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
- Fording the River ... (Director)
- Choice Bouquets ... (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
- Venice and the Grand Canal ... (Director)
- Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace ... (Director)
- Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machines ... (Director)
1903
- Dorothy's Dream ... (Director)
- The Sick Kitten ... (Director)
- Mary Jane's Mishap ... (Director)
- Old London Street Scenes ... (Director)
1902
- The Coronation of Edward VII ... (Camera Operator)
- Policeman and Burglar ... (Director)
- Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes ... (Director)
- Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School ... (Director)
- At Last! That Awful Tooth ... (Director)
1901
- The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten ... (Director)
- The Death of Poor Joe ... (Director)
- Visit to Pompeii ... (Director)
- Photograph Taken From An Area Window ... (Director)
1900
- As Seen Through a Telescope ... (Producer)
- Spiders on a Web ... (Director)
- A Quick Shave and Brush Up ... (Director)
- Grandma's Reading Glass ... (Producer)
- Grandma Threading Her Needle ... (Director)
- Let Me Dream Again ... (Director)
- The Old Maid's Valentine ... (Director)
- The Dull Razor ... (Director)
- The Rival Clothiers ... (Director)
- The House That Jack Built ... (Director)
- Scandal Over the Teacups ... (Director)
- Two Old Sports ... (Director)
1899
- The Kiss in the Tunnel as Husband
- The Inexhaustible Cab ... (Director)
1898
- Cinderella ... (Director)
- Santa Claus ... (Director)
- Photographing a Ghost ... (Director)
- The Corsican Brothers ... (Director)
- Ally Sloper ... (Director)
- Early Fashions on Brighton Pier ... (Director)
- Faust and Mephistopheles ... (Director)
1897
- Comic Face ... (Director)
- The Miller and the Sweep ... (Director)
- The X-Ray Fiend ... (Production Design)
- Brighton Seagoing Electric Car ... (Director)
- The Sign Writer ... (Director)
- Comic Shaving ... (Director)
- Weary Willie ... (Director)
- Hanging Out the Clothes ... (Producer)
- Train Entering Hove Station ... (Director)
- Making Sausages ... (Director)
- The Maid in the Garden ... (Director)