George Albert Smith (1864-1959)

Alias:
G.A. Smith
GA Smith

Birthplace:
Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Born:
January 4, 1864

Died:
May 17, 1959

Along with his better-known French counterpart Georges Méliès, George Albert Smith, usually credited as G.A. Smith, was one of the first filmmakers to explore fictional and fantastic themes, often using surprisingly sophisticated special effects. His background was ideal – an established portrait photographer, he also had a long-standing interest in show business, running a tourist attraction in his native Brighton featuring a fortune teller. His films were among the first to feature such innovations as superimposition (Smith patented a double-exposure system in 1897), close-ups and scene transitions involving wipes and focus pulls. He also patented Kinemacolor – the world's first commercial cinema color system--in 1906, which was extremely successful for a time, despite the special equipment required to project it

Additional information:

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Camera Operator:
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII

Director:
1897  Brighton Seagoing Electric Car
1897  Comic Face
1897  Comic Shaving
1897  Hanging Out the Clothes
1897  Making Sausages
1897  The Haunted Castle
1897  The Maid in the Garden
1897  The Miller and the Sweep
1897  The Sign Writer
1897  The X-Ray Fiend
1897  Weary Willie
1898  Ally Sloper
1898  Cinderella
1898  Early Fashions on Brighton Pier
1898  Faust and Mephistopheles
1898  Photographing a Ghost
1898  Santa Claus
1898  The Corsican Brothers
1899  The Inexhaustible Cab
1899  The Kiss in the Tunnel
1900  A Quick Shave and Brush Up
1900  As Seen Through a Telescope
1900  Grandma Threading Her Needle
1900  Grandma's Reading Glass
1900  Let Me Dream Again
1900  Scandal Over the Teacups
1900  Spiders on a Web
1900  The Dull Razor
1900  The House That Jack Built
1900  The Old Maid's Valentine
1900  The Rival Clothiers
1900  Two Old Sports
1901  Photograph Taken From An Area Window
1901  The Death of Poor Joe
1901  The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten
1901  Visit to Pompeii
1902  At Last! That Awful Tooth
1902  Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
1902  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
1902  Policeman and Burglar
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII
1902  Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School
1903  Dorothy's Dream
1903  Mary Jane's Mishap
1903  Old London Street Scenes
1903  The Sick Kitten
1904  Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace
1904  Venice and the Grand Canal
1906  Tartans of Scottish Clans
1906  Two Clowns
1908  A Visit to the Seaside
1908  Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs
1909  Choosing the Wallpaper
1910  Choice Bouquets
1910  Fording the River
1912  Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus

Director of Photography:
1897  Brighton Seagoing Electric Car
1897  Comic Face
1897  Comic Shaving
1897  Hanging Out the Clothes
1897  Making Sausages
1897  The Haunted Castle
1897  The Maid in the Garden
1897  The Miller and the Sweep
1897  The Sign Writer
1897  The X-Ray Fiend
1897  Weary Willie
1898  Ally Sloper
1898  Cinderella
1898  Early Fashions on Brighton Pier
1898  Faust and Mephistopheles
1898  Photographing a Ghost
1898  Santa Claus
1898  The Corsican Brothers
1899  The Inexhaustible Cab
1899  The Kiss in the Tunnel
1900  A Quick Shave and Brush Up
1900  As Seen Through a Telescope
1900  Grandma Threading Her Needle
1900  Grandma's Reading Glass
1900  Let Me Dream Again
1900  Scandal Over the Teacups
1900  Spiders on a Web
1900  The Dull Razor
1900  The House That Jack Built
1900  The Old Maid's Valentine
1900  The Rival Clothiers
1900  Two Old Sports
1901  Photograph Taken From An Area Window
1901  The Death of Poor Joe
1901  The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten
1901  Visit to Pompeii
1902  At Last! That Awful Tooth
1902  Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
1902  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
1902  Policeman and Burglar
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII
1902  Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School
1903  Dorothy's Dream
1903  Mary Jane's Mishap
1903  Old London Street Scenes
1903  The Sick Kitten
1904  Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace
1904  Venice and the Grand Canal
1906  Tartans of Scottish Clans
1906  Two Clowns
1908  A Visit to the Seaside
1908  Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs
1909  Choosing the Wallpaper
1910  Choice Bouquets
1910  Fording the River
1912  Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus

