William Bowers

Playwright, Screenwriter

About

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Also Known As

William J. Bowers

Birth Place

Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

Born

January 17, 1916

Died

March 27, 1987

Cause of Death

Respiratory Failure

Biography

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Specialized in comedy westerns and also turned out several thrillers. Bowers produced the last film that he wrote, the superior Western parody "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (1969)....

Filmography

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The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979)

Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978)

Sidekicks (1974)

The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Photos & Videos

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Seven Days' Leave (1942) -- (Movie Clip) Can't Get Out Of This Mood

Advance To The Rear (1964) -- (Movie Clip) The Whole Purpose Of This War

Biography

Specialized in comedy westerns and also turned out several thrillers. Bowers produced the last film that he wrote, the superior Western parody "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (1969).

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Writer (Feature Film)

The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979)

Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978)

Sidekicks (1974)

The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

The Ride to Hangman's Tree (1967)

Way ... Way Out (1966)

Advance to the Rear (1964)

The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)

Alias Jesse James (1959)

The Sheepman (1958)

Imitation General (1958)

The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

My Man Godfrey (1957)

The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)

5 Against the House (1955)

Tight Spot (1955)

She Couldn't Say No (1954)

Split Second (1953)

Cry Danger (1951)

Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)

Convicted (1950)

The Gunfighter (1950)

The Gunfighter (1950)

The Gal Who Took the West (1949)

Story and Screenplay

Abandoned (1949)

Additional Dialogue

The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948)

River Lady (1948)

Black Bart (1948)

Something in the Wind (1947)

Ladies' Man (1947)

Night and Day (1946)

The Fabulous Suzanne (1946)

The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)

Sing Your Way Home (1945)

Higher and Higher (1943)

Additional Dialogue

The Adventures of a Rookie (1943)

Original story and Adapted

Seven Days' Leave (1942)

Original Screenplay

My Favorite Spy (1942)

Producer (Feature Film)

Mobile Two (1975)

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Music (Feature Film)

Writer (Special)

More Wild Wild West (1980)

More Wild Wild West (1980)

Special Thanks (Special)

More Wild Wild West (1980)

More Wild Wild West (1980)

Life Events

1942

First film credit as co-writer of "My Favorite Spy"

1969

Final film writing credit, also first film as producer, "Support Your Local Sheriff!"

Videos

Seven Days' Leave (1942) -- (Movie Clip) Can't Get Out Of This Mood Following complex machinations, G-I Johnny (Victor Mature) is about to confess to heiress Terry (Lucille Ball) that his romancing is motivated partly by a big inheritance, not realizing she’s way ahead of him, we cut to Ginny Simms with the Freddy Martin Orchestra, and another Jimmy McHugh/Frank Loesser tune, in RKO’s Seven Days’ Leave, 1942.

Advance To The Rear (1964) -- (Movie Clip) The Whole Purpose Of This War Union Captain Heath (Glenn Ford) is upbraided by his superior, by-the-book career officer and General Brackenby (Melvyn Douglas), for rocking the boat by taking prisoners, when fighting ensues, and he has a further chat with his goofy Sergeant Davis (Alan Hale Jr.), early in the MGM Civil War comedy Advance To The Rear, 1964.

Advance To The Rear (1964) The War Won't Last Forever Briefly with Whit Bissell as Union Captain Queeg, Melvyn Douglas as Col. Brackenby and Glenn Ford as Lt. Heath, who’ve just been demoted together for screwing up and are being shipped west, meet Joan Blondell as Easy Jenny and Stella Stevens as dishy Martha Lou, whom we know to be a top Confederate spy, in the Civil War comedy Advance To The Rear, 1964.

-30- (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Leaving Girls Around Closer to a love scene, or anything intimate or personal, than any producer, director and star Jack Webb (as editor Sam Gatlin) ever played on (TV’s) Dragnet(1951-1959), his young second wife Peggy (Whitney Blake) visits the newsroom, rain still falling, their topics hot then heavy, in the newspaper drama -30-, 1959.

-30- (1959) -- (Movie Clip) The Woman's Angle Neurotic but determined newsroom writer Jan (Nancy Valentine) is baffled when her assault on night-shift editor Sam Gatlin (producer and director Jack Webb) succeeds, city editor Bathgate (Willian Conrad) concurring, in -30-, 1959.

