William Witney

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William Nuelsen Witney (born May 15, 1915 in Lawton , Oklahoma , † March 17, 2002 in Jackson , California ) was an American film and television director who made more than 100 films.

Life

William Witney was one of the kings of the B movies . During his career he made a large number of westerns . He is also credited with the modern style of carefully choreographed battle sequences, which he created based on the American musical sequences by director Busby Berkeley . He got into film as a delivery boy at Republic Pictures , where he slowly worked his way up. There he also shot well-known series of films with John Englisch such as The Yellow Circle ( Daredevils of the Red Circle , 1939), Zorros Rache ( Zorro's Fighting Legion , 1939 ) and Dr. Fu Man Chu ( Drums of Fu Manchu , 1940 ).

Witney was also director of Robur, the Lord of the seven continents ( Master of the World , 1961), with Vincent Price and Charles Bronson in the lead roles, and Hell Cat ( The Bonnie Parker Story , 1958 ), with Dorothy Provine in the lead role " Bonnie Elizabeth Parker ", which had the gangster couple Bonnie and Clyde on the subject. He also shot three of his films with the famous Second World War hero and western star Audie Murphy . Witney also directed several episodes of the television series Bonanza . Details are given in the article Bonanza / episode list .

Private life

William Witney had two wives. From 1938 to 1973 he was married to actress Maxine Doyle until her death. In 1977 he married his second wife Beverly, with whom he stayed until his death at the age of 86.

Honors

In an interview with the New York Times , Quentin Tarantino said that he counted Witney as one of his favorite directors, particularly for the film The Golden Stallion ( 1949 ), a film tailored for Roy Rogers . In honor of Witney, Tarantino dedicated the film Kill Bill - Volume 2 ( 2004 ) to him.

Filmography

Director

  • 1937: The Painted Stallion
  • 1937: SOS Coast Guard
  • 1937: The Trigger Trio
  • 1937: Zorro the Avenger (Zorro Rides Again)
  • 1938: The Lone Ranger
  • 1938: The Fighting Devil Dogs
  • 1938: Dick Tracy Returns
  • 1938: Hawk of the Wilderness
  • 1939: The Lone Ranger Rides Again
  • 1939: Daredevils of the Red Circle
  • 1939: Dick Tracy's G-Men
  • 1939: Zorro's Vengeance (Zorro's Fighting Legion)
  • 1940: Heroes of the Saddle
  • 1940: Drums of Fu Manchu
  • 1940: Hi-Yo Silver
  • 1940: Adventures of Red Ryder
  • 1940: King of the Royal Mounted
  • 1940: Mysterious Doctor Satan
  • 1941: Adventures of Captain Marvel
  • 1941: Jungle Girl
  • 1941: King of the Texas Rangers
  • 1941: Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
  • 1942: Spy Smasher
  • 1942: SOS Coast Guard
  • 1942: The Girl from Alaska
  • 1942: The Yukon Patrol
  • 1942: Perils of Nyoka
  • 1942: King of the Mounties
  • 1942: Outlaws of Pine Ridge
  • 1943: G-men vs. the Black Dragon
  • 1943: The Fighting Devil Dogs
  • 1946: Roll on Texas Moon
  • 1946: Home in Oklahoma
  • 1946: The Crimson Ghost (12 chapters)
  • 1946: Heldorado
  • 1947: Apache Rose
  • 1947: Bells of San Angelo
  • 1947: Springtime in the Sierras
  • 1947: On the Old Spanish Trail
  • 1948: The Gay Ranchero
  • 1948: Under California Stars
  • 1948: Eyes of Texas
  • 1948: Night Time in Nevada
  • 1948: Grand Canyon Trail
  • 1948: The Far Frontier
  • 1949: Susanna Pass
  • 1949: Down Dakota Way
  • 1949: Land of Opportunity: The American Rodeo
  • 1949: The Golden Stallion
  • 1949: Land of Opportunity: The Sponge Diver
  • 1950: Bells of Coronado
  • 1950: Land of Opportunity: Tillers of the Soil
  • 1950: Land of Opportunity: The Mardi Gras
  • 1950: Twilight in the Sierras
  • 1950: Trigger, Jr.
  • 1950: Sunset in the West
  • 1950: North of the Great Divide
  • 1950: Trail of Robin Hood
  • 1951: Spoilers of the Plains
  • 1951: Heart of the Rockies
  • 1951: In Old Amarillo
  • 1951: South of Caliente
  • 1951: Pals of the Golden West
  • 1952: Colorado Sundown
  • 1952: The Last Musketeer
  • 1952: Border Saddlemates
  • 1952: Old Oklahoma Plains
  • 1952: The WAC from Walla, Walla
  • 1952: South Pacific Trail
  • 1953: Old Overland Trail
  • 1953: Iron Mountain Trail
  • 1953: Down Laredo Way
  • 1953: Shadows of Tombstone
  • 1954: The Outcast
  • 1955: Santa Fe Passage
  • 1955: City of Shadows
  • 1955: Headline Hunters
  • 1955: The Fighting Chance
  • 1956: Stranger at My Door
  • 1956: A Strange Adventure
  • 1957: Panama Sal
  • 1958: The Bonnie Parker Story
  • 1958: The Cool and the Crazy
  • 1958: Juvenile Jungle
  • 1958: Young and Wild
  • 1959: Zorro Rides Again
  • 1959: Paratroop Command
  • 1959: At the foot of the blue mountains (Laramie) (TV series)
  • 1960: Valley of the Redwoods
  • 1960: The Secret of the Purple Reef
  • 1961: Robur, Lord of the Seven Continents (Master of the World)
  • 1961: The Long Rope
  • 1961: The Cat Burglar
  • 1961: The Wide Country (TV series)
  • 1965: Arizona uprising (Apache Rifles)
  • 1965: The Girls on the Beach
  • 1965: Gold transport through Arizona (Arizona Raiders)
  • 1966: Dr. Satan's Robot (TV movie)
  • 1966: Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates (TV movie)
  • 1966: Cyclotrode 'X (TV movie)
  • 1966: Lost Island of Kioga (TV movie)
  • 1966: Spy Smasher Returns (TV movie)
  • 1967: Rifles to the Apache Pass (40 Guns to Apache Pass)
  • 1967: Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion
  • 1973: I Escaped from Devil's Island
  • 1974: Kodiak (TV series)
  • 1975: Darktown Strutters

Assistant director

  • 1934: Law of the Wild
  • 1935: Gold Ducats of the Ghost (The Phantom Empire)
  • 1936: Zorro - The Vigilantes Are Coming
  • 1937: Dick Tracy I
  • 1940: Men with Steel Faces
  • 1955: The Barricades of San Antone (The Last Command)
  • 1960: The Tall Man (TV series)
  • 1962: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation

Film editor

  • 1935: Tom Mix, der Wunderreiter (The Miracle Rider)
  • 1936: Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island
  • 1937: Dick Tracy I + II
  • 1960: The Tall Man (TV series)

actor

  • 1933: Fighting with Kit Carson , as a settler / Indian / cavalryman
  • 1936: Zorro - The Vigilantes Are Coming , as a Cossack
  • 1938: The Spider's Web , as a police officer
  • 1951: The Wild Blue Yonder , as General Curtis E. LeMay
  • 1982: Showdown at Eagle Gap , as sheriff

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b biography on All Movie Guide. Retrieved July 20, 2010
  2. Source: The New York Times Interview with Quentin Tarantino