
Directing
David Smith
Born — Died
1872-10-28 — 1930-04-25
Place of birth
Faversham, England, UK
Known for
Directing
Credits
31 titles
Known for
9.0Pegeen O'Neill must fend for herself when her father Dan becomes mentally unbalanced after his wife Mary's death. Dan spends his days searching for his wife, setting fires in the belief that the flames will illuminate his Mary. The townspeople, enraged at the arson that is slowly destroying their village, track down Dan and trap him in a burning cabin. Pegeen rushes to comfort her dying father, who consoles himself at death with the hallucination that his wife has returned in the figure of his daughter. Pegeen is then rescued from the raging fire by Jimmie, who proposes to the waif as he delivers her from the flames.
Pegeen
1920
10.0A drama of the India Seas that has Hollingsworth Chance, a young American, tangled in court intrigue to, is put to the supreme test to save the girl he loves, Princess Geneva
The Man from Brodney's
1923
10.0Two men, Philip Whittemore (Henry B. Walthall) and Thorpe (Harry Northrup) both go to the Northwest to gain the right-of-way for their railroad company from D'Arcambal (Emmett King). Whittemore arrives first and D'Arcambal refuses to meet with him until he saves his daughter, Jeanne (Pauline Starke) from going over the rapids. Then Thorpe arrives and tries to use force by kidnapping Jeanne and insisting that he is her father.
Flower of the North
1921
7.0Melodramatic thriller, presented in 9.5mm format
The Ninety and Nine
1922
7.5Young Irish physician Peter Blood is exiled as a slave to Barbados, where he and his friend Jeremy are purchased by Colonel Bishop at the behest of his niece Arabella. With other slaves he captures a Spanish galleon and becomes the terror of the Caribbean privateers until offered a commission in the English Navy. He defeats the French at Port Royal, and as a reward he is named governor of Jamaica and marries Arabella.
Captain Blood
1924
9.0Shortly after being made the executor of a wealthy man's estate, a man murders his benefactor. He then makes a play for the widow, who rebuffs him. To escape his arduous pursuit, she takes her little daughter on a trip but dies in an auto accident. The daughter is rescued but disappears. Her grandparents spend years looking for her, as does the executor who killed her father--if she's found she'll inherit the estate and he won't get a penny. He aims to see that she's never found, and if she is he plans to see that she doesn't live long enough to make a claim to the estate.
The Midnight Alarm
1923
Behind the camera
9.0Pegeen O'Neill must fend for herself when her father Dan becomes mentally unbalanced after his wife Mary's death. Dan spends his days searching for his wife, setting fires in the belief that the flames will illuminate his Mary. The townspeople, enraged at the arson that is slowly destroying their village, track down Dan and trap him in a burning cabin. Pegeen rushes to comfort her dying father, who consoles himself at death with the hallucination that his wife has returned in the figure of his daughter. Pegeen is then rescued from the raging fire by Jimmie, who proposes to the waif as he delivers her from the flames.
Pegeen
1920
10.0A drama of the India Seas that has Hollingsworth Chance, a young American, tangled in court intrigue to, is put to the supreme test to save the girl he loves, Princess Geneva
The Man from Brodney's
1923
10.0Two men, Philip Whittemore (Henry B. Walthall) and Thorpe (Harry Northrup) both go to the Northwest to gain the right-of-way for their railroad company from D'Arcambal (Emmett King). Whittemore arrives first and D'Arcambal refuses to meet with him until he saves his daughter, Jeanne (Pauline Starke) from going over the rapids. Then Thorpe arrives and tries to use force by kidnapping Jeanne and insisting that he is her father.
Flower of the North
1921
7.0Melodramatic thriller, presented in 9.5mm format
The Ninety and Nine
1922
7.5Young Irish physician Peter Blood is exiled as a slave to Barbados, where he and his friend Jeremy are purchased by Colonel Bishop at the behest of his niece Arabella. With other slaves he captures a Spanish galleon and becomes the terror of the Caribbean privateers until offered a commission in the English Navy. He defeats the French at Port Royal, and as a reward he is named governor of Jamaica and marries Arabella.
