Sidney Arnold Franklin (March 21, 1893 – May 18, 1972) 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 ...
William C. deMille
William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...
, specialized in adapting literary works or Broadway stage plays.
His brother
Chester Franklin
Chester Mortimer Franklin (September 1, 1889 – March 12, 1954) was an American film director and actor active mainly in the silent era. Born in San Francisco, he was the brother of Sidney A. Franklin. In the late 1910s, he co-directed w ...
(1889–1954) also became a director during the
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 ...
era best known for directing the early
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
film ''
The Toll of the Sea
''The Toll of the Sea'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Chester M. Franklin, produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, released by Metro Pictures, and featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role. The film w ...
''.
Partial filmography
Director
*''
Gretchen the Greenhorn
''Gretchen the Greenhorn'' is an American silent film released in 1916. The film stars Dorothy Gish as a Dutch girl who emigrates to America to be with her father; they become entangled with a counterfeiting ring. Set in an immigrant section of a ...
'' (1916) co-directed with brother Chester
*'' A Sister of Six'' (1916) co-directed with brother Chester
* ''
The Little School Ma'am
''The Little School Ma'am'' is a 1916 American drama silent black and white film directed by C.M. Franklin and S.A. Franklin, and written by Bernard McConville and Frank E. Woods. It stars Dorothy Gish.
Cast
* Dorothy Gish as Nan
* Elmer Clif ...
'' (1916)
* ''
Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...
'' (1917) co-directed with brother Chester
* ''
The Babes in the Woods
''The Babes in the Woods'' is a 1917 American silent fantasy film directed by Chester M. Franklin and Sidney Franklin and starring Francis Carpenter, Virginia Lee Corbin and Violet Radcliffe.Solomon p.243-44
Cast
* Francis Carpenter as Roland ...
'' (1917) co-directed with brother Chester
*''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1918) co-directed with Chester
*''
The Safety Curtain
''The Safety Curtain'' is a 1918 American silent melodrama film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Norma Talmadge. Talmadge and her husband Joe Schenck produced the film and distributed through Select Pictures.
Cast
*Norma Talmadge as P ...
'' (1918)
*''
Her Only Way
''Her Only Way'' is a 1918 silent film drama directed by Sidney Franklin with Norma Talmadge as the star.
Cast
*Norma Talmadge - Lucille Westbrook
* Eugene O'Brien - Joseph Marshall
*Ramsey Wallace - Paul Belmont
* E. Alyn Warren - Judge Hampto ...
'' (1918)
*''
The Forbidden City
''The Forbidden City'' is a 1918 American silent drama film starring Norma Talmadge and Thomas Meighan and directed by Sidney Franklin. A copy of the film is in the Library of Congress and other film archives.The Hoodlum'' (1919)
*''
A Virtuous Vamp
''A Virtuous Vamp'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film produced by and starring Constance Talmadge that was directed by David Kirkland and Sidney Franklin. It was written by Anita Loos and John Emerson based on the 1909 play ''The Bachelor'' ...
'' (1919) assistant director with David Kirkland
* ''
Courage
Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle.
Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...
The Primitive Lover
''The Primitive Lover'' is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by and starring Constance Talmadge and distributed by Associated First National (later First National Pictures). Sidney A. Franklin served as the director of the movie and Fran ...
Her Sister from Paris
''Her Sister from Paris'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film based upon the play ''The Twin Sister'' by Ludwig Fulda. It was directed by Sidney Franklin and stars Constance Talmadge, Ronald Colman, and George K. Arthur. Unlike many silent ...
'' (1925)
*''
Learning to Love
''Learning to Love'' is a 1925 American comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin and written by John Emerson and Anita Loos. The film stars Constance Talmadge, Antonio Moreno, Emily Fitzroy, Edythe Chapman, John Harron, and Ray Hallor. The film ...
'' (1925)
*''
Beverly of Graustark
''Beverly of Graustark'' is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Marion Davies, Antonio Moreno, and Creighton Hale. The film's screenplay was written by Agnes Christine Johnston based on the nove ...
'' (1926)
*''
The Actress
''The Actress'' is a 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play ''Years Ago''. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, and Teresa Wrigh ...
