Category: William Wyler

Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’: Unseen Battles, Uncelebrated Victories

October 13, 2022
"The Best Years of Our Lives"Arts & CultureBrightFilm & TVFrederic MarchMyrna LoyWilliam Wyler
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PG | 2h 50min | Drama | 1946 The Veterans Administration (VA) estimated that, in the late 1940s, about one-tenth of America’s population and a fifth of its workforce were veterans of World War II. For the next quarter of a century, America would depend on that beleaguered group of about 20 million (as large…

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Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Friendly Persuasion’: Dealing With Violence, Not Just the Idea of It

September 22, 2022
"Friendly Persuasion"Arts & CultureBrightFilm & TVGary CooperQuakerismWilliam Wyler
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G | 2h 17min | Drama | 1956 Gary Cooper’s “High Noon” (1952) merely touched on themes of Quakerism, pacifism, and fatalism, and how they relate to state-sanctioned attack or defense. Another of his movies, “Friendly Persuasion” (1956), explores these more deeply, more light-heartedly and, uniquely, from a Quaker’s perspective. Jess Birdwell (Cooper) heads a…

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Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Ben Hur’: William Wyler Whips up a Spectacle

September 20, 2022
"Ben Hur"Arts & CultureBrightCharlton HestonFilm & TVLife & TraditionStephen BoydWilliam Wyler
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G | 3h 32min | Drama, Epic | 1959 Imagine you’re a 23-year-old Jewish assistant director and production manager to 51-year-old director Fred Niblo. The year is 1925. You’re in Rome, shooting an MGM epic about a Jewish prince, based on a screenplay by one of the most influential women in Hollywood at the time,…

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