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Alfred L. Werker

 
Director: Alfred L. Werker
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  • Born: Dec 02, 1896 in Deadwood, South Dakota
  • Occupation: Director
  • Active: '20s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Western
  • Career Highlights: The House of Rothschild, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Kidnapped
  • First Major Screen Credit: Ridin' the Wind (1925)

Biography

In films from 1917, director Alfred L. Werker was either a competent craftsman or talented hack, depending on which of his colleagues you consulted. After paying his dues in a series of secondary production jobs, Werker began directing Fred Thompson westerns in 1925. He began his long association with Fox Studios (later 20th Century-Fox) with 1928's Chasing Through Europe. When Erich Von Stroheim was pulled off his 1932 directorial effort Walking Down Broadway, Werker took over, finishing the film (released as Hello Sister) minus screen credit. The Werker and Stroheim sequences were as different as night and day, fueling the rumor that Werker was, at base, a second-rater. How, then, does one explain such excellent Werker productions as House of Rothschild (1934) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), the latter regarded by many as the all-time best of the Rathbone/Bruce "Holmes" pictures. During the early 1940s, Werker was assigned several comedies, notably Disney's The Reluctant Dragon (1941; live-action sequences only), Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) and Milton Berle's Whispering Ghost (1943); none were particularly distinguished. Briefly associated with the young-and-hungry Eagle Lion studios in the late 1940s, Werker turned out some of his best work, including the intriguing murder melodrama Repeat Performance (1947). Outwardly, his finest achievement during this period was He Walked By Night (1948), though much of this film was the handiwork of an uncredited Anthony Mann. Werker retired in 1957. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Alfred L. Werker
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Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 - July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs, Werker directed his first film in 1925. He was brought in by Fox Film Corporation executives to re-shoot and re-edit Erich von Stroheim's film Hello, Sister! (1933), co-starring Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts.

Most of Werker's work is unremarkable, but a few were well received by critics. Those films included House of Rothschild (1934) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), the later a film is considered one of the best in the Sherlock Holmes series.

During the early 1940s, he directed a number of comedies including Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942).

In the late 1940s, Werker worked for the B-picture film studio Eagle-Lion Films. Notable films from that period include the unique mystery thriller Repeat Performance and He Walked by Night. The latter film, however, was taken over by uncredited director Anthony Mann.


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Director. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alfred L. Werker".  Read more