The Best of William Wellman

1.  Public Enemy (1931)
​​2.  Night Nurse (1931)
3.  Battleground (1949)
4.  Wings (1927)
5.  Beau Geste (1939)
6.  Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
7.  Beggars of Life (1928)
8.  The Ox Bow Incident (1943)
9.  A Star is Born (1937)
10.  Nothing Sacred (1937)

The Rationalization
Wild Bill Wellman directed more than 75 films over his 35 year career, so picking just 10 films was a chore.  Now granted I haven't seen The Story of GI Joe, the movie he thought was his best, but I think this list captures the spirit of Wellman.  His pre-code era films, in fact,  including Public Enemy, Night Nurse, Safe in Hell & Wild Boys of the Road represent as great a period in any filmmaker's career.  The 18 films he made for Warner Bros from 1931-1933 capture the spirit of the times, but also last as testaments to creativity in the heart of the studio era.  His true loves, however, were movies about war and the 3 included in this list are each masterpieces,each representing very different experiances.  Wings, with its still amazing aerial photography, Beau Geste and it's literal espirit decorp & finally Battleground, which stands up to any WWII film.  Wellman is often overlooked when the greatest Hollywood directors are mentioned, but this list obviously shows that that is an egregious oversight. 

Heroes for sale

Beggars of Life

Safe in Hell

Battleground