---
name: "Robert Wise"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robert-wise"
fi1m_id: "robert-wise"
imdb_id: "nm0936404"
tmdb_id: 1744
wikidata_id: "Q59821"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "10 September 1914"
died: "14 September 2005"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 10
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "director"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-26T15:18:09.660644+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Robert Wise

## Identity

Robert Wise

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/robert-wise
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** robert-wise
- **IMDb ID:** nm0936404
- **TMDB ID:** 1744
- **Wikidata ID:** Q59821
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wise, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59821, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0936404/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1744

Director and producer. Born 10 September 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, USA. Died 14 September 2005.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 10 September 1914, Winchester, Indiana, USA
- **Died:** 14 September 2005
- **Active:** 1935–1979
- **Also known as:** Robert Earl Wise, Robert E. Wise
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 10: 6 directing, 4 crew
- **Frequently works with:** [Ernest Lehman](https://film.one/person/ernest-lehman.md), [Joseph Cotten](https://film.one/person/joseph-cotten.md), [Orson Welles](https://film.one/person/orson-welles.md), [Russ Tamblyn](https://film.one/person/russ-tamblyn.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 4 Oscars (4 won · 4 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as director, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 73 (1), 1940s 83 (3), 1950s 82 (1), 1960s 79 (4), 1970s 64 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 2, Science Fiction 2, Adventure 1, Crime 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 14 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $492m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wise, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59821, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0936404/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1744

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Sound of Music*](https://film.one/film/the-sound-of-music.md) (86)
- **Tubi:** [*West Side Story*](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md) (80)
- **Hulu:** [*Star Trek: The Motion Picture*](https://film.one/film/star-trek-the-motion-picture.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Robert Wise

> Robert Wise changes his style to suit the story, and we rate that practical skill highly. His musicals show what patient direction can do for a song, though the patience sometimes outlasts the drama between numbers.

In *The Sound of Music* (1965), Wise lets the landscape occupy a generous share of the picture, even when there is singing to attend to. Ted D. McCord’s wide views make the Austrian locations part of the musical numbers, giving them room and movement. Rodgers and Hammerstein supply songs that reward repetition, and Wise resists the urge to hurry them along. We were cheered by ‘Do-Re-Mi’ because Julie Andrews finds fresh encouragement in the familiar tune as the Salzburg locations change. Taking a stage musical outdoors works here because the surroundings keep the songs lively.

His years as an editor, including *Citizen Kane* (1941), help explain his attention to rhythm. Directing began with *The Curse of the Cat People* (1944) for producer Val Lewton, before a career spent moving between genres. *West Side Story* (1961), co-directed with Jerome Robbins, and the haunted-house suspense of *The Haunting* (1963) belong to the same stretch of work. That willingness to change his approach is a virtue, even if it makes his work harder to recognise at a glance.

His patience is less helpful when the adults in *The Sound of Music* begin explaining themselves. Ernest Lehman’s screenplay lets the romantic conversations repeat feelings that Andrews and Plummer have already made plain, and at 174 minutes those repetitions matter. Eleanor Parker’s Baroness suggests more with less explanation, providing restraint in a film that is seldom shy of sentiment. Andrews keeps the cheerfulness active and practical, which makes it easier to forgive the slower passages. We recommend it warmly, but the songs are a better reason to settle in than the adult romance.

The later films include *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), *The Andromeda Strain* (1971) and *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* (1979). Some critics found the later work less sharp than the earlier films. We would not make consistency a condition of exploring a director so willing to try another kind of story. For a first encounter, choose *The Sound of Music* and allow the evening a little extra time.

## Biography

Robert Wise (1914–2005) was an American film editor and director. He began his career at RKO Studios in the 1930s, initially as a sound effects editor, and rose to become a film editor. He edited *Citizen Kane* (1941), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing.

Wise directed more than forty films across many genres. His best-known works include *West Side Story* (1961) and *The Sound of Music* (1965), both of which won him Academy Awards for Best Director. He also produced *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), which was nominated for Best Picture. In 1998 he received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (10)

### Directed (6) — the average rests on these

- *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* (1979), Fi1m 64, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/star-trek-the-motion-picture.md)
- *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), Fi1m 66, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-sand-pebbles.md)
- *The Sound of Music* (1965), Fi1m 86, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-sound-of-music.md)
- *The Haunting* (1963), Fi1m 84, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-haunting.md)
- *West Side Story* (1961), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md)
- *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md)

### Crew (4)

- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), Fi1m 89, Editor, Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), Fi1m 93, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)
- *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), Fi1m 66, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/dance-girl-dance.md)
- *The Informer* (1935), Fi1m 73, Sound Effects Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md)

