Oscar apple

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Oscar Apfel (around 1920)

Oscar C. Apfel (born January 17, 1878 in Cleveland , Ohio , † March 21, 1938 in Hollywood , California ) was an American actor, silent film director, screenwriter and producer.

life and career

Oscar Apfel began his professional acting career around 1900 in his hometown of Cleveland. Success quickly set in and he soon worked as a theater producer and director, making him one of the youngest theater directors in America. In April 1906 he played on Broadway in the comedy The Optimist , which was canceled after a short time. In 1911, Apfel had his entry into the film business when he was hired by Thomas Alva Edison as actor and director for the Thomas A. Edison, Inc. film company .

The short film The Passer-By (1912) brought apple first renown, which convinced in particular with its innovative camera work. After leaving Edison, he worked in the following years as a director at other film studios, including Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille . Together with DeMille he directed the important silent film western The Squaw Man , which with a length of six roles was one of the first full-length productions and a great financial success. In the following years he shot a series of westerns with William Farnum and the first film version of Peer Gynt for the William Fox Corporation . In 1919, Apfel received greater attention with his drama Ravished Armenia , which was the first film to focus on the Armenian genocide . He was also the producer and screenwriter of some of his 120 films.

As early as the 1920s, Apple's directing career was lost in mediocrity with numerous low-budget films. In 1927 he made his last film as a director and from then on stood exclusively as an actor in front of the camera. In the sound film era , he mostly had to be content with smaller to medium supporting roles; often as a businessman, banker, civil servant or judge. He impersonated a newspaper publisher in the late edition (1931) with Edward G. Robinson and played alongside WC Fields in the comedies The Good Old Days and Man on the Flying Trapeze . In 1938 Oscar Apfel, who starred in around 175 films until his death, died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

Filmography

As a director, author and producer (selection)

  • 1911: The Wedding Bell
  • 1912: The Passer-By
  • 1912: Thirty Days at Hard Labor
  • 1914: Brewster's Millions
  • 1914: The Call of the North
  • 1914: The Ghost Breaker
  • 1914: The Squaw Man
  • 1915: Peer Gynt
  • 1917: Vanata, the Indian girl (The Hidden Children)
  • 1919: Phil-for-Short
  • 1919: Me and Captain Kidd
  • 1919: Ravished Armenia
  • 1924: The Heart Bandit
  • 1926: The Call of the Klondike
  • 1927: In Search of a Thrill

As an actor (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carolyn Lowrey (1920): The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen, Moffat, Yard and Company, New York
personal data
SURNAME Apple, oscar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Apple, Oscar C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 1938
Place of death Hollywood , California