# Alfred L. Werker

Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, Ridin' the Wind, in 1925 alongside director Del Andrews. He was brought in by Fox Film Corporation executives to re-shoot and re-edit Erich von Stroheim's film Hello, Sister! (1933), co-starring Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts.
Most of Werker's work is unremarkable, but a few were well received by critics. Those films included House of Rothschild (1934) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939); the latter film is considered one of the best in the Sherlock Holmes series. Lost Boundaries, inspired by a true story of a Black doctor passing as white, has grown in critical consensus.
During the early 1940s, he directed a number of comedies including Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942).
In the late 1940s, Werker worked for the B-picture film studio Eagle-Lion Films. Notable films from that period include the unique mystery thriller Repeat Performance (1947) and He Walked by Night (1948). The latter film, however, was taken over by uncredited director Anthony Mann. In 1949 He Walked by Night won the Locarno International Film Festival's award for Best Police Film. The following year, Werker was nominated for, but did not win, the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Lost Boundaries (1949).

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Credited as | Credited as | Notes |
| Year | Film | Director | Assistant Director | Notes |
| 1917 | The Firefly of Tough Luck | | Yes | |
| 1917 | The Regenerates | | Yes | |
| 1919 | The Hoodlum | | Yes | Alternative titles The Ragamuffin (UK) |
| 1920 | Pollyanna | | Yes | |
| 1925 | That Devil Quemado | | Yes | |
| 1925 | The Bandit's Baby | | Yes | |
| 1925 | The Wild Bull's Lair | | Yes | |
| 1925 | Ridin' the Wind | Yes | | Co-directed with Del Andrews |
| 1926 | The Tough Guy | | Yes | |
| 1926 | Lone Hand Saunders | | Yes | |
| 1928 | The Pioneer Scout | Yes | | Co-directed with Lloyd Ingraham |
| 1928 | The Sunset Legion | Yes | | Co-directed with Lloyd Ingraham |
| 1928 | Kit Carson | Yes | | |
| 1929 | Blue Skies | Yes | | |
| 1929 | Chasing Through Europe | Yes | | Co-directed with David Butler |
| 1930 | Double Cross Roads | Yes | | |
| 1930 | Last of the Duanes | Yes | | |
| 1931 | Fair Warning | Yes | | |
| 1931 | Annabelle's Affairs | Yes | | Alternative titles Good Gracious Annabelle The Affairs of Annabelle Two Can Play |
| 1931 | Heartbreak | Yes | | |
| 1932 | The Gay Caballero | Yes | | |
| 1932 | Bachelor's Affairs | Yes | | |
| 1932 | Rackety Rax | Yes | | |
| 1933 | It's Great to Be Alive | Yes | | |
| 1933 | Hello, Sister! | Yes | | Alternative titles Walking Down Broadway Clipped Wings (UK) |
| 1933 | Advice to the Lovelorn | Yes | | Alternative titles Advice to the Forlorn |
| 1934 | The House of Rothschild | Yes | | |
| 1934 | You Belong to Me | Yes | | |
| 1935 | Stolen Harmony | Yes | | |
| 1936 | Love in Exile | Yes | | |
| 1937 | We Have Our Moments | Yes | | |
| 1937 | Wild and Woolly | Yes | | |
| 1937 | Big Town Girl | Yes | | |
| 1938 | City Girl | Yes | | |
| 1938 | Kidnapped | Yes | | Alternative titles Kidnapped: The Adventures of David Balfour |
| 1938 | Gateway | Yes | | |
| 1938 | Up the River | Yes | | |
| 1939 | It Could Happen to You | Yes | | |
| 1939 | News Is Made at Night | Yes | | |
| 1939 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Yes | | Alternative titles Sherlock Holmes (UK) |
| 1941 | The Reluctant Dragon | Yes | | Alternative titles A Day at Disneys Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio |
| 1941 | Moon Over Her Shoulder | Yes | | |
| 1942 | Whispering Ghosts | Yes | | |
| 1942 | A-Haunting We Will Go | Yes | | |
| 1942 | The Mad Martindales | Yes | | |
| 1944 | My Pal Wolf | Yes | | |
| 1946 | Shock | Yes | | |
| 1947 | Repeat Performance | Yes | | |
| 1947 | Pirates of Monterey | Yes | | |
| 1948 | He Walked by Night | Yes | | Co-directed with Anthony Mann (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Lost Boundaries | Yes | | |
| 1951 | Sealed Cargo | Yes | | |
| 1952 | Walk East on Beacon | Yes | | Alternative titles Walk East on Beacon! The Crime of the Century (UK) |
| 1953 | The Last Posse | Yes | | |
| 1953 | Devil's Canyon | Yes | | |
| 1954 | Three Hours to Kill | Yes | | |
| 1955 | Canyon Crossroads | Yes | | |
| 1955 | At Gunpoint | Yes | | Alternative titles Gunpoint! (UK) |
| 1956 | Rebel in Town | Yes | | |
| 1957 | The Young Don't Cry | Yes | | |