Producer:
1897  Brighton Seagoing Electric Car
1897  Comic Face
1897  Comic Shaving
1897  Hanging Out the Clothes
1897  Making Sausages
1897  The Haunted Castle
1897  The Maid in the Garden
1897  The Miller and the Sweep
1897  The Sign Writer
1897  The X-Ray Fiend
1897  Weary Willie
1898  Ally Sloper
1898  Cinderella
1898  Early Fashions on Brighton Pier
1898  Faust and Mephistopheles
1898  Photographing a Ghost
1898  Santa Claus
1898  The Corsican Brothers
1899  The Inexhaustible Cab
1899  The Kiss in the Tunnel
1900  A Quick Shave and Brush Up
1900  As Seen Through a Telescope
1900  Grandma Threading Her Needle
1900  Grandma's Reading Glass
1900  Let Me Dream Again
1900  Scandal Over the Teacups
1900  Spiders on a Web
1900  The Dull Razor
1900  The House That Jack Built
1900  The Old Maid's Valentine
1900  The Rival Clothiers
1900  Two Old Sports
1901  Photograph Taken From An Area Window
1901  The Death of Poor Joe
1901  The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten
1901  Visit to Pompeii
1902  At Last! That Awful Tooth
1902  Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
1902  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
1902  Policeman and Burglar
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII
1902  Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School
1903  Dorothy's Dream
1903  Mary Jane's Mishap
1903  Old London Street Scenes
1903  The Sick Kitten
1904  Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace
1904  Venice and the Grand Canal
1906  Tartans of Scottish Clans
1906  Two Clowns
1908  A Visit to the Seaside
1908  Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs
1909  Choosing the Wallpaper
1910  Choice Bouquets
1910  Fording the River
1912  Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus

Production Design:
1897  Brighton Seagoing Electric Car
1897  Comic Face
1897  Comic Shaving
1897  Hanging Out the Clothes
1897  Making Sausages
1897  The Haunted Castle
1897  The Maid in the Garden
1897  The Miller and the Sweep
1897  The Sign Writer
1897  The X-Ray Fiend
1897  Weary Willie
1898  Ally Sloper
1898  Cinderella
1898  Early Fashions on Brighton Pier
1898  Faust and Mephistopheles
1898  Photographing a Ghost
1898  Santa Claus
1898  The Corsican Brothers
1899  The Inexhaustible Cab
1899  The Kiss in the Tunnel
1900  A Quick Shave and Brush Up
1900  As Seen Through a Telescope
1900  Grandma Threading Her Needle
1900  Grandma's Reading Glass
1900  Let Me Dream Again
1900  Scandal Over the Teacups
1900  Spiders on a Web
1900  The Dull Razor
1900  The House That Jack Built
1900  The Old Maid's Valentine
1900  The Rival Clothiers
1900  Two Old Sports
1901  Photograph Taken From An Area Window
1901  The Death of Poor Joe
1901  The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten
1901  Visit to Pompeii
1902  At Last! That Awful Tooth
1902  Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
1902  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
1902  Policeman and Burglar
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII
1902  Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School
1903  Dorothy's Dream
1903  Mary Jane's Mishap
1903  Old London Street Scenes
1903  The Sick Kitten
1904  Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace
1904  Venice and the Grand Canal
1906  Tartans of Scottish Clans
1906  Two Clowns
1908  A Visit to the Seaside
1908  Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs
1909  Choosing the Wallpaper
1910  Choice Bouquets
1910  Fording the River
1912  Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus

Writer:
1897  Brighton Seagoing Electric Car
1897  Comic Face
1897  Comic Shaving
1897  Hanging Out the Clothes
1897  Making Sausages
1897  The Haunted Castle
1897  The Maid in the Garden
1897  The Miller and the Sweep
1897  The Sign Writer
1897  The X-Ray Fiend
1897  Weary Willie
1898  Ally Sloper
1898  Cinderella
1898  Early Fashions on Brighton Pier
1898  Faust and Mephistopheles
1898  Photographing a Ghost
1898  Santa Claus
1898  The Corsican Brothers
1899  The Inexhaustible Cab
1899  The Kiss in the Tunnel
1900  A Quick Shave and Brush Up
1900  As Seen Through a Telescope
1900  Grandma Threading Her Needle
1900  Grandma's Reading Glass
1900  Let Me Dream Again
1900  Scandal Over the Teacups
1900  Spiders on a Web
1900  The Dull Razor
1900  The House That Jack Built
1900  The Old Maid's Valentine
1900  The Rival Clothiers
1900  Two Old Sports
1901  Photograph Taken From An Area Window
1901  The Death of Poor Joe
1901  The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten
1901  Visit to Pompeii
1902  At Last! That Awful Tooth
1902  Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria
1902  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
1902  Policeman and Burglar
1902  The Coronation of Edward VII
1902  Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School
1903  Dorothy's Dream
1903  Mary Jane's Mishap
1903  Old London Street Scenes
1903  The Sick Kitten
1904  Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace
1904  Venice and the Grand Canal
1906  Tartans of Scottish Clans
1906  Two Clowns
1908  A Visit to the Seaside
1908  Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs
1909  Choosing the Wallpaper
1910  Choice Bouquets
1910  Fording the River
1912  Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus

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