Arch Heath (July 15, 1890 – January 7, 1945), also known as A. B. Heath and Arch B. Heath, was an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

whose career spanned from the era of

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s to the 1940s. He helped pioneer the introduction of the

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

. Many of his early films are now considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. Heath was born in Brooklyn. Before starting as a director, Heath played

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

baseball. He learned drawing as an office boy for a newspaper, and became a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

for the

sports page ''Sports Page'' was a Canadian sports highlights television program that aired on CKVU-TV Vancouver from September 5, 1977 until August 31, 2001, and later on CHEK-TV Victoria, British Columbia, from September 2, 2001 until September 2, 2005. It ...

, finally succeeding Herbert Johnson at the Associated Newspapers Syndicate, signing his cartoons "Fields". He started in movies by creating campaign films for the presidential campaign of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in 1914. From cartooning he also moved on to movie

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. He became general manager of production at Eastern Film Corporation, based in New York City. At Eastern he produced his first serial ''A Daughter of Uncle Sam'', directed by

James C. Morton James Carmody Lankton (August 25, 1884 – October 24, 1942), known professionally as James C. Morton, was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1922 and 1942. Career Born in Helena, Montana, Morton is be ...

, in 1918. He moved to Pathé Studios in New York. He directed his first serial, ''

The Masked Menace ''The Masked Menace'' is a 1927 American drama film, drama film serial directed by Arch Heath and mostly filmed in Berlin, New Hampshire. It was Film adaptation, adapted from the story "Still Face" by Pulp magazine, pulp writer Clarence Budingto ...

'', in 1927. In 1930, when the studio moved to Hollywood, Heath was appointed "production manager of all two-reel comedies." The Heath-directed 1928 film ''Melody of Love'' was "Universal's first 100 percent talkie feature," and "also may have been the first all-talking movie musical." During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Heath produced films for the Signal Corps and the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. He died at home in New York City on January 7, 1945. The

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. In 1954, it became two different organizations: Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East. Founding Screenwriter ...

created the "Robert Meltzer Award" in honor of Heath, Meltzer and three others for "the writing of an American Film which, in addition to its value as entertainment, most effectively contributes to a better understanding or world problems."

Filmography

Director

* ''Beyond the Great Wall'', 1920, Eastern Productions, as A.B. Heath * ''On Guard'', 1927,

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

, as Arch B. Heath (serial, 10 chapters) * ''

The Crimson Flash ''The Crimson Flash'' is a 1927 American action film serial directed by Arch Heath. The film is now considered to be lost. Cast * Cullen Landis * Eugenia Gilbert * Thomas Holding (as Tom Holding) * J. Barney Sherry * Walter P. Lewis * Ivan Li ...

'', 1927,

, as Arch B. Heath (serial, 10 chapters) * ''

'', 1927,

(serial, 10 chapters) * ''Came the Dawn'', 1928,

Hal Roach Studios Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on Ju ...

(with

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, the most well known today being ''Duck Soup (1933 film), Duck Soup'', ''Make Way for Tomo ...

) * ''

Mark of the Frog ''Mark of the Frog'' is a 1928 American drama 10-chapter film serial directed by Arch Heath and written by Edgar Wallace. The film is now considered to be lost. Plot In search of missing treasure, a crime ring headed by the hooded "Frog" terro ...

'', 1928,

, (serial, 10 chapters) * ''

That Night ''That Night'' (originally titled ''One Hot Summer'') is a 1992 American coming-of-age romantic drama film written and directed by Craig Bolotin and starring C. Thomas Howell and Juliette Lewis. It is based on the 1987 novel of the same name b ...

'', 1928,

(with

) * '' Melody of Love'', 1928,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

* '' Modern Love'', 1929,

(part-talkie) * ''Chills and Fever'', 1930,

, as Arch B. Heath—writer and director * ''Doctor's Orders'', 1930,

* ''Dangerous Youth'', 1930,

, as Arch B. Heath * ''Against the Rules'', 1931, RKO Pathé Pictures, as Arch B. Heath—writer and director

Writer

* ''

The Scarlet West ''The Scarlet West'' is a 1925 American silent historical drama film directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Robert Frazer and Clara Bow. It was distributed by the First National company. This was an ambitious silent film made by an independ ...

'', 1925,

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

, as A.B. Heath * '' It Can Be Done'', 1929,

, as A.B. Heath * ''Ride 'em Cowboy'', 1930,

, as Arch B. Heath—writer and director * ''Chills and Fever'', 1930,

, as Arch B. Heath—writer and director * '' Hearts and Hoofs'', 1930, Pathé, (short, as Arch B. Heath) * '' Against the Rules'', 1931, RKO Pathé Pictures, (short, as Arch B. Heath) *''

The Adventures of Captain Marvel ''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captai ...

'', 1941,

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

(serial, 12 chapters) *'' White Eagle'', 1941, Columbia (serial, 15 chapters) * '' Against the Rules'', 1931, RKO Pathé Pictures, (short, as Arch B. Heath)

Other

*''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'', 1929,

(sound supervision,prologue directed by Arch Heath)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Arch 1890 births 1945 deaths American film directors American male screenwriters People of the United States Office of War Information 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters