The Men who Made the Movies: William A. Wellman

The Men Who Made the Movies: William A. Wellman looks back at the long, restless career of 'Wild Bill' Wellman, a director who cut his teeth on early Hollywood and kept making tough, kinetic pictures for decades. Through interviews, behind the scenes clips, and excerpts from his films, the documentary sketches how Wellman moved from silent epics to sound-era melodramas and action pictures, often favoring realism and hard edges over polish. It highlights his work ethic, his willingness to take risks, and the recurring focus on aviation, war and working class characters, while avoiding sensationalizing his private life. It includes conversations with colleagues and film scholars, and places his films in the context of studio-era production and changing American tastes.

Released in 1973, the film was directed by critic and documentarian Richard Schickel, who assembled archival footage and interviews to present Wellman's career, emphasizing primary sources over narration and formal analysis, and it includes rare production stills and on-set anecdotes.

It saw a limited run, circulating mainly at festivals, on television and among educational institutions, so it never registered as a mainstream box office item but reached cinephile and academic audiences. It later circulated to schools and public television stations.

Viewers interested in film history often praise the documentary for clear tracking of Wellman's themes, especially his focus on technical craft and masculine codes in Hollywood, and for allowing clips to illustrate points rather than relying on heavy-handed commentary. Some viewers, historians, note its economical pacing and generous archival material.

By preserving interviews and rare behind-the-scenes material, the film helped keep Wellman's work visible to later generations, informing retrospectives and university courses. It's a compact resource for understanding how studio-era directors balanced commercial pressures with personal stylistic signatures, leaving a clearer record of early American genre filmmaking, and renewed interest.