F. McGrew Willis | |
---|---|
Born | Pleasanton, Iowa, United States | August 18, 1891
Died | October 13, 1957 66) Menlo Park, California, United States | (aged
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Years active | 1919–1944 |
F. McGrew Willis (August 18, 1891 – October 13, 1957) was an American screenwriter of the silent and early sound film eras. Born Frank McGrew Willis on August 18, 1891, in Pleasanton, Iowa, [1] he broke into the film industry writing film shorts in 1914 and 1915 as a freelance screenwriter. His first feature credit came in 1915, with The Quest, [2] the first of three features he would pen in 1915. [3] Over the next fourteen years he would write the scripts or stories for 43 silent films, three of which, The Girl in the Pullman (1927), Annapolis (1928), and A Blonde for a Night (1928), he also produced for either De Mille Pictures and/or Pathé Exchange. [4] [5] [6] He would also produce another three films in 1928. In 1929, and through the next 6 years of the blossoming talking picture era, he would write the screenplays or stories for another 18 films. [3] In the late 1930s he would work in England, where he scripted 6 films during the remainder of the decade. [7] His final screenwriting credit would come on 1941's Sis Hopkins , for which he wrote the story. [8] Willis died on October 13, 1957, in Menlo Park, California, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. [1]
The follow list is compiled from the American Film Institute and from period reviews and news items in various film-industry trade publications: [3] [7] [9]
Samuel Alfred De Grasse was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse.
Wesley Ruggles was an American film director.
George Brackett Seitz was an American playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director. He was known for his screenplays for action serials, such as The Perils of Pauline (1914) and The Exploits of Elaine (1914).
Charles K. French was an American film actor, screenwriter and director who appeared in more than 240 films between 1909 and 1945.
Leo White, was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films.
Arthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films.
Arthur Edeson, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. Born in New York City, his career ran from the formative years of the film industry in New York, through the silent era in Hollywood, and the sound era there in the 1930s and 1940s. His work included many landmarks in film history, including The Thief of Bagdad (1924), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Frankenstein (1931), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942).
Clarence G. Badger was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include It and Red Hair, more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two features starring Raymond Griffith, Paths to Paradise and Hands Up!
John Gustav Adolfi was an American silent film director, actor, and screenwriter who was involved in more than 100 productions throughout his career. An early acting credit was in the recently restored 1912 film Robin Hood.
Joseph W. Girard was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1911 and 1944. He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
Glen W. Cavender was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1949.
Mary Carr, was an American film actress and was married to the actor William Carr. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1915 to 1956. She was given some of filmdoms plum mother roles in silent pictures, especially Fox's 1920 Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, which was a great success. She was interred in Calvary Cemetery. Carr bore a strong resemblance to Lucy Beaumont, another famous character actress of the time who specialized in mother roles. As older actresses such as Mary Maurice and Anna Townsend passed on, Carr, still in her forties, seem to inherit all the matriarchal roles in silent films.
Harvey Thornton Clark was an American actor on stage and screen. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1938. He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack.
James A. Marcus was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in New York City. On October 15, 1937, Marcus died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack at age 70. Marcus' most notable films include Regeneration, Oliver Twist and Sadie Thompson.
Gayne Whitman was an American radio and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1904 and 1957. In some early films, he was credited under his birth name. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.
William J. Dyer was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in dozens of films, mostly Westerns and action films, between 1915 and 1933. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia and died in Hollywood, California. He was also credited as William Dyer and Bill Dyer.
Robert Donald Walker was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles.
Émile Chautard was a French-American film director, actor, and screenwriter, most active in the silent era. He directed more than 100 films between 1910 and 1924. He also appeared in more than 60 films between 1911 and 1934.
John F. Hines was an American actor who had numerous film roles during the silent era, including many starring ones. He appeared in more than 50 films and numerous film shorts. But he did not succeed in transitioning well into talking pictures in the late 1920s, and had only six roles in the 1930s. He last appeared in a bit part in Magnificent Doll (1946).
Jules Cowles was an American film actor. He was also billed as J. D. Cowles and Julius D. Cowles.