W.S. Van Dyke

W.S. Van Dyke

1889-03-21 San Diego, California, USA 85 Credits

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Woodbridge Strong "W. S." Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932, The Thin Man in 1934, San Francisco in 1936, and six popular musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Director for The Thin Man and San Francisco, and directed four actors to Oscar nominations:...

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Complete Filmography

Journey for Margaret

Journey for Margaret

1942

Director

6.6
Directing

An American newspaperman and his wife, end up in London after several retreats in the opening days of WWII. After a shrapnel wound and loss of her ba...

Cairo

Cairo

1942

Director

5.8
Directing

Reporter Homer Smith accidently draws Marcia Warren into his mission to stop Nazis from bombing Allied Conwoys with robot-planes.

I Married an Angel

I Married an Angel

1942

Director

5.0
Directing

A count who ignores an infatuated secretary thinks he has met his match when an angel from Heaven shows up.

Dr. Kildare's Victory

Dr. Kildare's Victory

1942

Director

5.8
Directing

Dr. Gillespie supports Kildare's crusade against their hospital's deal with a rival hospital.

Shadow of the Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man

1941

Director

7.0
Directing

High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.

The Feminine Touch

The Feminine Touch

1941

Director

5.1
Directing

A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Rus...

Rage in Heaven

Rage in Heaven

1941

Director

6.2
Directing

A jealous man frames his wife's suspected lover for murder.

Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet

1940

Director

5.8
Directing

A woman runs away with her music teacher in order to escape an arranged marriage, but they struggle to make ends meet.

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

1940

as Self

6.7
Acting

This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a tal...

I Love You Again

I Love You Again

1940

Director

7.2
Directing

Boring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.

New Moon

New Moon

1940

Director

6.8
Directing

A revolutionary leader romances a French aristocrat in Louisiana.

I Take This Woman

I Take This Woman

1940

Director

6.2
Directing

On return from Europe Dr. Decker foils glamour girl Georgi from jumping overboard. At Decker's suggestion to keep busy, she assists at his clinic i...

Another Thin Man

Another Thin Man

1939

Director

7.1
Directing

Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.

Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever

Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever

1939

Director

5.7
Directing

Young Andy develops a crush on his drama teacher. When his play is chosen as the school's annual production, Andy seizes the opportunity to spend as m...

It's a Wonderful World

It's a Wonderful World

1939

Director

6.4
Directing

Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by ...

Stand Up and Fight

Stand Up and Fight

1939

Director

5.8
Directing

A southern aristocrat clashes with a driver transporting stolen slaves to freedom.

Sweethearts

Sweethearts

1938

Director

5.7
Directing

The team behind a successful Broadway production tries to stop the married stars from transitioning to Hollywood.

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette

1938

Director

6.6
Directing

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the riv...

Another Romance of Celluloid

Another Romance of Celluloid

1938

as Self (uncredited)

5.0
Acting

This second entry in MGM's "Romance of Film" series documents how celluloid movie film is processed and features behind-the-scenes glimpses of current...

Rosalie

Rosalie

1937

Director

5.5
Directing

West Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom.

The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda

1937

Co-Director

7.4
Directing

A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king ...

They Gave Him a Gun

They Gave Him a Gun

1937

Director

6.2
Directing

With no other prospects, a World War I veteran puts the skills they taught him in the War to use.

Personal Property

Personal Property

1937

Director

6.9
Directing

Raymond Dabney returns to his family after trouble with the law. He convinces the sheriff to give him a job watching the house and furniture of widow ...

After the Thin Man

After the Thin Man

1936

Director

7.3
Directing

Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady...

Love on the Run

Love on the Run

1936

Director

6.4
Directing

A runaway bride and an undercover reporter get caught up in political intrigue as they lead a merry chase across Europe and uncover a spy plot.

The Devil Is a Sissy

The Devil Is a Sissy

1936

Director

6.9
Directing

A well-bred young English lad living in lower Manhattan tries to gain acceptance from his not-so-well-bred peers at school.

His Brother's Wife

His Brother's Wife

1936

Director

5.6
Directing

Epidemiologist Cliff Claybourne falls in love with Rita Wilson in a gambling house. They want to marry but Cliff's brother is convinced Rita is no goo...

San Francisco

San Francisco

1936

Director, Producer

6.6
Directing Producing

A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 19...

Rose Marie

Rose Marie

1936

Director

6.2
Directing

An incognito opera singer falls for a policeman who has been assigned to track down her fugitive brother.

I Live My Life

I Live My Life

1935

Director

6.4
Directing

A society girl tries to make a go of her marriage to an archaeologist.

