Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos is known for Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Gidget (1959).
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1922; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 12, 2009; Malibu, California) was an American television and film director.
Following wartime service in the US Navy and attending Columbia University on the GI Bill Wendkos made his first feature, a documentary on a school for the blind called Dark Interlude in 1953.
Wendkos's first feature film was The Burglar . Wendkos's fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn who not only wished to distribute the film, but put Wendkos on a contract.
A variety of films followed for Columbia beginning with the hard-hitting crime drama The Case Against Brooklyn, two suspenseful war dramas Tarawa Beachhead and Battle of the Coral Sea, the youth-oriented Gidget and two sequels Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Gidget Goes to Rome as well as Because They're Young.
Wendkos also directed many episodes of Playhouse 90, Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, The Rifleman, Mr. Novak, Honey West, The Big Valley, I Spy, The Invaders and Hawaii Five-O. With I Spy, Wendkos filmed several interesting episodes but was deemed too "arty" by the producers and let go.
In 1968 Wendkos signed a five picture contract with Mirisch Productions beginning with the war films Attack on the Iron Coast and Hell Boats followed by Westerns set in Mexico but filmed in SpainGuns of the Magnificent Seven and Cannon for Cordoba. He also made the first feature film for Quinn Martin, The Mephisto Waltz.
From 1970 until his retirement in 1999, Wendkos specialized in made-for-television movies. One of these was The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988), based on a TWA hijacking in 1985, picked up five Emmy nominations, including one for Wendkos.
Wendkos was cited by film critic Andrew Sarris in his book The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968. He is also cited, along with many other directors, in The American Vein: Directors and Directions in Television by Christopher Wicking and Tise Vahimagi, Talisman Books (England), 1979, and E.P. Dutton (United States), 1979; Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 79-52675.
Wendkos married Ruth Bernat on March 1, 1953 and had one son, Jordan Elkan Wendkos. Ruth died in June, 1978. Wendkos married Lin Bolen, Former NBC VP & Producer in 1983 and they lived together happily in Malibu, California until his death. He is survived by his son, Jordan, granddaughter, Justine Wendkos, and his wife Lin Bolen Wendkos.
Wendkos was ill for several years following a stroke. He died on November 12, 2009 in Malibu, California.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Wendkos, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Questions about Paul Wendkos
How many Paul Wendkos films are in the catalogue?
The CineQuiz catalogue has 71 films with Paul Wendkos, from 1957 to 1999.
What is the best rated Paul Wendkos film?
The best rated Paul Wendkos film in the catalogue is Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), rated 5.4.
What was the first Paul Wendkos film?
The first Paul Wendkos film in the catalogue is Guns of the Magnificent Seven, from 1969.
People data: TMDb.
Known for
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5.4 Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
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6.0 The Mephisto Waltz
1971
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6.0 Gidget
1959
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4.8 Good Against Evil
1977
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5.7 Face of a Fugitive
1959
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6.9 Fear No Evil
1969
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8.1 Hell Boats
1970
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5.7 The Burglar
1957
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5.6 Cannon for Cordoba
1970
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6.9 The Legend of Lizzie Borden
1975
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7.0 Betrayal
1978
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5.5 The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
1988
Trivia
- Also works as
- screenwriter · television director
- Studied at
- Columbia University
- Spouse
- Lin Bolen
Trivia from Wikidata, licensed CC0.
Full filmography
77 films — 71 in the catalogue
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A Man of Potential: Visions of Paul Wendkos, the Godard of Gidget
2026 · Self
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10.0 Different
1999
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5.0 A Wing and a Prayer
1998
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8.5 Nobody Lives Forever
1998
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6.4 A Match Made in Heaven
1997
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5.3 Message from Nam
1993
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5.0 Bloodlines: Murder in the Family
1993
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7.0 Trial: The Price of Passion
1992
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7.1 Guilty Until Proven Innocent
1991
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7.5 White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd
1991
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4.0 The Chase
1991
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4.2 Good Cops, Bad Cops
1990
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6.0 From the Dead of Night
1989
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5.5
The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
1988
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6.8 The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story
1988
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7.8 Right to Die
1987
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4.8 Six Against the Rock
1987
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8.0 Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife
1987
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9.0 Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies
1987
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5.8 Rage of Angels: The Story Continues
1986
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5.0 Picking Up the Pieces
1985
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6.1 The Bad Seed
1985
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7.3 The Execution
1985
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6.0 Scorned and Swindled
1984
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8.0 The Awakening of Candra
1983
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5.0 Intimate Agony
1983
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6.9 Cocaine: One Man's Seduction
1983
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4.5 Farrell: For the People
1982
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9.0 Golden Gate
1981
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9.3 The Five of Me
1981
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10.0 A Cry for Love
1980
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5.3 The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd
1980
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6.8 Act of Violence
1979
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6.5 The Ordeal of Patty Hearst
1979
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7.0
Betrayal
1978
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7.5 A Little Game
1977
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4.8
Good Against Evil
1977
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7.0 Secrets
1977
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7.0 The Death of Richie
1977
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5.5 Special Delivery
1976
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4.9 Death Among Friends
1975
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6.9
The Legend of Lizzie Borden
1975
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6.3 The Underground Man
1974
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5.3 Terror on the Beach
1973
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5.0 Honor Thy Father
1973
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6.3 The Strangers in 7A
1972
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6.5 Footsteps
1972
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5.5 Haunts of the Very Rich
1972
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9.5 The Family Rico
1972
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7.0 The Woman I Love
1972
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9.0 The Delphi Bureau: The Merchant of Death Assignment
1972
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7.0 A Death of Innocence
1971
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5.6 A Tattered Web
1971
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6.0
The Mephisto Waltz
1971
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7.3
Travis Logan, D.A.
1971
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5.6
Cannon for Cordoba
1970
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6.0 The Brotherhood of the Bell
1970
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8.1
Hell Boats
1970
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5.4
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
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6.9
Fear No Evil
1969
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7.7 Cocoon
1968
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5.4 Attack on the Iron Coast
1968
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7.0 Johnny Tiger
1966
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Recoil
1963
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5.0 Gidget Goes to Rome
1963
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Five Fingers : The Temple of the Swinging Doll
1961
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5.0 Gidget Goes Hawaiian
1961
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6.1 Angel Baby
1961
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5.9 Because They're Young
1960
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5.9 Battle of the Coral Sea
1959
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5.7
Face of a Fugitive
1959
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6.0
Gidget
1959
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6.6 Tarawa Beachhead
1958
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8.0 Bitter Heritage
1958
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6.1 The Case Against Brooklyn
1958
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5.7
The Burglar
1957
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9.0 Stalk the Wild Child
1976
Series and TV shows
3 titles
7.2
6.9
5.6
People data: TMDb.
Cast