Captain Blood
1924
9.0Shortly after being made the executor of a wealthy man's estate, a man murders his benefactor. He then makes a play for the widow, who rebuffs him. To escape his arduous pursuit, she takes her little daughter on a trip but dies in an auto accident. The daughter is rescued but disappears. Her grandparents spend years looking for her, as does the executor who killed her father--if she's found she'll inherit the estate and he won't get a penny. He aims to see that she's never found, and if she is he plans to see that she doesn't live long enough to make a claim to the estate.
The Midnight Alarm
1923
9.0Geraldine Farleigh, a timid village schoolteacher, supports her family and must pay off her late father's debt to Bruce Cartwright.
Cupid Forecloses
1919
10.0Allen Spargo, a mining engineer who is betrothed to Theresa Kane, goes West to make his fortune and is seriously injured in an accident. Kate Leonard, who falls in love with him while nursing him to recovery, jealously intercepts his fiancée's letters and then writes Theresa that Allen is dead.
A Gentleman's Agreement
1918
6.5Robert Ware takes it upon himself to tame wild girl, Mag, to prove to his doubting friend Arnold, he can turn her into a graceful young lady. Later, when Arnold is in the war, he meets a pretty nurse who greatly impresses him. Back home he recalls the pleasant encounter to Robert, telling him of the gentle beauty he never forgot. Mag, now Margaret, overhears the story and reveals to Arnold, she was the nurse. The surprised Arnold now has to admit that Robert was right about gentling the little wild cat.
Little Wildcat
1922
8.0Elizabeth Browne is the daughter of nouveau riche parents, who became wealthy when they struck oil. While she attends finishing school, her folks travel to England in search of a family tree so that they can enter society. They encounter Lady Dysart, an adventuress who married Lord Dysart shortly before his death. Lady Dysart tries to convince the Brownes that Cecil, her son from a previous marriage, is the new Lord Dysart.
A Girl's Desire
1922
10.0The Hollisters, a bright, spirited, wholesome family, are compelled to move into the country. After many efforts to secure a home, Shirley, eldest of the Hollisters, contrives a way out by renting a magnificent old stone barn at a ridiculously low price, transforming it into a house. The owner of the barn is not an ordinary landlord, as you will see, for he is a young man with fine ideals, and he is not content with establishing Shirley and her family in the quaintly beautiful old place, but makes the world a much happier place to live in for all of them.
The Enchanted Barn
1919
10.0Based on the play The Shaughraun, this is the story of Robert Ffolliat, a young Irish lad, who is done out of his land and sent off to a penal colony in Australia following false accusations by the greedy Kinchella. Conn the Shaughraun comes to his rescue, helps him to escape from the prison ship and return to Ireland where he is united with his sweetheart.
My Wild Irish Rose
1922
9.0After serving in the Great War, international crook Anthony Trent resolves to go straight. He wants to track down the English private who saved his life, and discovers his true identity is Arthur Grenvil, the son of the Earl of Rosecarrel. Trent falls in love with Grenvil's sister, Daphne, and sets out to win the Earl's approval. He discovers that the Earl is being blackmailed by Count Michael Temesvar, the prime minister of Croatia, over some documents.
The Silver Car
1921
NR15 chapter adventure serial: 1. Caught in the Web; 2. The Open Switch; 3. The Speeding Doom; 4. The Clutch of Terror; 5. The Hand of Mystery; 6. Full Speed Ahead; 7. The Crater of Death; 8. The Plunge of Horror; 9. The Fire Trap; 10. Out of the Dungeon; 11. In the Desert's Grip; 12. Hurled to Destruction; 13. The Hidden Menace; 14. The Crash of Fate; 15. Out of the Web.
The Woman in the Web
1918
9.0Wolfdog pup, Baree, is nursed back to health by a trapper's daughter after being caught in one of the traps.
