Fred J. Balshofer (November 2, 1877 – June 21, 1969) was a pioneering

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, w ...

director, producer, screenwriter, 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 ...

in the United States.

Biography

Balshofer was born in New York City and became interested in the

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

business at an early age. He eventually worked as a

stereoscopic Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

-slide photographer and was drawn to the fledgling motion picture business. From 1905 to 1908, he worked at

Lubin Studios The Lubin Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark. History The Lubin Manufacturing Company was formed in 1 ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. In 1909 he was hired by Adam Kessel of the

New York Motion Picture Company The New York Motion Picture Company was a film production and distribution company from 1909 until 1914. It changed names to New York Picture Corporation in 1912. It released films through several different brand names, including 101 Bison, Kay ...

and directed his first film, "''Disinherited Son's Loyalty''", on which he also served as cinematographer. That same year he directed '' Davy Crockett – In Hearts United'', believed to be the first

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of ...

movie ever made. Filming at the time centered mainly around facilities and locations in the

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

area but within a few years Balshofer moved to the West Coast as General Manager of the New York Motion Picture Company, directing

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

s for their subsidiary,

Bison Motion Pictures Bison Film Company, also known as 101 Bison Film Company, is an American film studio established in 1909 and disestablished in 1917. It partnered with Miller Brothers 101 Ranch to lease 20,000 acres to build a Western town set and an Indian villa ...

until Thomas H. Ince joined the studio. In early 1914 Balshofer left NYMPC and became the head of the Sterling Motion Picture Company, a subsidiary of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Sterling ceased production in early 1915 and a few months later Balshofer joined Quality Pictures, a subsidiary of

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a 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 leased f ...

. By 1916, Balshofer was president and general manager of the Yorke-Metro studios at 1329 Gordon St. in Hollywood. In the 1920s, he produced and directed films for his own production company. During his career, Fred Balshofer produced and/or directed more than eighty silent films then, after an unsuccessful attempt at age fifty directing a Spanish language

talkie 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 ...

, he spent the better part of his remaining career working as a studio executive. In 1967 he teamed up with friend and acclaimed cinematographer Arthur C. Miller to write a significant book on the film industry under the title "''One Reel a Week''." Published by the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, the book chronicled the early history of the motion picture industry, including the shift in location and facilities from the East Coast to Southern California and the rise of the

genre.

Selected filmography

* ''Disinherited Son's Loyalty'' (1908), New York Motion Picture Company. * '' Davy Crockett – In Hearts United'' (1908), New York Motion Picture Company. Cast includes:

Charles K. French Charles K. French (born Charles Ekrauss French or Charles E. Krauss; January 17, 1860 – August 2, 1952) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director who appeared in more than 240 films between 1909 and 1945. Biography French was ...

* '' An Indian Love Story'' (1911), Bison. Cast includes:

Mona Darkfeather Josephine M. Workman better known by her stage name, Princess Mona Darkfeather (January 13, 1882 – September 3, 1977) was an American actress who starred in Native American and Western dramas. During the silent era of motion pictures, from ...

and Dove Ey * ''

A Corner in Cotton ''A Corner in Cotton'' is a five-reel silent film melodrama produced in 1916 by Quality Pictures and distributed by Metro Pictures. The movie was filmed at studios in New York and California and on locations near Savannah, Georgia. ''A Corner in ...

'' (1916), Quality Pictures. Cast includes:

Marguerite Snow Marguerite Snow (September 9, 1889 – February 17, 1958) was an American silent film and stage actress. In her early films she was billed as Margaret Snow. Early life Snow was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father, Billy Snow, was a comedia ...

and William Clifford * '' The Masked Rider'' (1916), Yorke Film Corporation. * '' Pidgin Island'' (1916), Yorke Film Corporation. Cast includes: Harold Lockwood and

May Allison May Allison (June 14, 1890 – March 27, 1989) was an American actress whose greatest success was achieved in the early part of the 20th century in silent films, although she also appeared on stage. Life and career Allison was born in Rising ...

* '' Paradise Garden'' (1917), Yorke Productions. Cast includes: Harold Lockwood and

Vera Sisson Vera Sisson (July 31, 1891 – August 6, 1954) was an American actress of the silent era. Biography Vera Sisson was born on July 31, 1891 in Salt Lake City. She received her education at Brownlee Collegiate School for Girls in Denver, Colo ...

* ''

The Avenging Trail ''The Avenging Trail'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Francis Ford and starring Harold Lockwood, Sally Crute, and Joseph Dailey. It was released on December 31, 1917. Plot Gaston Olaf returns home from college and finds out ...

'' (1917) Metro Pictures, Yorke Productions. Cast includes: Harold Lockwood and

Sally Crute Sally Crute (born Sally C. Kirby, June 27, 1886 – August 12, 1971) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before entering motion pictures Crute performed on stage. Crute was generally ca ...

* ''

Broadway Bill ''Broadway Bill'' is a 1934 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. Screenplay by Robert Riskin and based on the short story "Strictly Confidential" by Mark Hellinger, the film is about a ...

'' (1918), Yorke Film Corporation. Cast includes: Harold Lockwood and

Martha Mansfield Martha Mansfield (born Martha Ehrlich; July 14, 1899 – November 30, 1923) was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays. Early life She was born in New York City to Maurice and Harriett Gibson Ehrlich. She had a younger sis ...

* ''

The Landloper ''The Landloper'' is a 1918 American silent romance adventure film directed by George Irving and starring Harold Lockwood, Pauline Curley, Stanton Heck, William Clifford, Bert Starkey, and Gertrude Maloney. It is based on the 1915 novel of the s ...

'' (1918), Yorke Film Corporation. Cast includes: Harold Lockwood and

Pauline Curley Pauline Curley (December 19, 1903 – December 11, 2000) was a vaudeville and silent film actress from Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her film career spanned much of the silent era, from 1915 to 1928. Early years Pauline Curley was born in Holyoke, M ...

* '' An Adventuress'' (1920). Cast includes:

Julian Eltinge Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notic ...

and

Frederick Ko Vert Frederick Kovert (sometimes written Ko Vert or KoVert) was an American female impersonator. Kovert appeared in drag in a number of comic roles in silent films of the 1920s. His first film role was in the 1920 film '' An Adventuress'', alongside ...

* ''

The Isle of Love ''The Isle of Love'' is a 1922 recut of a 1920 American silent drama film ''Over the Rhine'' aka ''An Adventuress'' starring female impersonator Julian Eltinge. The film also contained two actors unknown during filming: Virginia Rappe and Rudo ...

'' (1922), Yorke Films/A Herald Production. Cast includes:

and

Virginia Rappe Virginia Caroline Rappe (; July 7, 1891 – September 9, 1921) was an American model and silent film actress. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter a ...

* ''

The Three Buckaroos ''The Three Buckaroos'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Fred J. Balshofer, starring Fred Humes, Peggy O'Day and Monte Montague.Munden, p. 803 Cast * Fred Humes as Dartigan * Peggy O'Day as Constance Kingsley * Monte Mont ...

'' (1922)

References

External links

*
Fred J. Balshofer
Kinotv) {{DEFAULTSORT:Balshofer, Fred J. Film producers from New York (state) American male screenwriters American cinematographers Balshofer, J. Fred 1877 births 1969 deaths Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters