Wellman, William

Wellman, William

▪ American director
born Feb. 29, 1896, Brookline, Mass, U.S.
died Dec. 9, 1975, Los Angeles

      American film director whose more than 80 movies included Hollywood classics of documentary realism.

      Wellman left secondary school in Newton, Mass., to take up professional ice hockey. In 1917 he volunteered for ambulance duty in France, soon joined the French air corps, flew in combat, and was shot down. He returned to the United States and entered business in Boston.

      With Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Wellman appeared as an actor in a silent movie, Knickerbocker Buckeroo (1919). From the 1920s Wellman directed and sometimes also produced films for the major Hollywood studios.

      His aerial dogfight classic, Wings (1929), reflected Wellman's lifelong interest in aviation and set standards for documentary realism. It received the first Academy Award for best film of the year. His pictures include Public Enemy (1931), which made James Cagney (Cagney, James) a star and generated a long train of gangster movies, the original A Star is Born (1937), and Beau Geste (1939). The Ox-Bow Incident (1942; titled Strange Incident in Great Britain), on a lynching, is considered one of his best films.

      The Story of GI Joe (1945; War Correspondent in Great Britain), starring Robert Mitchum, was based on Ernie Pyle's books; and The High and the Mighty (1954) was based on the novel by Ernest K. Gann. Track of the Cat (1954), also starring Mitchum, is an experiment in the minimal use of colour. Wellman retired after making Lafayette Escadrille (1958) about his World War I flying unit.

      In A Short Time for Insanity: An Autobiography (1974), which includes a filmography, Wellman recounts, in free-association style, incidents of a hard-driving and sometimes picaresque life. His nickname was Wild Bill.

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  • Wellman, William — • УЭ ЛМАН (Wellman) Уильям (29.2.1896 8.12.1975)    амер. режиссёр. С 1919 актёр кино. Как режиссёр дебютировал вестерном Человек, который победил (1923). Известность приобрёл после ф. о воен. пилотах Крылья (1927, пр. Оскар , 1929). Ф. о… …   Кино: Энциклопедический словарь

  • Wellman, William (Augustus) — born Feb. 29, 1896, Brookline, Mass, U.S. died Dec. 9, 1975, Los Angeles, Calif. U.S. film director. He was a flying ace in World War I and later a barnstorming stunt pilot. He acted in Knickerbocker Buckeroo (1919) with Douglas Fairbanks before… …   Universalium

  • Wellman, William (Augustus) — (29 feb. 1896, Brookline, Mass., EE.UU.–9 dic. 1975, Los Ángeles, Cal.). Director de cine estadounidense. Fue un as de la aviación durante la primera guerra mundial y después se presentó en pueblos pequeños como piloto acrobático. Actuó en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William Augustus Wellman — William A. Wellman William A. Wellman Nom de naissance William Augustus Wellman Naissance 29 février 1896 Brookline, Massachusetts États Unis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Wellman — William A. Wellman William A. Wellman Nom de naissance William Augustus Wellman Naissance 29 février 1896 Brookline, Massachusetts États Unis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Augustus Wellman — (* 29. Februar 1896 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; † 9. Dezember 1975 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Filmregisseur. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Filmographie (Auswahl) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Wellman — William Augustus Wellman (* 29. Februar 1896 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; † 9. Dezember 1975 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) war ein US amerikanischer Filmregisseur. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Filmographie (Auswahl) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William A. Wellman — William Augustus Wellman (Brookline, Massachussets, 29 de febrero de 1896 – Los Ángeles, 9 de diciembre de 1975), director cinematográfico estadounidense especializado en películas de aventuras. Biografía El padre de Wellman era natural de Nueva… …   Wikipedia Español

  • WELLMAN (W.) — WELLMAN WILLIAM (1896 1975) Comme John Ford, Raoul Walsh et Howard Hawks, William Wellman est l’un de ces pionniers qui ont marqué l’âge d’or du cinéma hollywoodien. À vingt trois ans, il interprète, au côté du prestigieux Douglas Fairbanks,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Wellman — (William) (1896 1975) cinéaste américain, spécialiste du film d action: les Ailes (1927), l Ennemi public (1931), Convoi de femmes (1952) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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