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William Wyler

German-born American director with 12 Oscar nominations, three wins.

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William Wyler

via Wikipedia: William Wyler · see source

Film historian Ian Freer calls Wyler a "bona fide perfectionist" whose retakes and nuance-honing "became the stuff of legend"[1]

Making and release

Between 1942 and 1945, Wyler served as a major in the United States Army Air Forces and directed the documentaries The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) and Thunderbolt! (1947).[2][3] Wyler's birthplace was Mulhouse, Alsace-Lorraine, a region that was part of the German Empire at the time, and he was born into a Jewish family.[4] After a period of employment in New York, Wyler relocated to Hollywood with the aim of becoming a director.[5] The lost film Anybody Here Seen Kelly?, directed in 1928, was Wyler's first non-Western project.[6]

Hell's Heroes*, released in 1929, was Wyler's first film with full sound and also marked Universal's initial sound production shot completely on location.[6] After departing from Universal, Wyler started an extended partnership with Samuel Goldwyn; his first film for Goldwyn was Dodsworth (1936), which brought him his initial nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director.[7]

What the cited sources add

Laurence Olivier, whom Wyler directed in Wuthering Heights (1939) for his first Oscar nomination, credited Wyler with teaching him how to act for the screen.[8] Wyler later inspired Huston to become a director and became his "early mentor"[9] Churchill sent MGM chief Louis B. Mayer a telegram claiming that "Mrs. Miniver is propaganda worth 100 battleships"[10] During a 1972 interview on the Merv Griffin Show, Bette Davis stated that Wyler's direction on Jezebel (1938) made her a "far, far better actress" than she had previously been.[11]

First Lieutenant Harold J. Tannenbaum, a cinematographer and associate of Wyler, was shot down and died while they were filming The Memphis Belle.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Freer, Ian. Movie Makers: 50 Iconic Directors. London: Quercus Publishers (2009) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "- YouTube", www.youtube.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress", www.plane-crazy.net; Kenigsberg, "Review: 'Five Came Back,' and Inspired the Likes of Spielberg", The New York Times, 2017-03-30; "The Negro Soldier", catalog.afi.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wakeman, John, ed. World Film Directors: Vol. I, 1890–1945. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1987. .; Madsen, Axel. William Wyler: the Authorized Biography. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973.; Herman, Jan. A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995.; "William Wyler à propos de ses origines et de ses films", Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, 1957-05-15; "Wyler, William (1902-1981), American film director and producer - American National Biography", anb.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herman, Jan. A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Madsen, Axel. William Wyler: the Authorized Biography. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Freer, Ian. Movie Makers: 50 Iconic Directors. London: Quercus Publishers (2009); SonOfASpaceApe, "TCM 1936 Best Picture 1of3 Dodsworth (Intro)", February 21, 2014; Movieclips Trailer Vault, "Wuthering Heights Official Trailer No. 1 - David Niven Movie (1939) HD", October 5, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vermilye, Jerry. The Complete Films of Laurence Olivier, Citadel Press (1992).; Vermilye, Jerry. The Complete Films of Laurence Olivier, Citadel Press (1992). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Huston, John. John Huston: Interviews, University Press of Mississippi (2001).; Mintz, Steven; Roberts, Randy W. Hollywood's America: Twentieth-Century America Through Film, John Wiley & Sons (2010), p. 148. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yellin, Emily. Our Mother's War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II, Simon & Schuster (2004), p. 100.; Troyan, Michael. A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson, Univ. of Kentucky Press (1999), e-book. ASIN: B00A6IOY1W. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "William Wyler" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O'Dell, "Happy Birthday Bette Davis–You "Jezebel"!", Now See Hear! National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, 19 April 2023; "Jezebel - Trailer", September 25, 2013; "- YouTube", www.youtube.com; Merv GriffinShow, "Bette Davis interview- Jezebel (Merv Griffin Show 1972)", July 16, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article William Wyler (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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