David Smith (28 October 1872 – 25 April 1930) was an English

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

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

of the

silent era 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, wh ...

. He directed more than 70 films between 1915 and 1927. He was born in

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and died in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. He was the older brother of Albert E. Smith, one of the co-founders of the

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Hiding of Black Bill ''The Hiding of Black Bill'' was a 1918 American silent short film directed by David Smith, distributed by General Film Company. It is based on a story by O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known ...

'' (1918) * '' The Woman in the Web'' (1918) * '' Baree, Son of Kazan'' (1918) * ''

A Gentleman's Agreement ''A Gentleman's Agreement'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Gayne Whitman, Nell Shipman, Juan de la Cruz, Jacob Abrams, and Hattie Buskirk. The film was released by Vitagraph Company of America on July 2 ...

'' (1918) * '' The Changing Woman'' (1918) * ''

The Dawn of Understanding ''The Dawn of Understanding'' is a lost film, lost 1918 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western comedy film produced by The Vitagraph Company of America and directed by David Smith (director), David Smith. It stars Bessie Love in t ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Enchanted Barn ''The Enchanted Barn'' is a 1919 American silent drama film produced by Vitagraph Studios. It was directed by David Smith and starred Bessie Love and J. Frank Glendon. The script was written by Kathryn Reed, based on the novel by Grace Livings ...

'' (1919) * '' The Wishing Ring Man'' (1919) * ''

A Yankee Princess ''A Yankee Princess'' is a 1919 American silent film, silent comedy-drama film produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. It was directed by David Smith (director), David Smith and stars Bessie Love, who also wrote the screenpl ...

'' (1919) * ''

Over the Garden Wall ''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variet ...

'' (1919) * ''

Cupid Forecloses ''Cupid Forecloses'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film starring Bessie Love and Wallace MacDonald. It was directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Studios. It was based on the popular novel ''Hurrying Fate and Geraldine'' by Flo ...

'' (1919) * ''

A Fighting Colleen ''A Fighting Colleen'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Company of America. It stars Bessie Love and Charles Spere. The film is presumed lost. Plot Alannah Malone (Love), an Irish ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Little Boss ''The Little Boss'' is a 1919 American silent romantic comedy film directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Studios. The story and screenplay were by Rida Johnson Young, and it starred Bessie Love and Wallace MacDonald. The film is ...

'' (1919) * '' Pegeen'' (1920) * ''

The Courage of Marge O'Doone ''The Courage of Marge O'Doone'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and featuring Pauline Starke, Billie Bennett, Niles Welch and Boris Karloff (as Buck Tavish, a mountain man). It was written by Robert N. Bradbury, ba ...

'' (1920) * ''

Black Beauty ''Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse'' is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she was bedridden and seriously ill.Merriam-Webster (1995). ...

'' (1921) * '' It Can Be Done'' (1921) * ''

The Silver Car ''The Silver Car'' is a lost 1921 silent film crime film directed by David Smith starring Earle Williams and Kathryn Adams. It was produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company. Cast * Earle Williams - Anthony Trent * Kathryn Adams - Da ...

'' (1921) * ''

A Guilty Conscience ''A Guilty Conscience'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Antonio Moreno, Betty Francisco and Harry von Meter.Munden p.318 Cast * Antonio Moreno as Gilbert Thurstan * Betty Francisco as Emily Thurstan * Ha ...

'' (1921) * '' Flower of the North'' (1921) * '' The Little Minister'' (1922) * ''

My Wild Irish Rose ''My Wild Irish Rose'' is a 1947 film directed by David Butler. It stars Dennis Morgan and Arlene Dahl (in her debut film). It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1948. Plot A fictionalized biopic of Chauncey Olcott, the movie traces the rise ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Angel of Crooked Street ''The Angel of Crooked Street'' is a 1922 American silent crime drama film directed by David Smith and starring Alice Calhoun, Ralph McCullough and William McCall.Connelly p.13 Synopsis Jennie Marsh, a young woman working as a maid is unjustl ...

