William Nigh

Directing

William Nigh

Born — Died

1881-10-12 — 1955-11-27

Place of birth

Berlin, Wisconsin, USA

Known for

Directing

Credits

53 titles

William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye". He was born in Berlin, Wisconsin. His film career began with acting in 17 films in 1913 and 1914; he also directed one of these, Salomy Jane. He acted in 8 more films in the 1910s and two more in the 1920s, but directed a total of 119 films, the last in 1948. His film-writing credits numbered 18, mostly concentrated early in his career. His films included Mr. Wise Guy, Thunder, Black Dragons, Corregidor, Mr. Wong, Detective, The Mystery of Mr. Wong, Mr. Wong in Chinatown, Lady from Chungking, The Fatal Hour, The Ape…

Known for

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes poster
5.6

An innocent dancer is accused of murder after his shoe prints are found at the scene, but his wife follows the trail of clues to find the real perpetrator.

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes

1948

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx poster
5.2

Private eye Jerry Church is hired by a criminal defense lawyer after five mobsters he has gotten acquitted are apparently strangled by a serial killer.

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx

1942

Tough as They Come poster
9.0

The 'Dead End Kids & Little Tough Guys' are working as collectors for a finance company, when they discover the company's illegal activities and try to stop them.

Tough as They Come

1942

Black Dragons poster
4.6

It is prior to the commencement of World War II, and Japan's fiendish Black Dragon Society is hatching an evil plot with the Nazis. They instruct a brilliant scientist, Dr. Melcher, to travel to Japan on a secret mission. There he operates on six Japanese conspirators, transforming them to resemble six American leaders. The actual leaders are murdered and replaced with their likeness.

Black Dragons

1942

Mr. Wong, Detective poster
5.6

A chemical manufacturer is killed just after asking detective James Wong to help him. So detective Wong decides to investigate this as well as two subsequent murders.

Mr. Wong, Detective

1938

Mr. Wong in Chinatown poster
5.4

A pretty Chinese woman, seeking help from San Francisco detective James Lee Wong, is killed by a poisoned dart in his front hall, having time only to scrawl "Captain J" on a sheet of paper. She proves to be Princess Lin Hwa, on a secret military mission for Chinese forces fighting the Japanese invasion. Mr. Wong finds two captains with the intial J in the case, neither being quite what he seems; there's fog on the waterfront and someone still has that poison-dart gun...

Mr. Wong in Chinatown

1939

Film credits

1910s · 11 titles

Notorious Gallagher; or, His Great Triumph poster
NR

"Buttsy" Gallagher is a harmless young product of the slums. In all his life he has never been of the slightest importance. His spirit is so submerged that he has almost forgotten how to get angry. One night the gaiety going on in Judge Winters' home attracts him, and he crouches on the fire-escape to watch it. He becomes interested in the Judge, in his pretty daughter Peggy, in her cousin Flo, in Flo's admirer, the Count, and in Bob Ewing, a struggling young lawyer.

Notorious Gallagher; or, His Great Triumph

1916

No artwork available
NR

Marian Delmar, whose father has died without an estate, believes he has left her a settlement. The film follows Marian's journey as she navigates this belief and its potential consequences.

Her Debt of Honor

1916

Beware! poster
NR

The American ambassador to Germany James W. Gerard warns that Germany will rise again to power and an attempt at world domination unless safeguards are taken, in this documentary-style propaganda drama.

Beware!

1919

My Four Years in Germany poster
4.7

The experiences of the American ambassador to Germany, James Gerard, are recounted in this semi-documentary.

My Four Years in Germany

1918

A Royal Family poster
NR

The King of Kurland suggests a marriage between his son, the crown prince, and Angela, the Princess of Arcacia, to defuse tensions between their tiny European countries. The tempestuous Angela rejects the idea, so the prince visits Arcacia in the guise of Count Bernardine, determined to secure the union. Unaware of his true mission, Angela grows to love the count, but finally heeds his warnings about impending war and agrees to the arranged marriage.

A Royal Family

1915

The Rainbow Trail poster
NR

Following in his dad's footsteps, Shefford devotes himself to freeing his community from the grip of a particularly despotic Mormon sect. In so doing, he rescues his foster sister Fay Larkin, who is coveted by lecherous Mormon elder Wagoner. As was the case in Riders of the Purple Sage, the Mormons are villains simply because they are Mormons.

