Frank Erlanger (March 25, 1882 – 1961), also credited as Frank A. Erlanger or Frank Charles Erlanger was a

Hungarian-American Hungarian Americans ( Hungarian: ''amerikai magyarok'') are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people wit ...

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 ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

best known for his work with the

Balboa Amusement Producing Company The Balboa Amusement Producing Company (also known as Balboa Studios) was a film production company in Long Beach, California, from 1913 to 1918 that produced more than 1000 films, around 90% of which have been lost film, lost. Some of the notab ...

Early life

The Erlangers were a well-established Hungarian family living in what was then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Frank's father, Ottmar, was a colonel in the 7th Regiment of the

Imperial and Royal Hussars Together with the Dragoons and Uhlans, the Imperial and Royal Hussars (german: k.u.k. Husaren), made up the cavalry of the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1867 to 1918, both in the Common Army and in the Hungarian Landwehr, where they were known as the ...

. His mother, Theresia de Retsky, was an actress. The family originally resided in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

but relocated to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

before or after Frank's birth. While Frank's family, including sister Elizabeth, remained there, he was sent to Prague for schooling. After six years at the Mozart Dramatic College, he joined the military, rising to the rank of lieutenant in the 7th Hussars. Acceding to his mother's wishes, he resigned from the military to become an actor. He joined her on the stage for performances in several European cities, before moving to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where he received additional study in music and drama at the Academy of Music before returning to the stage for four years in Germany.

Film career

Erlanger took an interest in the film industry, and left the stage to spend four years with a German film company, the Kinematographic Kunst Company. He interrupted his acting career to travel to South America as part of a

gold prospecting Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries placer gold prospe ...

expedition. His

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

there was financially successful, earning him $60,000, the equivalent of over $1,500,000 in present-day terms. However, he lost that money over the next two years in unsuccessful prospecting efforts in California and subsequently returned to film. Erlanger worked for many of the studios of the silent film era, including

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 ...

Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, Ed ...

Essanay The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, ...

, Majestic, and the California Motion Picture Corporation, but he received his greatest fame with the

Partial filmography

*''

Salomy Jane Salomy Jane may refer to: *" Salomy Jane's Kiss", an 1889 western short story by Bret Harte, included in ''Stories of Light and Shadow'' (1898) * ''Salomy Jane'' (play), a 1907 stage adaptation by Paul Armstrong *"Salomy Jane", a 1910 western nove ...

'' (1914) (

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

) *''Sacrificial Fires'' (1914) *'' St.Elmo'' (1914) *''The Sands of Life'' (1914) *'' Spellbound'' (1916) *''The Power of Evil'' (1916) *''

The Sultana ''The Sultana'' is a lost 1916 silent film crime drama directed by Sherwood MacDonald and starring Ruth Roland. It was produced by Balboa Amusement Producing Company and distributed by Pathé Exchange. Cast *Ruth Roland as Virginia Lowndes *Will ...

'' (1916) *''The Yellow Bullet'' (1917) *'' The Climber'' (1917)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erlanger, Frank 1882 births 1961 deaths American male silent film actors Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male actors