Like his contemporary, Billy Wilder, William Wyler was an immigrant to the U.S. He was born in a Jewish family and raised in the Alsace region of France when it was part of the German Empire. He immigrated to the U.S., arriving in 1923 to a menial job at Universal Studios, whose owner, Sammuel Laemmle, was a distant cousin of Wyler’s mother. He learned his trade making 32 silent films, mostly Westerns, then the bread and butter of the early movie industry. Starting in 1929, he went on to direct 33 feature films over four decades, which garnered numerous awards including 118 Academy Awards. Like Wilder he had an outsider’s objective and insightful perspective on American culture.
He became a mentor and close friend to John Huston. They met when Huston worked as a screen writer on Wyler’s 1931 film, A House Divided, and through Huston’s father, Walter, who starred in several of Wyler’s films. Huston was influenced by Wyler’s complex blocking style among other film techniques. Like Huston, Wyler joined the Army during WW II, sometimes risking his life in combat situations, to make authentic films that brought the GI’s experience to the homefront.
Like Huston, he was also considered an actor’s director. Lawrence Olivier credits Wyler with teaching him how to act in movies, and Betty Davis, who won one of her Oscars for her leading role in Wyler’s Jezebel, called him the best director she had ever worked with. Unlike Huston, his perfectionism required him to make numerous “takes” of a shot. He is best appreciated for his grasp of human psychology and ability to convey the inner conflict that comes from conflicting emotions. He loved stage drama and strove to bring that intensity to his films.
We will be studying six of Wyler’s movies from the span of his career for their award-wining quality, topical relevance, insights into American culture and enduring artistic expression of the human experience.
A complete viewing schedule will be sent to enrollees. Over six films, it will strive to cover the range of Wyler’s work from Little Foxes, a Lillian Helman family drama to the epic spectacular, Ben-Hur about the struggle for liberation in the Roman Empire.
Students will watch films on their own and classes will consist of a brief lecture on the film watched, its cultural context and contribution to the development of American cinema, followed by discussion to learn about and develop a deeper appreciation of the great American cultural tradition of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Preparation time will be the time it takes to watch the film and consider viewing questions from the instructor. Students have found it beneficial to watch the film in whole or part again after considering the viewing questions.
Please note that the last class is October 21, 2026, which is during the break week.