7 Movies Directed by William Dieterle

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1935-10-30

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

133 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.1 (2119 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

William Shakespeare (by)

Charles Kenyon (arranged for the screen by)

Mary C. McCall Jr. (arranged for the screen by)

Fullplot:

Theseus, Duke of Athens, is going to marry Hyppolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Demetrius is engaged with Hermia, but Hermia loves Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius. Oberon and Titania, of the kingdom of fairies have a slight quarrel about whether or not the boy Titania is raising will join Titania's band or Oberon's, so Oberon tries to get him from her by using some magic. But they're not alone in that forest.Lysander and Hermina have there a rendezvous, Helena and Demetrius are there, too as well as some actors, who are practicing a play for the ongoing wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Due to some misunderstandings by Puck, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...

The Story of Louis Pasteur

The Story of Louis Pasteur

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1936-02-01

Languages:

English, French, Russian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

86 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (1425 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Sheridan Gibney (story)

Pierre Collings (story)

Fullplot:

In 1860 Paris, chemist Louis Pasteur is considered a quack within the medical community for advocating that doctors and surgeons wash their hands and boil their instruments to destroy microbes that can kill their patients. He came across this belief when discovering microscopic organisms in sour wine, the organisms which could be killed if heated sufficiently. The belief among the scientific community at large is that the organisms are the result of disease and not the cause. This belief is despite the fact that thirty percent of women die in childbirth due to child bed disease, accounting for twenty thousand annual deaths in Paris alone. The debate takes Pasteur all the way to a meeting with Emperor Napoleon III and his physician, Dr. Charbonnet, who is one of the leading opponents of Pasteur. Several years later - France now a republic - much of Pasteur's reputation changes as a government sanctioned experiment with anthrax and sheep shows that a vaccine created by Pasteur proves effective. As Pasteur begins work on finding the cause and a cure for rabies, which proves a more difficult challenge, he still has his detractors, including Dr. Charbonnet. This continuing debate brings about his biggest challenge: proving that microbes are the cause of all disease. Through it all, he is supported not only by his family, but Dr. Jean Martel, who was once a junior physician in the emperor's court and a physician within the republic's government, but who now works with Pasteur and is his son-in-law. But an act of bravado by Charbonnet may ultimately prove to be the breakthrough for which Pasteur is looking. Moving the experimental treatments from animals to humans proves a bigger obstacle, as is Charbonnet's need to win at all cost in the court of public opinion.

The Life of Emile Zola

The Life of Emile Zola

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1937-10-02

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

116 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (4449 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Norman Reilly Raine (screen play)

Heinz Herald (screen play)

Geza Herczeg (screen play)

Heinz Herald (story)

Geza Herczeg (story)

Matthew Josephson (source material "Zola and His Time")

Fullplot:

Fictionalized account of the life of famed French author Emile Zola. As portrayed in the film, he was a penniless writer sharing an apartment in Paris with painter Paul Cezanne when he finally wrote a best-seller, Nana. He has always had difficulty holding onto a job as he is quite outspoken, being warned on several occasions by the public prosecutor that he risks charges if he does not temper his writings. The bulk of the film deals with his involvement in the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus who was falsely convicted of giving secret military information to the Germans and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devils Island. Antisemitism played an important role in the real-life case but is hardly mentioned in the film. Even after the military found definitive evidence that Dreyfus was innocent, the army decided to cover it up rather than face the scandal of having arbitrarily convicted the wrong man. Zola's famous letter, J'Accuse (I Accuse), led to his own trial for libel where he was found guilty and forced to flee to England. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated and restored to his military rank.

The Prince and the Pauper

The Prince and the Pauper

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1937-05-08

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (1707 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Mark Twain (novel)

Laird Doyle (screenplay)

Catherine Chisholm Cushing (dramatic version)

Fullplot:

On the same day two boys are born: the pauper Tom and prince Edward. As a kid, Tom sneaks into the palace garden and meets the prince. They change clothes with each other but the guards discover them and throw out the prince, since they are almost identical. Nobody believe them when they try to tell the truth. Soon after, the old king dies and the prince will inherit the throne. The evil earl of Hertford attempts to murder the prince to gain power for himself.

The Devil and Daniel Webster

The Devil and Daniel Webster

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1941-10-29

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

107 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (3336 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Stephen Vincent Benet (story)

Dan Totheroh (screenplay)

Stephen Vincent Benet (screenplay)

Fullplot:

A down-on-his-luck farmer makes a deal with the devil for seven years of prosperity. When Mr. Scratch comes to collect, orator and hero of the common man Daniel Webster comes to the rescue.

Duel in the Sun

Duel in the Sun

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1947-09-12

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

129 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (6024 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

David O. Selznick (screenplay)

Niven Busch (suggested by a novel by)

Oliver H.P. Garrett (adaptation)

Fullplot:

When her father is hanged for shooting his wife and her lover, half-breed Pearl Chavez goes to live with distant relatives in Texas. Welcomed by Laura Belle and her elder lawyer son Jesse, she meets with hostility from the ranch-owner himself, wheelchair-bound Senator Jackson McCanles, and with lustful interest from womanising, unruly younger son Lewt. Almost at once, already existing family tensions are exacerbated by her presence and the way she is physically drawn to Lewt.

Portrait of Jennie

Portrait of Jennie

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1949-04-22

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

86 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (4500 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Nathan (novel)

Leonardo Bercovici (adaptation)

Paul Osborn (screenplay)

Peter Berneis (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Eben Adams is a talented but struggling artist in Depression era New York who has never been able to find inspiration for a painting. One day, after he finally finds someone to buy a painting from him, a pretty but odd young girl named Jennie Appleton appears and strikes up an unusual friendship with Eben.

Become a Movie Insider

Join our mailing list and get access to expert analysis, trivia, and recommendations that will elevate your movie-watching experience.

View our privacy policy.