Robert Wise
Encyclopedia
Robert Earl Wise was an American
sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director. He won Academy Awards as Best Director for The Sound of Music
(1965) and West Side Story
(1961) as well as nominations for Best Film Editing for Citizen Kane
(1941) and Best Picture for The Sand Pebbles
(1966).
Among his other films are Born to Kill
; Destination Gobi
; The Hindenburg
; Star Trek: The Motion Picture
; The Day the Earth Stood Still
; Run Silent, Run Deep
; The Andromeda Strain
; The Set-Up
; The Haunting
; and The Body Snatcher
. Wise's working period spanned the 1930s
to the 1990s
.
Often contrasted with 'auteur' directors such as Stanley Kubrick
who tended to bring a distinctive directorial "look" to a particular genre, Wise is famously viewed to have allowed his (sometimes studio assigned) story to dictate style. Later critics such as Martin Scorsese
expanded that characterization, insisting that despite Wise's notorious workaday concentration on stylistic perfection within the confines of genre and budget, his choice of subject matter and approach still functioned to identify Wise as an artist and not merely an artisan. Through whatever means, Wise's approach brought him critical success as a director in many different traditional film genres: horror
, noir
, western
, war
, science fiction
, musical
and drama
, with many repeat successes within each genre. Wise's tendency towards professionalism led to a degree of preparedness which, though nominally motivated by studio budget constraints, nevertheless advanced the moviemaking art, with many Academy Award-winning films the result. Robert Wise received the AFI Life Achievement Award
in 1998.
, the son of Olive R. (née Longenecker) and Earl W. Wise, a meat packer. Wise attended Connersville High School in Connersville
, Indiana, and its auditorium, the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts, is named in his honor. Wise began his movie career at RKO
as a sound and music editor, but he soon grew to being nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
for Citizen Kane
in 1941: Wise was that film's last living crew member.
Though Wise worked only as editor on Citizen Kane, it is likely that while working on the film he would become familiar with the optical printer
techniques employed by Linwood Dunn, inventor of the practical optical printer, to produce effects for Citizen Kane such as the image projected in the broken snowglobe which falls from Kane's hand as he dies. Though Wise was never known as a special-effects-driven director, echoes of this 1940s high-tech special effects technology were to emerge in several of his important later films, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still
, West Side Story
, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture
. Wise could also make a movie special in the use of technique borrowed from one genre but applied to another genre: in his hands, a science fiction movie might acquire mood from a "haunted house" film, and vice versa. Wise sought never to waste the time (or salary) of the talented people who produced his features: the result was an impressively prolific series of films which showcase the talents of director, cast, and crew.
In March 1987, Wise accepted the Academy Award for Best Actor
, on behalf of his absent friend, Paul Newman
, who won for his performance in The Color of Money
.
, Wise took his first directing job with the stylish horror film The Curse of the Cat People
in 1944, teaming with Hollywood horror producer Val Lewton
. Lewton promoted Wise to his superiors at RKO, beginning a collaboration which would produce several notable horror films, among them The Body Snatcher
starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, a film which in its acting direction deliberately evoked the groundbreaking horror films of the 1930s, while presenting a psychological horror film more in tune with the uncertainty of the 1940s.
In 1947, Wise directed the Lawrence Tierney
noir classic Born to Kill
and two years later directed the boxing movie The Set-Up
, where his direction of the real-time setting got him noticed. Wise's use and mention of time in this film would find echos in later noir
films such as Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
.
In the 1950s, Wise proved adept in several genres, from the science fiction
of The Day the Earth Stood Still
to the melodramatic So Big
, to the 1954 boardroom drama Executive Suite
, to the epic Helen of Troy based on Homer, to Susan Hayward's Oscar winner in I Want to Live!
, for which he was nominated for Best Director
.
In 1961, teamed with Jerome Robbins
, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for West Side Story
, which he also produced. In 1963, he directed the horror film The Haunting, with Julie Harris. He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1965 with The Sound of Music
.