The Rainbow Trail

1918

Life's Shadows poster
NR

The townspeople of Purity despise Martin Bradley because of his heavy drinking, but he still does his best to make life better for the town. He helps to support two women who have been socially ostracized by the townspeople, and during the election campaign for mayor, exposes the corruption and dirty tricks of candidate James Durkel, resulting in the election of his opponent Chester Thorndyke. However, the voters of Purity insist that Thorndyake disavow his ties to Bradley, whom they regard as disreputable.

Life's Shadows

1916

The Star Boarder poster
5.2

A fun-loving little boy's magic lantern show exposes some indiscreet moments between his landlady mother and her star boarder.

The Star Boarder

1914

The Blue Streak poster
NR

The story tells of the reformation of a millionaire's son, who later develops such consistent speed on the "draw" and on a horse that it wins for him the title of "The Blue Streak." Driven from home, the "Streak" changes his mode of living entirely. News of his adventurous spirit penetrates even into the town of Sterling, beyond the Rockies, where he one day finds himself. He strolls into the common meeting-place there, the saloon, and proceeds to prevent a forced marriage between the proprietor's daughter, "The Fledgling," and a gambler by the simple expedient of covering all with his revolver while preparing to make her captive himself.

The Blue Streak

1917

The Waiters' Picnic poster
5.0

Louis, the chef and Oscar, the head waiter, are in love with Mabel the pretty cashier. The Waiters' picnic is held, and Mabel is the cause of much trouble between Louis and Oscar.

The Waiters' Picnic

1913

Salomy Jane poster
3.0

When beautiful Salomy Jane resists the romantic advances of a young ruffian, she is rescued by Jack Dart, who has his own additional reasons for tangling with the man. Jack fights the ruffian and kills him. He escapes with the law on his trail, for it is (wrongly) presumed that he is also the man who held up the stagecoach. Salomy Jane comes to his rescue when he is captured and about to be lynched.

Salomy Jane

1914

Behind the camera

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes poster
5.6

An innocent dancer is accused of murder after his shoe prints are found at the scene, but his wife follows the trail of clues to find the real perpetrator.

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes

1948

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx poster
5.2

Private eye Jerry Church is hired by a criminal defense lawyer after five mobsters he has gotten acquitted are apparently strangled by a serial killer.

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx

1942

Tough as They Come poster
9.0

The 'Dead End Kids & Little Tough Guys' are working as collectors for a finance company, when they discover the company's illegal activities and try to stop them.

Tough as They Come

1942

Black Dragons poster
4.6

It is prior to the commencement of World War II, and Japan's fiendish Black Dragon Society is hatching an evil plot with the Nazis. They instruct a brilliant scientist, Dr. Melcher, to travel to Japan on a secret mission. There he operates on six Japanese conspirators, transforming them to resemble six American leaders. The actual leaders are murdered and replaced with their likeness.

Black Dragons

1942

Mr. Wong, Detective poster
5.6

A chemical manufacturer is killed just after asking detective James Wong to help him. So detective Wong decides to investigate this as well as two subsequent murders.

Mr. Wong, Detective

1938

Mr. Wong in Chinatown poster
5.4

A pretty Chinese woman, seeking help from San Francisco detective James Lee Wong, is killed by a poisoned dart in his front hall, having time only to scrawl "Captain J" on a sheet of paper. She proves to be Princess Lin Hwa, on a secret military mission for Chinese forces fighting the Japanese invasion. Mr. Wong finds two captains with the intial J in the case, neither being quite what he seems; there's fog on the waterfront and someone still has that poison-dart gun...

Mr. Wong in Chinatown

1939

The Mystery of Mr. Wong poster
5.9

Detective James Lee Wong must find the "Eye of the Daughter of the Moon," a priceless but cursed sapphire stolen in China and smuggled to America. His search takes him into the heart of Chinatown and to the dreaded "House of Hate" to find the deadly gem before it can kill again.

The Mystery of Mr. Wong

1939

The Fatal Hour poster
5.7

When a police officer is murdered, Captain Street looks to Mr. Wong to catch the killer. Prime Suspect: Frank Belden Jr., whose father is a businessman well known for both his success and dishonesty. Mr. Wong faces increasing danger and is nearly executed himself as the investigation develops in treachery and complexity. As Mr. Wong follows the trail of dead bodies, he uncovers a jewel smuggling ring on the San Francisco waterfront and a case much larger than the death of a police officer.

