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William Witney
William Witney
Born	William Nuelsen Witney; May 15, 1915; Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	March 17, 2002 (aged 86); Jackson, California, U.S.
Other names	William Whitney
Years active	1939–1982
Spouse(s)	Maxine Doyle (m. 1938–1973; her death); Beverly (m. 1977–2002; his death)
Website	www.williamwitney.com

William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: Dick Tracy Returns, G-Men vs. the Black Dragon, Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion, and Drums of Fu Manchu.^[1] Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued working until 1982.

Biography

Witney was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was four years old when his father died, and he lived with his uncle, who was an Army captain at Fort Sam Houston. Colbert Clark, Witney's brother-in-law, introduced him to films by letting him ride in some chase scenes for the serial Fighting with Kit Carson (1933). Witney stayed around the Mascot Pictures headquarters while preparing for the entrance exam to the U.S. Naval Academy. After he failed that exam, he continued at the studio.

In 1936 Mascot was absorbed by Republic, and Witney was now working for studio president Herbert Yates. He was an assistant on the serial The Painted Stallion when director Ray Taylor's drinking problem had gotten out of hand and Taylor had to leave the location. Witney replaced Taylor, and became a director permanently.^[2]

Witney teamed with director John English for several of Republic's most successful and best-remembered serials. Witney is credited with devising the modern system of filming movie fight sequences. Instead of filming a crowd of people wildly throwing punches at each other, as in a barroom brawl, Witney broke the action down into separate, carefully choreographed shots, which he patterned after the dance sequences in Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals.^[3]

During World War II he served in the US Marine Corps combat cameraman unit.^[4]

Following the war, Witney returned to public directing many of Roy Rogers' and Rex Allen's Westerns. He directed the 2nd unit battle scenes of The Last Command (1955) and three juvenile delinquent movies The Cool and the Crazy (1958), Juvenile Jungle (1958) and Young and Wild (1958).

When Republic closed in 1957, he directed films for American International Pictures and Associated Producers Incorporated.

Witney found freelance work in television. He directed the Jim Davis syndicated adventure television series, Rescue 8, which aired from 1958 to 1960 as well as several episodes of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer 1958-1960 TV series. He became one of the staff directors of the CBS network series The Wild Wild West. Witney's serial experience was ideal for this series, which ended each quarter-hour with a suspenseful cliffhanger.

He made feature films in the 1960s, such as Master of the World (1961) starring Vincent Price and Charles Bronson, several Westerns for Audie Murphy; Apache Rifles (1964), Arizona Raiders (1965) and 40 Guns to Apache Pass (1966) as well as The Girls on the Beach (1965).

In the 1970s he directed I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) starring Jim Brown and Darktown Strutters a 1975 blaxploitation musical comedy.

Personal life

Witney was married to former actress Maxine Doyle until her death in 1973. In his later years he was a popular speaker at film and nostalgia conventions. He died of a stroke in 2002.^[5]^[6]

Appraisal

Quentin Tarantino has called him "one of the greatest action directors in the history of the business."^[7] Tarantino considers four films as Witney's best work: The Golden Stallion (1949), a Roy Rogers vehicle, Stranger at My Door (1956), The Bonnie Parker Story (1958), and Paratroop Command (1959).^[8]

He was also admired by Bertrand Tavernier.^[9]

