Marshall Neilan
Encyclopedia
Marshall Ambrose Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958) was an American
motion picture actor
, screenwriter
, film director
, and producer
.
, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on school to work at whatever he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in live theatre
, and in 1910 he got a job driving Biograph Studios
executives around Los Angeles
there to determine the suitability of the West Coast
as a place for a permanent studio.
Western
The Stranger at Coyote (1912). Hired by Kalem Studios
for their Western film production facility in Santa Monica
, Neilan was first cast opposite Ruth Roland
. Described as confident, but egotistical at times, Neilan's talent saw him directing films within a year of joining Kalem. After acting in more than seventy silent film shorts for Kalem and directing more than thirty others, Neilan was hired by the Selig Polyscope Company
then Bison Motion Pictures and Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. In 1915, Neilan was one of the founding members of the Motion Picture Directors Association
along with directors such as Cecil B. DeMille
, Allan Dwan
, and William Desmond Taylor
.
At the end of 1916, Neilan was hired by Mary Pickford Films
where he directed Pickford in several productions including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
and The Little Princess in 1917, plus Stella Maris
, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley
, M'Liss
in 1918, and Daddy-Long-Legs
in 1919.
Having all but given up acting, Neilan's directing successes led to him creating his own production company and between 1920 and 1926, Marshall Neilan Productions made eleven feature-length films almost all of which were distributed through First National Pictures. He received critical acclaim for directing and producing such films as Bits of Life
and The Lotus Eater
. In 1929, he was hired by RKO Radio Pictures but had difficulty adapting to directing the new talkies. That year he directed Rudy Vallee
and Marie Dressler
in the talking film, The Vagabond Lover
and although Dressler received high praise for her acting, the film was a commercial and critical failure.
Early in his career Neilan had done as most others in the pioneering days of film and helped out in many areas of filmmaking through performing, directing, and writing. A talented screenwriter, in 1927
he wrote the original story for the Howard Hughes
film, Hell's Angels
. Initially, he had also been hired as the film's director, back when it was still a silent
, but Hughes' overbearing style forced him to drop out, and he was replaced a few weeks into production by a more pliable director, Edmund Goulding
; due to massive reshoots (as well as the recasting of the lead role with Jean Harlow
), none of the footage Neilan shot made it into the final film. He was then hired by Hal Roach Studios, for whom he directed a few films in 1930, and he made his final directorial effort in 1937. Having battled alcoholism
for a large part of his adult life, twenty years after he made his last film, Neilan returned to acting on the screen in a small role portraying an aging and less than enlightened United States Senator in the Elia Kazan
film, A Face In The Crowd.
In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, in 1940 the Directors Guild of America
conferred on him an "Honorary Life Member Award." He later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.
in 1913 with whom he would have a son, Marshall Neilan, Jr.. Marshall, Jr. also worked in the film industry as a successful film editor, working on almost every episode of The Brady Bunch
.
Neilan's marriage to Bambrick ended in 1921 and a year later he married actress Blanche Sweet whom he directed on several occasions. They divorced in 1929.
. He is interred in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture 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:...
, film 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:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Early life
Born in San Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on school to work at whatever he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in live theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and in 1910 he got a job driving 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....
executives around Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
there to determine the suitability of the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
as a place for a permanent studio.
Career
Neilan made his film debut as part of the acting cast on the American Film Manufacturing CompanyAmerican Film Manufacturing Company
The American Film Manufacturing Company, also known as Flying "A" Studios, was founded in Chicago in fall 1910. In 1915, the formal name was changed to the American Film Company....
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
The Stranger at Coyote (1912). Hired by Kalem Studios
Kalem Company
The Kalem Company was an American film studio founded in New York City in 1907 by George Kleine, Samuel Long , and Frank J. Marion.The company immediately joined other studios in the Motion Picture Patents Company that held a monopoly on production and distribution...
for their Western film production facility in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, Neilan was first cast opposite Ruth Roland
Ruth Roland
Ruth Roland was an American stage and film actress and film producer.-Early life and career:Born in San Francisco, California, her father managed a theatre and she became a child actress who went on to work in vaudeville...
. Described as confident, but egotistical at times, Neilan's talent saw him directing films within a year of joining Kalem. After acting in more than seventy silent film shorts for Kalem and directing more than thirty others, Neilan was hired by the Selig Polyscope Company
Selig Polyscope Company
The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing Southern California's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles...
then Bison Motion Pictures and Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. In 1915, Neilan was one of the founding members of the Motion Picture Directors Association
Motion Picture Directors Association
The Motion Picture Directors Association was an American non-profit fraternal organization formed by twenty-six film directors on June 18, 1915 in Los Angeles, California.Its articles of incorporation stated as that the organization existed to:...
along with directors such as Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
, Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
, and William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
.
At the end of 1916, Neilan was hired by Mary Pickford Films
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...
where he directed Pickford in several productions including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917 film)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a 1917 silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon the novel of the same name by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion...
and The Little Princess in 1917, plus Stella Maris
Stella Maris
Stella Maris may refer to* Polaris * A title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in English as Our Lady, Star of the Seaplaces or organizations named for the Virgin Mary:...
, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley
Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley
Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is a 1918 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Frances Marion and based on a Belle K. Maniates novel.-Plot:...
, M'Liss
M'Liss (1918 film)
M'Liss is a 1918 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Frances Marion and based on a Bret Harte's story. The film was made previously in 1915 and was remade again in 1922 as The Girl Who Ran Wild, starring Gladys Walton. Another same-titled remake was released in 1936, starring Anne...
in 1918, and Daddy-Long-Legs
Daddy-Long-Legs (1919 film)
Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1919 silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, and based on Jean Webster's novel of the same name. The film stars Mary Pickford.-Plot:A police officer finds a baby in a trash can, and Mrs...
in 1919.
Having all but given up acting, Neilan's directing successes led to him creating his own production company and between 1920 and 1926, Marshall Neilan Productions made eleven feature-length films almost all of which were distributed through First National Pictures. He received critical acclaim for directing and producing such films as Bits of Life
Bits of Life
Bits of Life is a 1921 American film produced, written and directed by Marshall Neilan. It is notable as the first anthology film. For her performance in this film, Anna May Wong received her first screen credit...
and The Lotus Eater
The Lotus Eater (1921 film)
The Lotus Eater is a silent 1921 drama film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan and released through Associated First National.-Story:...
. In 1929, he was hired by RKO Radio Pictures but had difficulty adapting to directing the new talkies. That year he directed Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
and Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
in the talking film, The Vagabond Lover
The Vagabond Lover
The Vagabond Lover is a 1929 American black-and-white, comedy-drama musical film about a small-town boy who finds fame and romance when he joins a dance band. The film is directed by Marshall Neilan, and is based on the novel of the same name, written by James Ashmore Creelman who also wrote the...
and although Dressler received high praise for her acting, the film was a commercial and critical failure.
Early in his career Neilan had done as most others in the pioneering days of film and helped out in many areas of filmmaking through performing, directing, and writing. A talented screenwriter, in 1927
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
he wrote the original story for the Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
film, Hell's Angels
Hell's Angels (film)
Hell's Angels is a 1930 American war film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, and James Hall. The film, which was produced by Hughes and written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook, centers on the combat pilots of World War I...
. Initially, he had also been hired as the film's director, back when it was still a silent
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...
, but Hughes' overbearing style forced him to drop out, and he was replaced a few weeks into production by a more pliable director, Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding was a British film writer and director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 British made Paramount silent Three Live Ghosts alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. Also in the early 20s he wrote several screenplays for star Mae Murray and...
; due to massive reshoots (as well as the recasting of the lead role with Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
), none of the footage Neilan shot made it into the final film. He was then hired by Hal Roach Studios, for whom he directed a few films in 1930, and he made his final directorial effort in 1937. Having battled alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
for a large part of his adult life, twenty years after he made his last film, Neilan returned to acting on the screen in a small role portraying an aging and less than enlightened United States Senator in the Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
film, A Face In The Crowd.
In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, in 1940 the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
conferred on him an "Honorary Life Member Award." He later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.
Personal life
Marshall Neilan had married actress Gertrude BambrickGertrude Bambrick
Gertrude Bambrick was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 60 films between 1912 to 1916.-Biography:...
in 1913 with whom he would have a son, Marshall Neilan, Jr.. Marshall, Jr. also worked in the film industry as a successful film editor, working on almost every episode of The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
.
Neilan's marriage to Bambrick ended in 1921 and a year later he married actress Blanche Sweet whom he directed on several occasions. They divorced in 1929.
Death
Neilan died in Los Angeles in 1958 of throat cancerEsophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
. He is interred in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.
Actor
- Ranch Girls on a Rampage (1912)
- The Wooers of Mountain Kate (1912)
- Fatty's Busy Day (1913)
- The Wall of Money (1913)
- Judith of BethuliaJudith of BethuliaJudith of Bethulia is a film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall. The film was produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and was the first feature-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph, although the second that Biograph released....
(1914) - Ham the Iceman (1914)
- Put Me Off at Wayville (1915)
- Madame ButterflyMadame Butterfly (1915 film)Madame Butterfly is a 1915 silent film directed by Sidney Olcott. The film is based upon a John Luther Long novel and the opera Madama Butterfly.-Production:...
(1915) - A Girl of YesterdayA Girl of YesterdayA Girl of Yesterday is a 1915 film produced by Adolph Zukor's Famous Players company and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Allan Dwan and starred Mary Pickford. Pickford at last played a mature woman more or less her own age. The picture costarred Frances Marion, soon to be a...
(1915) - Calamity Anne, Guardian (1916)
- The Crisis (1916)
- Daddy-Long-LegsDaddy-Long-Legs (1919 film)Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1919 silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, and based on Jean Webster's novel of the same name. The film stars Mary Pickford.-Plot:A police officer finds a baby in a trash can, and Mrs...
