51 William Wyler Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Catherine is a young woman who is the heir to the large fortune belonging to her father. Her life takes a turn when she meets a man named Morris, who gives her the love and appreciation that she doesn’t get from her father, and she falls in love with him. Things get complicated when her father learns about their relationship and suspects that Morris is only after her money. Therefore, he tells his daughter that she will be disinherited if she gets married to Morris.

The Best Years of Our Lives is an Oscar-winning American drama film which tells the story of three World War II veterans, who return home to a small town in America, only to find that they and their families have been changed irreparably. 

A Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by his Roman friend. However, he eventually manages to regain his freedom, and decides to come back to take his revenge.

Regina Hubbard is a beautiful and brilliant woman who aspires for wealth in a world where fathers only considered sons as legal heirs. She is financially dependent on her husband Horace, who is at a sanitarium for many years, due to his heart condition. However, when she needs him for her plans, she tries to manipulate her daughter into bringing him back.

A retired automobile manufacturer and his wife take a vacation to Europe, which is to be their ‘second honeymoon’. While the wife falls in with a crowd of frivolous socialites, the husband meets a woman who is quite opposite to his wife- self-assured, confident and able to take care of herself.

A royal princess Ann, irritated by her regulated lifestyle and duties, escapes from her embassy while in Rome and ends up sleeping at a public bench. She is found by Joe Bradley, an American newspaper reporter who takes her to his apartment for safety. The next morning, when he finds out her real identity, he promises his editor an exclusive and takes Ann on a sightseeing tour.

The Big Country is a Western drama film which revolves around James McKay, who visits the American West to be with Patricia, his fiancée. However, he finds himself caught up in the middle of two warring families.  

Mary is a rebellious student studying at a girl’s school who is known to be a spoiled child, who bullies her classmates. When she loses interest in going back to school, she accuses two of her teachers of being lesbians.  

Based on a novel of the same name, this romantic drama film is about Heathcliff, an orphaned boy who is found on the streets by Mr Earnshaw.  He brings him home to live with his own children Cathy and Hindley. Over the years, Cathy and Heathcliff develop feelings for one another, although Hindley despises Heathcliff. However, their neighbor Edgar also falls for Cathy, and proposes to her. Heathcliff decides to disappear from her life forever.

The Letter is a mystery crime drama film which revolves around the wife of a rubber plantation administrator who kills a man and claims it to be self-defense. However, things take a turn when she receives a letter from a blackmailer having incriminating evidence.

Mrs. Miniver is a war drama film which revolves around a middle-class British family, as they try to survive during the beginning of the Second World War.  

Detective Story is a crime drama film which tells the story of Detective Jim McLeod, who is on a mission to bring an abortionist named Karl Schneider to justice, as he is responsible for the death of many women. Meanwhile, Schneider’s lawyer informs the police that Jim has a personal reason for wanting to hunt down Karl.

Considered as one of the best musical films ever made, Funny Girl revolves around the life of comedienne Fannie Brice. It depicts how she struggled in her early days,  and managed to reach the height of her career.

Jezebel is a romantic drama film which tells the story of a beautiful and free spirited girl, who is also stubborn and vain. When her fiance leaves her due to this, she vows that she will get him back.

The Desperate Hours is a crime drama thriller film which revolves around three escaped convicts, who target a house in a suburban neighborhood, where they plan to hide until midnight, after being delivered money by an accomplice. They take a family hostage, but things get ugly, when the delivery does not take place, and their stay extends.

Friendly Persuasion is a Western war drama film which revolves around the Quaker family in 1862. Since their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war, they have always held a pacifist attitude. However, with the arrival of the Southern troops during the American Civil War, they find themselves in real trouble, and their pacifism is tested. 

The Good Fairy is a romantic comedy film which tells the story of Luisa Ginglebuscher, who grows up in the Municipal Orphanage. From an early age, she used to entertain the other girls with her fairy tales. She later begins working in a movie palace in Budapest, and she tries to be friendly towards others and help them in every way. She soon befriends a millionaire named Konrad. She is not interested in his rich gifts, but she schemes to be a ‘good fairy’ and try to divert some of his wealth to the poor Dr Sporum instead.  

