Sidney Olcott
Encyclopedia
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian
-born film producer
, director
, actor
and screenwriter
.
, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business. With a desire to be an actor, a young Sidney Olcott went to New York City
where he worked in the theater until 1904 when he performed as a film actor with the Biograph Studios
. Within a short time he was directing films and became a general manager at Biograph.
In 1907, Frank Marion
and Samuel Long, with financial backing from George Kleine, formed a new motion picture company called the Kalem Company and were able to lure the increasingly successful Sidney Olcott away from Biograph. Olcott was offered the sum of ten dollars per picture and under the terms of his contract, Olcott was required to direct a minimum of one, one-reel picture of about a thousand feet every week. After making a number of very successful films for the Kalem studio, including "Ben Hur
" (1907) with its dramatic chariot race scene, Olcott became the company's president and was rewarded with one share of its stock.
In 1910 Sidney Olcott demonstrated his creative thinking when he made Kalem Studios the first ever to travel outside the United States to film on location.
Of Irish
ancestry, and knowing that in America there was a huge built-in Irish audience, Olcott went to Ireland where he made a film called "A Lad from Old Ireland
." He would go on to make more than a dozen films there and later on only the outbreak of World War I
prevented him from following through with his plans to build a permanent studio in Beaufort, County Kerry
. The Irish films led to him taking a crew to Palestine
in 1912 to make the first five-reel film ever, titled "From the Manger To the Cross
", the life story of Jesus
.
The film concept was at first the subject of much skepticism but when it appeared on screen, it was lauded by the public and the critics. Costing $35,000 to produce, "From the Manger to the Cross" earned the Kalem Company profits of almost $1 million, a staggering amount in 1912. The motion picture industry acclaimed him as its greatest director and the film influenced the direction many great filmmakers would take such as D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille
. "From the Manger to the Cross" is still shown today to film societies and students studying early film making techniques. In 1998 the film was selected for the National Film Registry
of the United States Library of Congress
.
Despite making the studio owners very rich men, they refused to increase his salary beyond the $150 a week he was then earning. From the enormous profits made for his employers, Olcott's dividend on the one share they had given him amounted to $350. As a result, Sidney Olcott resigned and took some time off, making only an occasional film until 1915 when he was encouraged by his Canadian friend Mary Pickford
to join her at Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures
). The Kalem Company never recovered from the mistake of losing Olcott and a few years after his departure, the operation was acquired by Vitagraph Studios
in 1916.
Olcott was a founding member of the East Coast
chapter of the Motion Picture Directors Association
, a forerunner to today's Directors Guild of America
and would later serve as its president. Like the rest of the film industry, Sidney Olcott moved to Hollywood, California, where he directed many more successful and acclaimed motion pictures with the leading stars of the day.
Olcott married actress Valentine Grant
, the star of his 1916 film, "The Innocent Lie."
During World War II, Olcott opened his home to visiting British Commonwealth
soldiers in Los Angeles. In his book titled Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, writer Charles Foster
tells of this period in Olcott's life, and of how he was introduced to many members of Hollywood's Canadian community through Olcott. Sidney Olcott died in Hollywood, California.
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...
-born film 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...
, 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:...
, 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...
and 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:...
.
Biography
Born John Sidney Alcott in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business. With a desire to be an actor, a young Sidney Olcott went to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he worked in the theater until 1904 when he performed as a film actor with the 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....
. Within a short time he was directing films and became a general manager at Biograph.
In 1907, Frank Marion
Frank J. Marion
Frank Joseph Marion was an American motion picture pioneer. He was born in Tidioute, Pennsylvania. He had a wife named Florence and 3 kids...
and Samuel Long, with financial backing from George Kleine, formed a new motion picture company called the Kalem Company and were able to lure the increasingly successful Sidney Olcott away from Biograph. Olcott was offered the sum of ten dollars per picture and under the terms of his contract, Olcott was required to direct a minimum of one, one-reel picture of about a thousand feet every week. After making a number of very successful films for the Kalem studio, including "Ben Hur
Ben Hur (1907 film)
Ben Hur is a 15 minute long 1907 silent film, the first film version of Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur, one of the best-selling books at that time....
" (1907) with its dramatic chariot race scene, Olcott became the company's president and was rewarded with one share of its stock.
In 1910 Sidney Olcott demonstrated his creative thinking when he made Kalem Studios the first ever to travel outside the United States to film on location.
Of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
ancestry, and knowing that in America there was a huge built-in Irish audience, Olcott went to Ireland where he made a film called "A Lad from Old Ireland
A Lad from Old Ireland
The Lad from Old Ireland is a 1910 American made motion picture. It is the first ever production by an American movie studio to be filmed on location outside of the United States....