'' (1922) * ''

A Girl's Desire ''A Girl's Desire'' is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by David Smith and starring Alice Calhoun, Warner Baxter and Frank Hall Crane.Connelly p.354 Synopsis A wealthy and socially ambitious American woman plans to buy social positi ...

'' (1922) * ''

Little Wildcat ''Little Wildcat'' is a 1922 American silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. Plot Cast * Alice Calhoun as Mag o' the Alley * Ramsey Wallace as Judge Arnold * Herbert Fortier as Robert Ware * Oliver Hardy as 'Bull' Mulligan * Adele Far ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Ninety and Nine ''The Ninety and Nine'' was a 1922 American silent film, silent drama film directed by David Smith (director), David Smith and starring Colleen Moore made shortly before she gained fame as a film flapper. The film was presumed lost, although rece ...

'' (1922) * ''

The Man from Brodney's ''The Man from Brodney's'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring J. Warren Kerrigan, Alice Calhoun, and Wanda Hawley. It was produced and released by the Vitagraph Company of America. Plot As described in ...

'' (1923) * ''

Masters of Men ''Masters of Men'' is a 1923 American silent war drama film directed by David Smith and starring Earle Williams, Alice Calhoun and Wanda Hawley. It takes place against the backdrop of the 1898 Spanish-American War. It is based on the 1901 novel ...

'' (1923) * ''

Pioneer Trails ''Pioneer Trails'' is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by David Smith and starring Cullen Landis, Alice Calhoun, and Bertram Grassby Bertram Grassby (23 December 1880 – 7 December 1953) was an English actor. He appeared i ...

'' (1923) * ''

The Midnight Alarm ''The Midnight Alarm'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Alice Calhoun, Percy Marmont, and Cullen Landis James Cullen Landis (July 9, 1896 – August 26, 1975) was an American motion picture actor an ...

'' (1923) * '' My Man'' (1924) * ''

Borrowed Husbands ''Borrowed Husbands'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by David Smith and starring Florence Vidor. It was produced and distributed by Vitagraph Company of America. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Nancy Burrard's hus ...

'' (1924) * ''

Code of the Wilderness ''Code of the Wilderness'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by David Smith and starring John Bowers, Alice Calhoun, and Alan Hale. Cast * John Bowers as Rex Randerson * Alice Calhoun as Ruth Harkness * Alan Hale as Willa ...

'' (1924) * '' Captain Blood'' (1924) * '' Baree, Son of Kazan'' (1925) * ''

Steele of the Royal Mounted ''Steele of the Royal Mounted'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by David Smith and starring Bert Lytell, Stuart Holmes and Charlotte Merriam. It is based on a novel by James Oliver Curwood about the Royal Canadian Mounted Polic ...

'' (1925) * ''

Pampered Youth ''Pampered Youth'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and starring Cullen Landis, Alice Calhoun, and Allan Forrest. It is an adaption of the 1918 novel ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' by Booth Tarkington. It was one of ...

'' (1925) * '' Born to Battle'' (1926) (cinematography) * ''

The Heart of the Yukon ''The Heart of the Yukon'' is a 1927 American silent adventure film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring John Bowers, Anne Cornwall and Edward Hearn.Munden p.332 Cast * John Bowers as Jim Winston * Anne Cornwall as Anita Wayne * Edwa ...

'' (1927) (cinematography) * '' Born to Battle'' (1927) (cinematography) * ''

Gold from Weepah ''Gold from Weepah'' is a 1927 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by William Bertram (actor), William Bertram and starring Bill Cody (actor), Bill Cody, Doris Dawson and Dick La Reno. Cast * Bill Cody (actor), B ...

'' (1927) (cinematography) * '' The Avenging Shadow'' (1928) (cinematography)

References

External links

* 1872 births 1930 deaths English film directors People from Faversham {{UK-film-director-stub