---
name: "William Wyler"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-wyler"
fi1m_id: "william-wyler"
imdb_id: "nm0943758"
tmdb_id: 10001
wikidata_id: "Q51495"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "1 July 1902"
died: "27 July 1981"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 13
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "director"
average_over: 13
updated: "2026-09-20T04:59:18.371938+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."
---

# William Wyler

## Identity

William Wyler

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-wyler
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-wyler
- **IMDb ID:** nm0943758
- **TMDB ID:** 10001
- **Wikidata ID:** Q51495
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wyler, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51495, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0943758/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10001

Director and producer. Born 1 July 1902 in Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]. Died 27 July 1981.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 1 July 1902, Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire [now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France]
- **Died:** 27 July 1981
- **Active:** 1936–1968
- **Also known as:** Wilhelm Weiller, Bill Wyler, 윌리엄 와일러, 윌리암 와일러
- **Frequently works with:** [Samuel Goldwyn](https://film.one/person/samuel-goldwyn.md), [Bette Davis](https://film.one/person/bette-davis.md), [Teresa Wright](https://film.one/person/teresa-wright.md), [David Niven](https://film.one/person/david-niven.md), [Donald Crisp](https://film.one/person/donald-crisp.md), [Herbert Marshall](https://film.one/person/herbert-marshall.md), [Lillian Hellman](https://film.one/person/lillian-hellman.md), [Walter Pidgeon](https://film.one/person/walter-pidgeon.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscars (3 won · 11 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as director, over 13 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 78 (4), 1940s 83 (5), 1950s 79 (3), 1960s 70 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 75 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 13, Romance 8, War 3, Comedy 2, Crime 2, History 2
- **Screen time:** 28 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $282m across 7 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wyler, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51495, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0943758/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10001

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Dodsworth*](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md) (87), [*The Little Foxes*](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md) (85), [*Wuthering Heights*](https://film.one/film/wuthering-heights.md) (76), [*Dead End*](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md) (73), [*Funny Girl*](https://film.one/film/funny-girl.md) (70)
- **Pluto TV:** [*The Best Years of Our Lives*](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md) (90)
- **Tubi:** [*Ben-Hur*](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md) (76)

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

## Fi1m on William Wyler

> William Wyler is worth watching for the way he places actors together and lets difficult feelings emerge. We are less convinced by his taste for ceremony, which can keep those actors waiting to be useful.

Put one person close to us and another at the end of a dark hall: Wyler knows how to make that arrangement hold our attention. In *Wuthering Heights* (1939), the interiors give him more to work with than the moors. Indoors, the distance between people matters; outdoors, the heather and wind struggle to disguise the set. His work with cinematographer Gregg Toland uses deep focus and long takes to keep several people present within a scene, allowing us to watch them together.

His directing career began with dozens of silent westerns from the mid-1920s, before the literary adaptations and dramas of his long association with producer Samuel Goldwyn from the mid-1930s. The post-war work includes *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), a study of veterans trying to readjust. Through the 1950s and 1960s he continued with major studio productions and star vehicles, including *Roman Holiday* (1953) and *Funny Girl* (1968). We would look to the staging, rather than the choice of subject, for what makes these films his.

His insistence on retakes to refine performances could frustrate collaborators, and care does not always guarantee restraint. In *Wuthering Heights*, Laurence Olivier is allowed to bark lines at the ceiling, while Merle Oberon’s Cathy never supplies all the force the story needs. We were stirred when Olivier stood still and looked at Oberon: their attraction was more persuasive than the raised voice. Wyler gets more from that look than from the louder acting around it.

*Ben-Hur* (1959) gives him a much larger setting, and its chariot race earns the time we give it. Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd provide the other good reason to stay: their scenes together let feelings complicate the grand declarations. The trouble comes when the biblical story pauses for another moral lesson, delivered as though solemnity itself ought to persuade us. At 212 minutes, those repetitions matter, and the actors are left waiting for a useful exchange. Start with *Wuthering Heights* for the rooms and the faces; choose *Ben-Hur* when there is time for the speeches as well as the race.

## Biography

William Wyler was a German-born American film director and producer. Born Willi Wyler on 1 July 1902 in Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine (then part of the German Empire, now Mulhouse, France), he moved to the United States in 1920 and began working at Universal Pictures, where he directed his first films in the silent era.

Wyler directed *Wuthering Heights* (1939), *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), *Roman Holiday* (1953), *The Big Country* (1958), *Ben-Hur* (1959), *The Children's Hour* (1961), *How to Steal a Million* (1966) and *Funny Girl* (1968). He won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, for *Mrs. Miniver*, *The Best Years of Our Lives* and *Ben-Hur*, each of which also won Best Picture. He received a record twelve nominations for Best Director.

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

## On Fi1m (13)

- *Funny Girl* (1968), Fi1m 70, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/funny-girl.md)
- *Ben-Hur* (1959), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md)
- *Friendly Persuasion* (1956), Fi1m 72, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/friendly-persuasion.md)
- *Roman Holiday* (1953), Fi1m 88, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/roman-holiday.md)
- *The Heiress* (1949), Fi1m 90, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-heiress.md)
- *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), Fi1m 90, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md)
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Fi1m 73, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *The Little Foxes* (1941), Fi1m 85, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md)
- *The Letter* (1940), Fi1m 78, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-letter.md)
- *Wuthering Heights* (1939), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/wuthering-heights.md)
- *Jezebel* (1938), Fi1m 78, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md)
- *Dead End* (1937), Fi1m 73, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md)
- *Dodsworth* (1936), Fi1m 87, as Violin Player in Dance Orchestra (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md)

