William Wyler Movies
The son of a prosperous Swiss dry goods merchant, William Wyler was studying the violin in Paris when he met Universal Pictures executive Carl Laemmle, a distant cousin of his mother, in 1922. Another version of this fateful meeting claims that Wyler made the acquaintance of one of Laemmle's many European relatives; whatever the case, the 20-year-old Wyler was invited to America to work in Universal's publicity department, writing publicity for the studio's foreign releases. He worked his way up to assistant director at Universal, finally graduating to director for the two-reel Western Crook Buster (1925). This was followed by several feature-length sagebrushers, then by his first non-Western effort, Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (1927). Universal's slapdash production methods and abbreviated schedules convinced Wyler that if he ever graduated to A-pictures, he would take his own sweet time making them. As a result, Wyler would earn a reputation as one of the slowest and most meticulous directors in the business, shooting extensive retakes on even the simplest scenes. Wyler's painstaking methods and his autocratic on-set behavior exasperated and infuriated many, but he was the favorite director of the equally demanding producer Sam Goldwyn. The long Goldwyn/Wyler association began with the 1936 film These Three, a heavily rewritten adaptation of Lillian Hellman's controversial play The Children's Hour. Another of Wyler's yea-sayers was Bette Davis, who, despite her frequent high decibel arguments with the director, turned out some of her finest performances in such Wyler projects as Jezebel (1938), The Letter (1940), and The Little Foxes (1941) (the fact that Davis and Wyler were occasional offscreen lovers might also have had something to do with their successful professional collaborations). Commissioned as a major in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, Wyler helmed two classic documentary films, The Memphis Belle (1943) and Thunderbolt (1944); his courage while filming under the most life-threatening of situations earned Wyler an Air Medal and a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, Wyler helped found the Committee for the First Amendment, a group of Hollywood liberals united to battle the witch-hunting excesses of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Wyler produced as well as directed most of his postwar projects, which included The Heiress (1949), Detective Story (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), The Desperate Hours (1955), and Friendly Persuasion (1956). He also directed The Children's Hour (1961), a remake of his own These Three (1936), which retained the lesbianism angle that the earlier film was forced to do without. Wyler won three Best Director Academy Awards, all for films which were honored with Best Picture Oscars: Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959) (he'd been one of many production assistants on the 1926 silent version of the last named film). Married twice, Wyler's first wife was film star Margaret Sullavan; his second was actress Margaret Tallichet, who gave up her screen career upon becoming Mrs. Wyler. William Wyler's final film was 1970's The Liberation of L.B. Jones; despite failing health, Wyler was primed to start work on 40 Carats (1973), but was advised by his physician not to do so -- possibly the only instance that someone other than Willy Wyler had the last word on a movie decision! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Young up-and-coming director William Wyler permitted himself to strut his stuff onscreen as well in this comedy two-reeler produced by Universal. A lively look at Western filmmaking, Daze of the West featured two-reel Western star Fred Gilman as a two-reel Western star, with Vin Moore as the typically harrassed director. Wyler (who, ironically, had replaced Moore as director of the Gilman unit) was the patient assistant director, and studio starlet Elaine Forrest played the heroine. This Western short was the final film to be released in Universal's lower-budgeted "Mustang" series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
In this typical silent Universal "Blue Streak Western," a couple of crooked real estate speculators (Boris Bullock and Captain C.E. Anderson) conspire to acquire the potentially valuable Lawton ranch by less than savory means. Visiting the ranch, the smooth Bullock falls for the rancher's pretty daughter, Madge (Joyce Compton) and soon the Lawtons are ready to literally give away the farm. Happily, foreman Larry Day (Fred Humes) sees right through Bullock's slick facade and saves the day. As they did in several other Universal Westerns, Dick L'Estrange, Pee Wee Holmes, Ben Corbett and Scotty Mattraw added comic relief as the Lawton ranch hands. Border Cavalier was directed by a very young William Wyler, a distant relative of studio owner "Uncle" Carl Laemmle who, as humorist Ogden Nash once pointed out, "had a very big Faemmle!" ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Humes, Joyce Compton, (more)
- 1926