Selected filmography

The Law of the Wild (1934) (serial) - assistant director
The Phantom Empire (1935) (serial) - assistant director
The Miracle Rider (1935) (serial) - editor
The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936) (serial) - assistant director, script supervisor
Darkest Africa (1936) (serial) - script supervisor
Red River Valley (1936) - script supervisor
Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936) (serial) - editor
Dick Tracy (1937) (serial) - editor, 2nd unit director
The Painted Stallion (1937) (serial) - director
S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937) (serial) - director
The Trigger Trio (1937) - director
Zorro Rides Again (1937) (serial) - director
The Lone Ranger (1938) (serial) - director - edited into the feature Hi Yo Silver! (1940)
The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938) (serial) - director
Dick Tracy Returns (1938) (serial) - director
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) (serial) - director
The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) (serial) - director
Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) (serial) - director
Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) (serial) - director
Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939) (serial) - director
Heroes of the Saddle (1940) - director
Drums of Fu Manchu (1940) (serial) - director
Adventures of Red Ryder (1940) (serial) - director
King of the Royal Mounted (1940) (serial) - director
Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940) (serial) - director
Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) (serial) - director
Jungle Girl (1941) (serial) - director
King of the Texas Rangers (1941) (serial) - director
Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941) (serial) - director
Spy Smasher (1942) (serial) - director
The Girl from Alaska (1942) - director (uncredited)
Perils of Nyoka (1942) (serial) - director
King of the Mounties (1942) (serial) - director
Outlaws of Pine Ridge (1942) - director
G-Men vs. the Black Dragon (1943) (serial) - director
Roll on Texas Moon (1946) - director
Home in Oklahoma (1946) - director
The Crimson Ghost (1946) (serial) - director
Heldorado (1946) - director
Apache Rose (1947) - director
Bells of San Angelo (1947) - director
Springtime in the Sierras (1947) - director
On the Old Spanish Trail (1947) - director
The Gay Ranchero (1948) - director
Under California Skies (1948) - director
Eyes of Texas (1948) - director
Night Time in Nevada (1948) - director
Grand Canyon Trail (1948) - director
The Far Frontier (1948) - director
Susanna Pass (1949) - director
Down Dakota Way (1949) - director
Land of Opportunity: The American Rodeo (1949) (documentary) - director
The Golden Stallion (1949) - director
Land of Opportunity: The Sponge Driver (1949) (documentary) - director
Bells of Coronado (1950) - director
Land of Opportunity: Tillers of the Soil (1950) (documentary) - director
Land of Opportunity: Mardi Gras (1950) (documentary) - director
Twilight in the Sierras (1950) - director
Trigger, Jr. (1950) - director
Sunset in the West (1950) - director
North of the Great Divide (1950) - director
Trail of Robin Hood (1950) - director
Spoilers of the Plains (1951) - director
The Wild Blue Yonder (1951) - actor
Heart of the Rockies (1951) - director
In Old Amarillo (1951) - director
South of Caliente (1951) - director
Pals of the Golden West (1951) - director
Colorado Sundown (1952) - director
The Last Musketeer (1952) - director
Border Saddlemates (1952) - director
Old Oklahoma Plains (1952) - director
The WAC from Walla Walla (1952) - director
South Pacific Trail (1952) - director
Old Overland Trail (1953) - director
Iron Mountain Trail (1953) - director
Down Laredo Way (1953) - director
Shadows of Tombstone (1953) - director
The Outcast (1954) - director
Stories of the Century (1954–55) (TV series) - director
Santa Fe Passage (1955) - director
The Last Command (1955) - 2nd unit director
City of Shadows (1955) - director
Headline Hunters (1955) - director
The Fighting Chance (1955) - director
The Last Command (1955) (battle scenes)
Stranger at My Door (1956) - director
A Strange Adventure (1956) - director
Panama Sal (1957) - director
Zorro (1958–60) (TV series) - director
The Cool and the Crazy (1958) - director
Juvenile Jungle (1958) - director
Young and Wild (1958) - director
The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) - director
Mike Hammer (1959) (TV series) - director
Special Agent 7 (1959) (TV series) - director
Lassie (1959) (TV series) - director
Paratroop Command (1959) - director
Sky King (1959) (TV series) - director
Rescue 8 (1959) (TV series) - director
State Trooper (1959) (TV series) - director
Frontier Doctor (1956–59) (TV series) - director
Riverboat (1959–60) (TV series) - director
Wagon Train (1959–65) (TV series) - director
Valley of the Redwoods (1960) - director
Overland Trail (1960) (TV series) - director
The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960) - director
M Squad (1960) (TV series) - director
The Tall Man (1961) (TV series) - editor, director
Coronado 9 (1960–61) (TV series) - director
The Long Rope (1961) - director
The Cat Burglar (1961) - director
Master of the World (1961) - director
Frontier Circus (1961–62) (TV series) - director
Tales of Wells Fargo (1961–62) (TV series) - director
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) - 2nd unit director
The Virginian (1962–69) (TV series) - director
Wide Country (1963) (TV series) - director
Laramie (1963) (TV series) - director
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964) (TV series) - director
Marnie (1964) - 2nd unit director
Destry (1964) (TV series) - director
Apache Rifles (1964) - director
The Girls on the Beach (1965) - director
Arizona Raiders (1965) - director
The Wild Wild West (1965) (TV series) - director
Branded (1966) (TV series) - director
Laredo (1966–67) (TV series) - director
Daniel Boone (1966–67) (TV series) - director
Bonanza (1966) (TV series) - director
40 Guns to Apache Pass (1967) - director
Hondo (1967) (TV series) - director
Tarzan (1967–68) (TV series) - director
The High Chaparral (1967–68) (TV series) - director
I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973) - director
The Cowboys (1974) (TV series) - director
Kodiak (TV series) - director
Darktown Strutters (1974) - director
Quell and Co. (1982) aka Showdown at Eagle Gap - director, actor