The Sound of Music was an interim film for Wise, produced to mollify the studio while he developed the difficult film The Sand Pebbles
, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough
and Candice Bergen
. Set in the late 1920s in China
, this was Wise's entry in a spate of Vietnam war
era films (Catch-22
, M*A*S*H
), which, though set in other periods of wartime, nevertheless sounded with its depictions of gunboat diplomacy
what would come to be recognized as timeless themes. Wise would later speak of The Sand Pebbles as the film he most wanted to direct, though he had earlier explored such anti-war themes in The Day the Earth Stood Still
.
In the 1970s, he directed such films as The Andromeda Strain
, The Hindenburg
, the horror film Audrey Rose
, and the first Star Trek
film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture
. By this time, Wise's style included much use of split-diopter lenses to create a deep focus
effect across the widescreen
frame.
In 1989, he directed Rooftops, his last theatrical feature film.
, The Haunting
and The Set-Up
. He also oversaw the DVD commentaries of The Sand Pebbles
, Executive Suite
. He also oversaw and provided DVD commentary for the director's edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, which included re-edited scenes, new optical effects, and a new sound mix. This would be the director's final project before his death.
In 1992, Wise was awarded the National Medal of Arts
.
at home, Wise was rushed to UCLA Medical Center. He died on September 14, 2005, four days after his 91st birthday.
Nominations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director. He won Academy Awards as Best Director for The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
(1965) and West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961) as well as nominations for Best Film Editing for Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941) and Best Picture for The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
(1966).
Among his other films are Born to Kill
Born to Kill (1947 film)
Born to Kill is a 1947 film noir starring Lawrence Tierney and directed by Robert Wise. It was the first film noir to be directed by Wise, who later directed The Set-Up , The Captive City , and Odds Against Tomorrow...
; Destination Gobi
Destination Gobi
Destination Gobi is a 1953 Technicolor war film in which Sam McHale heads a group of US Navy men, sent to Mongolia for weather observation. McHale must lead his men across the treacherous Gobi desert to the freedom of the seacoast...
; The Hindenburg
The Hindenburg (film)
The Hindenburg is a 1975 American film based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link based on the book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney .A.A...
; Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
; The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
; Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep is a novel published first in 1955 by then-Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr.. The name refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. It is also the name of a 1958 movie based on the same novel...
; The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (film)
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
; The Set-Up
The Set-Up (1949 film)
For 2011 Set Up see hereThe Set-Up is an American film noir boxing drama directed by Robert Wise and featuring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. The screenplay was adapted by Art Cohn from a 1928 poem written by Joseph Moncure March. The film is about the boxing underworld.-Plot:Stoker Thompson ...
; The Haunting
The Haunting (1963 film)
The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...
; and The Body Snatcher
The Body Snatcher (film)
The Body Snatcher is a 1945 horror film directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film's producer Val Lewton helped adapt the story for the screen, writing under the pen name of "Carlos Keith". The film was marketed with the tagline The...
. Wise's working period spanned the 1930s
1930s in film
The decade of the 1930s in film involved many significant films. 1939 was one of the biggest years in Hollywood.----Contents# Events# List of films: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z....
to the 1990s
1990s in film
The decade of the 1990s in film involved many significant films.-Events:* Thousands of full-length films were produced during the 1990s....
.
Often contrasted with 'auteur' directors such as Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
who tended to bring a distinctive directorial "look" to a particular genre, Wise is famously viewed to have allowed his (sometimes studio assigned) story to dictate style. Later critics such as Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
expanded that characterization, insisting that despite Wise's notorious workaday concentration on stylistic perfection within the confines of genre and budget, his choice of subject matter and approach still functioned to identify Wise as an artist and not merely an artisan. Through whatever means, Wise's approach brought him critical success as a director in many different traditional film genres: horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, war
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
and drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, with many repeat successes within each genre. Wise's tendency towards professionalism led to a degree of preparedness which, though nominally motivated by studio budget constraints, nevertheless advanced the moviemaking art, with many Academy Award-winning films the result. Robert Wise received the AFI Life Achievement Award
AFI Life Achievement Award
The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973 to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television....
in 1998.
