Reply With QuoteThere was Chaplin of course ... and Keaton.
I recently watched Custer's Last Fight (1912) directed by and starring Francis Ford (John Ford's brother).
Douglas Fairbanks also had a go with Arizona (1918)
Whilst on holiday recently I watched "First Of The Few" (1942) in which Leslie Howard starred and also directed.
Was this the first film where that happened or where there others before?
Thanks
There was Chaplin of course ... and Keaton.
I recently watched Custer's Last Fight (1912) directed by and starring Francis Ford (John Ford's brother).
Douglas Fairbanks also had a go with Arizona (1918)
Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer
was Play Misty for Me Clint Eastwoods first directing attempt?
Just logged on so not researched yet....
Laurence Harvey in both The Ceremony and Welcome to Arrowe Beach
Orson Welles all the time, beginning with Citizen Kane in 1941.
Olivier - Henry V and Richard the Third
name='Chevyman']Whilst on holiday recently I watched "First Of The Few" (1942) in which Leslie Howard starred and also directed.
Was this the first film where that happened or where there others before?
Thanks
It's not actually the first film in which Leslie Howard directed himself - he shared the credit with Anthony Asquith for Pygmalion though I'm not sure what he actually did behind the camera.
name='mallee59']was Play Misty for Me Clint Eastwoods first directing attempt?
Yes, with his mentor Don Siegel appearing in a minor role as a Barman. And many more times since then.
Other examples include:
Sidney Poitier in five of his films, starting with Buck and the Preacher
Barbara Loden in Wanda
Ida Lupino in The Bigamist
And Albert Finney in Charlie Bubbles (1967), amazingly the only film he directed:
On TV, Patrick McGoohan, in episodes of Danger Man and The Prisoner, and Roger Moore in The Saint and The Persuaders.
John Cassavetes, especially in "Husbands" and "Love Streams."
Brando in "One-Eyed Jacks."
Roman Polanski in "The Fearless Vampire Killers," "The Tennant," etc (though Polanski was defintely more of a director than an actor).
Ray Milland directed and appeared in several minor films, the only one which I've seen is the highly reactionary anti-nuke picture, Panic In Year Zero. He went on record saying the downside of doing double-duty is that you don't do either job well. There are many examples of filmmakers who proved him wrong, of course.
How on earth did I forget about the exampes James Fox gave us? Too much on my mind. I can add to the list Francois Truffaut in at least two of his films, L'Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child) and Vivement Dimanche (Finally, Sunday).
There is another thread somewhere which was originally about Alfred Hitchcock appearing in his films before other examples were given, such as Luis Bunuel. I think the difference with this one is that the directors had a leading role in (most of) the films, while the other thread was more to do with cameos. Correct me if I'm wrong!
name='Dr. Schreck']Orson Welles all the time, beginning with Citizen Kane in 1941.
Orson also directed himself in two short films prior to Citizen Kane ... the first one was an 8m piece called The Hearts of Age and the second was a 40m version of William Gillette's play Too Much Johnson, which he had directed on the stage. I would love to see both of those.
The original post was asking about films directed by the lead actors prior to 1942.
Jose Ferrer in Cockleshell Heroes and I Accuse. (amongst others)
If we're still loking at films before 1942, Tom Walls must be one of the most prolific - 23 feature films before the war and a leading role in 21 of them. Monty Banks directed and played largish roles in quite a few films too.
Jerry Lewis Directed many films in which he starred.
name='batman']Orson also directed himself in two short films prior to Citizen Kane ... the first one was an 8m piece called The Hearts of Age and the second was a 40m version of William Gillette's play Too Much Johnson, which he had directed on the stage. I would love to see both of those.
The original post was asking about films directed by the lead actors prior to 1942.
Well, true, I did not count the shorts.
And of course I did mention Citizen Kane because it was prior to 1942. But then the thread already spread to after 1942 in high speed ...
name='batman']Orson also directed himself in two short films prior to Citizen Kane ... the first one was an 8m piece called The Hearts of Age and the second was a 40m version of William Gillette's play Too Much Johnson, which he had directed on the stage. I would love to see both of those.
The original post was asking about films directed by the lead actors prior to 1942.
Hearts of Age is available on dvd in a set called CITIZEN WELLES it also features the Stranger and the Trial ,it is avante garde in style or avante garde a clue as George Harrison once described his first solo album Electronic Sound. H of A also co stars Welles's first wife of 3 the still alive[ i think] Virginia Nicholson. I don't think he was in Too Much Johnson [or maybe just a cameo] which was made to be shown as a backdrop to the stage play as opposed to being a cinema film, it did feature future Hollywood stars Joseph Cotten and Mary Wickes though. Never completed, the only copy was thought to have been destroyed in a fire at Welles's villa in Spain whilst Robert Shaw was staying there, however some commentators have doubted this , OW was known to tell a few porkies as a bit of mischief to confuse reporters.
name='philly']Hearts of Age is available on dvd in a set called CITIZEN WELLES it also features the Stranger and the Trial ,it is avante garde in style or avante garde a clue as George Harrison once described his first solo album Electronic Sound. H of A also co stars Welles's first wife of 3 the still alive[ i think] Virginia Nicholson. I don't think he was in Too Much Johnson [or maybe just a cameo] which was made to be shown as a backdrop to the stage play as opposed to being a cinema film, it did feature future Hollywood stars Joseph Cotten and Mary Wickes though. Never completed, the only copy was thought to have been destroyed in a fire at Welles's villa in Spain whilst Robert Shaw was staying there, however some commentators have doubted this , OW was known to tell a few porkies as a bit of mischief to confuse reporters.
Thanks for that philly .... I will try and track down a copy. Welles is in Too Much Johnson playing a type of 'Keystone Kop'. I have seen some stills and it looks a hoot. I also read that Welles claimed to have added to the stage footage and showed at a few European festivals, but as OW was prone to telling tall stories it may be untrue. He also claimed to have filmed sections of Horse Eats Hat (another stage hit for him) but this has never surfaced.
name='Dr. Schreck']
And of course I did mention Citizen Kane because it was prior to 1942. But then the thread already spread to after 1942 in high speed ...
My comment wasn't directed at you Dr Schreck, I was just hoping to get some more pre-1942 films into the thread. Some of the pioneers (many of whom I know little about) did almost everything at one stage or another so I was hoping for some obscure actor/director gems.
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