8 thoughts on “My Favorite William Wyler Films”

1. A good list, John. I have a fondness for ‘Dodsworth’.
   Best wishes, Pete.

2. His last film The Liberation of L.B. Jones was pretty good but so depressing as hell!
   The Collector is a big fav along with The Desperate Hours.
   Detective Story was a good watch too.
   Looking at his filmography and your list I see I have so many William Wyler’s to watch.

3. The Collector…that’s a creepy film. Unfortunately it has inspired some terrible people, doing terrible things, i.e., serial killers. The Best Years of our Lives is fantastic and I’m with Mikey…I loved The Desperate hours and I enjoyed the psychological burn of Detective Story a lot.

4. While this could be said of any great film, Dodsworth seems to stand out frequently (when it comes to discussion of 1930’s dramas) as one that never talks down to it’s audience – in other words, it not only treats us viewers like adults, but also as intelligent adults. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂

5. In all honesty, William Wyler’s career as a director is pretty much hit or miss, but he did direct some truly great films and with the exception of The Collector, what made his very good films shine was primarily due to the lead performer (which in these cases, would be Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn). The Collector benefited from both it’s script and its lead actors. It has been a while since I saw The Liberation of L.B. Jones though. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂

6. The Collector benefits largely from it’s lead actors and it’s script – a very good film.I have read from numerous sources that praise for The Best Years of Our Lives has become more reserved in recent decades, but every time I watch it, I can’t help but adore the film and as others have implied, given how it came out a year after the American victory in such a devastating war (WWII in this case), the emotional drama and sentiment that powers The Best Years of Our Lives feels not only authentic, but well-earned. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂

7. William Wyler is a familiar name, although when I did some research I realised Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday, The Children’s Hour and Detective Story were the only films of his I was aware of.
   By pure chance I’ve just been perusing the tv guide and noticed that The Desperate Hours is showing on the Talking Pictures channel over here on Sunday. Sounds like a good place to start my Wyler education!

8. I won’t say that William Wyler is the greatest, in fact I think Orson Welles one time remarked that he was a better producer than director, but I give credit where credit is due – the films of his that I gave * * * * stars too represent him at his most confident. A lot of the * * * 1/2 star films work due to the actors involved – Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn respectively. The Collector worked due to it’s tension. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