LATER
WORK
Then
came THE HEIRESS (1949), a fine version of Henry James’s
novel Washington Square, with splendid performances by Olivia
de Havilland and Ralph Richardson. ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953),
which was completely shot on location in Rome, Italy, is
a delight. Wyler gave Audrey Hepburn her first leading role
and was rewarded with a magical performance. Hepburn won
an Oscar®,
like so many of Wyler’s actors did (14 of whom won
Academy Awards®,
out of a total of 36 nominations).
Later in his career, Wyler was involved in several popular
big-budget blockbusters. BEN-HUR (1959), which includes
the justly famous chariot race, was the biggest, and it
went on to win a record 11 of the 12 Oscars®
for which it was nominated. There was also FUNNY GIRL (1968),
in which Wyler guided another first-time performer, Barbra
Streisand, to an Oscar®.
The roster of great performances in Wyler’s films also
includes Merle Oberon (THESE THREE), Claire Trevor (superb
in a vignette in DEAD END [1937]), the less-well-known Doris
Davenport (THE WESTERNER), James Stephenson (THE LETTER),
Phyllis Love (FRIENDLY PERSUASION [1956]), and the nonprofessional
Harold Russell (THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES).
Even toward the end of his career, Wyler was still capable
of surprising his audience. His last movie, THE LIBERATION
OF L.B. JONES (1970), is a scathing attack on racism in
a small American town. A film of power and vigor, it capped
his long, marvelous career as a director.
Wyler wanted to continue to make pictures up until the end,
but his health kept him from doing so. For the next decade,
Wyler, and his wife Talli, traveled the globe. In 1976,
he became the fourth recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement
Award, succeeding John Ford, James Cagney and Orson Welles.
William Wyler died on July 27, 1981, in Beverly Hills, California.
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