John B. "Jack" O'Brien (December 13, 1884 – August 15, 1936) was an American actor and
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
of the
silent era
A silent film is a film without 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 appeared in more than 80 films between 1909 and 1936. He also directed 53 films between 1914 and 1926.
Biography
O'Brien was born in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...
. He attended
St. John's College[ ] in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, and was planning on becoming a lawyer.
However,
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman (August 22, 1851 – December 26, 1940) was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.
Biography
Frohman was born to a Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio. His parents were Henry (1826–1899) and Ba ...
persuaded him to change his mind and try a stage career instead.
He performed as a juvenile lead for the
Augustus Thomas
Augustus Thomas (January 8, 1857 – August 12, 1934) was an American playwright.
Biography
Born in St. Louis, Missouri and son of a medical doctor, Thomas worked a number of jobs including as a page in the 41st Congress, studying law, and gaini ...
Company, beginning with the play ''Alabama'',
and later for
Essanay Studios
Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufactu ...
.
He also worked as a cameraman for
Broncho Billy Anderson
Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...
and wrote scenarios for Essanay.
According to two sources, in July 1911, O'Brien was lured away from Essanay to direct the film ''The Life of Buffalo Bill'', featuring
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age ...
himself.
According to one of these sources, the book ''Buffalo Bill on the Silver Screen: The Films of William F. Cody'', O'Brien had to shoot the film while the
Wild West show
Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of co ...
was on tour.
It was supposedly the first
or one of the first
five-reel feature movies. However, the opening credits of the film itself state that it is only three reels long. (To confuse the issue even further, there is another 1912 film with exactly the same title, directed by
Paul Panzer
Paul Wolfgang Panzerbeiter (November 3, 1872 – August 16, 1958), known professionally as Paul Panzer, was a German-American silent film actor. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1905 and 1952.
Biography
Panzer was born in Würzburg ...
.)
Some sources state he worked on
D. W. Griffith
David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...
's ground-breaking epic ''
The Birth of a Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...
''.
He directed for
Famous Players
Famous Players Limited Partnership was a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous film, movie theatre ...
and later
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at le ...
.
He died in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
, California.
He was survived by his wife.
Partial filmography
;As actor
* ''
Across the Plains'' (1911 short)
* ''
Alkali Ike's Auto
''Alkali Ike's Auto'' is a 1911 American silent short comedy film directed by Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson. The film is the first in the " Alkali Ike" series.
Cast
* Augustus Carney as Alkali Ike
* Harry Todd as Mustang Pete
* Marg ...
'' (1911 short)
* ''
Bab's Diary
''Bab's Diary'' is a 1917 American silent film, silent romantic comedy film directed by J. Searle Dawley and starring Marguerite Clark. The film's scenario was written by Martha D. Foster, based on the screen story "Her Diary" by Mary Roberts Rin ...
'' (1917)
* ''
Bride 13'' (1920)
* ''
The Stealers''
(1920)
* ''
Thunder Island''
(1921)
* ''
Why Girls Leave Home'' (1921)
* ''
A Daughter of the Law''
(1921)
* ''
Molly O''
(1921) (uncredited)
* ''Annabelle Lee'' (1921)
* ''
The Bride's Play
''The Bride's Play'' is a 1922 American silent romance film produced by William Randolph Hearst as a starring vehicle for Marion Davies. It was directed by George Terwilliger and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is an extant film that is p ...
''
(1922)
* ''
The Black Bag''
(1922)
* ''
The Noon Whistle'' (1923 short)
* ''
The Soilers'' (1923 short)
* ''
Postage Due
Postage due is the term used for mail sent with insufficient postage. A postage due stamp is a stamp added to an underpaid piece of mail to indicate the extra postage due.
Background
While the problem of what to do about letters not paying th ...
'' (1924 short)
* ''
Zeb vs. Paprika'' (1924 short)
* ''
Brothers Under the Chin'' (1924 short)
* ''
Wide Open Spaces'' (1924 short) (uncredited)
* ''The Iron Horse''
(1924) (uncredited)
* ''The Galloping Jinx''
(1925)
* ''The Desert Demon''
(1925)
* ''Once in a Lifetime''
(1925)
* ''Action Galore''
(1925)
* ''A Streak of Luck''
(1925)
* ''
Noisy Noises
''Noisy Noises'' is a 1929 ''Our Gang'' short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 82nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released.
Cast
The Gang
* Joe Cobb as Joe
* Jean Darling as Jean
* Allen Hoskins as Farina
* Bobby H ...
'' (1929 short)
* ''
Cat, Dog & Co.'' (1929 short) (uncredited)
* ''
Saturday's Lesson'' (1929 Our Gang short)
;As director
* ''
The Body in the Trunk'' (1914 short)
* ''
The Angel of Contention
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' (1914 short)
* ''The Second Mrs. Roebuck''
(1914 short)
* ''Sierra Jim's Reformation''
(1914 short)
* ''For Her Father's Sins''
(1914 short)
* ''
The Tear That Burned''
(1914 short)
* ''
The Folly of Anne'' (1914 short)
* ''The Old Maid''
(1914 short)
* ''
The Old Fisherman's Story'' (1914 short)
* ''
Captain Macklin''
(1915 short)
* ''
The Foundling''
[ (1916)
* '' The Flying Torpedo'' (1916)
* '' Hulda from Holland'']Maternity
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...
'' (1917)
* ''Reputation
The reputation or prestige of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity – typically developed as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance.
...
'' (1917)
* ''The Unforseen
''The Unforeseen'' is a lost 1917 silent film drama directed by John B. O'Brien and starring Olive Tell and David Powell. Distributed by the Mutual Film Company, it is based on the 1903 Broadway play, ''The Unforeseen'', by Robert Marshall. ...
''The Bishop's Emeralds
''The Bishop's Emeralds'' is a lost 1919 silent film drama directed by John B. O'Brien and featuring Virginia Pearson and her real life spouse Sheldon Lewis. It was produced by Louis B. Mayer and released through Pathé Exchange
Pathé ...
'' (1919)
*'' The Family Closet'' (1921)
* '' Those Who Dare'' (1924)
* ''Montana of the Range''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, John B.
1884 births
1936 deaths
American male film actors
Film directors from Virginia
20th-century American male actors