Broadway Melody of 1936

Broadway Melody of 1936

1935

Co-Director

6.4
Directing

Lovely, gifted Irene Foster hopes that her childhood sweetheart-turned Broadway producer Robert Gordon will recognize her--and her talent. Gordon is t...

Naughty Marietta

Naughty Marietta

1935

Director, Producer

5.4
Directing Producing

In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious French princess sheds her identity and escapes to colonial New Orleans, where she finds an unli...

Forsaking All Others

Forsaking All Others

1934

Director

6.1
Directing

A socialite only realises that her friend is in love with her when she falls for the wrong man.

Hide-Out

Hide-Out

1934

Producer, Director

6.9
Producing Directing

Wounded criminal Lucky Wilson takes refuge in a small Connecticut farm. He falls in love with the farmer's daughter who at first is unaware of his cr...

The Thin Man

The Thin Man

1934

Director

7.5
Directing

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

Manhattan Melodrama

Manhattan Melodrama

1934

Director

7.0
Directing

The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.

Laughing Boy

Laughing Boy

1934

Director, Producer

3.6
Directing Producing

A young Navajo defies tribal custom to marry an outcast.

Eskimo

Eskimo

1933

as Inspector White (uncredited)

6.5
Acting

The happy life of an Eskimo is disastrously changed when he mingles with an unscrupulous white trader.

Eskimo

Eskimo

1933

Director, Producer

6.5
Directing Producing

The happy life of an Eskimo is disastrously changed when he mingles with an unscrupulous white trader.

The Prizefighter and the Lady

The Prizefighter and the Lady

1933

Director, Producer

5.7
Directing Producing

An ex-sailor turned boxer finds romance and gets a shot at the heavyweight title.

Penthouse

Penthouse

1933

Director

6.7
Directing

Gertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long been under the hoodlum's thumb. She's secretly helping l...

Night Court

Night Court

1932

Director

6.4
Directing

A corrupt night court judge tears an innocent young family apart in his efforts to elude a special prosecutor.

Tarzan the Ape Man

Tarzan the Ape Man

1932

Director

6.6
Directing

James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. ...

The Cuban Love Song

The Cuban Love Song

1931

Director

4.3
Directing

A guilt-ridden U.S. Marine returns to Cuba to try to find the woman he promised to marry.

Guilty Hands

Guilty Hands

1931

Director

6.1
Directing

A district attorney commits the perfect murder when he kills his daughter's womanizing fiancé and then tries framing the fiancé's lover.

Never the Twain Shall Meet

Never the Twain Shall Meet

1931

Director

4.0
Directing

Dan works for Pritchard and Pritchard out of San Francisco and is in love with Maisie, referred to as "the icebox" by his news reporter friend. As one...

Trader Horn

Trader Horn

1931

Director

5.3
Directing

While on safari in an unexplored area of Africa, Trader Horn and Peru find missionary Edith Trent killed by natives. They decide to carry on her quest...

The Pagan

The Pagan

1929

Director

6.3
Directing

Henry, the pagan son of a white father and native mother, has inherited land and a store, but he prefers the simple life. When he falls in love with a...

White Shadows in the South Seas

White Shadows in the South Seas

1928

Director

6.6
Directing

An alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.

Under the Black Eagle

Under the Black Eagle

1928

Director

3.0
Directing

A German Shepherd Dog and the people he loves are entangled in World War One.

Spoilers of the West

Spoilers of the West

1927

Director

Directing

A soldier falls in love with a beautiful settler who has refused his order to leave American Indian land.

Foreign Devils

Foreign Devils

1927

Director

Directing

Capt. Robert Kelly holds off the foreign mob single-handed and makes good his escape during the Boxer rebellion.

The Eyes of the Totem

The Eyes of the Totem

1927

Director

6.0
Directing

After selling out a mining claim in the desolate and frigid north, Miriam Hardy moves to Tacoma with her husband and young daughter to start a new lif...

California

California

1927

Director

5.0
Directing

"The war with Mexico serves to bring together American officer and Mexican senorita, the former all ardent and the latter defiant because of the fact ...

Winners Of The Wilderness

Winners Of The Wilderness

1927

Director

7.5
Directing

During the French and Indian War the Indians under Pontiac kidnap Rene. Colonel O'Hara hopes to rescue and wed her.

War Paint

War Paint

1926

Director

Directing

An Indian chief of the Arapahoe escapes the reservation where he has been living and takes along some of his warriors. The cavalry is sent out for the...

The Gentle Cyclone

The Gentle Cyclone

1926

Director

5.0
Directing

The story is motivated by a long-standing feud, which comes to a head when each of the warring families tries to adopt an orphan girl who is about to ...

The Desert's Price

1925

Director

Directing

Returning from college, Wils McCann discovers that the long-standing feud between his family and their neighbors is actually the fault of the nasty Ma...