Early years
Wise was born in Winchester, IndianaWinchester, Indiana
Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Randolph County...
, the son of Olive R. (née Longenecker) and Earl W. Wise, a meat packer. Wise attended Connersville High School in Connersville
Connersville, Indiana
At the 2000 census, there were 15,411 people, 6,382 households and 4,135 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,894.5 per square mile . There were 6,974 housing units at an average density of 857.3 per square mile...
, Indiana, and its auditorium, the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts, is named in his honor. Wise began his movie career at RKO
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
as a sound and music editor, but he soon grew to being nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
for Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
in 1941: Wise was that film's last living crew member.
Though Wise worked only as editor on Citizen Kane, it is likely that while working on the film he would become familiar with the optical printer
Optical printer
An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re-photograph one or more strips of film...
techniques employed by Linwood Dunn, inventor of the practical optical printer, to produce effects for Citizen Kane such as the image projected in the broken snowglobe which falls from Kane's hand as he dies. Though Wise was never known as a special-effects-driven director, echoes of this 1940s high-tech special effects technology were to emerge in several of his important later films, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
, West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
. Wise could also make a movie special in the use of technique borrowed from one genre but applied to another genre: in his hands, a science fiction movie might acquire mood from a "haunted house" film, and vice versa. Wise sought never to waste the time (or salary) of the talented people who produced his features: the result was an impressively prolific series of films which showcase the talents of director, cast, and crew.
In March 1987, Wise accepted the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, on behalf of his absent friend, Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, who won for his performance in The Color of Money
The Color of Money
The Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
.
As director
First called as assistant director to shoot additional scenes for Welles's The Magnificent AmbersonsThe Magnificent Ambersons (film)
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
, Wise took his first directing job with the stylish horror film The Curse of the Cat People
The Curse of the Cat People
The Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 film directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, and produced by Val Lewton. This film, which was then-film editor Robert Wise's first directing credit, is the sequel to Cat People and has many of the same characters...
in 1944, teaming with Hollywood horror producer Val Lewton
Val Lewton
Val Lewton was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s.-Early life:...
. Lewton promoted Wise to his superiors at RKO, beginning a collaboration which would produce several notable horror films, among them The Body Snatcher
The Body Snatcher
The Body Snatcher is a fictional short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in the Pall Mall Christmas "Extra", in December 1884, the story is based on characters in the employ of Robert Knox, around the time of the Burke and Hare murders.-Plot summary:The story...
starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, a film which in its acting direction deliberately evoked the groundbreaking horror films of the 1930s, while presenting a psychological horror film more in tune with the uncertainty of the 1940s.
In 1947, Wise directed the Lawrence Tierney
Lawrence Tierney
Lawrence Tierney was an American actor, known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and hardened criminals, which mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law....
noir classic Born to Kill
Born to Kill (1947 film)
Born to Kill is a 1947 film noir starring Lawrence Tierney and directed by Robert Wise. It was the first film noir to be directed by Wise, who later directed The Set-Up , The Captive City , and Odds Against Tomorrow...
and two years later directed the boxing movie The Set-Up
The Set-Up (1949 film)
For 2011 Set Up see hereThe Set-Up is an American film noir boxing drama directed by Robert Wise and featuring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. The screenplay was adapted by Art Cohn from a 1928 poem written by Joseph Moncure March. The film is about the boxing underworld.-Plot:Stoker Thompson ...
, where his direction of the real-time setting got him noticed. Wise's use and mention of time in this film would find echos in later noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
films such as Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
.
In the 1950s, Wise proved adept in several genres, from the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
of The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
to the melodramatic So Big
So Big (1953 film)
So Big is a 1953 American drama film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by John Twist is based on the 1924 novel by Edna Ferber. It is the third adaptation of the book, following a 1924 silent film with Colleen Moore and So Big! with Barbara Stanwyck, released in 1932.-Plot:In the late 1890s,...
