Henry Lewis "Harry" Solter (November 19, 1873 – March 2, 1920) was an American 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:...

.

Career

Solter began his career as an actor in 1908 with 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....

. That same year he met actress 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...

 while making the film Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

for Vitagraph Studios

Vitagraph Studios

American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...

 and married on August 30 of that year. In 1909, Solter began working for Carl Laemmle's

Carl Laemmle

Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...

 Independent Moving Pictures Co. of America (IMP) as an actor but also as a director. Over the next nine years, he directed 148 silent films.

In 1912, Harry Solter and his wife established the Victor Studios

Victor Studios

The Victor Film Company was a motion picture company formed in 1912 by movie star Florence Lawrence and her husband, Harry Solter. The company established Victor Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, when early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of...

 in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...

. In 1913, they sold out to Carl Laemmle whose amalgamation of several studios created the colossal Universal Film Manufacturing Co.

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

. Solter continued to direct for the new company until 1918 when health problems emerged.

Death

Stoler died of a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 on March 2, 1920 at the age of forty-six. He is interred in the Baltimore Cemetery in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1908	Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet (1908 film) The first ever American film version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was a silent film short made in 1908 made by Vitagraph Studios. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton, it was filmed in Central Park in Manhattan, New York....
	Balked at the Altar Balked at the Altar Balked at the Altar is a 1908 short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Library of Congress...
	Romance of a Jewess Romance of a Jewess Romance of a Jewess is a 1908 silent short drama film written and directed by D.W. Griffith.-Cast:* Florence Lawrence as Ruth Simonson* George Gebhardt as Simon Bimberg* Gladys Egan as The Daughter* John R. Cumpson as Customer* Guy Hedlund* Arthur V...	Customer/Rubinstein
	The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew (1908 film) The Taming of the Shrew is a 1908 silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.- Cast :*Florence Lawrence ... Katharina*Arthur V. Johnson ... Petruchio*Linda Arvidson ... Bianca...	Katharina's Father	Writer
	After Many Years After Many Years After Many Years is a 1908 silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film exist in the Library of Congress film archive.-Cast:* Charles Inslee - John Davis* Florence Lawrence - Mrs. John Davis* Harry Solter - Tom Foster...	Tom Foster
	Money Mad	First Villain
1909	At the Altar At the Altar At the Altar is a 1909 silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey where early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century...	On Street
	A Drunkard's Reformation A Drunkard's Reformation A Drunkard's Reformation is a 1909 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive in the film archive of the Library of Congress.-Cast:* Arthur V. Johnson - John Wharton* Linda Arvidson - Mrs. John Wharton...	In the Play
1910	The Rocky Road The Rocky Road The Rocky Road is a 1910 short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Frank Powell. Prints of the film survive in the film archives of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art.-Cast:* Frank Powell - Ben...
	All the World's a Stage	–	Director
1911	The Two Paths
	Duke De Ribbon Counter	–	Director
	During Cherry Time	–	Director
1912	Not Like Other Girls	–	Director
	Betty's Nightmare	–	Director
	The Redemption of Riverton	–	Director
1913	Unto the Third Generation Unto the Third Generation Unto the Third Generation is a 1913 American short silent romantic drama directed by Harry Solter. The film starred Earle Foxe and Florence Lawrence and Matt Moore in the lead roles...	–	Director
	The Spender The Spender The Spender is a 1913 American short silent film romance directed by Harry Solter. The film starred Earle Foxe and Florence Lawrence and Matt Moore in the lead roles.-Cast:*Florence Lawrence*Matt Moore*Earle Foxe*Charles Craig*Jack Newton...	–	Director
	His Wife's Child His Wife's Child His Wife's Child is a 1913 American short silent film drama directed by Harry Solter. The film starred Earle Foxe, Florence Lawrence and Matt Moore in the lead roles.-Plot:A young girl survives a difficult childhood and grows up to right an old wrong....	–	Director
1914	The Romance of a Photograph	–	Director
	The Pawns of Destiny	–	Director, writer
	A Mysterious Mystery	–	Director
1916	Blind Man's Bluff	–	Director, scenario
1917	Face on the Screen	–	Director
	The Spotted Lily	–	Director Credited as Harry L. Solter
1918	The Wife He Bought	–	Director
1921	The Sage Hen	–	Writer

External links