Beaudine worked almost exclusively on low-budget quickies, and rarely would shoot a scene a second time--even if there was a minor (or in some cases, not so minor) gaffe in the scene. Because of this, he earned the nickname "One-Shot" Beaudine.
Brother of director Harold Beaudine.
Father of Helen Beaudine, Margaret Beaudine.
Father of William Beaudine Jr.
First cousin of editor Chester W. Schaeffer.
Grandfather of Skip Beaudine.
He and director James Flood had been friends since they grew up as children in the same neighborhood in New York City. In fact, Flood's wife was the sister of Beaudine's wife.
He became a master of the technique of "editing in the camera." Instead of shooting full coverage of scenes, he would shoot only what he knew was absolutely necessary. This saved both production time and raw stock, an important factor at the Poverty Row studios where he worked.
He directed over half of the Bowery Boys films.
In 1947 Beaudine was hired to direct a religious-themed film for the Protestant Film Commission. It was successful and they were so impressed with his work they hired him on a regular basis, and from 1947 to 1955 he directed 10 more films for the organization--an evangelical Christian group--all of which were designed to spread the word of God and try to convert non-believers to Christianity. Ironically, Beaudine himself was an atheist.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences' Special Collections houses the William Beaudine Collection. The collection, which covers Beaudine's career from 1912 to 1973, encompasses 5.8 linear feet of documents and other items, including scripts (motion picture, television, and unproduced); scrapbooks and loose clippings; correspondence; contracts; photographs; and books and periodicals. There are scripts for 54 of Beaudine's feature films and 27 of his television episodes. Items of particular interest include two original caricature sketches of Beaudine; several files of his directing contracts from 1916 through 1934; "Bill Beaudine's Box Score," a nine-page typed list prepared by Beaudine of his directing credits from 1915 through 1969; two issues of "Film Follies" (the Christie Film Company house organ), five issues of the "Kalem Kalendar", and five "Biograph Bulletins" from 1912 and 1914. The collection was donated to AMPAS by William Beaudine Jr. and Lucille Beaudine Warden in February 1992.
Uncle of Robert J. Anderson.