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