For some time, William A. Wellman was for me just the man who had directed the first Oscar-winning film, «Wings» (1927), the success of which I attributed to the presence of Clara Bow in the cast. Then I saw it and discovered that it had spectacular scenes of aerial battles, that it was a pacifist drama and included the unexpected kiss on the mouth that a pilot gives his dying friend.And from there, a box of surprises was opened: Wellman is not only the author of the story of «A Star Is Born» but he also directed the original version in 1937; he made stars of James Cagney in «The Public Enemy» and Gary Cooper in «Beau Geste,» he did the classic «The Story of G.I. Joe» from the writings of war correspondent Ernie Pyle; he directed the lynching Western «The Ox Bow Incident», and the dramas about the economic depression of 1920-30 «Heroes for Sale» and «Wild Boys of the Road.» The Hollywood Academy never awarded him Best Director for anything, but «Wings», «The Public Enemy», «The Story of G.I. Joe», «The Ox Box Incident» and «Wild Boys of the Road» were declared National Film Registries by the US Library of Congress.And I have not mentioned his pre-Hays code films, about joyful fille de joie, and his flair for screwball comedies that I was completely unaware of, such as «Roxie Hart» and especially «Nothing Sacred», with the beautiful Carole Lombard, the "Queen of Screwball Comedy" as Hazel Flagg, a deadly radiation victim.In «Nothing Sacred», a few punches are directed to the media and how journalists exploit the imminent death of a girl intoxicated by irresponsible mining activity. But Hazel Flagg is not contaminated: she is a mere excuse to backfire on social ills… "a lo Hollywood", of course. In the end, nothing transgressive happens and everyone is happy, which, after all, is the goal of a comedy-comedy. But many comedies are more worth seeing than the majority, to witness those dialogues, those verbal exchanges said like a machine gun, without the scatological jokes that became fashionable since «Porky's» and «National Lampoon's Animal House». Enjoy.