Frank Powell (born Francis William Powell, May 8, 1877) was a
Canadian-born stage and silent film actor, director, producer, and
screenwriter who worked predominantly in the United States. He is also
credited with "discovering" Theda Bara and casting her in a starring
role in the 1915 release A Fool There Was. Her performance in that
production, under Powell's direction, quickly earned Bara widespread
fame as the film industry's most popular evil seductress or on-screen
"vamp".Frank Powell was born in 1877 in Hamilton, Canada, the child of
Elizabeth and Francis Powell. According to the 1920 edition of the
Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Journal, he received part of
his education in Cleveland, Ohio, although that publication provides
no other information about his schooling or reveals whether his
interest in theatre began in that city. However, a 1916 notice in the
trade paper Variety does confirm Powell's close and early connection
to Cleveland. In an April 26 news item titled "Frank Powell Resting",
the widely read publication announces that the 38-year-old director
was traveling to Cleveland, "his boyhood home", for a vacation. What
is known about Powell's 12-year stage career is that he worked with
playwright Kirke La Shelle and performed in at least two major
Broadway productions. In 1904 he performed in the play Tit for Tat at
the Savoy Theatre, and the next year he both acted in and served as a
director for Augustus Thomas's comedy The Education of Mr. Pipp. He
then relocated for several years to England, where he directed
productions for actress Ellen Terry before returning to North America.
In its October 15, 1915 issue, the Austin Statesman and Tribune
provides details about the course of Powell's initial stagework with
Terry, background that he shared with the newspaper in an
interview:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em
0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote
.templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}In
New York in 1909, Powell expanded his career into the rapidly
expanding motion picture industry, working initially 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
comedies. After directing 63 short films for Biograph, Powell in 1914
journeyed again to Europe, where he joined Pathé Frères as a
producer of historical and romantic dramas. Ill health required him to
curtail his work for a while, but he used the opportunity to travel
around Europe and increase his knowledge of acting types and of
costumes and landscapes in various countries. On his return to the
United States, Powell in April 1912 was engaged by Powers Motion
Pictures, and after being with that company for less than a year, he
worked briefly again for Biograph before rejoining Pathé as a
director of special features. For the 1914 Pathé film The Taint, he
bought a steam locomotive and then destroyed it in a dramatically
staged derailment. The stunt did not go as planned. It was reported
that the "wild" unmanned engine jumped the tracks and "narrowly missed
hitting the platform on which Mr. Powell and his camera were
stationed." Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
Canadian-born stage and silent film actor, director, producer, and
screenwriter who worked predominantly in the United States. He is also
credited with "discovering" Theda Bara and casting her in a starring
role in the 1915 release A Fool There Was. Her performance in that
production, under Powell's direction, quickly earned Bara widespread
fame as the film industry's most popular evil seductress or on-screen
"vamp".Frank Powell was born in 1877 in Hamilton, Canada, the child of
Elizabeth and Francis Powell. According to the 1920 edition of the
Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Journal, he received part of
his education in Cleveland, Ohio, although that publication provides
no other information about his schooling or reveals whether his
interest in theatre began in that city. However, a 1916 notice in the
trade paper Variety does confirm Powell's close and early connection
to Cleveland. In an April 26 news item titled "Frank Powell Resting",
the widely read publication announces that the 38-year-old director
was traveling to Cleveland, "his boyhood home", for a vacation. What
is known about Powell's 12-year stage career is that he worked with
playwright Kirke La Shelle and performed in at least two major
Broadway productions. In 1904 he performed in the play Tit for Tat at
the Savoy Theatre, and the next year he both acted in and served as a
director for Augustus Thomas's comedy The Education of Mr. Pipp. He
then relocated for several years to England, where he directed
productions for actress Ellen Terry before returning to North America.
In its October 15, 1915 issue, the Austin Statesman and Tribune
provides details about the course of Powell's initial stagework with
Terry, background that he shared with the newspaper in an
interview:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em
0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote
.templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}In
New York in 1909, Powell expanded his career into the rapidly
expanding motion picture industry, working initially 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
comedies. After directing 63 short films for Biograph, Powell in 1914
journeyed again to Europe, where he joined Pathé Frères as a
producer of historical and romantic dramas. Ill health required him to
curtail his work for a while, but he used the opportunity to travel
around Europe and increase his knowledge of acting types and of
costumes and landscapes in various countries. On his return to the
United States, Powell in April 1912 was engaged by Powers Motion
Pictures, and after being with that company for less than a year, he
worked briefly again for Biograph before rejoining Pathé as a
director of special features. For the 1914 Pathé film The Taint, he
bought a steam locomotive and then destroyed it in a dramatically
staged derailment. The stunt did not go as planned. It was reported
that the "wild" unmanned engine jumped the tracks and "narrowly missed
hitting the platform on which Mr. Powell and his camera were
stationed." Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
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