(1919) - Broadway Gold (1923)
- A Star is BornA Star Is Born (1937 film)A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(Uncredited, 1937) - A Face in the Crowd (Uncredited, 1957)
Director
- The American Princess (1913)
- Rube, the Interloper (1914)
- The Chronicles of Bloom Center (1915)
- The Prince Chap (1916)
- Freckles (1917)
- Amarilly of Clothes-Line AlleyAmarilly of Clothes-Line AlleyAmarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is a 1918 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Frances Marion and based on a Belle K. Maniates novel.-Plot:...
(1918) - Out of a Clear Sky (1918)
- The Unpardonable Sin (1919)
- Go and Get It (1920)
- Bits of LifeBits of LifeBits of Life is a 1921 American film produced, written and directed by Marshall Neilan. It is notable as the first anthology film. For her performance in this film, Anna May Wong received her first screen credit...
(1921) - The Lotus EaterThe Lotus Eater (1921 film)The Lotus Eater is a silent 1921 drama film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan and released through Associated First National.-Story:...
- Fools First (1922)
- The Eternal Three (1923)
- Dorothy Vernon of Haddon HallDorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (film)Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall is a 1924 silent historical drama directed by Marshall Neilan. The film is based upon the 1902 novel by the same name.-Production:...
(1924) - Tess of the d'UrbervillesTess of the d'Urbervilles (1924 film)Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a 1924 silent film starring Blanche Sweet, and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Blanche Sweet's husband, Marshall Neilan. The film is the second motion picture adaptation of the novel by Thomas Hardy which had been turned into a very successful 1897 play starring Mrs....
(1924) - The Great LoveThe Great Love (1925 film)The Great Love is a 1925 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon his own story, scripted by Benjamin Glazer. The film stars Robert Agnew, Viola Dana and ZaSu Pitts. This film is considered lost.-Cast:* Robert Agnew - Dr. Lawrence Tibbits...
(1925) - The Sporting VenusThe Sporting VenusThe Sporting Venus is a silent 1925 romance film directed by Marshall Neilan. The film was the second MGM release of Neilan, and starred his wife, actress Blanche Sweet, who allegedly sported the lowest waistline of 1925. This is the first of two feature films that paired Ronald Colman with...
(1925) - Wild Oats Lane (1926)
- Her Wild OatHer Wild OatHer Wild Oat is a silent comedy film made by First National Pictures, directed by Marshall Neilan, and starring Colleen Moore. The screenplay was written by Gerald C...
(1927) - Taxi 13 (1928)
- The Vagabond LoverThe Vagabond LoverThe Vagabond Lover is a 1929 American black-and-white, comedy-drama musical film about a small-town boy who finds fame and romance when he joins a dance band. The film is directed by Marshall Neilan, and is based on the novel of the same name, written by James Ashmore Creelman who also wrote the...
(1929) - Forever Yours (1930)
- Sweethearts on Parade (1930)
- War Mamas (1931)
- Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934)
- This Is the Life (1935)
- Thanks for Listening (1937)
Producer
- The River's End (1920)
- Don't Ever Marry (1920)
- Go and Get It (1920)
- Dinty (1920)
- Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
- Bits of Life (1921)
- The Lotus EaterThe Lotus Eater (1921 film)The Lotus Eater is a silent 1921 drama film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan and released through Associated First National.-Story:...
(1921) - Penrod (1922)
- Fools First (1922)
- The Strangers' Banquet (1922)
- Wild Oats Lane (1926)
- Everybody's Acting (1926)
- Tanned Legs (1929)
- Social Register (1934)
Writer
- Saved from Court Martial (1912)
- The Reformation of Dad (Story, 1913)
- The Wall of Money (1913)
- Si's Wonderful Mineral Spring (1914)
- Ham the Iceman (Story, 1914)
- The Winning Whiskers (Story, 1914)
- The Reformation of Ham (1914)
- Ham at the Garbage Gentleman's Ball (1915)
- The Come Back of Percy (Scenario, 1915)
- The Cycle of Fate (1916)
- The Country That God Forgot (Story, 1916)
- A Strange Adventure (Story, 1917)
- Dinty (1920)
- Bits of Life (1921)
- Minnie (1922)
- The Strangers' Banquet (1922)
- The Eternal Three (1923)
- The Great LoveThe Great Love (1925 film)The Great Love is a 1925 silent film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon his own story, scripted by Benjamin Glazer. The film stars Robert Agnew, Viola Dana and ZaSu Pitts. This film is considered lost.-Cast:* Robert Agnew - Dr. Lawrence Tibbits...
(1925) - MikeMike (film)Mike is a 1926 film directed by Marshall Neilan. The film is a modest production, featuring Sally O'Neil and William Haines.-Plot:Mike is a girl of the railroads, living with her Father in a converted freight car, in love with telegraphist Harlan .-Cast:* Sally O'Neil - Mike * William Haines -...
(1926) - Hell's AngelsHell's Angels (film)Hell's Angels is a 1930 American war film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, and James Hall. The film, which was produced by Hughes and written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook, centers on the combat pilots of World War I...
(Story, 1930) - Chloe, Love Is Calling You (Story and screenplay, 1934)
- The Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938 film)The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a 1938 American drama film directed by Norman Taurog. The screenplay by John V.A. Weaver was based on the classic 1876 novel by Mark Twain.-Plot:...
(Uncredited, 1938)