The Conquerors (1932 film)
The Conquerors is a 1932 American pre-Code Western film that spans several generations in a family that lives through a series of financial crises with faith in the future of the country. It was directed by William A. Wellman, and stars Richard Dix and Ann Harding as a young couple who move from New York City to the American West and build a banking empire.
Theatrical release poster
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Wellman filming The High and the Mighty (1954)
Wellman and Celia, his Nieuport 24 fighter, c. 1917 (one of several aircraft named for his mother)
Wellman in a captured German Rumpler (image from his 1918 account Go Get Em!...)
Wellman as a flight instructor at Rockwell Field, 1919