William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well regarded satirical comedies.
Wellman directed the 1927 film Wings, which became the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Academy Awards
Best Story
Known For
Wings
(1927)
Director
Night Nurse
(1931)
Director
A Star Is Born
(1937)
Director
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943)
Director
The Public Enemy
(1931)
Director
Westward the Women
(1951)
Director
Lady of Burlesque
(1943)
Director
Nothing Sacred
(1937)
Director
Yellow Sky
(1948)
Director
Beau Geste
(1939)
Director
Battleground
(1949)
Director
Call of the Wild
(1935)
Director
Tarzan Escapes
(1936)
Co-Director
The High and the Mighty
(1954)
Director
Buffalo Bill
(1944)
Director
Blood Alley
(1955)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
The Man Who Won
(1923)
Director
Big Dan
(1923)
Director
Second Hand Love
(1923)
Director
Cupid's Fireman
(1923)
Director
The Vagabond Trail
(1924)
Director
Not a Drum Was Heard
(1924)
Director
The Circus Cowboy
(1924)
Director
The Boob
(1926)
Director
You Never Know Women
(1926)
Director
The Cat's Pajamas
(1926)
Director
Wings
(1927)
Director
Beggars of Life
(1928)
Director
The Legion of the Condemned
(1928)
Director
Ladies of the Mob
(1928)
Director
The Man I Love
(1929)
Director
Woman Trap
(1929)
Director
Chinatown Nights
(1929)
Director
Maybe It's Love
(1930)
Director
Dangerous Paradise
(1930)
Director
Young Eagles
(1930)
Director
Other Men's Women
(1931)
Director
The Public Enemy
(1931)
Director
Night Nurse
(1931)
Director
Safe in Hell
(1931)
Director
The Star Witness
(1931)
Director
The Purchase Price
(1932)
Director
Love Is a Racket
(1932)
Director
So Big!
(1932)
Director
The Hatchet Man
(1932)
Director
The Conquerors
(1932)
Director
Heroes for Sale
(1933)
Director
Wild Boys of the Road
(1933)
Director
Midnight Mary
(1933)
Director
Frisco Jenny
(1933)
Director
Lilly Turner
(1933)
Director
Central Airport
(1933)
Director
College Coach
(1933)
Director
Female
(1933)
Assistant Director
Looking for Trouble
(1934)
Director
Stingaree
(1934)
Director
The President Vanishes
(1934)
Director
Call of the Wild
(1935)
Director
China Seas
(1935)
Second Unit Director
Robin Hood of El Dorado
(1936)
Director
Small Town Girl
(1936)
Director
Tarzan Escapes
(1936)
Co-Director
A Star Is Born
(1937)
Director
Nothing Sacred
(1937)
Director
Men with Wings
(1938)
Director
Beau Geste
(1939)
Director
The Light That Failed
(1939)
Director
Reaching for the Sun
(1941)
Director
Roxie Hart
(1942)
Director
The Great Man's Lady
(1942)
Director
Thunder Birds
(1942)
Director
The Ox-Bow Incident
(1943)
Director
Lady of Burlesque
(1943)
Director
Buffalo Bill
(1944)
Director
Story of G.I. Joe
(1945)
Director
This Man's Navy
(1945)
Director
Gallant Journey
(1946)
Director
Magic Town
(1947)
Director
Yellow Sky
(1948)
Director
The Iron Curtain
(1948)
Director
Battleground
(1949)
Director
The Next Voice You Hear...
(1950)
Director
The Happy Years
(1950)
Director
Across the Wide Missouri
(1951)
Director
It's a Big Country
(1951)
Director
Westward the Women
(1951)
Director
My Man and I
(1952)
Director
Island in the Sky
(1953)
Director
The High and the Mighty
(1954)
Director
Track of the Cat
(1954)
Director
Blood Alley
(1955)
Director
Good-bye, My Lady
(1956)
Director
Darby's Rangers
(1958)
Director
Lafayette Escadrille
(1958)
Director
Acting
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo
(1919)
Henry
Evangeline
(1919)
British lieutenant
1925 Studio Tour
(1925)
Self
Wings
(1927)
Doughboy (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
(1931)
Self
The Star Witness
(1931)
Company Workman (uncredited)
Island in the Sky
(1953)
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Gable: The King Remembered
(1975)
Himself
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
(1995)
Self (archive footage)
Filmmakers in Action
(2006)
Self (archive footage)
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
(2008)
Self (archive footage)
Production
The Legion of the Condemned
(1928)
Producer
Ladies of the Mob
(1928)
Producer
Men with Wings
(1938)
Producer
Beau Geste
(1939)
Producer
The Light That Failed
(1939)
Producer
The Great Man's Lady
(1942)
Producer
Gallant Journey
(1946)
Producer
Magic Town
(1947)
Producer
Lafayette Escadrille
(1958)
Producer
Writing