## Complete filmography (56)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *A Storm in Summer* (2000), Director
- *The Stupids* (1996), as Stanley's Neighbor
- *Rooftops* (1989), Director
- *Wisdom* (1986), Executive Producer
- *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* (1979), Director — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/star-trek-the-motion-picture.md)
- *Audrey Rose* (1977), Director
- *The Hindenburg* (1975), Director, Producer
- *Two People* (1973), Director, Producer
- *Happy Birthday, Wanda June* (1971), Producer
- *The Andromeda Strain* (1971), Director, Producer
- *The Baby Maker* (1970), Executive Producer
- *Star!* (1968), Director
- *The Sand Pebbles* (1966), Director, Producer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/the-sand-pebbles.md)
- *The Sound of Music* (1965), Director, Producer — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-sound-of-music.md)
- *The Haunting* (1963), Producer, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-haunting.md)
- *Two for the Seesaw* (1962), Director, Co-Producer
- *West Side Story* (1961), Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md)
- *Odds Against Tomorrow* (1959), Director, Producer
- *I Want to Live!* (1958), Director
- *Run Silent, Run Deep* (1958), Director
- *Until They Sail* (1957), Director
- *This Could Be the Night* (1957), Director
- *Somebody Up There Likes Me* (1956), Director
- *Tribute to a Bad Man* (1956), Director
- *Helen of Troy* (1956), Director
- *Executive Suite* (1954), Director
- *So Big* (1953), Director
- *The Desert Rats* (1953), Director
- *Destination Gobi* (1953), Director
- *Something for the Birds* (1952), Director
- *The Captive City* (1952), Director
- *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md)
- *The House on Telegraph Hill* (1951), Director, Additional Writing
- *Three Secrets* (1950), Director
- *Two Flags West* (1950), Director
- *The Set-Up* (1949), Director, Screenplay
- *Blood on the Moon* (1948), Director
- *Mystery in Mexico* (1948), Director
- *Born to Kill* (1947), Director
- *Criminal Court* (1946), Director
- *A Game of Death* (1945), Director
- *The Body Snatcher* (1945), Director
- *Mademoiselle Fifi* (1944), Director
- *The Curse of the Cat People* (1944), Director
- *The Fallen Sparrow* (1943), Editor
- *Bombardier* (1943), Editor
- *Seven Days' Leave* (1942), Editor
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), Assistant Director, Editor — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *All That Money Can Buy* (1941), Editor
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), Editor — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)
- *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), Editor — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/dance-girl-dance.md)
- *My Favorite Wife* (1940), Editor
- *Fifth Avenue Girl* (1939), Editor
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1939), Editor
- *Bachelor Mother* (1939), Editor
- *The Informer* (1935), Sound Effects Editor — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md)

## Gallery

- ![Robert Wise](https://film.one/media/person/59090/gallery-3cd8fbc2c90c.jpg) Robert Wise — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Robert_wise_1990.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Central Avenue, Connersville, IN](https://film.one/media/person/59090/gallery-1943d63f23ef.jpg) Central Avenue, Connersville, IN — Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Central_Avenue%2C_Connersville%2C_IN_%2848483694921%29.jpg/1280px-Central_Avenue%2C_Connersville%2C_IN_%2848483694921%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ritz Theatre and Tri-City Drive-In advertisement for the horror film The Haunting (1963). From the 18 September 1963 San Bernardino Sun.](https://film.one/media/person/59090/gallery-1cc1572d1291.jpg) Ritz Theatre and Tri-City Drive-In advertisement for the horror film The Haunting (1963). From the 18 September 1963 San Bernardino Sun. — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Ritz_Theatre%2C_Tri-City_Drive-in_Ad_-_18_September_1963%2C_CA.jpg/1280px-Ritz_Theatre%2C_Tri-City_Drive-in_Ad_-_18_September_1963%2C_CA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Robert Wise](https://film.one/media/person/59090/gallery-cbb12b37f2ec.jpg) Robert Wise — Image via TMDB
- ![Robert Wise](https://film.one/media/person/59090/gallery-689f9ab8a6a8.jpg) Robert Wise — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 4 won, 4 nominated

- 1967: Best Picture (nominated), for *The Sand Pebbles*
- 1966: Best Picture (won), for *The Sound of Music*
- 1966: Best Director (won), for *The Sound of Music*
- 1963: Best Picture (nominated), for *West Side Story*
- 1962: Best Director (won), for *West Side Story*
- 1962: Best Picture (won), for *West Side Story*
- 1959: Best Director (nominated), for *I Want to Live!*
- 1942: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Citizen Kane*

### Other awards — 2 won

- AFI Life Achievement Award 1998: AFI Life Achievement Award (won)
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award 1967: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/robert-wise