William Wyler (1902-1981)

Alias:
Bill Wyler
Wilhelm Weiller
윌리암 와일러
윌리엄 와일러

Birthplace:
Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]

Born:
July 1, 1902

Died:
July 27, 1981

William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born film director, producer, and screenwriter. Notable works include Ben-Hur (1959), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Mrs. Miniver (1942), all which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture. He earned his first Oscar nomination for directing Dodsworth in 1936, sparking a 20-year run of almost unbroken greatness.  Film historian Ian Freer calls Wyler a "bona fide perfectionist," whose penchant for retakes and an attempt to hone every last nuance "became the stuff of legend." His ability to direct a string of classic literary adaptations into huge box office and critical successes made him one of Hollywood's most bankable moviemakers during the 1930s and 1940s.

Additional information:

The Search Form


American Film Institute (AFI)

1976 AFI Life Achievement Award

Assistant Director:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Co-Director:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady

Director:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1925  The Crook Buster
1926  Don't Shoot
1926  Lazy Lightning
1926  Martin of the Mounted
1926  Ridin' for Love
1926  The Fire Barrier
1926  The Gunless Bad Man
1926  The Stolen Ranch
1927  Blazing Days
1927  Desert Dust
1927  Hard Fists
1927  Straight Shootin'
1927  The Border Cavalier
1927  The Horse Trader
1927  The Two Fister
1928  Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928  Thunder Riders
1929  Hell's Heroes
1929  The Love Trap
1929  The Shakedown
1930  The Storm
1931  A House Divided
1932  Tom Brown of Culver
1933  Counsellor at Law
1933  Her First Mate
1934  Glamour
1935  The Gay Deception
1935  The Good Fairy
1936  Come and Get It
1936  Dodsworth
1936  These Three
1937  Dead End
1938  Jezebel
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady
1939  Wuthering Heights
1940  The Letter
1940  The Westerner
1941  The Little Foxes
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1944  The Fighting Lady
1944  The Memphis Belle
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Thunderbolt
1949  The Heiress
1951  Detective Story
1952  Carrie
1953  Roman Holiday
1955  The Desperate Hours
1956  Friendly Persuasion
1958  The Big Country
1959  Ben-Hur
1961  The Children's Hour
1965  The Collector
1966  How to Steal a Million
1968  Funny Girl
1970  The Liberation of L.B. Jones
2011  History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle

Director of Photography:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1925  The Crook Buster
1926  Don't Shoot
1926  Lazy Lightning
1926  Martin of the Mounted
1926  Ridin' for Love
1926  The Fire Barrier
1926  The Gunless Bad Man
1926  The Stolen Ranch
1927  Blazing Days
1927  Desert Dust
1927  Hard Fists
1927  Straight Shootin'
1927  The Border Cavalier
1927  The Horse Trader
1927  The Two Fister
1928  Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928  Thunder Riders
1929  Hell's Heroes
1929  The Love Trap
1929  The Shakedown
1930  The Storm
1931  A House Divided
1932  Tom Brown of Culver
1933  Counsellor at Law
1933  Her First Mate
1934  Glamour
1935  The Gay Deception
1935  The Good Fairy
1936  Come and Get It
1936  Dodsworth
1936  These Three
1937  Dead End
1938  Jezebel
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady
1939  Wuthering Heights
1940  The Letter
1940  The Westerner
1941  The Little Foxes
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1944  The Fighting Lady
1944  The Memphis Belle
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Thunderbolt
1949  The Heiress
1951  Detective Story
1952  Carrie
1953  Roman Holiday
1955  The Desperate Hours
1956  Friendly Persuasion
1958  The Big Country
1959  Ben-Hur
1961  The Children's Hour
1965  The Collector
1966  How to Steal a Million
1968  Funny Girl
1970  The Liberation of L.B. Jones
2011  History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle

Producer:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1925  The Crook Buster
1926  Don't Shoot
1926  Lazy Lightning
1926  Martin of the Mounted
1926  Ridin' for Love
1926  The Fire Barrier
1926  The Gunless Bad Man
1926  The Stolen Ranch
1927  Blazing Days
1927  Desert Dust
1927  Hard Fists
1927  Straight Shootin'
1927  The Border Cavalier
1927  The Horse Trader
1927  The Two Fister
1928  Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928  Thunder Riders
1929  Hell's Heroes
1929  The Love Trap
1929  The Shakedown
1930  The Storm
1931  A House Divided
1932  Tom Brown of Culver
1933  Counsellor at Law
1933  Her First Mate
1934  Glamour
1935  The Gay Deception
1935  The Good Fairy
1936  Come and Get It
1936  Dodsworth
1936  These Three
1937  Dead End
1938  Jezebel
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady
1939  Wuthering Heights
1940  The Letter
1940  The Westerner
1941  The Little Foxes
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1944  The Fighting Lady
1944  The Memphis Belle
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Thunderbolt
1949  The Heiress
1951  Detective Story
1952  Carrie
1953  Roman Holiday
1955  The Desperate Hours
1956  Friendly Persuasion
1958  The Big Country
1959  Ben-Hur
1961  The Children's Hour
1965  The Collector
1966  How to Steal a Million
1968  Funny Girl
1970  The Liberation of L.B. Jones
2011  History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle

Story:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1925  The Crook Buster
1926  Don't Shoot
1926  Lazy Lightning
1926  Martin of the Mounted
1926  Ridin' for Love
1926  The Fire Barrier
1926  The Gunless Bad Man
1926  The Stolen Ranch
1927  Blazing Days
1927  Desert Dust
1927  Hard Fists
1927  Straight Shootin'
1927  The Border Cavalier
1927  The Horse Trader
1927  The Two Fister
1928  Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928  Thunder Riders
1929  Hell's Heroes
1929  The Love Trap
1929  The Shakedown
1930  The Storm
1931  A House Divided
1932  Tom Brown of Culver
1933  Counsellor at Law
1933  Her First Mate
1934  Glamour
1935  The Gay Deception
1935  The Good Fairy
1936  Come and Get It
1936  Dodsworth
1936  These Three
1937  Dead End
1938  Jezebel
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady
1939  Wuthering Heights
1940  The Letter
1940  The Westerner
1941  The Little Foxes
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1944  The Fighting Lady
1944  The Memphis Belle
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Thunderbolt
1949  The Heiress
1951  Detective Story
1952  Carrie
1953  Roman Holiday
1955  The Desperate Hours
1956  Friendly Persuasion
1958  The Big Country
1959  Ben-Hur
1961  The Children's Hour
1965  The Collector
1966  How to Steal a Million
1968  Funny Girl
1970  The Liberation of L.B. Jones
2011  History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle

Writer:
1923  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1925  The Crook Buster
1926  Don't Shoot
1926  Lazy Lightning
1926  Martin of the Mounted
1926  Ridin' for Love
1926  The Fire Barrier
1926  The Gunless Bad Man
1926  The Stolen Ranch
1927  Blazing Days
1927  Desert Dust
1927  Hard Fists
1927  Straight Shootin'
1927  The Border Cavalier
1927  The Horse Trader
1927  The Two Fister
1928  Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928  Thunder Riders
1929  Hell's Heroes
1929  The Love Trap
1929  The Shakedown
1930  The Storm
1931  A House Divided
1932  Tom Brown of Culver
1933  Counsellor at Law
1933  Her First Mate
1934  Glamour
1935  The Gay Deception
1935  The Good Fairy
1936  Come and Get It
1936  Dodsworth
1936  These Three
1937  Dead End
1938  Jezebel
1938  The Cowboy and the Lady
1939  Wuthering Heights
1940  The Letter
1940  The Westerner
1941  The Little Foxes
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1944  The Fighting Lady
1944  The Memphis Belle
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Thunderbolt
1949  The Heiress
1951  Detective Story
1952  Carrie
1953  Roman Holiday
1955  The Desperate Hours
1956  Friendly Persuasion
1958  The Big Country
1959  Ben-Hur
1961  The Children's Hour
1965  The Collector
1966  How to Steal a Million
1968  Funny Girl
1970  The Liberation of L.B. Jones
2011  History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle
2016  Roman Holiday

About the Movie Section

Most data and links to images for the Movies section come from TheMovieDB (TMDB).

Additional data for Film Titles come from The Open Movie Database (OMDb).

At least one plug-in comes from IMDb.

Data are -- hey, it's a plural -- subject to the limitations of their sources. (For example, TMDB search results currently max out at 20.) I am limiting myself to free data sources for now. (No, a "free trial" is not free.)

While much of the above data are retrieved directly from outside APIs and other such sources, data from American Film Institute (AFI) and British Film Institute (BFI) were manually entered the old fashioned way into a MySQL database. Re BFI I took the following liberties:

  • I added "runners up" to Top 10 lists, treating them as ties where applicable and numbering them accordingly at the bottom of each list.
  • Regarding those polls wherein "franchise" movies were submitted as one project until BFI's policy changed to regard them separately, I treated them as ties and renumbered the affected lists accordingly (e.g. the Godfather films).

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Filtering is applied here to film projects flagged as "adult" by TheMovieDB. Pending "popular demand" I am contemplating a login and profile system with preferences (such as whether to allow adult images to appear) and permissions (such as data entry).

Whereas the overall purpose of this website is to serve as a personal demo/portfolio/workshop of web and data skills, this Movies section is not meant to compete with or substitute for far more definitive movie websites.

Whether or not he still clings to an award which he won in 1986 as a film critic for his college's newspaper, Jeffrey Hartmann is not responsible for the texts of overviews and biographies supplied by external data sources.