Baree, Son of Kazan
1925
9.0Peggy ( Bessie Love ) and her sister Frances ( Myrtle Reeves ) live with their father, but because of his idleness, they must all move to humbler quarters. Peggy adapts quickly to their new surrounding, while Frances misses the social life she once enjoyed. Their neighbors are well off, and Peggy begins a romance with their son, whom she thinks is the chauffeur. Meanwhile, Frances has become involved with a roguish character and plans to elope with him. Peggy saves her sister from imminent disgrace, but comes close to compromising herself instead. Peggy's sweetheart comes to her rescue and now his true identity is revealed to the very grateful girl.
Over the Garden Wall
1919
8.0Michael O'Doone, his wife Margaret and daughter Marge are settlers living in the Northwest. One winter day, while on a journey, Michael meets with an accident and fails to return home. Believing that he is dead, Margaret goes into a state of delirium which enables Buck Tavish, a long-time admirer, to carry her away to his cabin. When she finally comes to her senses she flees in search of Michael, leaving Marge behind.
The Courage of Marge O'Doone
1920
8.0A jazz-mad Nancy Burrard is a young matron easing her boredom by flirting with married men.
Borrowed Husbands
1924
9.0A Lord's fiancée poses as a gypsy and falls in love with the new minister.
The Little Minister
1922
10.0Forced to wear quaint short dresses and pigtails so that she will inspire her grandfather's sentimental poetry, nineteen-year-old Joy Havenith longs for companions of her own age.
The Wishing Ring Man
1919
NRThe Dawn of Understanding is a lost 1918 American silent Western comedy film produced by The Vitagraph Company of America and directed by David Smith. It stars Bessie Love in the first film of her nine-film contract with Vitagraph.
The Dawn of Understanding
1918
9.0Young and spunky Alannah, an Irish immigrant living in a tenement, sells newspapers to support her family. She is soon helping a district attorney secure proof that the unjust town mayor is collecting bribes. For her reward, Alannah and her boyfriend Jimmy are appointed managers of a municipal restaurant.
A Fighting Colleen
1919
NRFrom James Oliver Curwood's novel about a wolfdog.
Baree, Son of Kazan
1918
Two small-time criminals, Bill and Sam, kidnap a wealthy man's ten-year-old son, Johnny, to hold for ransom. Their plan backfires when the boy, who enjoys the kidnapping, becomes so unbearable and difficult that the men end up paying his father to take him back.
The Ransom of Mack
1920
6.7Jack is orphaned as a young child when his wagon train is ambushed by Indians. Twenty years later, he rescues Rose from a runaway stagecoach. The two fall in love, much to the displeasure of Blaney. To put him out of the way, Blaney kills Jack's adoptive mother and frames Jack for the crime.
Pioneer Trails
1923
Sam, in love with Katie, drinks too much absinthe and dreams he is a hero saving Katie from danger.
The Enchanted Kiss
1917
5.0Jessie is the eldest daughter of Squire Gordon. Jack Beckett, a scheming adventurer, attempts to use the recent death of her brother and the mysterious disappearance of £1,000 from the Gordon household to blackmail Jessie into marrying him. Meanwhile, Black Beauty slowly descends from the position of a well-loved pet of a country gentleman to that of an overworked London cab horse. Based on the novel by Anna Sewell.
Black Beauty
1921
A Yankee Princess is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. It was directed by David Smith and stars Bessie Love, who also wrote the screenplay. It is a lost film.
A Yankee Princess
1919
10.0The Little Boss is a 1919 American silent romantic comedy film directed by David Smith and produced by Vitagraph Studios.[2] The story and screenplay were by Rida Johnson Young starring Bessie Love and Wallace MacDonald.
The Little Boss
1919
8.0Accused of theft by Mabel Arthur's brother, Dick Halpin accepts the blame and runs away to join the Navy to save Mabel from humiliation. Later he is shanghaied with Lieutenant Breen by Captain Bilker and his henchmen. They endure cruel treatment until they finally escape and rejoin their ships in Santiago Harbor just as war is breaking with Spain. Dick is commissioned for his courage in the battle with Spanish warships; Mabel's brother confesses his guilt of the theft; and the misunderstanding between Dick and Breen over Mabel and Bessie Fleming is cleared up to everyone's satisfaction.
Masters of Men
1923
A two-reel version of 1925's Pampered Youth. Included on Criterion's Blu-ray release of Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons.
Two to One
1927
