George Wells

Academy Award winner George Wells built himself an incredible career as a screenwriter. He had his first film produced in the early 1950s. Wells began his writing career for film with such titles as "Merton of the Movies" (1947) with Red Skelton, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1949) with Frank Sinatra and "Three Little Words" (1950) with Fred Astaire. He also appeared in the Judy Garland musical "Summer Stock" (1950). Wells won a Writing (Story and Screenplay--Written Directly For the Screen) Academy Award for "Designing Woman" in 1957. Nearing the end of his career, Wells wrote the comedic adaptation "Ask Any Girl" (1959) with David Niven, the Dolores Hart musical "Where the Boys Are" (1960) and the comedy adaptation "The Gazebo" (1960) with Glenn Ford. He also appeared in the comedic adaptation "The Honeymoon Machine" (1961) with Steve McQueen and the crime adaptation "Penelope" (1966) with Natalie Wood. Wells was most recently credited in the Willem Dafoe crime drama "The Reckoning" (2004). Wells passed away in November 2000 at the age of 91.

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Impossible Years, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) You Belong On The Couch Psych professor Kingsley (David Niven), his house overrun by his kids’ party, entertains his editor Merrick (Chad Everett), joined then by Jeff Cooper as motorbiker artist Smuts (Jeff Cooper), broken up by his daughter (supermodel Cristina Ferrare in her first movie) and buddy (Mike McGreevey) in The Impossible Years, 1968.

Impossible Years, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) A Nymphomaniac I Met At A Party Vexed psych professor and author Kingsley (David Niven) waylaid by his editor Merrick (Chad Everett), who’s heard of his daughter (Christina Ferrare) being arrested in the campus protest, inter-cut with her on the beach with hormonal boyfriend Freddie (Rich Chalet), in The Impossible Years, 1968.

Impossible Years, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Teeny-Bopper Hippie Offspring End of the credits over an MGM version of a 1960’s college riot, landing on David Niven as a psychology professor in class, queried by a campus reporter before taking an unwelcome call from his wife (Lola Albright) about his daughter (Cristina Ferrare), in The Impossible Years, 1968.

Don't Go Near The Water (1957) -- (Movie Clip) It Is Not Customary Nearly 90 minutes in, P-R Lt. Siegel has drawn the short straw, required to escort a lady correspondent, presumed to be elderly or worse, when Eva Gabor appears as Miss Aldridge, disorienting all including Russ Tamblyn as Tyson, Jeff Richards as Lt. Pendleton, and Howard Smith as the admiral, in MGM’s Don’t Go Near The Water,1957.

Don't Go Near The Water (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Never Second Class Having contrived a fake air raid to separate her from a higher-ranking suitor, yeoman sailor Garrett (Earl Holliman) confesses his admiration for Lt. Tomlen (Anne Francis, in her last feature before her long run as an in-demand TV guest star), on an MGM WWII South Pacific island, in Don’t Go Near The Water,1957, starring Glenn Ford.

Don't Go Near The Water (1957) -- (Movie Clip) They're Completely Unpredictable Jaded Lt. Siegel (Glenn Ford) with swabbie yeoman Garrett (Earl Holliman) stuck with showing goofball congressmen (Jansen and Smithfield, Jack Albertson and Charles Watts) around their rear-sector Pacific island base, meets (23 year-old Sicilian-Irish) Gia Scala as native schoolteacher Melora (Alba), Chuck Walters directing for MGM, in Don’t Go Near The Water, 1957, from the novel by Life magazine editor William Brinkley.

Don't Go Near The Water (1957) -- (Movie Clip) Playin' With His Sexton Opening the straightforward MGM/Glenn Ford service comedy (his first following the hit The Teahouse Of The August Moon, 1956), narration by Keenan Wynn (who appears later as a nutty newsman) introducing Fred Clark as the CO, with Ford, Russ Tamblyn and Ike Gibson as Pratt, in Don’t Go Near The Water,1957, featuring Gia Scala, Anne Francis and Eva Gabor.

Horizontal Lieutenant, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) I Thought You Were A Girl Before the credits Jim Hutton as Lt. Wye narrated his situation, stationed in quiet Hawaii in the later years of WWII, then a bench-warmer beaned by a foul ball on the squad baseball team, awakens to find himself attended by a gal from college (Paula Prentiss), who seems far sexier now, in The Horizontal Lieutenant, 1962, the fourth and final Hutton-Prentiss picture from MGM.

Horizontal Lieutenant, The (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Don't Get Any Ideas Lt. Merle Wye (Jim Hutton), now in his housecoat, has just barely prevailed on his ex-college acquaintance now popular Army nurse Molly (Paula Prentiss) for a friendly date before he’s posted to a remote Pacific island, until she finds out he’s not being all that brave, in MGM’s The Horizontal Lieutenant, 1962.

Party Girl (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Would You Like To Take Me Home? Paid with girlfriends from the night club to attend a party thrown by Chicago gang boss Rico (Lee J. Cobb), who’s distraught over the marriage of movie star Jean Harlow, savvy dancer Vicki (Cyd Charisse) meets thug Louis (John Ireland) and lawyer Farrell (Robert Taylor, his first scene), in director Nicholas Ray’s crime-musical hybrid Party Girl, 1958.

Honeymoon Machine, The (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Admiral's Daughters Enterprising Navy officer Fergie (Steve McQueen) ejects scientist pal Jason (Jim Hutton) from their Venice suite where they’re planning a casino scam, to be alone with Julie (Brigid Bazlen), the forward daughter of their admiral, whom they’ve just met by chance, early in MGM’s The Honeymoon Machine, 1961.

Party Girl (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Those Guys Are Dead! Gang boss Rico (Lee J. Cobb) explains to lawyer Farrell (Robert Taylor) how he's gotta defend ambitious thug Cookie (Corey Allen) or else, in Nicholas Ray's Party Girl, 1958.

Trailer

Designing Woman - (Original Trailer) Gregory Peck, in character as sportswriter "Mike Hagen," leads off the trailer to Vincente Minnelli's Designing Woman, 1957, co-starring Lauren Bacall, from an original idea by MGM fashion designer Helen Rose.

Family

Billy K Wells

Father

Vaudevillian.

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Ruth Wells

Wife

Died in 1987.

Mary Wells

Wife

Survived him.

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