poster movie

A Man of Potential: Visions of Paul Wendkos, the Godard of Gidget

A closer look at the most unlikely auteur

0 average rating
0
false / 26 MIN. / 2026

The Genres

The Synopsis

Paul Wendkos was a bit of an auteurist fetish object in the early 1960's, when his career in theatrical features reached its pinnacle. He made his mark with such genre outings as The Burglar (1957) and Face of a Fugitive (1959), as well as with the hit Gidget (1959) and his acclaimed indictment of evangelicalism Angel Baby (1961). Many of the finest critics and film writers wrote of his style admiringly, even as studio contracts regularly saddled him with empty commercial vehicles. Quentin Tarantino even credited him as the director of the faux action saga The 14 Fists of McCluskey in his Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood. What is there to Paul Wendkos when we look at him and his work today?

The Cast

Daniel KremerPaul Wendkos

Recommended

Movies

poster movie

The Class of ‘92

7.071 average rating
poster movie

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

7.6 average rating
poster movie

Directed by John Ford

6.927 average rating
poster movie

Sidney

7.256 average rating
poster movie

John Candy: I Like Me

7.857 average rating
poster movie

Seduced and Abandoned

6.19 average rating
poster movie

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

6.9 average rating
poster movie

American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince

6.67 average rating
poster movie

I Am Heath Ledger

7.383 average rating
poster movie

The Crash Reel

7.326 average rating
poster movie

Gilbert

6.735 average rating
poster movie

Don't F*#% With John Wick

7.658 average rating
poster movie

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

7.223 average rating
poster movie

A Decade Under the Influence

7.919 average rating
poster movie

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye

7.127 average rating
poster movie

Justin Bieber's Believe

6.976 average rating
poster movie

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin

6.928 average rating
poster movie

Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home

6.801 average rating
poster movie

That's Entertainment, Part II

7 average rating
poster movie

Love, Gilda

7.209 average rating