## Complete filmography (61)

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

- *Roman Holiday* (2016), Writer
- *History Rediscovered: The Memphis Belle* (2011), Director
- *The Liberation of L.B. Jones* (1970), Director, Producer
- *Funny Girl* (1968), Director — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/funny-girl.md)
- *How to Steal a Million* (1966), Director
- *The Collector* (1965), Director
- *The Children's Hour* (1961), Director, Producer
- *Ben-Hur* (1959), Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md)
- *The Big Country* (1958), Director, Producer
- *Friendly Persuasion* (1956), Director, Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/friendly-persuasion.md)
- *The Letter* (1956), Director, Producer
- *The Desperate Hours* (1955), Director, Producer
- *Roman Holiday* (1953), Director, Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/roman-holiday.md)
- *Carrie* (1952), Director, Producer
- *Detective Story* (1951), Director, Producer
- *The Heiress* (1949), Director, Producer — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/the-heiress.md)
- *Thunderbolt* (1947), Director
- *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), as Drug Store customer (uncredited) · Director — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives.md)
- *The Fighting Lady* (1944), Director
- *The Memphis Belle* (1944), Director, Writer, Director of Photography
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Director, Producer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *The Little Foxes* (1941), Director — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md)
- *The Letter* (1940), Director, Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-letter.md)
- *The Westerner* (1940), Director
- *Wuthering Heights* (1939), Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/wuthering-heights.md)
- *The Cowboy and the Lady* (1938), Co-Director
- *Jezebel* (1938), Director, Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/jezebel.md)
- *Dead End* (1937), Director — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md)
- *Come and Get It* (1936), Director
- *Dodsworth* (1936), as Violin Player in Dance Orchestra (uncredited) · Director — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/dodsworth.md)
- *These Three* (1936), Director
- *The Gay Deception* (1935), Director
- *The Good Fairy* (1935), Director
- *Glamour* (1934), Director
- *Counsellor at Law* (1933), Director
- *Her First Mate* (1933), Director
- *Tom Brown of Culver* (1932), Director
- *A House Divided* (1931), Director
- *The Storm* (1930), Director
- *Hell's Heroes* (1929), Director
- *The Love Trap* (1929), Director, Producer
- *The Shakedown* (1929), Director
- *Anybody Here Seen Kelly?* (1928), Director
- *Thunder Riders* (1928), Director
- *Desert Dust* (1927), Director
- *The Border Cavalier* (1927), Director
- *The Horse Trader* (1927), Director
- *The Ore Raiders* (1927), Director
- *Hard Fists* (1927), Director
- *Straight Shootin'* (1927), Director
- *Blazing Days* (1927), Director
- *The Two Fister* (1927), Director
- *The Stolen Ranch* (1926), Director
- *Lazy Lightning* (1926), Director
- *Martin of the Mounted* (1926), Director
- *Don't Shoot* (1926), Director
- *The Fire Barrier* (1926), Director
- *Ridin' for Love* (1926), Director, Story
- *The Gunless Bad Man* (1926), Director
- *The Crook Buster* (1925), Director
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1923), Assistant Director

## Gallery

- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-5f827308f668.jpg) William Wyler — Film studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/William_Wyler_portrait.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the American epic Western film The Big Country (1958). From the 5 December 1958 San Bernardino Sun.](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-218e7ab58718.jpg) Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the American epic Western film The Big Country (1958). From the 5 December 1958 San Bernardino Sun. — United Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Belair_Drive-in_Ad_-_5_December_1958%2C_Fontana%2C_CA.jpg/1280px-Belair_Drive-in_Ad_-_5_December_1958%2C_Fontana%2C_CA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Le docteur Sloper, père de Catherine Sloper (Image extraite du film de William Wyler "L'héritière"). (2020)](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-e3f83c20227c.png) Le docteur Sloper, père de Catherine Sloper (Image extraite du film de William Wyler "L'héritière"). (2020) — William Wyler, cinéaste., CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Docteur_Sloper.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-bdc232ac3be0.jpg) William Wyler — Image via TMDB
- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-3179fe079133.jpg) William Wyler — Image via TMDB
- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-7c2803ca287d.jpg) William Wyler — Image via TMDB
- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-e030eb55dedd.jpg) William Wyler — Image via TMDB
- ![William Wyler](https://film.one/media/person/7142/gallery-72024ef18ce4.jpg) William Wyler — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 3 won, 11 nominated

- 1966: Best Director (nominated), for *The Collector*
- 1960: Best Director (won), for *Ben-Hur*
- 1957: Best Director (nominated), for *Friendly Persuasion*
- 1957: Best Picture (nominated), for *Friendly Persuasion*
- 1954: Best Director (nominated), for *Roman Holiday*
- 1954: Best Picture (nominated), for *Roman Holiday*
- 1952: Best Director (nominated), for *Detective Story*
- 1950: Best Director (nominated), for *The Heiress*
- 1947: Best Director (won), for *The Best Years of Our Lives*
- 1943: Best Director (won), for *Mrs. Miniver*
- 1942: Best Director (nominated), for *The Little Foxes*
- 1941: Best Director (nominated), for *The Letter*
- 1940: Best Director (nominated), for *Wuthering Heights*
- 1937: Best Director (nominated), for *Dodsworth*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won

- 1960: Best Direction (won), for *Ben-Hur*

### Golden Globes — 2 won

- 1960: Best Director (won), for *Ben-Hur*
- 1960: Golden Globe Awards (won)

### Cannes Film Festival — 1 won

- 1957: Palme d'Or (won), for *Friendly Persuasion*

### Other awards — 3 won

- AFI Life Achievement Award 1976: AFI Life Achievement Award (won)
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award 1965: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (won)
- Golden Plate Award 1961: Golden Plate 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/william-wyler