Frank Wead

Screenwriter

Biography

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Frank Wead wrote a variety of screenplays throughout the duration of his Hollywood career. Wead began his entertainment career in film writing following credits on "The Flying Fleet" (1929), "Shipmates" (1931) and the action flick "Hell Divers" (1931) with Wallace Beery. He also appeared in the action picture "Air Mail" (1932) with Pat O'Brien and "The All American" (1932). Wead wa...

Filmography

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The Beginning or the End (1947)

Blaze of Noon (1947)

The Hoodlum Saint (1946)

Original Screenplay

They Were Expendable (1945)

Destroyer (1943)

Destroyer (1943)

Photos & Videos

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Beginning Or The End, The (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Atom Bomb Special

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Mr. Ryan's Guest

Biography

Frank Wead wrote a variety of screenplays throughout the duration of his Hollywood career. Wead began his entertainment career in film writing following credits on "The Flying Fleet" (1929), "Shipmates" (1931) and the action flick "Hell Divers" (1931) with Wallace Beery. He also appeared in the action picture "Air Mail" (1932) with Pat O'Brien and "The All American" (1932). Wead was nominated for a Writing (Original Story) Academy Award for "Test Pilot" in 1938 as well as for a Writing (Screenplay) Academy Award for "The Citadel" in 1938. In the latter half of his career, Wead wrote the Errol Flynn action movie "Dive Bomber" (1941), "Destroyer" (1943) and "I'll Tell the World" (1945). Wead more recently wrote "The Beginning or the End" (1947). Wead passed away in November 1947 at the age of 52.

Filmography

Writer (Feature Film)

The Beginning or the End (1947)

Blaze of Noon (1947)

The Hoodlum Saint (1946)

Original Screenplay

They Were Expendable (1945)

Destroyer (1943)

Destroyer (1943)

Dive Bomber (1941)

Dive Bomber (1941)

I Wanted Wings (1941)

Moon over Burma (1940)

Sailor's Lady (1940)

Tail Spin (1939)

Original Screenplay

Tail Spin (1939)

20,000 Men a Year (1939)

The Citadel (1938)

Test Pilot (1938)

A Yank at Oxford (1938)

Contr to Screenplay const

Submarine D-1 (1937)

Sea Devils (1937)

The Woman I Love (1937)

Contract Writer

Submarine D-1 (1937)

Sea Devils (1937)

Ceiling Zero (1936)

Stage and Screenplay by

China Clipper (1936)

Contract Writer

Murder in the Fleet (1935)

West Point of the Air (1935)

The Great Impersonation (1935)

Storm over the Andes (1935)

Alas sobre el Chaco (1935)

Stranded (1935)

Fugitive Lovers (1934)

Original Screenplay story

I'll Tell the World (1934)

Hell in the Heavens (1934)

Contr to Screenplay const

Midshipman Jack (1933)

Air Mail (1932)

Hell Divers (1932)

The All American (1932)

Shipmates (1931)

Dirigible (1931)

The Flying Fleet (1929)

Life Events

Videos

Beginning Or The End, The (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Atom Bomb Special A wholly fictional prologue, as the ceremony covered in this fake newsreel never took place, and all the identified historical figures are portrayed by actors (Brian Donlevy, Hume Cronyn prominent), in MGM’s government-approved story of the atom bomb, The Beginning Or The End, 1947.

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Mr. Ryan's Guest Navy nurse and almost-girlfriend Sandy (Donna Reed) joins Rusty Ryan (John Wayne), his superior Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and cohorts for dinner and sentiment in the Philippines, in John Ford's They Were Expendable, 1945.

Destroyer (1943) -- (Movie Clip) Shipbuilding Steve "Boley" Boleslavski (Edward G. Robinson) enthuses about building the new destroyer "John Paul Jones" in Destroyer, 1943, from a story by Frank "Spig" Wead.

Destroyer (1943) -- (Movie Clip) You Don't Look Like A Destroyer Man Newly assigned training officer Steve Boleslavski (Edward G. Robinson) runs into a tough recruit named Donohue (Glenn Ford) in Destroyer, 1943, from a story by Frank "Spig" Wead.

Beginning Or The End, The (1947) -- (Movie Clip) Just Another Bomb Jonathan Hale resembles Vannevar Bush, whom he plays, consulting FDR (Godfrey Tearle) about the need for atomic research, whose call across the pond causes fictional Brits Chisolm (Richard Haydn) and Wyatt (Hurd Hatfield) to proceed to Chicago, in The Beginning Or The End, 1947.

Hoodlum Saint, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Baltimore, 1919 Opening in Baltimore, 1919, MGM offers William Powell as reporter-turned-doughboy come home, visiting his old newspaper where there’s no job on offer, meeting his pals and Will Wright as his old editor, in The Hoodlum Saint, 1946, original screenplay by Frank Wead and James Hill.

Hoodlum Saint, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) Everything Is Sweetness And Love Crashing a Baltimore society wedding in 1919, out-of-work WWI vet reporter Terry (William Powell) has charmed Kay (Esther Williams), whom he learns is the niece of the publisher (Charles Trowbridge) and friend of the financier Malbery (Henry O’Neill) he hoped to meet, in The Hoodlum Saint, 1946.

Hoodlum Saint, The (1946) -- (Movie Clip) If I Had You Home in Baltimore, now a Wall Street success, Terry (William Powell) has brought jewelry and hopes to win back ex-flame Kay (Esther Williams), but is thwarted, and returns to New York, where he finds some comfort with a friend, singer Dusty (Angela Lansbury), in MGM’s The Hoodlum Saint, 1946.

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Those Boats Of Yours Director John Ford framing the predicament, torpedo boat pilots Brickley (Robert Montgomery) and Ryan (John Wayne) put on a terrific show in Manila Bay, then get dissed by an admiral, early in They Were Expendable, 1946.

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) What Is Your Rank? Torpedo boat skipper Ryan (John Wayne), furious at being sent to the hospital at Corregidor after getting his first decent mission, takes his frustration out on nurse and lieutenant Sandy (Donna Reed), in John Ford's They Were Expendable, 1945.

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Rather LIke Back Home Mostly on her initiative, Navy nurse Sandy (Donna Reed) and her recovering patient Lt. Ryan (John Wayne) have danced into seclusion during a party at the hospital, when his boss Brickley (Robert Montgomery) interrupts, on Corregidor, 1941, in John Ford's They Were Expendable, 1945.

They Were Expendable (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Lay Down That Sacrifice Hopes are raised when Ryan (John Wayne) and fellow P-T boat captains see a chance for action, then dashed when Brickley (Robert Montgomery) gets orders from the admiral (Charles Trowbridge), in John Ford's They Were Expendable, 1945.

Bibliography

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