Sidney Olcott
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Sidney Olcott | |
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Born | John Sidney Allcott September 20, 1872 |
Died | December 16, 1949 Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged 76)
Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, screenwriter, actor |
Years active | 1904–1942 |
Spouse |
Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott;[1] September 20, 1872[2] – December 16, 1949)[3] was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.
Biography
Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, 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 theatre until 1904 when he performed as a film actor with the Biograph Studios.
In 1907,
Olcott became the company's president and was rewarded with one share of its stock. In 1910, Olcott went to Ireland where he made a film called
The film concept was at first the subject of much scepticism 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
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, Olcott resigned and took some time off, making only an occasional film until 1915 when he was encouraged by Mary Pickford to join her at Famous Players–Lasky, 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. Olcott married actress Valentine Grant, the star of his 1916 film, The Innocent Lie.[citation needed]
During World War II, Olcott opened his home to visiting
Partial filmography[3]
1907
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1908
1909
1910
1911
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1912
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1913
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1914
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1915
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1916
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1918
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1919
- Marriage for Convenience (1919)
1920
- Scratch My Back (1920)
1921
- The Right Way (1921)
- God's Country and the Law (1921)
- Pardon My French (1921)
1922
- Timothy's Quest (1922)[5]
1923
- The Green Goddess (1923)
- Little Old New York (1923)
1924
- The Humming Bird (1924)
- Monsieur Beaucaire (1924)
- The Only Woman (1924)
1925
- Salome of the Tenements (1925)
- The Charmer (1925)
- Not So Long Ago (1925)
- The Best People (1925)
1926
- The White Black Sheep (1926)
- Ranson's Folly (1926)
- The Amateur Gentleman (1926)
1927
- The Claw (1927)
See also
References
- ^ a b Resting Places
- ^ "Sidney Olcott - Blog". sidneyolcott.com.
- ^ a b c d e Lucas, Ralph (September 19, 2019). "Sidney Olcott". Northernstars - The Canadian Film Database. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-1936168-68-2
- ^ "Enjoying Life Silently: Film History in Shadow and Light". PopMatters. November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
Source
- Michel Derrien, Aux origines du cinéma irlandais: Sidney Olcott, le premier oeil, TIR 2013; ISBN 978-2-917681-20-6(in French)
External links
- Olcott filming in Ireland (PDF)
- Sidney Olcott at IMDb
- (in French) Sidney Olcott, le premier œil