The Conquerors

The Conquerors

William A. Wellman 1932 1h 26m

A newlywed couple journeys west to make their fortune, and begins a banking empire.

Love Is a Racket

Love Is a Racket

William A. Wellman 1932 1h 11m

A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue who's beholden to a penthouse gangster.

Frisco Jenny

Frisco Jenny

William A. Wellman 1932 1h 11m 8.0

Frisco Jenny was orphaned by the 1906 earthquake and fire and has become the madame of prosperous bawdy house. She puts her son up for adoption and he rises to prominence as district attorney dedicated to closing down such houses. When her underling Dutton proposes killing the DA, she kills the underling and must face execution.

The Star Witness

The Star Witness

William A. Wellman 1931 1h 8m 6.0

Members of a family witness two murders, but the gang uses threats, violence and kidnapping to try to keep the members from testifying.

The Public Enemy

The Public Enemy

William A. Wellman 1931 1h 24m 7.5

James Cagney star's as Tom Powers, a trouble-ridden individual who rises from the position of cheap thug to that of a powerful Prohibition gangster. When his best friend is murdered, Powers self-destructively seeks deadly retaliation.

Safe in Hell

Safe in Hell

William A. Wellman 1931 1h 11m 7.3

After accidentally killing the man who raped her and forced her into prostitution, a New Orleans woman flees to a Caribbean island. While she awaits her fiancé, the vicious local police chief sets his sights on her.

Other Men's Women

Other Men's Women

William A. Wellman 1931 1h 10m 8.0

The friendship of two working stiff railroad engineers is put to the test when one falls for the other’s wife.

Night Nurse

Night Nurse

William A. Wellman 1931 1h 12m 9.0

A nurse -- trying to stop the murder of two children -- enlists the help of a criminal.

Beggars of Life

Beggars of Life

William A. Wellman 1928 1h 22m

After killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond. She dresses as a boy, they hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal a car in their attempt to escape the police, and reach Canada.

Wings

Wings

William A. Wellman 1927 2h 24m 7.0

Two young men fall in love for the same same girl. After US enters WWi, both join the Air Corps and become ace. They remain friends, but the realtion to the girl threatens their friendship

The Boob

The Boob

William A. Wellman 1926 1h 6m

To impress the girl he loves, a naive country boy tries to capture a group of local bootleggers.

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