Edwin Middleton
{{short description|American film director (1865–1929)}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_date = January 1, 1865
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = June 17, 1929 (aged 64)
| occupation = Film director, screenwriter
}}
Edwin Middleton (January 1, 1865 – June 17, 1929) was an American film director.{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/artists/46350|title=Edwin Middleton | MoMA|website=The Museum of Modern Art}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX1ZAAAAMAAJ&q=gingerbread+cupid+1912+edwin|title=American film personnel and company credits, 1908-1920: filmographies reordered by authoritative organizational and personal names from Lauritzen and Lundquist's American film-index|first1=Paul C.|last1=Spehr|first2=Gunnar|last2=Lundquist|first3=Einar|last3=Lauritzen|date=July 1, 1996|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|isbn=9780786402557|via=Google Books}}
Biography
He worked in theater as part of a stock company from Philadelphia before his film career.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ObwDQAAQBAJ&q=Moving+Picture+Director+1912+%22edwin+middleton%22&pg=PA24|title=W.C. Fields from the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway Stage to the Screen: Becoming a Character Comedian|first=Arthur Frank|last=Wertheim |author1-link=Arthur Frank Wertheim|date=January 16, 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349949861|via=Google Books}} In 1891, he was an actor in a production titled Sin and Shadow.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/edwin-middleton-52971|title=Edwin Middleton – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB|website=www.ibdb.com}} In 1906, he is credited with a part in a Broadway production titled Matilda as "Dr. Lamb".{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Edwin-Middleton/|title=Edwin Middleton Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos|website=www.broadwayworld.com}}
He directed W.C. Fields's film debut in Pool Sharks in 1915.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ObwDQAAQBAJ&q=edwin+middleton+w.c.+fields&pg=PA24|title=W.C. Fields from the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway Stage to the Screen: Becoming a Character Comedian|first=Arthur Frank|last=Wertheim |author1-link=Arthur Frank Wertheim|date=January 16, 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349949861|via=Google Books}} He also directed several shorts with casts that included Bud Ross. He made a series of films for the Gaumont Film Company.
He directed at least three "Cissy" films starring Cissy Fitzgerald. He worked for Gaumont Film Company in Jacksonville, Florida.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3lJAQAAMAAJ&q=edwin+middleton+jacksonville&pg=PA489|title=Motography|date=January 28, 1916|via=Google Books}}
He was an organizer of the Motion Picture Directors Association of New York.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDiSCgAAQBAJ&q=edwin+middleton+silent+film&pg=PT63|title=Black and White Cinema: A Short History|first=Wheeler Winston|last=Dixon|date=November 6, 2015|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=9780813572437|via=Google Books}}
Filmography
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- The Dream of a Motion Picture Director (1912)
- Lime Kiln Field Day (1913) – The oldest surviving film featuring African American actors
- One on Romance (1913)
- Because of a Hat (1914), writer
- Rip Van Winkle (1914)
- The Flaming Sword (1915)
- The Widow Wins (1915){{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/movpicwor26chal/movpicwor26chal_djvu.txt|title = Moving Picture World (Dec 1915)|year = 1915|publisher = New York, Chalmers Publishing Company}}
- Leave it to Cissy (1915)
- Curling Cissy (1915)
- Cissy's Innocent Wink (1915)
- The Reformer (1915)
- Ethel's Romeos (1915)
- Pool Sharks (1915) – The first film appearance of W.C. Fields
- Wildfire (1915)
- The Haunted Manor (1916)
- The Isle of Love (1916){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYcqAAAAYAAJ&q=edwin+middleton+silent+film|title=Motion Picture Guide Silent Film 1910-1936|first1=Jay Robert|last1=Nash|first2=Robert|last2=Connelly|first3=Stanley Ralph|last3=Ross|date=January 3, 1988|publisher=Cinebooks|isbn=9780933997103|via=Google Books}}
- Flames of Vengeance (1916)
- Armadale (1916){{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3lJAQAAMAAJ&q=edwin+middleton+mutual+film&pg=PA1232|title=Motography|date=January 3, 1916|via=Google Books}} – An adaptation of Armadale
- Gates of Divorce{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qEbAQAAMAAJ&q=edwin+middleton+mutual+film&pg=PA1125|title=The Moving Picture World|date=January 3, 1916|publisher=World Photographic Publishing Company|via=Google Books}}
- The Criminals Thumb (1916)
- The Hidden Face (1916)
- Gates of Divorce (1916) – A "three-part drama"{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qEbAQAAMAAJ&q=gates+of+divorce+%22edwin+middleton%22&pg=PA644|title=The Moving Picture World|date=January 28, 1916|publisher=World Photographic Publishing Company|via=Google Books}}
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0585495/ Edwin Middleton] IMDb
{{Edwin Middleton}}
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Category:Film directors from Pennsylvania
Category:Film directors from California
Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
Category:Screenwriters from California