Willilam A. Wellman

 William A. Wellman




Wings (1927)

The Public Enemy (1931)

A Star is Born (1937)

Nothing Sacred (1937)

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)



RANKED:

5. A Star is Born (1937)


Many consider the 1937 version of "A Star is Born" to be the first technicolor film that was both a commercial hit as well as a critical one. It was a very self-reflective film for Hollywood, as it demonstrates the industry's fickle nature and shows just how manufactured everything is. It was a major success, remade in 1954, 1976, and 2018.



4. Nothing Sacred (1937)

Considered the very first screwball comedy to use technicolor, "Nothing Sacred" also is a stinging critique of the corruption and dishonesty in the newspaper industry (at the height of William Randolph Hearst). The film stars Carole Lombard as a woman pretending to have an incurable disease so that a New York City newspaper can garnish the attention of its readers. Despite being loved by critics, the film failed at the box office. Even still, it represents the first color film to use process effects, montage, and rear screen projection. 




3. The Public Enemy (1931)


"The Public Enemy" was a film that helped spearhead the gangster genre in the early 1930s. Violent, loudmouth, and downright vile, this picture gave Depression-era audiences a chance to live vicariously through these despicable characters and purge their negative impulses. It also helped usher in the end of Prohibition by demonstrating the negative effects of the law: a violent criminal underworld. The picture is best known, however, for its performance by James Cagney, who would go on to have an illustrious career in Hollywood. But it was his gangster roles that he will forever be remembered for, especially his role in "The Public Enemy."



2. Wings (1927)


Considered a technical marvel at the time, "Wings" featured many visual innovations, including full aerial combat sequences. Many hailed the film as being a realistic portrayal of World War I aerial combat, including the exciting use of close-ups of the actors in the cockpits. Despite being thin on plot, the visual excitement of the picture garnished worldwide attention from both critics and audiences alike. Because of this, the film became the winning of Best Picture at the first-ever Academy Awards.



1. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)


At the height of global disorder, William A. Wellman's 1943 film "The Ox-Bow Incident" depicts the dangers of mob mentality. Set in Nevada in 1885, two cowboys accompany the townsfolk to capture whom they believe to be the cattle thieves who recently murdered a nearby rancher. Despite the men professing their innocence, they are hanged for their alleged crimes. After the hanging, it is discovered that the men were innocent all along. The harrowing depiction of just how far a group of common folk went to secure justice demonstrated how one's blind need for justice in an unjust world could create even more chaos and horror. During the events of World War II, many Americans felt the unquenchable desire to make sense of the global horrors taking place. As the film suggests, one should not let their blind desires for absolution overshadow their empathy and reason. 

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