A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
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
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
Most data and links to images for the Movies section come from TheMovieDB (TMDB).
Additional data for Film Titles come from The Open Movie Database (OMDb).
At least one plug-in comes from IMDb.
Data are -- hey, it's a plural -- subject to the limitations of their sources. (For example, TMDB search results currently max out at 20.) I am limiting myself to free data sources for now. (No, a "free trial" is not free.)
While much of the above data are retrieved directly from outside APIs and other such sources, data from American Film Institute (AFI) and British Film Institute (BFI) were manually entered the old fashioned way into a MySQL database. Re BFI I took the following liberties:
Regarding profile removals and data corrections:
Filtering is applied here to film projects flagged as "adult" by TheMovieDB. Pending "popular demand" I am contemplating a login and profile system with preferences (such as whether to allow adult images to appear) and permissions (such as data entry).
Whereas the overall purpose of this website is to serve as a personal demo/portfolio/workshop of web and data skills, this Movies section is not meant to compete with or substitute for far more definitive movie websites.
Whether or not he still clings to an award which he won in 1986 as a film critic for his college's newspaper, Jeffrey Hartmann is not responsible for the texts of overviews and biographies supplied by external data sources.