An ordinary documentary on an extraordinary subject, William A. Wellman. The ordinary part, ascribable to writer-director Todd Robinson, is the methodical bead-stringing of still photos, home movies, a kinescope of a 1954 episode of Ralph Edwards's This Is Your Life (James Cagney, John Wayne, among the surprise guests), videotaped reminiscences and reflections (from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Tab Hunter, and Nancy Reagan), and of course representative film clips, threaded together with a bland narration recited by Alec Baldwin ("He was also arrogant, with an explosive temper"). The extraordinary part, as indicated, is the life and work of Wellman the man and moviemaker, a much-neglected one in the years since Andrew Sarris codified a hierarchy of American "auteurs," relegating Wellman to the Outer Darkness ("Less Than Meets the Eye") and thus ensuring that hundreds of fledgling cinephiles and future tastemakers would feel free to pass up a Wellman so as to save themselves for a Walsh or a Ford. The assembled clips go far toward establishing the auteurist prerequisite of "personality" -- particularly in the formative and pervasive influence of his WWI experiences. And an illuminating montage demonstrating his habit of placing visual obstructions in front of important action racks up some points for "style" as well. One could lament the tendency to skip along to well-documented career highlights (Wings, The Public Enemy, A Star Is Born, The Ox-Bow Incident, etc.); one could clamor for much more. But the movie accomplishes in its ninety minutes the modest task it sets itself: to put the name of William Wellman back in front of the moviegoing public. (1996) — Duncan Shepherd
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