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