George W. Hill
Encyclopedia
George William Hill was an American
film director
and cinematographer
.
. A cinematographer of silent films known for his skill in lighting female stars, he worked on a series of independently produced features for Mae Marsh
and others in the postwar WWI years and was eventually recruited by the burgeoning major studios to be a director, beginning in 1920. In 1924, Hill directed "The Midnight Express", which the New York Times noted was "...a far better production than one is apt to gather from the title..." and also that "...the story is unfolded with skill and imagination." The following years his directing career began to gain serious traction and his assignments allowed him access to top stars such as Marion Davies
and Jackie Coogan
. Hill directed Lon Chaney
's biggest money-maker, Tell It to the Marines
, in 1926. Four years later, Wallace Beery
headed the cast of one of Hill's most memorable films, The Big House, a stark prison drama that is regarded by critics as a major achievement in early sound film artistry. For this film, and many others, he worked with his eventual wife, accomplished screenwriter Frances Marion
. Their marriage lasted scarcely a year, however, from 1930 to 1931. 1931's Min and Bill
paired Beery and Marie Dressler
as alcoholic tugboat owner-operators, again with a script by Marion. This phenomenally popular film made both Beery and Dressler into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
's two top stars for the next couple of years and formed the basis for many later stereotypical routines about hard-nosed sea-going men.
Hill was severely injured in a car accident just when his career was beginning to peak, and it is rumored that his injuries were the root cause of his apparent suicide in 1934. His body was found in his Venice beach home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the time of his death he was preparing to direct, and had done some shooting in China for the The Good Earth
, produced by Irving Thalberg
, an Oscar winning film eventually completed to great acclaim a few years later.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
.
Career
He began his film career at age 13 as a stagehand with director D. W. GriffithD. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
. A cinematographer of silent films known for his skill in lighting female stars, he worked on a series of independently produced features for Mae Marsh
Mae Marsh
Mae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:...
and others in the postwar WWI years and was eventually recruited by the burgeoning major studios to be a director, beginning in 1920. In 1924, Hill directed "The Midnight Express", which the New York Times noted was "...a far better production than one is apt to gather from the title..." and also that "...the story is unfolded with skill and imagination." The following years his directing career began to gain serious traction and his assignments allowed him access to top stars such as Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
and Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan , known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family...
. Hill directed Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
's biggest money-maker, Tell It to the Marines
Tell It to the Marines
Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 silent movie starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him...
, in 1926. Four years later, Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
headed the cast of one of Hill's most memorable films, The Big House, a stark prison drama that is regarded by critics as a major achievement in early sound film artistry. For this film, and many others, he worked with his eventual wife, accomplished screenwriter Frances Marion
Frances Marion
Frances Marion was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century alongside June Mathis and Anita Loos.-Career:...
. Their marriage lasted scarcely a year, however, from 1930 to 1931. 1931's Min and Bill
Min and Bill
Min and Bill is a 1930 American comedy-drama film starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery and based on Lorna Moon's novel Dark Star, adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson....
paired Beery and Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
as alcoholic tugboat owner-operators, again with a script by Marion. This phenomenally popular film made both Beery and Dressler into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
's two top stars for the next couple of years and formed the basis for many later stereotypical routines about hard-nosed sea-going men.
Hill was severely injured in a car accident just when his career was beginning to peak, and it is rumored that his injuries were the root cause of his apparent suicide in 1934. His body was found in his Venice beach home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the time of his death he was preparing to direct, and had done some shooting in China for the The Good Earth
The Good Earth
The Good Earth is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1932. The best selling novel in the United States in both 1931 and 1932, it was an influential factor in Buck winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938...
, produced by Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
, an Oscar winning film eventually completed to great acclaim a few years later.
Selected filmography
- Hell DiversHell DiversHell Divers is a 1931 movie starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers on board the USS Saratoga...
(19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - The Secret SixThe Secret SixFor the DC comic book see Secret Six .The Secret Six is a fast-paced 1931 Pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau and Ralph Bellamy. ...
(1931) - Min and BillMin and BillMin and Bill is a 1930 American comedy-drama film starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery and based on Lorna Moon's novel Dark Star, adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson....
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - Tell It to the MarinesTell It to the MarinesTell It to the Marines is a 1926 silent movie starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him...
(19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
) - Zander the GreatZander the GreatZander the Great is a 1925 silent drama film directed by George W. Hill, in his first directing role for MGM. The film stars Marion Davies. The screenplay by Frances Marion is based upon Edward Salisbury Field 1923 play.-Plot:...
(1926) - Held Up for the Makin'sHeld Up for the Makin'sHeld Up for the Makin's is a 1920 short Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason....
(19201920 in filmThe year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward...
)