George Albert Smith
Born: 1864-01-04 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK
Died: 1959-05-17
Known For: Directing
Biography
Along with his better-known French counterpart Georges Méliès, George Albert Smith, usually credited as G.A. Smith, was one of the first filmmakers to explore fictional and fantastic themes, often using surprisingly sophisticated special effects. His background was ideal – an established portrait photographer, he also had a long-standing interest in show business, running a tourist attraction in his native Brighton featuring a fortune teller. His films were among the first to feature such innovations as superimposition (Smith patented a double-exposure system in 1897), close-ups and scene transitions involving wipes and focus pulls. He also patented Kinemacolor – the world's first commercial cinema color system--in 1906, which was extremely successful for a time, despite the special equipment required to project it
Filmography
2023
1912
- Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus ... (Director)
1910
- Choice Bouquets ... (Director)
- Fording the River ... (Director)
1909
- Choosing the Wallpaper ... (Director)
1908
- A Visit to the Seaside ... (Director)
- Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs ... (Director)
1906
- Tartans of Scottish Clans ... (Director)
- Two Clowns ... (Director)
1904
- Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace ... (Director)
- Venice and the Grand Canal ... (Director)
- Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines ... (Director)
1903
- The Sick Kitten ... (Director)
- Mary Jane's Mishap ... (Director)
- Old London Street Scenes ... (Director)
- Dorothy's Dream ... (Director)
1902
- Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria ... (Director)
- At Last! That Awful Tooth ... (Director)
- Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School ... (Director)
- The Coronation of Edward VII ... (Camera Operator)
- Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes ... (Director)
- Policeman and Burglar ... (Director)
1901
- The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten ... (Director)
- Photograph Taken From An Area Window ... (Director)
- The Death of Poor Joe ... (Director)
- Visit to Pompeii ... (Director)
1900
- As Seen Through a Telescope ... (Producer)
- The House That Jack Built ... (Director)
- Grandma's Reading Glass ... (Producer)
- Scandal Over the Teacups ... (Director)
- Two Old Sports ... (Director)
- Spiders on a Web ... (Director)
- A Quick Shave and Brush Up ... (Director)
- Let Me Dream Again ... (Director)
- The Old Maid's Valentine ... (Director)
- Grandma Threading Her Needle ... (Director)
- The Dull Razor ... (Director)
- The Rival Clothiers ... (Director)
1899
- The Kiss in the Tunnel as Husband
- The Inexhaustible Cab ... (Director)
1898
- Santa Claus ... (Director)
- Faust and Mephistopheles ... (Director)
- Early Fashions on Brighton Pier ... (Director)
- Cinderella ... (Director)
- Photographing a Ghost ... (Director)
- Ally Sloper ... (Director)
- The Corsican Brothers ... (Director)
1897
- The Miller and the Sweep ... (Director)
- The Maid in the Garden ... (Director)
- Making Sausages ... (Director)
- The X-Ray Fiend ... (Production Design)
- Train Entering Hove Station ... (Director)
- Hanging Out the Clothes ... (Producer)
- Comic Face ... (Director)
- The Sign Writer ... (Director)
- Brighton Seagoing Electric Car ... (Director)
- Weary Willie ... (Director)
- Comic Shaving ... (Director)