The career of Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) spanned four decades, from 1917 through 1957.
After some film production jobs and working as assistant director, Werker co-directed his first film, Ridin’ the Wind in 1925 alongside director Del Andrews.
He was brought in by Fox studios to reshoot and reedit Erich von Stroheim’s film Hello, Sister! (1933), which co-starred Boots Mallory and ZaSu Pitts.
Best known features of Werker are The House of Rothschild (1934), which was nominated for Best Picture, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), one of the best entries in the Sherlock Holmes series.
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 Eagle-Lion Films, making the mystery thriller Repeat Performance (1947) and He Walked by Night (1948), which was taken over by uncredited director Anthony Mann.
In 1949, the film He Walked By Night won the Locarno Film Fest Best Police Film.
The following year, Werker was nominated for, but did not win, the Directors Guild of America Achievement for Lost Boundaries (1949).
