William Clemens (September 10, 1905 – April 29, 1980) was an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. Born in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, Clemens began his

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

career as a film editor in 1931. His first directing project was ''Man Hunt'' in 1936. His major credits include ''

On Dress Parade ''The 'Dead End' Kids "On Dress Parade"'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. film that marked the first time The Dead End Kids headlined a film without any other well-known actors. Plot A hero of World War I, Colonel William Duncan, is on his deathbed. He s ...

'' with the

Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play ''Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They prov ...

, two

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

mysteries (''

The Case of the Velvet Claws ''The Case of the Velvet Claws'' is a 1936 mystery film, based on the first Perry Mason novel (1933) by Erle Stanley Gardner and featuring the fourth and final appearance of Warren William as defense attorney Mason. Plot summary Mason finally ...

'' and ''

The Case of the Stuttering Bishop ''The Case of the Stuttering Bishop'' is a 1937 drama film directed by William Clemens. It stars Donald Woods as Perry Mason and Ann Dvorak as Della Street, his secretary. Edward McWade plays the role of stuttering Bishop William Mallory. It i ...

''), three films featuring detective Tom Lawrence, a.k.a. "The Falcon," four films based on the

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...

series, and ''

Calling Philo Vance ''Calling Philo Vance'' is a 1940 American mystery/comedy film released by Warner Bros. and starring James Stephenson as the dilettante detective Philo Vance, his only appearance as the character; Margot Stevenson co-stars. The film also featur ...

'' in 1940. Clemens' final project was ''The Thirteenth Hour'' in 1947. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California in 1980.

Complete filmography

As director

* ''Man Hunt (1936 film), Man Hunt'' (1936) * ''The Law in Her Hands'' (1936) * ''

'' (1936) * ''Down the Stretch (1936 film), Down the Stretch'' (1936) * ''Here Comes Carter'' (1936) * ''The Sunday Round-Up'' (1936 short) * ''Once a Doctor'' (1937) * ''

'' (1937) * ''Talent Scout (film), Talent Scout'' (1937) * ''The Footloose Heiress'' (1937) * ''Missing Witnesses'' (1937) * ''Accidents Will Happen (film), Accidents Will Happen'' (1938) * ''Torchy Blane in Panama'' (1938) * ''Mr. Chump'' (1938) * ''Nancy Drew... Detective'' (1938) * ''Devil's Island (1939 film), Devil's Island'' (1939) * ''Nancy Drew... Reporter'' (1939) * ''Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter'' (1939) * ''Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939 film), Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase'' (1939) * ''

'' (1939), starring the

* ''

'' (1940) * ''King of the Lumberjacks'' (1940) * ''She Couldn't Say No (1940 film), She Couldn't Say No'' (1940) * ''Knockout (1941 film), Knockout'' (1941) * ''The Night of January 16th (film), The Night of January 16th'' (1941) * ''Night in New Orleans'' (1942) * ''Sweater Girl (film), Sweater Girl'' (1942) * ''Lady Bodyguard'' (1943) * ''The Falcon in Danger'' (1943) * ''The Falcon and the Co-eds'' (1943) * ''The Falcon Out West'' (1944) * ''Crime by Night'' (1944) * ''Musical Shipmates'' (1946 short) * ''The Thirteenth Hour (1947 film), The Thirteenth Hour'' (1947)

As editor

* ''Freighters of Destiny'' (1931) * ''The Saddle Buster'' (1932) * ''Ghost Valley'' (1932) * ''Beyond the Rockies (1932 film), Beyond the Rockies'' (1932) * ''Ride Him, Cowboy'' (1932) * ''Haunted Gold'' (1932) * ''The Telegraph Trail'' (1933) * ''Somewhere in Sonora'' (1933) * ''The Man from Monterey'' (1933) * ''From Headquarters (1933 film), From Headquarters'' (1933) * ''Easy to Love (1934 film), Easy to Love'' (1934) * ''Journal of a Crime'' (1934) * ''Dr. Monica'' (1934) * ''Kansas City Princess'' (1934) * ''Happiness Ahead (1934 film), Happiness Ahead'' (1934) * ''Devil Dogs of the Air'' (1935) * ''Oil for the Lamps of China (film), Oil for the Lamps of China'' (1935) * ''Page Miss Glory (1935 film), Page Miss Glory'' (1935) * ''I Found Stella Parish'' (1935) * ''The Murder of Dr. Harrigan'' (1936)

As producer

* ''King of the Lumberjacks'' (1940) (uncredited)

References

External links

* 1905 births 1980 deaths People from Saginaw, Michigan Film directors from Michigan American film editors {{US-film-director-1900s-stub