Alternative Film Guide

Oscar-nominated performances in William Wyler’s films

 

William Wyler was one of the greatest film directors Hollywood — or any other film industry — has ever produced. Today, Wyler lacks the following of Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, or even Howard Hawks most likely because, unlike Hitchcock or Ford, Wyler never focused on a particular genre, while his films were hardly as male-centered as those of the aforementioned three directors. Dumb but true: Films about women and their problems tend to be perceived as inferior to those about men — especially tough men — and their problems.

For his part, Wyler tackled all sorts of topics, directing just about anything — epics, Westerns, socially conscious dramas, melodramas, crime stories, family dramas, thrillers, romances, comedies, and musicals.

From the mid-1920s to his last film in 1970, he also directed just about anyone, from silent film star Laura La Plante to Barbra Streisand, from John Barrymore to Omar Sharif, plus the likes of Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Bette Davis, Terence Stamp, Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn, Teresa Wright, Gregory Peck, and dozens of others. Many of those performers reached career highs — at least in terms of acting — in their films for Wyler. (Definitely not Charlton Heston — but then again, a director can only do so much.)

Apart from the lighthearted The Westerner and Roman Holiday, the Oscar list below — which consists of 36 nominations for performers in films Wyler directed — covers mostly dramas. Those dramas, however, run the gamut from Western (The Big Country) to romance (Wuthering Heights), from epic (Ben-Hur) to musical (Funny Girl).

Ah, Wyler also happens to be the director with the most Academy Award nominations: 12 in all.

For the record: Dodsworth, 1936; Wuthering Heights, 1939; The Letter, 1940; The Little Foxes, 1941; Mrs. Miniver, 1942; The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946; The Heiress, 1949; Detective Story, 1951; Roman Holiday, 1953; Friendly Persuasion, 1956; Ben-Hur, 1959; and The Collector, 1965).

He won the best direction Oscar for three films (two of which, the first and the last, are hardly among his best): Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Ben-Hur.

Considering the changes that took place in the American film industry following the demise of the studio system, barring a miracle William Wyler will remain the Oscar’s top director for actors for as long as there are Oscars.

 

William Wyler

36 Acting Nominations

(s) supporting category

(*) Academy Award winner

 

1936

Walter Huston Dodsworth

Walter Brennan (s) Come and Get It * (co-directed with Howard Hawks)

Bonita Granville (s) These Three

Maria Ouspenskaya (s) Dodsworth

 

1937

Claire Trevor (s) Dead End

 

1938

Fay Bainter needn’t bother comforting Bette Davis in the romantic melodrama Jezebel. Davis may have lost stuffy Henry Fonda, but she did win her second Oscar. That year, Bainter also found herself competing against Davis in the best actress category (for White Banners).

Bette Davis Jezebel *

Fay Bainter (s) Jezebel *

 

1939

Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon in Wuthering Heights. Olivier was the weakest cast member, and got a nomination. As the doomed Cathy, Oberon gave what may well have been the best performance of her career. The Academy ignored her.

Laurence Olivier Wuthering Heights

Geraldine Fitzgerald (s) Wuthering Heights

 

1940

Bette Davis The Letter

Walter Brennan (s) The Westerner *

James Stephenson (s) The Letter

 

1941

Bette Davis The Little Foxes

Patricia Collinge (s) The Little Foxes

Teresa Wright (s) The Little Foxes

 

1942

British patriotism at work in the megahit Mrs. Miniver: American Teresa Wright, Canadian Walter Pidgeon, and Londoner Greer Garson.

Walter Pidgeon Mrs. Miniver

Greer Garson Mrs. Miniver *

Henry Travers (s) Mrs. Miniver

Teresa Wright (s) Mrs. Miniver *

Dame May Whitty (s) Mrs. Miniver

 

1946

Fredric March The Best Years of Our Lives *

Harold Russell (s) The Best Years of Our Lives *

 

1949

Olivia de Havilland The Heiress *

Ralph Richardson (s) The Heiress

 

1951

Eleanor Parker Detective Story

Lee Grant (s) Detective Story

 

1953

Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.

Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday *

Eddie Albert (s) Roman Holiday

 

1956

Anthony Perkins (s) Friendly Persuasion

 

1958

Burl Ives (s) The Big Country *

 

1959

Charlton Heston Ben-Hur *

Hugh Griffith (s) Ben-Hur *

 

1961

Fay Bainter (s) The Children’s Hour

 

1965

Samantha Eggar The Collector

 

1968

Barbra Streisand was the last winner in a William Wyler film. The director would retire two years later, after making The Liberation of L.B. Jones.

Barbra Streisand Funny Girl * (tied with Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter)

Kay Medford (s) Funny Girl

 

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Hanif Kureishi’s VENUS Inspiration

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Jutra Awards - 2006 Nominees

Swiss Film Awards - 2006 Winners

 

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