The Fatal Hour

1940

Mystery Liner poster
4.7

Police try to solve a murder on board an ocean liner.

Mystery Liner

1934

A Bride for Henry poster
6.0

On the day of her wedding a young woman's fiancé doesn't show up, sleeping off the results of the previous night's wild bachelor party. Miffed, the woman decides to go ahead with the wedding anyway to teach her fiancé a lesson, so she calls her lawyer, Henry, and has him stand in for her missing groom. She intends to divorce her new "husband" at the first opportunity, but Henry--who has been in love with her for a long time--is determined to win his "wife's" hand.

A Bride for Henry

1937

Rose of the Rio Grande poster
7.0

The story, based on a novel by Johnston (Zorro) McCulley, concerns a group of aristocratic vigilantes, who go about trying to restore their prominence in Mexico by killing anyone who stands in their way.

Rose of the Rio Grande

1938

The Child of Destiny poster
10.0

Alita, a child who has been left in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Putnam in a desolate swamp country, reaches the age when she is to be prepared for the world, and the Putnams send word to Judge Gates, her guardian, to come for her. Her life has been spent in the swamps with a half-witted boy, "Weird Willie," and many animals and birds of that country, as her only playmates. Judge Gates receives the letter at his bachelor apartment, which he shares with a younger friend and companion, Bob Stange. Through the accidental dropping of a marriage license the Judge discovers that Bob is about to become a benedict, despite the fact that they had a compact never to marry, on the theory that all women are deceitful.

The Child of Destiny

1916

The Child of Destiny poster
10.0

Alita, a child who has been left in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Putnam in a desolate swamp country, reaches the age when she is to be prepared for the world, and the Putnams send word to Judge Gates, her guardian, to come for her. Her life has been spent in the swamps with a half-witted boy, "Weird Willie," and many animals and birds of that country, as her only playmates. Judge Gates receives the letter at his bachelor apartment, which he shares with a younger friend and companion, Bob Stange. Through the accidental dropping of a marriage license the Judge discovers that Bob is about to become a benedict, despite the fact that they had a compact never to marry, on the theory that all women are deceitful.

The Child of Destiny

1916

Corregidor poster
4.4

A doctor and his staff in a hospital on the Philippine island of Corregidor shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor try to treat the sick, injured and wounded as American and Filipino troops desperately try to beat back a ferocious Japanese attack.

Corregidor

1943

Streets of New York poster
5.4

Jimmy, an idealistic and hard-working young man, has just arrived in New York City with dreams of making his fortune. Along the way he faces numerous obstacles, opportunities and temptations, but through it all, he considers the actions of his hero, Abraham Lincoln, for guidance. Will Jimmy see his dreams come true, or will he be another of the countless hopefuls chewed up and spit out by New York's mean streets?

Streets of New York

1939

The Old Homestead poster
10.0

A New York radio talent scout turns up at a barn dance.

The Old Homestead

1935

She Gets Her Man poster
8.0

Esmeralda is a cook in a diner in a small Arkansas town. When a gang of crooks moves into town and plots a bank robbery, Esmeralda unintentionally wrecks their plans, resulting in fame for Esmeralda as the crime-fighting "Tiger Woman," but also further complications.

She Gets Her Man

1935

Forever Yours poster
7.0

A young woman who has been stricken with infantile paralysis gives up hope and is trying to "will herself" to die. A doctor who has been conducting experiments with patients with paralyzed nerves is convinced he can cure her.

Forever Yours

1945

Forever Yours poster
7.0

A young woman who has been stricken with infantile paralysis gives up hope and is trying to "will herself" to die. A doctor who has been conducting experiments with patients with paralyzed nerves is convinced he can cure her.

Forever Yours

1945

Marriage Morals poster
7.0

Harry Ryan, a wealthy spendthrift, falls in love with Mary Gardner, a beauty shop employee, and marries her. Mary, discouraged because she is unable to cure Ryan of his dissolute ways, leaves him. She returns after a change of heart to find her husband bedridden and despondent. At the moment of reconciliation it is revealed that in reality Mary, unattached, was only dreaming, as the result of reading a book entitled Marriage Morals, by J. C. Black.

Marriage Morals

1923

Marriage Morals poster
7.0

Harry Ryan, a wealthy spendthrift, falls in love with Mary Gardner, a beauty shop employee, and marries her. Mary, discouraged because she is unable to cure Ryan of his dissolute ways, leaves him. She returns after a change of heart to find her husband bedridden and despondent. At the moment of reconciliation it is revealed that in reality Mary, unattached, was only dreaming, as the result of reading a book entitled Marriage Morals, by J. C. Black.

