Born in Athens, New York, Crane Wilbur began work on the stage as a teenager, playing in stock and repertory companies until 1910, when he entered movies. He costarred with Pearl White in The Perils of Pauline and other silents, but despite being one of the handsomest actors of his day, he turned to writing and later split his career between stage and screen as an author, and subsequently turned to directing. His Broadway credits include A Farewell to Arms and Mourning Becomes Electra. As a screenwriter, Wilbur's work includes the scripts to films such as the Warner Bros. crime thrillers Blackwell's Island and Crime School, and the classic thriller He Walked by Night, the horror classic House of Wax, the drama The Phenix City Story, and the fantasy film Mysterious Island. As a director, his career was interesting if somewhat less distinguished, beginning in 1934 at Fox with Tomorrow's Children, a topical drama about forced sterilization. His 1951 Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, seen by aspiring songwriter Johnny Cash, became an inspiration for the song "Folsom Prison Blues." And his 1959 version of The Bat, starring Vincent Price, was the best of numerous versions of the story.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
House of Women
Director, Screenwriter |
1962 | |||
|
Mysterious Island
Screenwriter |
1961 | |||
|
The George Raft Story
Screenwriter |
1961 | |||
|
Solomon and Sheba
Screen Story |
1959 | |||
|
The Bat
Director, Screenwriter |
1959 | |||
|
Monkey on My Back
Screenwriter |
1957 | |||
|
Battle Stations
Screenwriter |
1956 | |||
|
The Phenix City Story
Screenwriter |
1955 | |||
|
Women's Prison
Screenwriter |
1955 | |||
|
Crime Wave
Screenwriter |
1954 | |||
|
The Mad Magician
Screenwriter |
1954 | |||
|
House of Wax
Screenwriter |
1953 | |||
|
The Lion and the Horse
Screenwriter |
1952 | |||
|
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
Screenwriter |
1952 | |||
|
I Was a Communist for the F.B.I.
Screenwriter |
1951 | |||
|
Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
Director, Screen Story, Screenwriter |
1951 | |||
|
Outside the Wall
Director, Screenwriter |
1950 | |||
|
The Story of Molly X
Director, Screenwriter |
1949 | |||
|
Adventures of Casanova
Screenwriter |
1948 | |||
|
Canon City
Director, Screenwriter |
1948 | |||
|
He Walked by Night
Screenwriter |
1948 | |||
|
The Amazing Mr. X
Screen Story |
1948 | |||
|
Born to Speed
Screenwriter |
1947 | |||
|
The Devil on Wheels
Director, Screenwriter |
1947 | |||
|
The Red Stallion
Screenwriter |
1947 | |||
|
A Night of Adventure
Screenwriter |
1944 | |||
|
Roger Touhy, Gangster!
Screenwriter |
1944 | |||
|
King of the Lumberjacks
Screenwriter |
1940 | |||
|
Blackwell's Island
Screenwriter |
1939 | |||
|
Hell's Kitchen
Screenwriter |
1939 | |||
|
I Am Not Afraid
Director |
1939 | |||
|
Land of Liberty
Archival Appearance |
1939 | |||
|
Ride, Cowboy, Ride
Screenwriter |
1939 | |||
|
The Bill of Rights
Director |
1939 | |||
|
The Man Who Dared
Director |
1939 | |||
|
The Monroe Doctrine
Director |
1939 | |||
|
Crime School
Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
Girls on Probation
Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
Over the Wall
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
Penrod's Double Trouble
Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
The Invisible Menace
Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
The Patient in Room 18
Director |
1938 | |||
|
Alcatraz Island
Screen Story, Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
Dance, Charlie, Dance
Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
Her Husband's Secretary
Screen Story |
1937 | |||
|
Navy Spy
Director, Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
We're in the Legion Now
Director, Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
West of Shanghai
Screenwriter |
1937 | |||
|
Captain Calamity
Actor, Screenwriter |
1936 | |||
|
The Devil on Horseback
Director, Screenwriter |
1936 | |||
|
Yellow Cargo
Director, Screenwriter |
1936 | |||
|
High School Girl
Actor, Director |
1935 | |||
|
On Probation
Screen Story |
1935 | |||
|
Public Opinion
Actor |
1935 | |||
|
The People's Enemy
Director |
1935 | |||
|
The Unwelcome Stranger
Screenwriter |
1935 | |||
|
Name the Woman
Actor |
1934 | |||
|
Tomorrow's Children
Actor, Director |
1934 | |||
|
Children of Pleasure
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1930 | |||
|
Lord Byron of Broadway
Screenwriter |
1930 | |||
|
The Monster
Play Author |
1925 | |||
|
The Heart of Maryland
Actor |
1921 | |||
|
Something Different
Actor |
1920 | |||
|
The Love Liar
Actor, Director, Screenwriter |
1916 | |||
|
Vengeance Is Mine!
Actor |
1916 | |||
|
Perils of Pauline
Actor |
1914 |






