Frank Powell
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Frank E. Powell was a stage and silent film actor, screenwriter, and director in the United States. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Powell made his Broadway theatre debut in 1904 and began his career in film in 1909 as an actor and scriptwriter at Biograph Studios. There, he also co-directed his first film with D.W. Griffith and demonstrated an adeptness at directing Biograph-style comedies.
After directing sixty-three short films for Biograph, Powell joined Pathé Frères in 1914 then a year later was freelancing, directing the first film made by the George Kleine film production company. Hired by William Fox, he made a number of films for Fox Film Corporation then became part of the World Film Corporation studios.
Powell is best remembered for discovering Theda Bara, directing her in A Fool There Was (1915), the film that made her an international star and gave her the nickname "the Vamp". A year earlier, he directed Bara in her onscreen debut, The Stain. He also directed Mary Pickford in sixteen films, as well as other early stars such as Florence Lawrence, Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Blanche Sweet, Donald Crisp, Henry B. Walthall, and Mabel Normand.
In late 1916 he set up his own production company and in the early 1920s wrote a number of scripts for British films. Powell directed his last film for Mack Sennett Comedies in 1921.
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