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.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 29, 1896
- December 9, 1975 (aged 79)
- Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
- Director, producer and writer, also actor
- 41 on MovieCove · 91 credits in all
What are William A. Wellman's films like?
Across their 42 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 39
Light 13 · Serious 15 · Dark 14
Grounded 28 · Stylized 13 · Heightened 1
Gentle 8 · Charged 25 · Intense 9
Steady 19 · Shifting 20 · Whiplash 3
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 26 · Some laughs 12 · Funny 4
Slow burn 17 · Even-paced 24 · Relentless 1
Casual 22 · Engaged 19 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 13 · Affecting 15 · Heavy 14
Resolved 38 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy11
- Bittersweet27
- Tragic4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch William A. Wellman's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 41 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for William A. Wellman's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
91 credits, 41 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
A Star Is Born(2018)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
A Star Is Born(1976)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
The Men Who Made the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Lafayette Escadrille(1958)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Darby's Rangers(1958)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Good-bye, My Lady(1956)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Blood Alley(1955)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Track of the Cat(1954)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
A Star Is Born(1954)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
The High and the Mighty(1954)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Ring of Fear(1954)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Island in the Sky(1953)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
My Man and I(1952)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Westward the Women(1951)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Across the Wide Missouri(1951)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Three Guys Named Mike(1951)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
The Happy Years (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Battleground(1949)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Yellow Sky(1948)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Iron Curtain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Magic Town(1947)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Gallant Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
Story of G.I. Joe(1945)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
This Man's Navy(1945)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Buffalo Bill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Lady of Burlesque(1943)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
The Ox-Bow Incident(1943)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Thunder Birds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Roxie Hart(1942)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Great Man's Lady(1941)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Reaching for the Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
The Light That Failed(1939)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Beau Geste(1939)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Men with Wings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)
Nothing Sacred(1937)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Last Gangster (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
A Star Is Born(1937)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Tarzan Escapes(1936)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Small Town Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Robin Hood of El Dorado (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Call of the Wild(1935)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
China Seas(1935)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
The President Vanishes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Stingaree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Looking for Trouble (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
Female(1933)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
College Coach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Wild Boys of the Road(1933)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Midnight Mary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Heroes for Sale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Lilly Turner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Central Airport(1933)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Frisco Jenny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Conquerors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
The Purchase Price(1932)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Love is a Racket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
So Big! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
The Hatchet Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
Safe in Hell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
The Star Witness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Night Nurse(1931)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Public Enemy(1931)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Other Men's Women(1930)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Maybe It's Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Young Eagles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Dangerous Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Woman Trap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
The Man I Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Chinatown Nights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Beggars of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)
Ladies of the Mob (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)
The Legion of the Condemned (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)
Wings(1927)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
You Never Know Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
The Cat's Pajamas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
The Boob (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
When Husbands Flirt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)
The Circus Cowboy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
The Vagabond Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
Not a Drum Was Heard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
Cupid's Fireman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)
Big Dan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)
Second Hand Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)
The Man Who Won (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)
Edgar's Hamlet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
Edgar and the Teacher's Pet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)
Evangeline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)
The Unwritten Code (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)
Career shape
A full career of 89 titles from 1918 to 2018.
Biggest box office
A Star Is Born (2018)
Highest rated
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Most popular right now
A Star Is Born (2018)
Film career
- 1927Screen debut· Wings
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do William A. Wellman's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 68th percentile, the median of all 41; across their 42 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 67th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up15
- 50th to 74th18
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 41 titles divides audiences: 25 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved8
- Crowd Pleaser25
- Broadly Agreed5
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 41 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is William A. Wellman's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, alcohol & drugs runs heavier than most films and violence & gore and profanity lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does William A. Wellman work with?
People who share at least 2 of William A. Wellman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert Carson shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Richard ThorpeShared titles: It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951), Tarzan Escapes (1936)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Thorpe
Writers
- Robert CarsonShared titles: A Star Is Born (2018), A Star Is Born (1976), A Star Is Born (1954), Beau Geste (1939), The Light That Failed (1939), A Star Is Born (1937)See all 6 shared titles with Robert Carson
- Albert Sidney FleischmanShared titles: Lafayette Escadrille (1958), Good-bye, My Lady (1956), Blood Alley (1955)See all 3 shared titles with Albert Sidney Fleischman
- Ben HechtShared titles: Roxie Hart (1942), A Star Is Born (1937), Nothing Sacred (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Ben Hecht
- Adela Rogers St. JohnsShared titles: Gable: The King Remembered (1975), The Great Man's Lady (1941), A Star Is Born (1937)See all 3 shared titles with Adela Rogers St. Johns
Actors
- Clark GableShared titles: Gable: The King Remembered (1975), Across the Wide Missouri (1951), Call of the Wild (1935), Night Nurse (1931)See all 4 shared titles with Clark Gable
- George ChandlerShared titles: My Man and I (1952), Across the Wide Missouri (1951), The Next Voice You Hear... (1950), This Man's Navy (1945)See all 4 shared titles with George Chandler
- Barbara StanwyckShared titles: Lady of Burlesque (1943), The Great Man's Lady (1941), The Purchase Price (1932), Night Nurse (1931)See all 4 shared titles with Barbara Stanwyck
- John WayneShared titles: Good-bye, My Lady (1956), Blood Alley (1955), Ring of Fear (1954), The High and the Mighty (1954), Track of the Cat (1954), Island in the Sky (1953)See all 6 shared titles with John Wayne
Cinematographers and editors
- William H. ClothierShared titles: Darby's Rangers (1958), Lafayette Escadrille (1958), Good-bye, My Lady (1956), Blood Alley (1955), Track of the Cat (1954)See all 5 shared titles with William H. Clothier
- William C. MellorShared titles: My Man and I (1952), Across the Wide Missouri (1951), Westward the Women (1951), The Next Voice You Hear... (1950), The Great Man's Lady (1941)See all 5 shared titles with William C. Mellor
- Fred MacDowellShared titles: Good-bye, My Lady (1956), Blood Alley (1955), Ring of Fear (1954), Track of the Cat (1954)See all 4 shared titles with Fred MacDowell
- John D. DunningShared titles: My Man and I (1952), Across the Wide Missouri (1951), The Next Voice You Hear... (1950), Battleground (1949)See all 4 shared titles with John D. Dunning
Producers
- Robert FellowsShared titles: Good-bye, My Lady (1956), Ring of Fear (1954), The High and the Mighty (1954), Track of the Cat (1954), Island in the Sky (1953)See all 5 shared titles with Robert Fellows
- Dore ScharyShared titles: It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951), Westward the Women (1951), The Next Voice You Hear... (1950), Battleground (1949)See all 4 shared titles with Dore Schary
- Jon PetersShared titles: A Star Is Born (2018), A Star Is Born (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Jon Peters
- William GoetzShared titles: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Call of the Wild (1935)See all 2 shared titles with William Goetz
