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Alfred L. Werker

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Alfred L. Werker
Born
Alfred Louis Werker

December 2, 1896
DiedJuly 28, 1975(1975-07-28) (aged 78)

Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, Ridin' the Wind in 1925 alongside director Del Andrews. He was brought in by Fox Film Corporation executives to re-shoot and re-edit Erich von Stroheim's film Hello, Sister! (1933), co-starring Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts.

Most of Werker's work is unremarkable, but a few were well received by critics. Those films included House of Rothschild (1934) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939); the latter film is considered one of the best in the Sherlock Holmes series. Lost Boundaries, inspired by a true story of a Black doctor passing as white, has grown in critical consensus.

During the early 1940s, he directed a number of comedies including Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942).

In the late 1940s, Werker worked for the B-picture film studio Eagle-Lion Films. Notable films from that period include the unique mystery thriller Repeat Performance (1947) and He Walked by Night (1948). The latter film, however, was taken over by uncredited director Anthony Mann.[1] In 1949 He Walked by Night won the Locarno International Film Festival's award for Best Police Film. The following year, Werker was nominated for, but did not win, the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Lost Boundaries (1949).[2]

Filmography

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Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Assistant Director
1917 The Firefly of Tough Luck Yes
1917 The Regenerates Yes
1919 The Hoodlum Yes
Alternative titles
  • The Ragamuffin (UK)
1920 Pollyanna Yes
1925 That Devil Quemado Yes
1925 The Bandit's Baby Yes
1925 The Wild Bull's Lair Yes
1925 Ridin' the Wind Yes Co-directed with Del Andrews
1926 The Tough Guy Yes
1926 Lone Hand Saunders Yes
1928 The Pioneer Scout Yes Co-directed with Lloyd Ingraham
1928 The Sunset Legion Yes Co-directed with Lloyd Ingraham
1928 Kit Carson Yes
1929 Blue Skies Yes
1929 Chasing Through Europe Yes Co-directed with David Butler
1930 Double Cross Roads Yes
1930 Last of the Duanes Yes
1931 Fair Warning Yes
1931 Annabelle's Affairs Yes
Alternative titles
  • Good Gracious Annabelle
  • The Affairs of Annabelle
  • Two Can Play
1931 Heartbreak Yes
1932 The Gay Caballero Yes
1932 Bachelor's Affairs Yes
1932 Rackety Rax Yes
1933 It's Great to Be Alive Yes
1933 Hello, Sister! Yes
Alternative titles
  • Walking Down Broadway
  • Clipped Wings (UK)
1933 Advice to the Lovelorn Yes
Alternative titles
  • Advice to the Forlorn
1934 The House of Rothschild Yes
1934 You Belong to Me Yes
1935 Stolen Harmony Yes
1936 Love in Exile Yes
1937 We Have Our Moments Yes
1937 Wild and Woolly Yes
1937 Big Town Girl Yes
1938 City Girl Yes
1938 Kidnapped Yes
Alternative titles
1938 Gateway Yes
1938 Up the River Yes
1939 It Could Happen to You Yes
1939 News Is Made at Night Yes
1939 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Yes
Alternative titles
  • Sherlock Holmes (UK)
1941 The Reluctant Dragon Yes
Alternative titles
  • A Day at Disneys
  • Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio
1941 Moon Over Her Shoulder Yes
1942 Whispering Ghosts Yes
1942 A-Haunting We Will Go Yes
1942 The Mad Martindales Yes
1944 My Pal Wolf Yes
1946 Shock Yes
1947 Repeat Performance Yes
1947 Pirates of Monterey Yes
1948 He Walked by Night Yes Co-directed with Anthony Mann (uncredited)
1949 Lost Boundaries Yes
1951 Sealed Cargo Yes
1952 Walk East on Beacon Yes
Alternative titles
  • Walk East on Beacon!
  • The Crime of the Century (UK)
1953 The Last Posse Yes
1953 Devil's Canyon Yes
1954 Three Hours to Kill Yes
1955 Canyon Crossroads Yes
1955 At Gunpoint Yes
Alternative titles
  • Gunpoint! (UK)
1956 Rebel in Town Yes
1957 The Young Don't Cry Yes

References

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  1. ^ Alvarez, Max (2014). The Crime Films of Anthony Mann. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626740051.
  2. ^ [1] IMDB Awards for Alfred L. Werker

Sources

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