J. Searle Dawley

Director · 1877–1949 · Del Norte, Colorado, USA

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Searle Dawley was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Players, Fox, and other studios, he directed more than 300 short films and 56 features, which include many of the early releases of stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Pearl White, Marguerite Clark, Harold Lloyd, and John Barrymore. He also wrote scenarios for many of his productions, including one for his 1910 horror film Frankenstein, the earliest known screen adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. While film direction and screenwriting comprised the bulk of Dawley's career, he also had earlier working experience in theater, performing on stage for more than a decade and managing every aspect of stagecraft. Dawley wrote at least 18 plays as well for repertory companies and for several Broadway productions.

Directed 65

1920s

1923
Broadway Broke
Director
Has the World Gone Mad!
Director
As a Man Lives
Director
1922
Who Are My Parents?
Director
1921
A Virgin Paradise
Director
Beyond Price
Director
1920
The Harvest Moon
Director

1910s

1919
Everybody's Business
Director
The Phantom Honeymoon
Director
Twilight
Director
1918
The Death Dance
Director
Rich Man, Poor Man
Director
The Lie
Director
1917
The Seven Swans
Director
Bab's Matinee Idol
Director
Bab's Burglar
Director
Bab's Diary
Director
The Valentine Girl
Director
1916
Snow White
Director
Miss George Washington
Director
The Rainbow Princess
Director
Little Lady Eileen
Director
Silks and Satins
Director
Molly Make-Believe
Director
Out of the Drifts
Director
Mice and Men
Director
1915
Still Waters
Director
Always in the Way
Director
Four Feathers
Director
1914
Marta of the Lowlands
Director
The Lost Paradise
Director
A Good Little Devil
Director
The Pride of Jennico
Director
An American Citizen
Director
A Woman's Triumph
Director
1913
A Lady of Quality
Director
The Daughter of the Hills
Director
Leah Kleschna
Director
The Port of Doom
Director
Caprice
Director
An Hour Before Dawn
Director
In the Bishop's Carriage
Director
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Director
Bill's Sweetheart
Director
The Old Monk's Tale
Director
Dances of the Ages
Director
1912
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Director
A Chase Across the Continent
Director
The Lord and the Peasant
Director
The Relief of Lucknow
Director
Jack and the Beanstalk
Director
1911
A Romance of the Cliff Dwellers
Director
1910
A Christmas Carol
Director
The Song That Reached His Heart
Director
An Unselfish Love
Director
Frankenstein
Director
63

1900s

1909
The Prince and the Pauper
Director
1908
Tale the Autumn Leaves Told
Director
Cupid’s Pranks
Director
A Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm
Director
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest
Director
1907
The Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus
Director
Laughing Gas
Director
College Chums
Director
The Trainer’s Daughter, or A Race for Love
Director

Wrote 16