Devil-May-Care
Devil May Care may refer to:
Music
* ''Devil May Care'', an album by Bob Dorough, 1956
** "Devil May Care", the title song, covered by Jamie Cullum on '' Pointless Nostalgic'', 2002
* ''Devil May Care'' (album), by Teri Thornton, 1961
* ''Devil M ...
'' (1929)
*''
A Lady's Morals
''A Lady's Morals'' is a 1930 American pre-Code film offering a highly fictionalized account of opera singer Jenny Lind. The movie features Grace Moore as Lind, Reginald Denny as a lover, and Wallace Beery as P. T. Barnum. The film contains som ...
'' (1930)
*''
Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Ka ...
'' (1934)
*''
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Ka ...
'' (1957; a scene-for-scene remake of the 1934 version)
*'' The Dark Angel'' (1935)
*''
The Good Earth
''The Good Earth'' is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 that dramatizes family life in a Chinese village in the early 20th century. It is the first book in her ''House of Earth'' trilogy, continued in ''Sons'' (1932) ...
Ninotchka
''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...
'' (1939) (associate producer)
*''
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...
'' (1940)
*''
Mrs. Miniver
''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming British h ...
'' (1942)
*''
Random Harvest
''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...
'' (1942)
*''
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...
'' (1942; animated by Walt Disney Productions while Franklin served as creative consultant)
*''
Madame Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
The Yearling
''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.
It was the best-selling n ...
'' (1946)
*''
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia.
...
The Miniver Story
''The Miniver Story'' is a 1950 American drama film that is the sequel to the 1942 film '' Mrs. Miniver''. Like its predecessor, the picture, made by MGM, stars Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, but it was filmed on-location in England. The film ...
'' (1950)
*''
Fearless Fagan
''Fearless Fagan'' is a 1952 comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and stars Janet Leigh and Carleton Carpenter. It is about a clown who is drafted into the military and tries to sneak his pet lion into the service. The film was inspired by the 12 ...
'' (1952) (associate producer)
*''
Sky Full of Moon
''Sky Full of Moon'' is a 1952 American western film directed by Norman Foster and starring Carleton Carpenter, Keenan Wynn, and Jan Sterling. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Plot
Easy-going cowpoke Harley "Tumbleweed" W ...
'' (1952)
*''
The Story of Three Loves
''The Story of Three Loves'' (also known as ''Equilibrium'') is a 1953 American Technicolor romantic anthology film made by MGM. It consists of three stories, "The Jealous Lover", "Mademoiselle", and "Equilibrium". The film was produced by Si ...
'' (1953)
*''
Gypsy Colt
''Gypsy Colt'' is a 1954 American drama film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Donna Corcoran, Ward Bond and Frances Dee. Shot in Ansco Color, it was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film's basic plot w ...
'' (1953)
*''
Young Bess
''Young Bess'' is a 1953 Technicolor biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England. It stars Jean Simmons as Elizabeth and Ste ...
'' (1953)
*''
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...
'' (1953)
Actor
*''
A Rogue's Romance
''A Rogue's Romance'' is a 1919 American silent crime drama film produced and released by the Vitagraph Company of America. It was directed by James Young and starred matinee star Earle Williams. Rudolph Valentino (billed as Rudolph Volantino) ...
'' (1919) - Burgomaster
*''
The Man in the Moonlight
''The Man in the Moonlight'' is a 1919 American silent drama film a set in the great north, starring Colleen Moore and Monroe Salisbury.
Plot
Two strangers arrive at the wedding of Sergeant O'Farrell of the Royal Mounted Police and Rosine Delorme ...
'' (1919) - Pierre Delorme
*'' Down Home'' (1920) - Cash Bailey
*'' The Blue Moon'' (1920) - Louie Solomon
* ''
Fashion Row
''Fashion Row'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Mae Murray in a dual role, Earle Foxe, and Freeman Wood. The film involves two Russian sisters emigrate to America. One tries to hide her peasant ori ...
Mrs. Miniver
''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming British h ...
'' (1942) - Man at Flower Show (uncredited) (final film role)