William Wyler
Directing
Born July 1, 1902 · Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]
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.
Directed (57)
History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle
2011
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970
Funny Girl
1968
How to Steal a Million
1966
The Collector
1965
The Children's Hour
1961
Ben-Hur
1959
The Big Country
1958
Friendly Persuasion
1956
The Desperate Hours
1955
Roman Holiday
1953
Carrie
1952
Detective Story
1951
The Heiress
1949
Thunderbolt
1947
The Best Years of Our Lives
1946
The Fighting Lady
1944
The Memphis Belle
1944
Mrs. Miniver
1942
The Little Foxes
1941
The Letter
1940
The Westerner
1940
Wuthering Heights
1939
Jezebel
1938
Dead End
1937
Come and Get It
1936
Dodsworth
1936
These Three
1936
The Gay Deception
1935
The Good Fairy
1935
Glamour
1934
Counsellor at Law
1933
Her First Mate
1933
Tom Brown of Culver
1932
A House Divided
1931
The Storm
1930
Hell's Heroes
1929
The Love Trap
1929
The Shakedown
1929
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928
Thunder Riders
1928
Desert Dust
1927
The Border Cavalier
1927
The Horse Trader
1927
The Ore Raiders
1927
Hard Fists
1927
Straight Shootin'
1927
Blazing Days
1927
The Two Fister
1927
The Stolen Ranch
1926
Lazy Lightning
1926
Martin of the Mounted
1926
Don't Shoot
1926
The Fire Barrier
1926
Ridin' for Love
1926
The Gunless Bad Man
1926
The Crook Buster
1925
Acting (17)
William Wyler: Forty Takes Willy
2025
Hollywood's Second World War
2019
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
2019
The Cold Blue
2018
Five Came Back
2017
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
2005
Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film
2002
Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies
2001
Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley'
2000
Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic
1993
Directed by William Wyler
1986
Laurence Olivier: a life
1982
Fun in the Big Country
1958
Stars of Cabaret
1956
The Screen Director
1951
The Best Years of Our Lives
1946
Dodsworth
1936