Frank Powell
Encyclopedia
Frank E. Powell was a stage
and silent film
actor
, screenwriter
, and director
in the United States
. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
.
Powell made his Broadway theatre
debut in 1904 and began his career in film in 1909 as an actor and scriptwriter at Biograph Studios
. There, he also co-directed his first film with D.W. Griffith and demonstrated an adeptness at directing Biograph-style comedies.
After directing sixty-three short films for Biograph, Powell joined Pathé Frères in 1914 then a year later was freelancing, directing the first film made by the George Kleine film production company. Hired by William Fox
, he made a number of films for Fox Film Corporation then became part of the World Film Corporation studios.
Powell is best remembered for discovering Theda Bara
, directing her in A Fool There Was (1915), the film that made her an international star and gave her the nickname "the Vamp". A year earlier, he directed Bara in her onscreen debut, The Stain
. He also directed Mary Pickford
in sixteen films, as well as other early stars such as Florence Lawrence
, Robert Harron
, Kate Bruce
, Blanche Sweet, Donald Crisp
, Henry B. Walthall
, and Mabel Normand
.
In late 1916 he set up his own production company and in the early 1920s wrote a number of scripts for British
films. Powell directed his last film for Mack Sennett Comedies
in 1921.
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
and silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Powell made his Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1904 and began his career in film in 1909 as an actor and scriptwriter at Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was a studio facility and film laboratory complex built in 1912 by the Biograph Company, formerly American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, at 807 E. 175th Street, in the Bronx, New York....
. There, he also co-directed his first film with D.W. Griffith and demonstrated an adeptness at directing Biograph-style comedies.
After directing sixty-three short films for Biograph, Powell joined Pathé Frères in 1914 then a year later was freelancing, directing the first film made by the George Kleine film production company. Hired by William Fox
William Fox (producer)
William Fox born Fried Vilmos was a pioneering Hungarian American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s...
, he made a number of films for Fox Film Corporation then became part of the World Film Corporation studios.
Powell is best remembered for discovering Theda Bara
Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman...
, directing her in A Fool There Was (1915), the film that made her an international star and gave her the nickname "the Vamp". A year earlier, he directed Bara in her onscreen debut, The Stain
The Stain (film)
The Stain is a 1914 silent drama film directed by Frank Powell and featuring Theda Bara in her onscreen debut. A print of the film was discovered in Australia in the 1990s.-Cast:* Edward José - Stevens * Thurlow Bergen - The young lawyer...
. He also directed Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in sixteen films, as well as other early stars such as Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
, Robert Harron
Robert Harron
Robert "Bobby" Harron was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in scores of films, he is possibly best remembered for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films Intolerance and The Birth of a Nation...
, Kate Bruce
Kate Bruce
Kate Bruce was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 289 films between 1908 and 1931.She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York, New York.-Selected filmography:* The Golden Louis...
, Blanche Sweet, Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
, Henry B. Walthall
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
, and Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand
Mabel Normand was an American silent film comedienne and actress. She was a popular star of Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios and is noted as one of the film industry's first female screenwriters, producers and directors...
.
In late 1916 he set up his own production company and in the early 1920s wrote a number of scripts for British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
films. Powell directed his last film for Mack Sennett Comedies
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
in 1921.