The Timber Wolf

The Timber Wolf

1925

Director

Directing

A lumber man called the Timber Wolf comes to the aid of an old prospector.

Ranger of the Big Pines

Ranger of the Big Pines

1925

Director

Directing

A college graduate returns West after ten years in the East to her home in Sulfur Springs. Virginia's mother, the owner of a rooming house has turned ...

Hearts and Spurs

Hearts and Spurs

1925

Director

Directing

Oscar has been sent to the plains to make a man of himself, is soon visited by his sister Sybil Estabrook, who travels west along with her maid in tow...

The Trail Rider

The Trail Rider

1925

Director

Directing

Story of a cowboy who saves an old cobbler from being abused by a nasty banker. The banker does not take kindly to Hartwell's interfering and orders h...

Barriers Burned Away

Barriers Burned Away

1925

Director

Directing

In 1871, a Chicago undercover detective gets a job as a porter in a disreputable saloon to get information on a stolen painting, which he believes wil...

Gold Heels

Gold Heels

1924

Director

Directing

A man tries to woo a woman, rescue an orphanage, and bet on the right horse.

Winner Take All

Winner Take All

1924

Director

Directing

Perry Blair starts off as a sparring partner for a fighter, but when he knocks the guy down, manager Charles Dunham immediately sees his potential. He...

The Beautiful Sinner

1924

Director

Directing

To help secret serviceman Bill Parsons in pursuit of the thieving Benson gang wealthy criminologist Henry Avery sends his assistant Blinky to cover th...

The Battling Fool

The Battling Fool

1924

Director

Directing

William Fairbanks stars in this fighting feature about a rural rube who enters the ring to earn prize money to help a crippled girl.

Loving Lies

Loving Lies

1924

Director

Directing

A tug boat skipper never informs his nervous wife when he has a dangerous job to do. This leads to complications when he rescues a young girl and her ...

The Little Girl Next Door

The Little Girl Next Door

1923

Director

Directing
The Boss of Camp 4

The Boss of Camp 4

1922

Director

Directing

To fulfill a contract entered into by his boss, Chet Fanning agrees to finish the construction within a certain amount of time. However, Andrew Paxton...

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not

1922

Director

Directing

Young mother Mary Gordoon is too poor to take care of her infant daughter, Ann, and leaves the child at an orphanage. Ann grows up with a crippled leg...

According to Hoyle

1922

Director

Directing

"'Boxcar' Simmons, a tramp, represents himself as a mining millionaire in a small town. The population accepts him at his own valuation, and two of th...

Double Adventure

Double Adventure

1921

Director

Directing

15 part adventure serial directed by W. S. Van Dyke survives in a Russian archive.

The Adventures of Daredevil Jack

The Adventures of Daredevil Jack

1920

Scenario Writer, Director

Writing Directing

Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey stars in this 15 chapter action serial, of which portions of reels 1, 2, and 4 survive. In the serial he play...

The Hawk's Trail

The Hawk's Trail

1919

Director

Directing

Through a forged will, a crook assumes control of a valuable estate. He poses as the brother of a dead man, and endeavors to dispose of the deceased m...

The Lady of the Dugout

The Lady of the Dugout

1918

Director

5.9
Directing

Real life outlaw Al Jennings tells a "real" story about how he came to the aid of a woman who was abused by her alcoholic husband.

Sadie Goes to Heaven

Sadie Goes to Heaven

1917

Director

Directing

Little six-year-old Sadie O'Malley, a child of the tenement district, has a vision of heaven awakened within her by the teaching of a settlement worke...

Men of the Desert

Men of the Desert

1917

Director, Writer

Directing Writing

Some of the most sanguinary feuds in America have been fought out, not in the mountains of the south, but on the deserts of the great west, where catt...

On Trial

On Trial

1917

Director

Directing

Robert Strickland, the self-confessed murderer of Gerald Trask, refuses to defend himself on the witness stand. His attorney, however, cross-examines ...

The Land of Long Shadows

The Land of Long Shadows

1917

Director, Writer

Directing Writing

The Land of Long Shadows is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Jack Gardner, Ruth King and Carl Stockdale. It ma...

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist

1916

as Charles Dickens

Acting

An orphan named Oliver Twist meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their ...

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916

as Cana Wedding Guest

7.1
Acting

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916

Second Assistant Director

7.1
Directing

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Orphan Joyce

1916

Writer

Writing

The day after the funeral of their beloved daughter, Mrs. Mason unexpectedly meets young orphan Joyce and is struck by her resemblance to her lost chi...

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation

1915

Assistant Director

6.0
Directing

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is capture...