11 Movies Directed by William A. Wellman

Wings

Wings

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1929-01-05

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

144 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (7196 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

John Monk Saunders (story)

Hope Loring (screenplay)

Louis D. Lighton (screenplay)

Julian Johnson (titles)

Fullplot:

Two young men fall in love with the same same girl. After the US enters WWI, both join the Air Corps and become aces. They remain friends, but the relation to the girl threatens their friendship.

The Public Enemy

The Public Enemy

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1931-04-23

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

83 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (12384 Reviews)

Genres:

CrimeDrama

Cast:

Writer:

Kubec Glasmon (by)

John Bright (by)

Harvey F. Thew (screen adaptation)

Fullplot:

Tom Powers and Matt Doyle are best friends and fellow gangsters, their lives frowned upon by Tom's straight laced brother, Mike, and Matt's straight laced sister, Molly. From their teen-aged years into young adulthood, Tom and Matt have an increasingly lucrative life, bootlegging during the Prohibition era. But Tom in particular becomes more and more brazen in what he is willing to do, and becomes more obstinate and violent against those who either disagree with him or cross him. When one of their colleagues dies in a freak accident, a rival bootlegging faction senses weakness among Tom and Matt's gang, which is led by Paddy Ryan. A gang war ensues, resulting in Paddy suggesting that Tom and Matt lay low. But because of Tom's basic nature, he decides instead to take matters into his own hands.

Wild Boys of the Road

Wild Boys of the Road

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1933-10-07

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

68 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.5 (1234 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Earl Baldwin (screenplay)

Daniel Ahern (story)

Fullplot:

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. Wherever they go, there are many other kids just like them, so Tom, Ed and now Sally stick together. They camp in places like 'Sewer City' as long as they can until the local authorities run them off. They travel all over the mid west and when they get to New York, Ed thinks that they may finally find work.

Viva Villa!

Viva Villa!

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1934-04-27

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

115 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.6 (781 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Ben Hecht (screen play)

Edgecumb Pinchon (suggested by the book by)

O.B. Stade (suggested by the book by)

Fullplot:

In this fictionalized biography, young Pancho Villa takes to the hills after killing an overseer in revenge for his father's death. In 1910, he befriends American reporter Johnny Sykes. Then a meeting with visionary Francisco Madero transforms Villa from an avenging bandit to a revolutionary general. To the tune of 'La Cucaracha,' his armies sweep Mexico. After victory, Villa's bandit-like disregard for human life forces Madero to exile him. But Madero's fall brings Villa back to raise the people against a new tyrant...

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1937-04-27

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

111 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (5005 Reviews)

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Dorothy Parker (screen play)

Alan Campbell (screen play)

Robert Carson (screen play)

William A. Wellman (from a story by)

Robert Carson (from a story by)

Fullplot:

Esther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of alcoholic star Norman Maine, is given a test, and is caught up in the Hollywood glamor machine (ruthlessly satirized). She and her idol Norman marry; but his career abruptly dwindles to nothing

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1938-02-11

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

91 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (1150 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Mark Twain (the beloved classic by)

John V.A. Weaver (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Sentiment rules in this version of the Twain tale of boyhood in 1850 Missouri, reasonably faithful except for minor details and making the character Jim a boy instead of a man. Includes the whitewash episode, puppy love, the graveyard murder, the boys' running away to Jackson's Island, the salvation of Muff Potter, and the cave adventure.

The Ox-Bow Incident

The Ox-Bow Incident

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1943-05-21

Languages:

English, Spanish

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

75 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

8.1 (14977 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Lamar Trotti (written for the screen by)

Walter Van Tilburg Clark (from the novel by)

Fullplot:

Two drifters are passing through a Western town, when news comes in that a local farmer has been murdered and his cattle stolen. The townspeople, joined by the drifters, form a posse to catch the perpetrators. They find three men in possession of the cattle, and are determined to see justice done on the spot.

Story of G.I. Joe

Story of G.I. Joe

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1945-07-13

Languages:

English, Italian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

108 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (2100 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Leopold Atlas (screenplay)

Guy Endore (screenplay)

Philip Stevenson (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The story of men at war and that of the esteemed Pulitzer prize winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Soon after the U.S. entry into World War II, Pyle joined C Company, 18th Infantry in North Africa. There he got to know the men and often wrote about them in his columns mentioning them by name, something both the soldiers and their families back home appreciated. Pyle moved to other units but as C Company is the first he went into combat with, he considers them "his" company and rejoins them in Italy. Many will die but his reporting brings a human face to war.

Yellow Sky

Yellow Sky

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1948-12-01

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

98 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (2734 Reviews)

Genres:

CrimeWestern

Cast:

Writer:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)

W.R. Burnett (story)

Fullplot:

A band of bank robbers on the run from a posse flee into the desert. Near death from lack of water they stumble into what appears to be a ghost town, only to discover an old prospector and his granddaughter living there. The robbers discover that the old man has been mining gold and set out to make a quick fortune by robbing the pair. Their plan runs foul when the gang leader, Stretch, falls for the granddaughter, which sets off a showdown between the entire gang.

Battleground

Battleground

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1950-01-20

Languages:

English, French, German

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (4892 Reviews)

Fullplot:

We follow a band of American soldiers as they engage the Germans in a snowy, foggy winter near Bastogne in World War II. They're low on fuel, rations, and ammunition; the Germans are constantly encouraging their surrender via radio and leaflets, and most importantly, the pervasive thick fog makes movement and identification difficult and prevents their relief by Allied air support. This film focuses much more on the psychology and morale of the soldiers than on action footage and heroics.

The High and the Mighty

The High and the Mighty

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1954-07-03

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

147 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

(4120 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Ernest K. Gann (screenplay)

Ernest K. Gann (novel)

Fullplot:

One disaster after another happens on this trans-Pacific flight. You have the pilot who loses his nerve! The washed-up co-pilot. The milquetoast flight engineer. The young hot shot second officer. And a cabin full of passengers with every range of problems and personalities there could possibly be. Here you have the Duke in a role he didn't want, and a movie with the title song that became Duke's theme. What else could any John Wayne fan want? It's all here, and then some.

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