Returning home from the Great War, "Breezy" Hart (Fred Humes) and his shell-shocked buddy Frank Wilcox (Ralph McCullough) discover the Wilcox property in the hands of evil Sam Hardy (William Norton Bailey). Frank, who is the rightful heir to the ranch, goes into hiding, while "Breezy" takes a job in the ranch kitchen. Learning of Frank's whereabouts, Hardy plots to have the young heir killed. Luckily, Breezy overhears the villain plotting with his henchmen and is able to rescue his friend. Hardy and his men are arrested, and Frank, now cured of his illness, is reunited with his girl, June Marston (Nita Cavalier). Breezy, meanwhile, is busy romancing his kitchen staff colleague, Mary Jane (Louise Lorraine). Director William Wyler, a distant relative of Universal's founder, Carl Laemmle), began his distinguished career helming Fred Humes and Ted Wells program Westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
William Wyler directed this fairly good Art Acord vehicle that also featured a very young Fay Wray in the female lead. Cowboy Lance Lighton (Acord) is known as "Lazy Lightning" because he's capable of riding like the wind but chooses not to. Lance is snapped out of his lethargy when little Dickie Rodgers (Bobby Gordon) -- the kid brother of the lovely Lila Rogers (Wray) -- is stricken with a fatal illness. Mounting his horse and riding hell for leather, Lance races through a spectacular rainstorm to rush a vial of life-saving serum to Dickie's bedside. Once this is accomplished, our hero sets about to foil the villain (Arthur Morrison) and win the heroine, Lila. Of the many "lost" films of Art Acord, Lazy Lightning would be worth seeing again if only as an early example of the directorial expertise of William Wyler. Vin Moore, otherwise a busy director of Universal western 2-reelers, played the sheriff. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Gordon, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1925
The advertising tag "four years in the making" is usually so much press-agent puffery. In the case of the 1926 silent version of Ben Hur, it was the unvarnished truth--and the filmmakers had the scars to prove it. The story behind the film is now part of Hollywood folklore: the cast and production crew changes (star George Walsh summarily dumped in favor of Roman Novarro, director Charles J. Brabin replaced by Fred Niblo, writer-supervisor June Mathis-who'd spearheaded the project in the first place-abruptly fired); the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the troublesome location shooting in Italy--money that was lost when most of the footage proved unusable; the extra expenditure of refilming in Hollywood; and the huge chunk of the film's profits eaten up by the 50% royalty deal set up with theatrical producers Klaw and Erlanger, who controlled the rights to General Lew Wallace's novel. The end result reflected the turbulent production conditions: Ben Hur is an extraordinarily uneven experience, with moments of cinematic brilliance and pulse-pounding thrills alternating with long stretches of stagey boredom. The film follows the original Wallace story to the letter: Judah Ben-Hur (Novarro), a wealthy Jew living under the reign of the Caesars, is betrayed by his best friend, ambitious Roman centurion Messala (Francis X. Bushman). Ben-Hur's family is sent to prison, while he himself is condemned to the galleys. During a violent sea battle, Ben-Hur saves the life of galleon commander Quintus Arrius (Frank Currier). The grateful commander adopts Ben-Hur as his son and bankrolls his desire to become a champion charioteer. Thirsting for revenge, Ben-Hur agrees to race against his old nemesis Messala. The latter is fatally injured during the race; with his dying breath, Messala reveals that Ben-Hur's family, previously reported dead, are actually alive--but living as lepers. The story is subtitled A Tale of the Christ because, at various junctures in his life, Ben-Hur has been touched by the hand of Jesus. Ben-Hur must totally embrace Christ's edict of love and forgiveness before he can be reunited with his family. As Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem, Ben-Hur's mother (Claire McDowell) and sister (Kathleen Key), having also embraced the Christian philosophy, are miraculously cured of their leprosy. Most of these plot elements, together with the romance between Ben-Hur and the lovely Esther (May McAvoy), reappeared in the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur--which, fortunately, did not include the ridiculous subplot involving the alluring Iras (Carmel Myers), who attempts to seduce Ben-Hur just before the big race. The film's highlights--the sea battle, the now-legendary chariot race--were produced on a far grander scale than in the 1959 version; unfortunately, both highlights took place in the first half of the picture, leaving the viewers with a rather dreary, drawn out denouement (the remake wisely placed the sea battle in part one, and the race in part two). The Technicolor Nativity sequences were condemned in 1926 as being in poor taste, but when seen today are beautifully handled and restful on the eye (oddly, no one complained about the nude female revellers during a later Technicolor pageant scene!) Ben Hur cost $4 million and grossed $9 million on its first release. The aforementioned royalty arrangement left MGM with only a $1 million take. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, (more)
