T. Hayes Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Hunter in 1916 | |
| Born | December 1, 1884 |
| Died | April 14, 1944 (aged 59) London, England |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1912-1934 |
Thomas Hayes Hunter (December 1, 1884 – April 14, 1944) was an American film director and producer of the silent era. He directed a total of 34 films between 1912 and 1934.
Hayes was born on December 1, 1884, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Thomas and Margaret Hunter. He was the husband of actress Millicent Evans from 1919 to 1944 and the stepfather of screenwriter John Hunter.
He entered the film industry in the early 1910s. His career started with the production of several photodramas in which he later transitioned to directing a large number of melodramas. [1]
He broke into the scene after directing for a number of theatrical firms including David Belasco and Klaw and Erlanger. He later became the chief producer of the Biograph Company, where he worked for a few years until resigning in 1914. One of his unfinished films, rediscovered by the Museum of Modern Art, is Lime Kiln Field Day (1913), starring Bert Williams. Colonial Productions quickly picked up Hunter to direct a number of smaller films.
In 1916 Hunter directed his first major film The Crimson Stain Mystery . This was the start to a relatively long and successful journey for Hunter. In 1919, for Zane Grey Pictures, Hunter directed Desert Gold. He had previously directed another Zane Grey film The Border Legion for Samuel Goldwyn in 1918. [2] In 1919 Goldwyn Pictures Corporation added T. Hayes Hunter to its roster of directors. [3]
Hunter went on to patent a frame design for film that allowed for advertisements to be shown in the corners of the frame without disrupting the film itself. This served as one of the earliest examples of advertising that utilizes screen space. [4]
When his contract with Goldwyn expired in the late 1920s, [5] he began working for The Dial Company. [6] During this time, the Dial Company was in the process of setting up a deal with Merrill Publishing Company to produce a series of film based on the Irving Bachellar novels. [7] The Dial Company chose Hunter to direct these films, which resulted in two of his most well known works, Earthbound and The Light in the Clearing. Praised for his use of double exposure in Earthbound, people raved that Earthbound was the “most remarkable achievement since the birth of the Celluloid Drama” and one of the most “masterful sensations of the screen.” [8] With a long list of achievements accredited to his name, Hunter continued to create popular works. He directed the notable film, Damaged Hearts, which was released early March 1924. His success progressed even further with a film titled Recoil, which was released April of the same year.
In 1927, Hunter made a drastic career change and left Hollywood. [9] With intent to bring his talents overseas he moved to Great Britain. In 1933, he directed perhaps his most enduring film, a British horror film titled The Ghoul. The film, based on the play/novel written by Dr. Frank King and Leonard J. Hines. [10] , starred Boris Karloff. In 1934, Hunter went on to direct a few more films such as Warn London and The Green Pack. He retired from his film career later that year and died of a heart attack on April 14, 1944, in London, England.
First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the country's largest theater chain. Expanding from exhibiting movies to distributing them, the company reincorporated in 1919 as Associated First National Theatres, Inc., and Associated First National Pictures, Inc. In 1924 it expanded to become a motion picture production company as First National Pictures, Inc., and became an important studio in the film industry. In September 1928, control of First National passed to Warner Bros., into which it was completely absorbed on November 4, 1929. A number of Warner Bros. films were thereafter branded First National Pictures until July 1936, when First National Pictures, Inc., was dissolved.
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1916, by Samuel Goldfish, an executive at Lasky's Feature Play Company, and Broadway producer brothers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn, using an amalgamation of both last names to name the company.
Edward Brewster (Ned) Sheldon was an American dramatist. His plays include Salvation Nell (1908) and Romance (1913), which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo.
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).
Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It was purchased in 1919.
Robert G. Vignola was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later moved to directing, becoming one of the silent screen's most prolific directors. He directed a handful of films in the early years of talkies but his career essentially ended in the silent era.
Marion Fairfax was an American screenwriter, playwright, actress, and producer.
Victor Milner, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. He was nominated for ten cinematography Academy Awards, winning once for 1934 Cleopatra. Milner worked on more than 130 films, including dramas, comedies, film noir, and Westerns. He worked for large production companies like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal, and Paramount during his film career.
Charles Joseph Brabin was a British-American film director and screenwriter.
Naomi Weston Childers, was an American silent film actress whose career lasted until the mid-20th century.
Hobart Henley was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in over 60 films either as an actor or director or both in his twenty-year career, between 1914 and 1934 when he retired from filmmaking.
The Border Legion is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Blanche Bates, Hobart Bosworth, and Eugene Strong. The film is based on the 1916 novel The Border Legion by Zane Grey. The film marked the screen debut of Blanche Bates. The Border Legion was released on August 28, 1918. Following the acquisition of distribution rights by Goldwyn Pictures, the film was rereleased in the United States on January 19, 1919. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
Hunt Stromberg was a film producer during Hollywood's Golden Age. In a prolific 30-year career beginning in 1921, Stromberg produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood's most profitable and enduring films, including The Thin Man series, the Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald operettas, The Women, and The Great Ziegfeld, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1936.
Edgar Selwyn was a prominent figure in American theatre and film in the first half of the 20th century. An actor, playwright, director and producer on Broadway, he founded a theatrical production company with his brother, Archibald Selwyn, and owned a number of Selwyn Theatres in the United States. He transferred his talents from the stage to motion pictures, and directed a film for which Helen Hayes received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Selwyn co-founded Goldwyn Pictures in 1916.
George Frederick Walsh was an American actor. An all-around athlete, who became an actor and later returned to sport, he enjoyed 40 years of fame and was a performer with dual appeal, with women loving his sexy charm and men appreciating his manly bravura.
Manuel Granada was an Argentine actor who appeared in American, Spanish, Argentine and Mexican films. For the first half of his career, he worked under the names Paul Ellis and Manuel Granado.
Slave of Desire is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by George D. Baker, produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. It was based on the novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1831. The Balzac novel had previously been filmed in 1909 as The Wild Ass's Skin, which was more faithful to the original novel.
Alfred Emory Johnson was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He started acting in silent films as a teenager. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle choose Emory to become a Universal studio leading man. He also became part of one of the early Hollywood celebrity marriages when he wed Ella Hall.
Wray Bartlett Physioc was an American film director, producer and artist. His film The Gulf Between (1917) was the first Technicolor film ever produced.
Pearl Doles Bell was an American novelist, film scenarist, radio script writer, and editor. During her career, she published eight novels and had numerous stories adapted into silent films. She was especially known for writing film stories for silent film star Shirley Mason.
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