George Albert Smith

Biography

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

Most Famous Work

Average

6

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The Kiss in the Tunnel

(1899) Director of Photography

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6

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Grandma's Reading Glass

(1900) Producer

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6

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The Sick Kitten

(1903) Director

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5

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The X-Ray Fiend

(1897) Production Design

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6

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Let Me Dream Again

(1900) Director

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4

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Spiders on a Web

(1900) Director

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Average

6

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Mary Jane's Mishap

(1903) Director

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6

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Santa Claus

(1898) Director

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Acting

Year	Character	Movie/Tv
1899	Husband	The Kiss in the Tunnel 1899-11-30 Movie
Year	Character	Movie/Tv

Directing

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1912	Director	Animated Doll and Toy Town Circus 1912-01-01 Movie
1910	Director	Choice Bouquets 1910-09-01 Movie
	Director	Fording the River 1910-03-09 Movie
1909	Director	Choosing the Wallpaper 1909-09-01 Movie
1908	Director	A Visit to the Seaside 1908-12-01 Movie
	Director	Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs 1908-08-14 Movie
1906	Director	Tartans of Scottish Clans 1906-05-23 Movie
	Director	Two Clowns 1906-01-01 Movie
1904	Director	Grand Display of Brock's Fireworks at the Crystal Palace 1904-01-01 Movie
	Director	Venice and the Grand Canal 1904-01-01 Movie
1903	Director	The Sick Kitten 1903-12-31 Movie
	Director	Dorothy's Dream 1903-12-01 Movie
	Director	Mary Jane's Mishap 1903-02-28 Movie
	Director	Old London Street Scenes 1903-01-01 Movie
1902	Director	Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes 1902-11-01 Movie
	Director	At Last! That Awful Tooth 1902-07-01 Movie
	Director	Tommy and the Mouse in the Art School 1902-06-01 Movie
	Director	Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria 1902-06-01 Movie
	Director	Policeman and Burglar 1902-01-04 Movie
1901	Director	Photograph Taken From An Area Window 1901-08-01 Movie
	Director	The Little Doctor And The Sick Kitten 1901-06-01 Movie
	Director	The Death of Poor Joe 1901-03-01 Movie
	Director	Visit to Pompeii 1901-01-01 Movie
1900	Director	Grandma's Reading Glass 1900-11-01 Movie
	Director	The Old Maid's Valentine 1900-09-30 Movie
	Director	The House That Jack Built 1900-09-10 Movie
	Director	As Seen Through a Telescope 1900-09-01 Movie
	Director	Spiders on a Web 1900-08-08 Movie
	Director	Let Me Dream Again 1900-08-01 Movie
	Director	A Quick Shave and Brush Up 1900-08-01 Movie
	Director	Grandma Threading Her Needle 1900-06-07 Movie
	Director	Two Old Sports 1900-01-04 Movie
	Director	The Dull Razor 1900-01-04 Movie
	Director	Scandal Over the Teacups 1900-01-02 Movie
1899	Director	The Kiss in the Tunnel 1899-11-30 Movie
	Director	The Inexhaustible Cab 1899-10-25 Movie
1898	Director	Santa Claus 1898-09-01 Movie
	Director	The Corsican Brothers 1898-08-01 Movie
	Director	Cinderella 1898-08-01 Movie
	Director	Early Fashions on Brighton Pier 1898-04-24 Movie
	Director	Photographing a Ghost 1898-01-01 Movie
	Director	Faust and Mephistopheles 1898-01-01 Movie
1897	Director	The Haunted Castle 1897-12-30 Movie
	Director	Making Sausages 1897-12-06 Movie
	Director	The Sign Writer 1897-11-30 Movie
	Director	The X-Ray Fiend 1897-10-01 Movie
	Director	Comic Shaving 1897-09-24 Movie
	Director	Comic Face 1897-09-01 Movie
	Director	Weary Willie 1897-09-01 Movie
	Director	The Maid in the Garden 1897-08-01 Movie
	Director	Hanging Out the Clothes 1897-07-07 Movie
	Director	The Miller and the Sweep 1897-06-30 Movie
	Director	Brighton Seagoing Electric Car 1897-01-01 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Production

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1908	Producer	A Visit to the Seaside 1908-12-01 Movie
1902	Producer	Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes 1902-11-01 Movie
1900	Producer	Grandma's Reading Glass 1900-11-01 Movie
	Producer	As Seen Through a Telescope 1900-09-01 Movie
1899	Producer	The Kiss in the Tunnel 1899-11-30 Movie
1897	Producer	The Haunted Castle 1897-12-30 Movie
	Producer	The X-Ray Fiend 1897-10-01 Movie
	Producer	Hanging Out the Clothes 1897-07-07 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Camera

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1902	Camera Operator	The Coronation of Edward VII 1902-08-09 Movie
1900	Director of Photography	As Seen Through a Telescope 1900-09-01 Movie
1899	Director of Photography	The Kiss in the Tunnel 1899-11-30 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Writing

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1897	Writer	The X-Ray Fiend 1897-10-01 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Art

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1897	Production Design	The X-Ray Fiend 1897-10-01 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv