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.
The political career of Woodrow Wilson is chronicled, beginning with his decision to leave his post at Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey, and his subsequent ascent to the Presidency of the United States. During his terms in office, Wilson must deal with the death of his first wife, the onslaught of German hostilities leading to American involvement in the Great War, and his own country's reticence to join the League of Nations. Written by Shannon Patrick Sullivan