-30- (1959) -- (Movie Clip) Conditions That Prevail Opening scene, city editor Bathgate (William Conrad) toying with copy boy Collins (David Nelson, Ozzie and Harriet's son), veteran colleagues smirking, from director, producer and star Jack Webb's -30-, 1959tbd

Convicted (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Murder Was Not Your Intent Glenn Ford as Joe who accidentally killed a big-shot’s son in a bar fight, gets sentenced as his lame employer-hired lawyer (Roland Winters) gets chewed out by the compassionate D-A Knowland (Broderick Crawford), Griff Barnett his sad father, Dorothy Malone, 13 years Crawford’s junior, as his daughter, Millard Mitchell the other convict on the train, in Convicted, 1950.

Convicted (1950) -- (Movie Clip) They Call It Yammering Ex-D-A Knowland (Broderick Crawford) is unflappable on his first day as prison warden, ignoring head guard Douglas (Carl Benton Reid) and aide Mackay (Ed Begley), confronting his new charges including Tex (John Doucette) and Luigi (Peter Virgo), in Convicted, 1950, starring Glenn Ford.

Convicted (1950) -- (Movie Clip) I Said Prosecute Not Persecute Glenn Ford as Joe, sent up for accidentally killing a guy in a bar fight, now in trouble for slugging a guard, with Broderick Crawford as Knowland, the D-A who prosecuted him, now warden of the prison, consoling him about his father’s death and introducing his fetching daughter-assistant (Dorothy Malone), in Convicted, 1950

Cry Danger (1951) -- (Movie Clip) All The Big Shots From opening credits revealing nothing but trains, star Dick Powell emerges, we soon learn, from a stretch in prison, greeted by cop Gus (Regis Toomey) and alibi DeLong (Richard Erdman), in Cry Danger, 1951, directed by Robert Parrish, also starring Rhonda Fleming.

Cry Danger (1951) -- (Movie Clip) Better Grab Me Quick Settling in at an LA trailer park, newly cleared convict Rocky (Dick Powell) with his landlord (Jay Adler) when we discover why he's there, Nancy (Rhonda Fleming), the wife of his still-jailed also-innocent friend, arriving, early in Cry Danger, 1951.

Cry Danger (1951) -- (Movie Clip) I Want To See The Man Sprung from prison and working to free his also-framed buddy, Rocky (Dick Powell) meets a cigarette girl (Gloria Saunders), and pays a second visit to bookie Castro (William Conrad), who gave him a race tip instead of the loot he denies ever having had, in Cry Danger, 1951.

Seven Days' Leave - (Original Trailer) A G.I. (Victor Mature) must marry an heiress (Lucille Ball) whom he's never met to get $100,000, all in a Seven Days' Leave (1942).

Night and Day - (Original Trailer) Fanciful biography of songwriter Cole Porter (Cary Grant), who rose from high society to find success on Tin Pan Alley.

Gunfighter, The - (Re-issue Trailer) The fastest gun in the West (Gregory Peck) tries to escape his reputation in The Gunfighter (1950).

Assignment - Paris - (Original Trailer) Dana Andrews is a foreign correspondent searching for leads in Communist Hungary in Assignment - Paris (1952).

Advance To The Rear - (Original Trailer) Civil War rejects are sent to the West, supposedly out of harm's way in Advance To The Rear (1964) starring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens.

Sing Your Way Home - (Original Trailer) A war correspondent (Jack Haley) assembles young European entertainers to put on a show for the troops in Sing Your Way Home (1945) directed by Anthony Mann.

5 Against the House - (Original Trailer) Four college buddies plot to rob a Reno casino in 5 Against the House (1955).

Split Second - (Original Trailer) Escaping convicts hold hostages in a ghost town, not realizing it's an A-bomb site in Split Second (1953).

She Couldn't Say No (1954) - (Original Trailer) An heiress decides to pass out anonymous gifts in a small town in She Couldn't Say No (1954), starring Jean Simmons and Robert Mitchum.

Mrs. O'Malley And Mr. Malone - (Original Trailer) A lawyer and a widow encounter murder on a train in Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950) starring James Whitmore and Marjorie Main.

Cry Danger - (Re-release Trailer) Innocent ex-con Dick Powell sets out to find the real criminals in Cry Danger (1951).

Mob, The - (Original Trailer) Police detective Broderick Crawford fakes a suspension so he can go undercover in The Mob (1951).

Bibliography

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