." He would go on to make more than a dozen films there and later on only the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
prevented him from following through with his plans to build a permanent studio in Beaufort, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. The Irish films led to him taking a crew to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1912 to make the first five-reel film ever, titled "From the Manger To the Cross
From the Manger to the Cross
From the Manger to the Cross or Jesus of Nazareth is a 1912 American motion picture filmed on location in Palestine which tells the story of Jesus' life. Directed by Sidney Olcott who also appeared in the film, actress and screenwriter Gene Gauntier wrote the script and portrayed the Virgin Mary...
", the life story of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
The film concept was at first the subject of much skepticism but when it appeared on screen, it was lauded by the public and the critics. Costing $35,000 to produce, "From the Manger to the Cross" earned the Kalem Company profits of almost $1 million, a staggering amount in 1912. The motion picture industry acclaimed him as its greatest director and the film influenced the direction many great filmmakers would take such as D.W. Griffith and 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...
. "From the Manger to the Cross" is still shown today to film societies and students studying early film making techniques. In 1998 the film was selected for the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
of the United States Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Despite making the studio owners very rich men, they refused to increase his salary beyond the $150 a week he was then earning. From the enormous profits made for his employers, Olcott's dividend on the one share they had given him amounted to $350. As a result, Sidney Olcott resigned and took some time off, making only an occasional film until 1915 when he was encouraged by his Canadian friend 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...
to join her at Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
). The Kalem Company never recovered from the mistake of losing Olcott and a few years after his departure, the operation was acquired by 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...
in 1916.
Olcott was a founding member of the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
chapter 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:...
, a forerunner to today's 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...
and would later serve as its president. Like the rest of the film industry, Sidney Olcott moved to Hollywood, California, where he directed many more successful and acclaimed motion pictures with the leading stars of the day.
Olcott married actress Valentine Grant
Valentine Grant
Valentine Grant was an American silent film actress.Grant became the companion of film director Sidney Olcott who cast her in his 1915 production of Nan o' the Backwoods...
, the star of his 1916 film, "The Innocent Lie."
During World War II, Olcott opened his home to visiting British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
soldiers in Los Angeles. In his book titled Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, writer Charles Foster
Charles Foster (writer)
Charles Foster is a Canadian publicist and writer. He was born in Cheshire, England. During World War II he was a pilot with the Royal Air Force. The RAF sent him to a base in Alberta, Canada for flight training and while on leave he visited Hollywood...
tells of this period in Olcott's life, and of how he was introduced to many members of Hollywood's Canadian community through Olcott. Sidney Olcott died in Hollywood, California.
Filmography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1907 | The Sleigh Belle |
| 1907 | The Pony Express |
| 1907 | Ben Hur Ben Hur (1907 film) Ben Hur is a 15 minute long 1907 silent film, the first film version of Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur, one of the best-selling books at that time.... |
| 1908 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908 film) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1908 Selig Polyscope Company silent horror motion picture starring Hobart Bosworth and Betty Harte.Directed by Otis Turner and produced by William N. Selig, the screenplay was adapted by George F... |
| 1910 1910 in film The year 1910 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The newsreel footage of the funeral of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom is shot in Kinemacolor, making it the first color newsreel.... |
A Lad from Old Ireland A Lad from Old Ireland The Lad from Old Ireland is a 1910 American made motion picture. It is the first ever production by an American movie studio to be filmed on location outside of the United States.... |
| 1912 1912 in film The year 1912 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Mack Sennett, who had previously worked as an actor and comedy director with D. W. Griffith, formed a new company with New York City entrepreneur Adam Kessel called Keystone Studios... |
From the Manger To the Cross From the Manger to the Cross From the Manger to the Cross or Jesus of Nazareth is a 1912 American motion picture filmed on location in Palestine which tells the story of Jesus' life. Directed by Sidney Olcott who also appeared in the film, actress and screenwriter Gene Gauntier wrote the script and portrayed the Virgin Mary... |
| 1913 | The Vampire |
| 1915 | Madame Butterfly Madame 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 | Moth and the Flame |
| 1916 | The Innocent Lie |
| 1919 | Marriage for Convenience |
| 1920 | Scratch My Back |
| 1921 | The Right Way |
| 1922 | Timothy's Quest |
| 1923 | The Green Goddess The Green Goddess (1923 film) The Green Goddess is a 1923 silent adventure film based on play of the same name by William Archer. Set during the British Raj, it stars George Arliss as the Rajah of Rukh, into whose land arrive three British subjects, played by Alice Joyce, David Powell, and Harry T. Morey. Arliss and Ivan F... |
| 1924 | The Humming Bird |
| 1924 | The Only Woman |
| 1924 | Monsieur Beaucaire |
| 1925 | Not So Long Ago |
| 1925 | Salome of the Tenements Salome of the Tenements Salome of the Tenements is a 1925 silent film adapted to the screen by Sonya Levien from the Anzia Yezierska novel. Made by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor's Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, a division of Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Jetta Goudal and Godfrey... |
| 1926 | The White Black Sheep |
| 1926 | Ranson's Folly |
| 1926 | The Amateur Gentleman |
| 1927 | The Claw |