Wild Bill Wellman

March 23, 2015
One of Hollywood's most colorful and talented directors punches above his weight in this rollicking biography. Wellman Jr. (author of The Man and His Wings), an actor, screenwriter, and son of director William Wellman, recounts the latter's picaresque life as a juvenile delinquent in Boston, WWI fighter pilot, and groundbreaking auteur of Hollywood classics including the aviation epic Wings, the gangster melodrama The Public Enemy, the Tinseltown weepie A Star is Born, and the social Western The Ox-Bow Incident. It's a two-fisted saga of a man who never flinched from any foe, be they German aces, barroom brawlers, or Hollywood big shots. (He choked and spat on studio mogul William Fox when the latter fired him for demanding a raise; emptied a wastebasket over one executive's head and shoveled horse manure onto the desk of another; and had three separate fistfights with Spencer Tracy.) Wellman Jr. is, naturally, very fond of his subject, who comes off as a charming rogueâthe book often draws on Wellman Sr.'s funny, sardonic memoirâwith solid, down-to-earth aesthetic instincts. There's more action than introspection in this portrait, but the many briskly told anecdotes of Wellman and other luminaries make for an entertaining recreation of Hollywood's golden age and the moxie that energized it. B&w photos.

February 15, 2015
A star-studded homage to a prolific director.In this loving, abundantly detailed biography, Wellman Jr. (The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture, 2006) pays tribute to his father, William Wellman (1896-1995), director of such notable movies as The Public Enemy (1931), starring James Cagney; Yellow Sky (1948), with Gregory Peck; and The High and the Mighty (1954), with John Wayne. Although he worked in more than 100 movies and directed 76, he received only three Academy Award nominations for direction and won only for his screenwriting of the original 1937 version of A Star Is Born. Believing that both the man and his work "are decidedly underappreciated," Wellman traces his father's productive 40-year career, setting the stage with his restless, raucous youth. "He found society alien and authority figures oppressive," writes the author. Impulsive and impatient, expelled from high school, he was headed for delinquency. World War I saved him: Rejected by the American Army, he set out for France. "For me, it's either war or jail," he told his family. In the French Foreign Legion, he was called "Wild Bill," an epithet that his son finds apt. He earned the Croix de Guerre, returned to join the U.S. Air Service and became a flight instructor in San Diego. A short-lived marriage to an actress connected him to Hollywood, where he briefly acted and soon became an assistant director. His first solo stint was a Western, The Man Who Won (1923), and his acclaimed Wings (1927) drew on his war experiences. Wellman went on to work for every major studio, seeking with each new contract more freedom to bring in his own projects-freedom, and money, granted to him as his stature grew. He worked with megastars and studio moguls, all portrayed here in lively detail. A filmography reprises the producer and cast of every Wellman movie. A rich, exuberant life, well-captured in this exuberant biography.

April 1, 2015

Hollywood history is filled with mavericks who clawed their way into the industry, producing the films they wanted to make and living the life they desired to live. Sadly, the general public has a devastatingly short memory, so men like "Wild Bill" Wellman have frequently been forgotten. Yet this man directed The Public Enemy (with James Cagney), Wings (the first film to win a Best Picture Oscar), The Ox-Bow Incident, and almost 80 other films between 1923 and 1958. Lucky for us, his son has now written an extensive and well-researched history of his father's life based on letters, notes, and an unpublished memoir Wellman Sr. left behind. Containing anecdotes about legendary actors such as Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Mitchum, and John Wayne, among many others, Wellman Jr.'s bio paints a complete though highly subjective portrait of his father, as well as the times in which he worked. VERDICT For fans of classic Hollywood and libraries with a large film collection, this informative yet workman-like biography draws attention to an accomplished and highly respected filmmaker. [See Prepub Alert, 9/21/14.]--Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014

Sure you've heard of William ("Wild Bill") Wellman, the director of Wings (1927), the first Academy Award winner for best picture, as well as The Public Enemy (Jimmy Cagney at his toughest), the original A Star Is Born (which Wellman also cowrote), and more. Now his son offers a thoroughgoing biography.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.