Before I begin making my case for why William Wyler matters, I’d just like to draw some attention to a few differences between this installment of Filmmakers Who Matter and my previous “premiere” installment.

For starters, I’ve added a suggested filmography section at the end of the article to curb mentioning each or most of the films of a filmmaker’s career and treating the article like an overview or a bio.

Second, I’ve put more energy, I hope, into making a case for why a filmmaker “matters” as opposed to his or her biography, filmography, and so on. I can’t make a case for why a director or filmmaker matters without discussing his or her films and life somewhat, but I hope to be a little clearer as to my intentions with this series of articles.

Beginnings

William Wyler was born on July 1, 1902 in the French region of Alsace, which was then a part of the German Empire and is now a part of France. Wyler was related to Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, through his mother’s side of the family. These family connections would serve Wyler well, as he would become the youngest director on the Universal lot in 1925. In 1928, Wyler became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

As he began working on the Universal lot, he became quite prolific and started to become a bankable director for the studio. Wyler directed many solid films, but he was yet to hit his stride. Wyler signed with Samuel Goldwyn a while later and began to direct films of more significance, including Wuthering Heights and The Little Foxes.

1942-1945

Between 1942 and 1945, Wyler wound up serving as a major in the United States Army Air Corps. He directed a documentary during this time entitled Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. The film was produced by the United States Army Air Forces Motion Picture unit and depicted the next-to-last mission of the crew of the B-17 bomber aircraft. It was quite an achievement for Wyler.

Wyler would also win two Best Director Oscars during this time period. One award was for 1942’s Mrs. Miniver, a story of an English family adjusting to war in Europe. The other film, one of Wyler most thoughtful films, was 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives. The latter received seven Academy Awards.

The '50s and '60s

After the war, Wyler began his most prolific run as an influential director. He helped Olivia de Havilland to her second Oscar with the 1949 film The Heiress. He then introduced American audiences to Audrey Hepburn in 1953’s Roman Holiday, a truly classic film which gave Hepburn her first Oscar for Best Actress. 1956’s Friendly Persuasion picked up the Golden Palm from Cannes, adding to Wyler’s impressive collection of awards and accolades. Throughout the '50s and '60s, he was among the most prolific and honoured directors working in Hollywood.