, to the 1954 boardroom drama Executive Suite
Executive Suite
Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
, to the epic Helen of Troy based on Homer, to Susan Hayward's Oscar winner in I Want to Live!
I Want to Live!
I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise which tells the heavily fictionalized story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore...
, for which he was nominated for Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
.
In 1961, teamed with Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, which he also produced. In 1963, he directed the horror film The Haunting, with Julie Harris. He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1965 with The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
.
The Sound of Music was an interim film for Wise, produced to mollify the studio while he developed the difficult film The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
and Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
. Set in the late 1920s in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, this was Wise's entry in a spate of Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
era films (Catch-22
Catch-22 (film)
Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
, M*A*S*H
MASH (film)
MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise...
), which, though set in other periods of wartime, nevertheless sounded with its depictions of gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
what would come to be recognized as timeless themes. Wise would later speak of The Sand Pebbles as the film he most wanted to direct, though he had earlier explored such anti-war themes in The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
.
In the 1970s, he directed such films as The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (film)
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
, The Hindenburg
The Hindenburg (film)
The Hindenburg is a 1975 American film based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link based on the book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney .A.A...
, the horror film Audrey Rose
Audrey Rose (film)
Audrey Rose is a 1977 horror film, with metaphysical content, directed by Robert Wise, starring Marsha Mason and Anthony Hopkins. It was based on the novel of the same title by Frank De Felitta. The original music score was composed by Michael Small.-Plot:...
, and the first Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
. By this time, Wise's style included much use of split-diopter lenses to create a deep focus
Deep focus
Deep focus is a photographic and cinematographic technique using a large depth of field. Depth of field is the front-to-back range of focus in an image — that is, how much of it appears sharp and clear. Consequently, in deep focus the foreground, middle-ground and background are all in focus...
effect across the widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
frame.
In 1989, he directed Rooftops, his last theatrical feature film.
Later years
Even in his twilight years, Wise continued to be active in productions of DVD versions of his films, even making public appearances promoting those films. His last contributions were to the DVD commentaries of The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, The Haunting
The Haunting (1963 film)
The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...
and The Set-Up
The Set-Up
The Set-Up may refer to:*The Set-Up , a narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March; basis for the 1949 film *"The Set Up" , a 2004 song by Obie Trice*"The Set Up" , an 2010 episode of Parks and Recreation...
. He also oversaw the DVD commentaries of The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles is a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat in 1926. It was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post for the three issues from November 17, 1962 through December 1, 1962. The author completed it in May, 1962, just in time to enter it in the 1963...
, Executive Suite
Executive Suite
Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
. He also oversaw and provided DVD commentary for the director's edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, which included re-edited scenes, new optical effects, and a new sound mix. This would be the director's final project before his death.
In 1992, Wise was awarded the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
.
Death
After suffering a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at home, Wise was rushed to UCLA Medical Center. He died on September 14, 2005, four days after his 91st birthday.
Academy Awards
- 1962 Best Director West Side StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
with Jerome RobbinsJerome RobbinsJerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater... - 1962 Best Picture West Side StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
- 1966 Best Director The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
- 1966 Best Picture The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
- 1967 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Nominations
- 1942 Best Film Editing Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
- 1959 Best Director I Want to Live!I Want to Live!I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise which tells the heavily fictionalized story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore...
- 1967 Nominated for Best Picture The Sand PebblesThe Sand Pebbles (film)The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
Director
- Action in ArabiaAction in ArabiaAction in Arabia is a 1944 film starring George Sanders and Virginia Bruce. The film was written by Philip MacDonald and Herbert J. Biberman, and directed by Leonide Moguy. The supporting cast includes Gene Lockhart and Robert Armstrong, and the plot involves trouble and intrigue with the Nazis...
