Sam Taylor (director)
Encyclopedia
Sam Taylor was a film director
, screenwriter
, and producer
, most active in silent film era. Taylor is best known for his comedic directorial work with Harold Lloyd
and Mary Pickford
.
A notorious cinematic legend over the decades has suggested that Taylor's 1929 adaptation of Shakespeare
's The Taming of the Shrew
had the screen credit "additional dialogue by Sam Taylor." However, no extant prints of the film contain this credit, and there is no substantial documentary evidence that it ever existed.
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:...
, 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 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...
, most active in silent film era. Taylor is best known for his comedic directorial work with Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
and 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...
.
A notorious cinematic legend over the decades has suggested that Taylor's 1929 adaptation of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
had the screen credit "additional dialogue by Sam Taylor." However, no extant prints of the film contain this credit, and there is no substantial documentary evidence that it ever existed.
Selected filmography
- The Mohican's Daughter (19221922 in film-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....
) - Safety Last!Safety Last!Safety Last! is a 1923 romantic comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd. It includes one of the most famous images from the silent film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic. The film was highly successful and critically...
(19231923 in film-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...
) - Why Worry?Why Worry?Why Worry? is a 1923 American comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd. It was made shortly after and within the same year as Lloyd's most well-known film today, Safety Last!.- Plot :...
(1923) - Girl ShyGirl ShyGirl Shy is a 1924 romantic comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. The movie was written by Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan and Ted Wilde and was directed by Fred C...
(19241924 in film-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
) - The FreshmanThe Freshman (1925 film)The Freshman is a 1925 comedy film that tells the story of a college freshman trying to become popular by joining the school football team. It stars Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict and James Anderson. It remains one of Lloyd's most successful and enduring films.The movie was written...
(19251925 in film-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
) - Exit SmilingExit SmilingExit Smiling is a 1926 comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and starring New York and London revues star Beatrice Lillie on her first film role and Jack Pickford, the brother of star Mary Pickford. The film was also the debut of actor Franklin Pangborn. The film's failure at the box office is often...
(19271927 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...
) - My Best Girl (1927)
- Tempest (19281928 in film-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
) - Lady of the PavementsLady of the PavementsLady of the Pavements is a silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lupe Vélez, William Boyd, and Jetta Goudal. Griffith reshot the film to include a couple of musical numbers, making it a part-talkie.-Preservation:The Vitaphone sound-on-disc system was employed for sound sequences...
(19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
) - The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew (1929 film)The Taming of the Shrew is the first sound film adaptation of the Shakespearean play of the same name. It stars Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks.-Cast:*Mary Pickford as Katherine*Douglas Fairbanks as Petruchio...
(1929) - CoquetteCoquette (film)-Plot:Norma Besant, daughter of a Southern doctor, is an incorrigible flirt and has many suitors. Her father Dr. Besant favors Stanley , who is taken with Norma. However Norma has met a simple man named Michael Jeffrey who she has fallen madly in love with. Dr. Besant disapproves of Michael...
(1929) - Du Barry, Woman of PassionDu Barry, Woman of PassionDu Barry, Woman of Passion is a 1930 talking film drama starring Norma Talmadge, produced by her husband Joseph Schenck, released through United Artists, and based on a 1901 stage play Du Barry written and produced by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter.This film is the second talking...
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - Skyline (19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - Ambassador BillAmbassador BillAmbassador Bill is a 1931 comedy film starring Will Rogers and Marguerite Churchill. Directed by Sam Taylor, the movie also features Greta Nissen and Ray Milland....
(1931) - Kiki (1931)
- Devil's Lottery (19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Out All Night (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - The Cat's-PawThe Cat's-PawThe Cat’s-Paw is a 1934 comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and directed by Sam Taylor. It was one of the great silent film comedian’s few sound films....
(19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - Nothing but TroubleNothing But Trouble (1944 film)Nothing But Trouble is a late Laurel and Hardy feature. The plot involves the team as a chef and a butler wrecking a dinner party - the bit where they cook a rubber steak and try to carve it at the table is particularly humorous...
(19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
)