William Keighley

Filmmakers

William Jackson Keighley (August 4, 1889– June 24, 1984) was an American stage actor and Hollywood film director. After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of 23. By the 1910s and 1920s, he was acting and directing on Broadway. With the advent of talking pictures, he relocated to Hollywood. He eventually signed with Warner Bros. He was the initial director of The Adventures of Robin Hood, with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Basil Rathbone, but was replaced by Michael Curtiz. During World War II, he supervised the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces. He retired in 1953 at the age of 64 and moved to Paris with his wife, Genevieve Tobin. In retirement, he became a photographer. He died of a stroke in New York City.
Other notable films include Bullets or Ballots (1936), with Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart; The Prince and the Pauper (1937), with Flynn and Claude Rains; Valley of the Giants (1938), with Wayne Morris, Claire Trevor, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale Sr., Donald Crisp, and Charles Bickford; Brother Rat (1938), Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman; Each Dawn I Die (1939), with James Cagney; No Time for Comedy (1940), with James Stewart; The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941), with Cagney and Bette Davis; Honeymoon (1947), with Shirley Temple; Close to My Heart (1951), with Ray Milland and Gene Tierney.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • The Match King (1932) – co-directed with Howard Bretherton
  • Ladies They Talk About (1933) – co-directed with Howard Bretherton
  • Easy to Love (1934)
  • Journal of a Crime (1934)
  • Dr. Monica (1934)
  • Kansas City Princess (1934)
  • Big Hearted Herbert (1934)
  • Babbitt (1934)
  • The Right to Live (1935)
  • G Men (1935)
  • Mary Jane’s Pa (1935)
  • Special Agent (1935)
  • Stars Over Broadway (1935)
  • The Singing Kid (1936)
  • Bullets or Ballots (1936)
  • The Green Pastures (1936) – co-director
  • God’s Country and the Woman (1936)
  • The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
  • Varsity Show (1937)
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) – co-directed with Michael Curtiz
  • Valley of the Giants (1938)
  • Secrets of an Actress (1938)
  • Brother Rat (1938)
  • Yes, My Darling Daughter (1939)
  • Each Dawn I Die (1939)
  • The Fighting 69th (1940)
  • Torrid Zone (1940)
  • No Time for Comedy (1940)
  • Four Mothers (1941)
  • The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
  • The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
  • George Washington Slept Here (1942)
  • Target for Today (1944) – documentary – uncredited
  • Honeymoon (1947)
  • The Street with No Name (1948)
  • Rocky Mountain (1950)
  • Close to My Heart (1951)
  • The Master of Ballantrae (1953)