(1944; second unit director, uncredited) - Mademoiselle FifiMademoiselle Fifi (film)Mademoiselle Fifi is a 1944 RKO period film directed by Robert Wise, in his solo directorial debut. It was written by Josef Mischel and Peter Ruric based on two short stories by Guy de Maupassant, "Mademoiselle Fifi" and "Boule de Suif"...
(1944) - The Curse of the Cat PeopleThe Curse of the Cat PeopleThe Curse of the Cat People is a 1944 film directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, and produced by Val Lewton. This film, which was then-film editor Robert Wise's first directing credit, is the sequel to Cat People and has many of the same characters...
(1944) - The Body SnatcherThe Body Snatcher (film)The Body Snatcher is a 1945 horror film directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film's producer Val Lewton helped adapt the story for the screen, writing under the pen name of "Carlos Keith". The film was marketed with the tagline The...
(1945) - A Game of DeathA Game of DeathA Game of Death is a 1945 film directed by Robert Wise. It is a remake of Richard Connell's short story, The Most Dangerous Game, about a madman who hunts human prey on his personal island habitat...
(1945) - Criminal CourtCriminal Court (film)Criminal Court is a 1945 crime drama directed by Robert Wise. It stars Tom Conway and Martha O'Driscoll.-Cast:*Tom Conway as Steve Barnes*Martha O'Driscoll as Georgia Gale*June Clayworth as Joan Mason*Robert Armstrong as Vic Wright...
(1946) - Born to KillBorn to Kill (1947 film)Born to Kill is a 1947 film noir starring Lawrence Tierney and directed by Robert Wise. It was the first film noir to be directed by Wise, who later directed The Set-Up , The Captive City , and Odds Against Tomorrow...
(1947) - Blood on the MoonBlood on the MoonBlood on the Moon is an RKO black-and-white "psychological" western directed by Robert Wise with cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Preston has many film noir elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots...
(1948) - Mystery in MexicoMystery in MexicoMystery in Mexico is a 1948 film directed by Robert Wise. It stars William Lundigan and Jacqueline White.-Cast:*William Lundigan as Steve Hastings*Jacqueline White as Victoria Ames*Ricardo Cortez as John Norcross*Tony Barrett as Carlos...
(1948) - The Set-UpThe Set-Up (1949 film)For 2011 Set Up see hereThe Set-Up is an American film noir boxing drama directed by Robert Wise and featuring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. The screenplay was adapted by Art Cohn from a 1928 poem written by Joseph Moncure March. The film is about the boxing underworld.-Plot:Stoker Thompson ...
(1949) - Three SecretsThree SecretsThree Secrets is a 1950 film directed by Robert Wise. It stars Eleanor Parker and Patricia Neal.-Cast:*Eleanor Parker as Susan Adele Connors Chase*Patricia Neal as Phyllis Horn*Ruth Roman as Ann Lawrence*Frank Lovejoy as Bob Duffy...
(1950) - Two Flags WestTwo Flags WestTwo Flags West is a 1950 Western drama set during the American Civil War, directed by Robert Wise and starring Joseph Cotton, Jeff Chandler, Linda Darnell, and Cornell Wilde...
(1950) - The Day the Earth Stood StillThe Day the Earth Stood StillThe Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe...
(1951) - The House on Telegraph HillThe House on Telegraph HillThe House on Telegraph Hill is a film noir starring Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, and William Lundigan, directed by Robert Wise, and released by Twentieth Century Fox. Parts of the film were filmed on location in the Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco...
(1951) - Something for the BirdsSomething for the BirdsSomething for the Birds is a 1952 film directed by Robert Wise. It stars Victor Mature and Patricia Neal.-Cast:*Victor Mature as Steve Bennett*Patricia Neal as Anne Richards*Edmund Gwenn as Admiral Johnnie Adams*Larry Keating as Roy Patterson...
(1952) - The Captive CityThe Captive CityThe Captive City is a 1952 film, considered film noir, directed by Robert Wise.John Forsythe plays a crusading small city newspaper editor in a semidocumentary depiction of corruption and vice in paranoid post-World War II America. This is one of several 1950s films to have storylines influenced by...