Marriage Morals

1923

Mr. Wise Guy poster
6.6

The gang is sent to the Wilton Reform School after they are unjustly convicted of stealing a truck. Bill Collins, brother of co-leader Danny, becomes involved in a killing and, while also innocent, is convicted and sentenced to death. Through a series of events, Muggs, Glimpy, Danny and the rest of the gang, learn that Knobby, a henchman of Luke Manning, knows something about the murder.

Mr. Wise Guy

1942

Doomed to Die poster
5.7

Shipping magnate Cyrus Wentworth, downcast over a disaster to his ocean liner 'Wentworth Castle' (carrying, oddly enough, an illicit shipment of Chinese bonds) is shot in his office at the very moment of kicking out his daughter's fiance Dick Fleming. Of course, Captain Street arrests Dick, but reporter Bobbie Logan, the attractive thorn in Street's side, is so convinced he's wrong that she enlists the help of detective James Lee Wong to find the real killer.

Doomed to Die

1940

The Kiss of Hate poster
NR

When Count Peter Turgeneff, his daughter, Nadia, and Paul, his generous-hearted son, came to live in the Governor's palace in the Russian province of Valogda, there was rejoicing among the oppressed race whose home was in the Ghetto.

The Kiss of Hate

1916

The Ape poster
4.9

Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs human spinal fluid to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing the townspeople. Can there be a connection?

The Ape

1940

Two Heads on a Pillow poster
7.0

A lawyer handing a divorce case discovers the attorney for the opposition is his ex-wife.

Two Heads on a Pillow

1934

He Couldn't Take It poster
10.0

Jimmy Kelly, who can't hold on to a job because of his hot temper, finds his calling as a process server. He serves process on a gangster and exposes a criminal conspiracy while trying to stop his long-suffering girlfriend from taking a vacation with her lecherous boss.

He Couldn't Take It

1933

Mr. Wu poster
5.8

When Mandarin Wu's unmarried daughter becomes pregnant by a young Englishman, he seeks vengeance.

Mr. Wu

1927

Mr. Wu poster
5.8

When Mandarin Wu's unmarried daughter becomes pregnant by a young Englishman, he seeks vengeance.

Mr. Wu

1927

No artwork available
9.0

The plot revolves around a group of ex-convicts who try to start life anew by relocating in a small town under assumed names. The mayor of the town welcomes the former cons with open arms, helping them re-open a dormant canning factory and encouraging them to hire other reformed criminals.

City of Silent Men

1942

The Law of the Range poster
4.7

Jim Lockhart is out to capture the robbing and murdering "Solitaire Kid".

The Law of the Range

1928

Mutiny in the Big House poster
5.3

A young man forges a check in order to help his mother, but is caught and sentenced to 14 years in prison...

Mutiny in the Big House

1939

The Kid from Kansas poster
8.0

Competition among fruit growers takes a nasty turn when the main buyer offers unrealistically low prices for their crops.

The Kid from Kansas

1941

Riding the California Trail poster
5.5

Chasing women and staying one step ahead of the law, the Cisco Kid meets Raquel and then Dolores. He sees that Raole is the boy friend of Raquel but engaged to Dolores. Learning that all her money will got to her uncle Don Jose when she marries Raole, Cisco suspects a plot and sets out to unravel it.

Riding the California Trail

1947

Son of the Navy poster
6.2

A runaway boy pretends to be the son of a Navy man, only to turn both their lives upside down.

Son of the Navy

1940

Casey of the Coast Guard poster
7.0

Film serial.

Casey of the Coast Guard

1926

Skinning Skinners poster
7.0

Skinning Skinners is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by William Nigh.

Skinning Skinners

1921

Lord Byron of Broadway poster
4.7

A talented songwriter gets his inspiration for songs from others and not from within himself. He is oblivious that he may harm other people when he uses their stories or their love for himself.

Lord Byron of Broadway

1930

Allotment Wives poster
6.7

Unscrupulous women marry servicemen for their pay.

Allotment Wives

1945

The Law Commands poster
4.0

Night riders are terrorizing homesteaders, and the town doctor tries to keep the locals from forming a vigilante group. After more towns people are killed, however, the rest of the town makes the doctor the town sheriff and tells him to clean up the gang.

The Law Commands

1937