Wilson (film)

Infobox Film
name = Wilson


caption = VHS Cover
director = Henry King
producer = Darryl F. Zanuck
writer = Lamar Trotti
starring = Charles Coburn Alexander Knox Geraldine Fitzgerald Thomas Mitchell Ruth Nelson Eddie Foy Jr. Cedric Hardwicke Matthew Moore Vincent Price
music = Alfred Newman
cinematography = Leon Shamroy
editing = Barbara McLean
distributor = Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
released = August 1, 1944
runtime = 154 min.
language = English
budget = $4,000,000 (estimated)
imdb_id = 0037465

"Wilson" is a 1944 biographical film in Technicolor about President Woodrow Wilson. It stars Charles Coburn, Alexander Knox, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Eddie Foy Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Matt Moore and Vincent Price.

The movie was written by Lamar Trotti and directed by Henry King. Wilson's daughter Eleanor Wilson McAdoo served as an informal counselor.Knock, Thomas J. "History with Lightning": The Forgotten Film Wilson. "American Quarterly", Vol. 28, No. 5 (Winter, 1976), pp. 523-543]

It won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Recording and Best Writing, Original Screenplay. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Alexander Knox), Best Director, Best Effects, Special Effects, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Best Picture. The film was notable for giving character actor Alexander Knox (in the title role) one of his few chances to play the lead in a film.

Though a critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning film, "Wilson" is remembered for being a huge flop at the box office. It was a pet project of Darryl F. Zanuck's, who greatly admired Woodrow Wilson, and its failure upset him to the point that he forbade any of his employees to ever mention the film in his presence again. It is one of the very few financial flops to have won as many Oscars as it did.

However, the film was not totally forgotten - it is now regularly shown on cable television, especially on Fox Movie Channel, but, as of 2007, has not yet been issued on DVD.

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