(1952) - Return to ParadiseReturn to Paradise (1953 film)Return to Paradise is a South Seas drama film released by United Artists in 1953. The film was directed by Mark Robson and starred Gary Cooper, Barry Jones, and Roberta Haynes. It was based on a short story Mr. Morgan by James Michener in his short story collection Return to Paradise, his sequel to...
(1953) (producer) - So BigSo Big (1953 film)So Big is a 1953 American drama film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by John Twist is based on the 1924 novel by Edna Ferber. It is the third adaptation of the book, following a 1924 silent film with Colleen Moore and So Big! with Barbara Stanwyck, released in 1932.-Plot:In the late 1890s,...
(1953) - Destination GobiDestination GobiDestination Gobi is a 1953 Technicolor war film in which Sam McHale heads a group of US Navy men, sent to Mongolia for weather observation. McHale must lead his men across the treacherous Gobi desert to the freedom of the seacoast...
(1953) - The Desert RatsThe Desert Rats (film)The Desert Rats is a 1953 American war film about the World War II siege of Tobruk. It stars Richard Burton and was directed by Robert Wise.-Plot:...
(1953) - Executive SuiteExecutive SuiteExecutive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
(1954) - Somebody Up There Likes MeSomebody Up There Likes Me (film)Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956 American drama film based on the life of middleweight boxing legend Rocky Graziano. Joseph Ruttenberg was awarded a 1956 Oscar in the category of Best Cinematography . The film also won the Oscar for Best Art Direction Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956...
(1956) - Tribute to a Bad ManTribute to a Bad ManTribute to a Bad Man is a 1956 western film starring James Cagney about a rancher whose harsh enforcement of frontier justice alienates the woman he loves. It was directed by Robert Wise and based on the short story "Hanging's for the Lucky" by Jack Schaefer.-Plot:Rustlers rob horses belonging to...
(1956) - Helen of TroyHelen of Troy (film)Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash...
(1956) - Until They SailUntil They SailUntil They Sail is a 1957 American black and white CinemaScope drama film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by Robert Anderson, based on a story by James A. Michener included in his 1951 anthology Return to Paradise, focuses on four New Zealand sisters and their relationships with U.S...
(1957) - This Could Be the NightThis Could Be the Night (film)This Could Be the Night is a 1957 MGM comedy-drama film directed by Robert Wise. The movie is based on the short stories by Cornelia Baird Gross and stars Jean Simmons and Paul Douglas. Actor Anthony Franciosa made his debut in this film.-Plot:...
(1957) - Run Silent, Run DeepRun Silent, Run DeepRun Silent, Run Deep is a novel published first in 1955 by then-Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr.. The name refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. It is also the name of a 1958 movie based on the same novel...
(1958) - I Want to Live!I Want to Live!I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise which tells the heavily fictionalized story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore...
(1958) - Odds Against TomorrowOdds Against TomorrowOdds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise for HarBel Productions, a company founded by the film's star, Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel by William P. McGivern. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky...
(1959) - West Side StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961; co-director and producer) - Two for the SeesawTwo for the SeesawTwo for the Seesaw is a 1962 romance-drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine. It was adapted from the Broadway play written by William Gibson.-Plot:...
(1962) - The HauntingThe Haunting (1963 film)The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...
(1963; director and producer) - The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
(1965; director and producer) - The Sand PebblesThe Sand Pebbles (film)The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
(1966; director and producer) - Star!Star! (film)Star! is a 1968 American musical film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by William Fairchild is based upon the life and career of British performer Gertrude Lawrence.-Plot:...
(1968) - The Baby MakerThe Baby MakerThe Baby Maker is a film directed and co-written by James Bridges and released by Twentieth Century Fox.-Plot:Barbara Hershey portrays a flower child who is hired to have the baby of a middle-class couple ....
