Knowledgable movie buffs increasingly recognize the name of David Meuel as one of today’s premier film historians. His newest, Assembly Line Auteur: The Pre-Code Films of William Wellman (McFarland) provides further evidence of the author’s analytical skill, attention to detail, and grasp of motion picture history.
One reason I appreciate Meuel is his originality. Rather than cranking out the 367th book on Marilyn Monroe, he hones in on a specific and worthy topic, infusing it with cogent commentary. In writing about William A. Wellman (1896-1975), he could have focused on the director’s best-known work, like The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) or The High and the Mighty (1954). Instead, he takes a deep dive into the three-year period in the early 1930s when the energetic craftsman made an incredible eighteen films for Warner Bros., an aspect of Wellman’s career that Meuel argues convincingly merits more attention.
As he shows us, Wellman, even when handed projects not of his own choosing, or pressed to meet tight deadlines, demonstrated a flair for innovation and technical skill. Meuel points out, for example, that in shooting Night Nurse (1931), the director refused to accept the status quo of early sound films, with “his fluid use of the camera,” and how, “as an early user of the mobile ‘boom’ microphone, he kept the sound recording apparatus moving right along with it.” He also boosted the careers of actors like James Cagney and Barbara Stanwyck at critical junctures.
Unlike some authors, Meuel doesn’t try to convince us that everything his subject touched turned to gold. His critique of The Purchase Price (1932) clearly calls out its flaws, for which he doesn’t entirely absolve Wellman of blame, but also notes what he did well. Throughout the text, Meuel illustrates Wellman’s knack for “fortifying dubious material” rather than giving in to it.
This is an excellent film study that has something worthwhile to say, and says it in a clear, accessible way that readers will appreciate — and that some of the author’s peers might benefit from studying. I hope Mr. Meuel is hard at work on another book. I’ll be eager to read it.
NOTE: I was furnished a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
