'William Wellman'

Although he may not have as many classic films to his name as, say, John Ford or Howard Hawks, William A. Wellman had as illustrious a career as a Hollywood director as anyone.

He steadily churned out pictures in just about every genre, beginning in 1919 all the way through 1958. With over 80 credits as a director, and nearly a dozen as screenwriter and producer, Wellman is well-deserving of a sprawling retrospective. Film Forum (209 West Houston Street between 6th Avenue and Varick Street) is doing just that. Their massive, 42-title series continues now through Mar. 1st.

This weekend’s offerings focus on his contributions to the western and action-adventure genres, which constitute a large part of his body of work. One of his best-known films, “The Ox-Bow Incident” screens today at 1 p.m. and throughout Saturday as a double feature with another Western, “Yellow Sky,” which stars Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark. Considered as one of the most important Westerns ever made, “The Ox-Bow Incident” stars Henry Fonda as a cowboy who combats a hysteric mob that has taken over his small town in Nevada and taken hostage several innocent bypassers, including Anthony Quinn as a Mexican drifter. Clocking in at a mere 75 minutes, the film packs a real punch, delivering not only the expected showdown thrills but also a social message about authority, law, and rebellion.

“The Ox-Bow Incident” is based on the eponymous novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, who also wrote the source novel for Wellman’s later color Western “Track of the Cat” (screening next Friday), which has recently been rediscovered by critics and hailed as an overlooked masterpiece. Western aficionados should also check out “The Call of the Wild” which stars Clark Gable and will screen as a double feature with the 1939 Gary Cooper vehicle “Beau Geste” this Sunday and Monday.

Although Wellman also made a body of beloved screwball comedies, he is perhaps best known for his action-adventure films because they were his most personal.

Nicknamed “Wild Bill,” he had an illustrious run as a fighter pilot in the late 1910s before being shot down by German counter-forces in 1918. This love for adventure continued throughout his life, although he thereafter channeled it through filmmaking.

He made his directorial debut in 1919, but his major breakthrough came in 1927, when he directed “Wings,” a silent film about World War I pilots, which won the first ever Academy Award for Best Picture.

Despite the industry accolades he garnered over the course of his career, Wellman has not had a particularly exalted reputation among critics. In his auteur urtext “The American Cinema: Directors and Directions,” Columbia alumnus and Professor Emeritus Andrew Sarris placed Wellman under the pejorative category “Less Than Meets the Eye.”

The excitement this series has already aroused in local cinephiles since it started last Friday, however, demonstrates that Wellman’s body of work is one that merits more attention. Many of his films have either been forgotten or neglected over the years. This festival is a perfect chance to discover some little-known genre gems and the classics, too.