These Three is a romantic drama film which revolves around Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, two schoolteachers, both of whom are in love with the same man Dr. Joe Cardin. Their lives are turned upside down when one of their students cooks up a malicious lie.

The Westerner is a western drama film which takes us to a town named Vinegaroon, in Texas 1882, where Judge Roy Bean has appointed himself as the hanging judge. He conducts trials from his saloon, and makes a corrupt living by seizing property unlawfully, as well as by collecting fines. Those who oppose him are sentenced for hanging. However, things change with the arrival of a drifter named Cole Harden.

Devastated by learning about his wife’s extramarital affair, George, a successful barrister, is about to leap from the window of his office in the Empire State Building. However, Regina, his secretary, who is in love with him, comes to rescue him.

Charles Bonnet is a successful art forger, but he finds himself in trouble when one of his works end up in a famous museum in Paris. He is worried because if experts are able to determine that it is inauthentic, his reputation will be tarnished. However, his daughter teams up with a burglar to steal the sculpture before it is too late.  

Martin, a mobster returns home to the New York neighborhood, where he had grown up. However, his mother rejects him because of his gangster lifestyle. He soon finds out that his old girlfriend Francey is now working as a prostitute. He also meets his childhood friend who is struggling to become an architect.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress is a documentary war film which revolves around the 25th bombing mission of the Memphis Belle, a B-17 heavy bomber in the US 8th Air Force.

The Fighting Lady is a war documentary film which revolves around the life of several seamen who are on board an aircraft carrier, which was disguised by the name ‘The Fighting Lady’.  

A young boy who is attending military school learns that his father, whom many considered to be a war hero, was actually a deserter, although he had received a Medal of Honor.

Hell’s Heroes is a Western drama film which tells the story of three bank robbers on the run who come across a woman who is about to give birth in a wagon. Before dying due to childbirth complications, she names the three bandits as the godfathers for her newborn.

A House Divided is a drama film which revolves around a widowed fisherman who falls for a woman, who is young enough to be his daughter. They soon get married. However, things get quite complicated when she falls in love with his son.  

LB Jones is a rich African-American funeral director who learns that his wife is having an affair with Joe Worth, a police officer who is also the father of Emma’s unborn child. However, his lawyer decides to take matters into his own hands as he doesn’t want this affair dragged into a court of law.

Lumberman Barney Glasgow leaves his girlfriend Lotta Morgan, and instead gets married to Emma Louise, his wealthy boss’s daughter. Over the years, he manages to become quite rich, and after twenty three years, he meets Lotta Bostrom, the daughter of his former girlfriend who has now passed away. She looks exactly like her mother, and Barney can’t stop himself from being attracted to her.

Thunderbolt is a war historical documentary film  which depicts the struggles of the American Air Force during the Second World War in a certain Operation Strangle.

After finding her fiance dead, Mary Rutledge goes to work at a rowdy gambling house in 1950s San Francisco. She soon falls for another man named Carmichael.

Mary Smith, the bored daughter of presidential hopeful Horace Smith, is living a scandal-free life. She falls in love with cowboy Stretch Willoughby who hates high society. Mary pretends to be a maid hiding her true identity and the two get married. Life gets complicated as both of her lives catch up with one another. 

The Love Trap is a comedy film which revolves around a cab driver, who finds himself falling for a woman who lost her job and apartment, despite the fact that his uncle doesn’t approve of her.

Celebrated cricketer A. J. Raffles is also a master burglar and safecracker. Nicknamed "The Amateur Cracksman", he takes full advantage of the invitations offered by the aristocrats.  Then he falls in love with the sister of an old friend and when he learns about his friend’s gambling debt, he decides to accept another weekend invitation. 

The Shakedown is a sports drama film which tells the story of Dave Roberts, a professional boxer who is part of a group that sets up fixed boxing matches. However, Dave’s life begins to change after he meets an honest woman and he rescues an orphan from an oncoming train. He begins to care for them, and eventually he has to decide whether to continue living his corrupt life, or stand up against those who have been making him take part in the corruption.