Tom Ricketts
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Ricketts was an English
American
silent film
actor
, director
and screenwriter
who was involved in almost 350 motion pictures.
Ricketts directed the first motion picture ever in Hollywood in 1909, entitled Justified. Starting in the honkytonks of London, he became one of the most able Shakespearean
actors of his day. Ricketts directed over 100 silent film
s between 1909 and 1919, but in 1919 he decided to concentrate on his career as an actor. A hard worker, Ricketts acted in almost 200 films, right until his death. He appeared in one of the most popular films of the late 1930s, Son of Frankenstein
, shortly before his death.
He died of pneumonia
on January 20, 1939.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, 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 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:...
who was involved in almost 350 motion pictures.
Ricketts directed the first motion picture ever in Hollywood in 1909, entitled Justified. Starting in the honkytonks of London, he became one of the most able Shakespearean
Shakespeare's plays
William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 37 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being...
actors of his day. Ricketts directed over 100 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...
s between 1909 and 1919, but in 1919 he decided to concentrate on his career as an actor. A hard worker, Ricketts acted in almost 200 films, right until his death. He appeared in one of the most popular films of the late 1930s, Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
, shortly before his death.
He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on January 20, 1939.
Select Filmography
- Son of FrankensteinSon of FrankensteinSon of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
(1939) as Burgher - The Prince and the Pauper (1937) Sexton ringing bell
- 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...
(1937) as Ray, Vicki's servant - Gold Diggers of 1937Gold Diggers of 1937Gold Diggers of 1937 is a 1936 Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell, who were married at the time, and Victor Moore. The film features songs by the teams of Harold Arlen and E.Y...
(1936) as Reginald (old man) - Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1936) (uncredited) as Minister - A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities (1935 film)A Tale of Two Cities is a 1935 film based upon Charles Dickens' 1859 historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities. The film stars Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton, Donald Woods and Elizabeth Allan. The supporting players include Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, and Edna Mae Oliver. It was directed by Jack...
(1935) as Tellson Jr - The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1935 film)The Three Musketeers is the first English-language talking picture version of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name. It stars Walter Abel, Ian Keith, Margot Grahame, and Paul Lukas.-Plot:...
(1935) as Pigeon Receiver - Cardinal Richelieu (1935) as Agitator
- Clive of IndiaClive of India (film)Clive of India is a 1935 drama film based on Robert, Lord Clive's historical biography. It was written by R.J. Minney and W.P. Lipscomb and directed by Richard Boleslawski.-Cast:* Ronald Colman as Baron Robert Clive* shahrukh khan as devdas...
(1935) as Old Member - The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo (1934 film)The Count of Monte Cristo is a film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel of the same name, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, and Louis Calhern...
(1934) as Cockeye - Bulldog DrummondBulldog Drummond (1929 film)Bulldog Drummond is a detective film which tells the story of Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, a British officer bored with civilian life, who investigates an extortion case for a beautiful girl. The film stars Ronald Colman, Claud Allister, Lawrence Grant, Montagu Love, Wilson Benge, Joan...
(1929) as Colonel (uncredited) - A Touch of Love (1915 - director)
- Damaged GoodsDamaged Goods (1914 film)Damaged Goods was an American silent short film directed by Tom Ricketts and Richard Bennett, starring Richard Bennett. It was based on Eugène Brieux's play Les Avariés about a young couple who contract syphilis...
(1914) co-director - A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol (1908 film)A Christmas Carol, is a 1908 silent film produced by Essanay Studios in Chicago, and is one of the earliest film adaptations of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella. It starred Tom Ricketts as Ebenezer Scrooge....
(1908) as Ebenezer ScroogeEbenezer ScroogeEbenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...