(1970; executive producer) - The Andromeda StrainThe Andromeda Strain (film)The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
(1971; director and producer) - Two PeopleTwo People"Two People" was the third single from American singer Tina Turner's sixth solo album Break Every Rule, released in 1986. The song was written and produced by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, the team behind "What's Love Got to Do with It" and "We Don't Need Another Hero". "Two People" peaked at US...
(1973) (producer) - The HindenburgThe Hindenburg (film)The Hindenburg is a 1975 American film based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link based on the book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney .A.A...
(1975) - Audrey RoseAudrey Rose (film)Audrey Rose is a 1977 horror film, with metaphysical content, directed by Robert Wise, starring Marsha Mason and Anthony Hopkins. It was based on the novel of the same title by Frank De Felitta. The original music score was composed by Michael Small.-Plot:...
(1977) - Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
(1979) - WisdomWisdom (film)Wisdom is a 1986 American crime film. It was written by its star, Emilio Estevez, who co-directed with executive producer Robert Wise. The film also stars Demi Moore, along with Tom Skeritt and Veronica Cartwright as Estevez's parents. Emilio dedicated the film to the memory of his friend Henry...
(1986; executive producer) - RooftopsRooftops (film)Rooftops is a 1989 crime and dance drama film directed by Robert Wise, which follows the misadventures of two homeless teenagers in Manhattan....
(1989) - The StupidsThe Stupids (film)The Stupids is a 1996 American comedy/adventure film directed by John Landis. The film is based on The Stupids, characters from a series of books written by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall....
(1996; actor) - A Storm in Summer (2000)
Editing
- The Gay DivorceeThe Gay DivorceeThe Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners...
(1934; sound effects editor, uncredited) - Of Human BondageOf Human BondageOf Human Bondage is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had...
(1934; apprentice sound effects editor, uncredited) - Top HatTop HatTop Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
(1935; sound effects editor, uncredited) - The Informer (1935; sound effects editor, uncredited)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene CastleThe Story of Vernon and Irene CastleThe Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is an American biographical musical comedy, released in 1939 and directed by H.C. Potter. The film stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, and Walter Brennan....
(1939; assistant editor, uncredited) - Bachelor MotherBachelor MotherBachelor Mother is an American comedy film directed by Garson Kanin, and starring Ginger Rogers , David Niven, and Charles Coburn. The screenplay was written by Norman Krasna based on a Academy Award nominated story by Felix Jackson...
(1939; editor) - 5th Ave Girl5th Ave Girl5th Ave Girl is a 1939 comedy film about a millionaire who feels neglected by his family, so he hires a young woman to stir things up. It stars Ginger Rogers and Walter Connolly.-Plot:...
(1939; editor) - The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American monochrome film starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(1939; editor) - My Favorite WifeMy Favorite WifeMy Favorite Wife is a 1940 screwball comedy produced and co-written by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The movie stars Irene Dunne as a woman who returns to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years, and Cary Grant as her husband...
(1940; editor) - Dance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, Dance is a film released in 1940, directed by Dorothy Arzner.In 2007, Dance, Girl, Dance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", describing it as Arzner's...
(1940; editor) - Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941; editor) - The Devil and Daniel WebsterThe Devil and Daniel Webster"The Devil and Daniel Webster" is a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét. This retelling of the classic German Faust tale is based on the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker", written by Washington Irving...
(1941; editor) - The Magnificent AmbersonsThe Magnificent Ambersons (film)The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1942 American drama film written and directed by Orson Welles. His second feature film, it is based on the 1918 novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington and stars Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins...
(1942; editor) - Seven Days' Leave (1942; editor)
- BombardierBombardier (film)Bombardier is a 1943 film war drama about the training program for bombardiers of the United States Army Air Forces. The film stars Pat O'Brien and Randolph Scott. Bombardier was nominated for an Academy Award in 1944 for the special effects used in the film...
(1943; editor) - The Fallen SparrowThe Fallen SparrowThe Fallen Sparrow is a 1943 spy film starring John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, and Walter Slezak. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes. An American returns home to find out who murdered his friend.-Plot:...
(1943; editor) - The Iron Major (1943; editor)