Tommy Atkins (July 18, 1887 –June 18, 1968) was an American director of the silent and early

sound film 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 ...

eras. Born on July 18, 1887, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, he made his entrance into the film industry as the assistant director to

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...

on the 1920 silent film ''Out of the Snows''. Eight years later, he made another film, again as assistant director, for FBO Pictures on another silent film, ''Crooks Can't Win''. He worked as the assistant director on another sixteen films between 1928 and 1934, the most notable of which was 1933's ''

Morning Glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

'', directed by

Lowell Sherman Lowell J. Sherman (October 11, 1888 – December 28, 1934) was an American actor and film director. In an unusual practice for the time, he served as both actor and director on several films in the early 1930s. He later turned exclusively to d ...

and starring

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. In 1934 he directed his first picture, ''

The Silver Streak ''The Silver Streak'' is a 1934 American black-and-white film drama from RKO, loosely based on the record-setting "dawn-to-dusk" run of the '' Pioneer Zephyr'' on May 26, 1934. The film stars Sally Blane, Charles Starrett, William Farnum, and ...

'', which was one of the top money-makers for

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

that year. He directed two more films, the second of which, '' Hi, Gaucho!'', he also wrote the story for. After ''Hi, Gaucho!'', Atkins left the film industry for the most part, although he did return in 1940 as an associate producer on the Academy Award-nominated

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

''The Fight for Life'', which was directed by

Pare Lorentz Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesl ...

, who also produced the film for the United States Film Service. Atkins died on June 18, 1968, in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

(Per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database) All positions were as assistant director except where noted. *''

Out of the Snows ''Out of the Snows'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Ince, Zena Keefe and Gladys Coburn.Connelly p.393 Cast * Ralph Ince as Robert Holliday * Zena Keefe as Anitah * Pat Hartigan as John Blakeman * ...

'' (1920) *''

Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

'' (1928) *''

Crooks Can't Win ''Crooks Can't Win'' is a 1928 American silent crime drama film directed by George M. Arthur and starring Ralph Lewis, Thelma Hill and Joe E. Brown.Gehring p.38 Synopsis A police officer is kicked off the force when his superior wrongly believ ...

'' (1928) *'' Danger Street'' (1928) *''

Hey Rube! ''Hey Rube!'' is a 1928 American silent drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified ...

'' (1928) *''

Hit of the Show ''Hit of the Show'' is a 1928 comedy film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Joe E. Brown, Gertrude Olmstead and William Bailey.Quinlan, p. 152 It was originally released as a silent, with some sound added to later versions. Cast See also ...

'' (1928) *'' The Singapore Mutiny'' (1928) *'' The Silver Horde'' (1930) *''

Three Who Loved ''Three Who Loved'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by George Archainbaud from a screenplay by Beulah Marie Dix based on a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Martin Flavin. The film revolves around a love triangle (Betty Comps ...

'' (1931) *'' The Runaround'' (1931) *''

Thirteen Women ''Thirteen Women'' is a 1932 American pre-Code psychological thriller film, produced by David O. Selznick and directed by George Archainbaud. It stars Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne and Ricardo Cortez. The film is based on the 1930 bestselling novel of ...

'' (1932) *''

Men of Chance ''Men of Chance'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Drama (genre), drama film directed by George Archainbaud, starring Ricardo Cortez, Mary Astor, and John Halliday (actor), John Halliday. Plot A destitute Marthe Preston is in dir ...

'' (1932) *''

The Animal Kingdom ''The Animal Kingdom'' (also known as ''The Woman in His House'' in the UK) is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith based upon a comedy of manners play of the same name by Philip Barry. ...

'' (1932) *''

Song of the Eagle ''Song of the Eagle'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Ralph Murphy and starring Charles Bickford, Richard Arlen, Mary Brian and Jean Hersholt. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Its release coincided with th ...

'' (1933) *'' Ann Vickers'' (1933) *''

Christopher Strong ''Christopher Strong'' (also known as ''The Great Desire'' and ''The White Moth'') is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama film produced by RKO and directed by Dorothy Arzner. It is a tale of illicit love among the English aristocracy and st ...

'' (1933) *''

Midshipman Jack ''Midshipman Jack'' is a 1933 American pre-Code action film directed by Christy Cabanne and written by Frank Wead and F. McGrew Willis. The film stars Bruce Cabot, Betty Furness, Frank Albertson, Arthur Lake, and Florence Lake. The film was re ...

'' (1933) *''

Our Betters ''Our Betters'' is a 1933 American pre-Code satirical comedy film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett, Anita Louise and Gilbert Roland. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1917 play of th ...

'' (1933) *''

Murder on the Blackboard ''Murder on the Blackboard'' is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery/comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. I ...

'' (1934) *''

'' (1934) - director *'' Hi, Gaucho!'' (1935) - director, story *'' Mutiny Ahead'' (1935) - director *''

The Fight for Life ''The Fight for Life'' is a 1940 American medical drama film nominated for the Best Original Score of a Picture composed by Louis Gruenberg and released by Columbia Pictures. Plot At the City Hospital a young intern witnesses the death of a you ...

'' (1940) - associate producer

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Tommy 1887 births 1968 deaths Film directors from Massachusetts People from Springfield, Massachusetts