Directing
Frank Smythe
Born — Died
1900-07-06 — 1949-06-27
Place of birth
Maidstone, Kent, England, UK
Known for
Directing
Credits
6 titles
Francis Sydney Smythe, better known as Frank Smythe or F. S. Smythe (6 July 1900 – 27 June 1949), was an English mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps as well as in the Himalayas, where he identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park. His ascents include two new routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc, Kamet, and attempts on Kangchenjunga and Mount Everest in the 1930s. It was said that he had a tendency for irascibility, something some of his mountaineering contemporaries said "decreased with altitude". Smythe was born at Maidstone in Kent and educated in Switzerland after an initial perio…
Known for
9.0Following in the footsteps of Captain John Noel and his immensely popular documentaries taken on the Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s ("Climbing Mount Everest"/"The Epic of Everest"), Frank Smythe hoped to help finance his 1931 attempt on Kamet, another Himalayan peak, by bringing back film footage of a successful ascent including summit shots which were at that time the highest ever taken in the world.
Kamet Conquered
1933
NRPercy Wyn-Harris' filmic record of the 1933 expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge. It features comprehensive footage of the 1933 Mount Everest Expedition. Opens on the team’s arrival in India and shows landmarks, then shots of the preparations in Darjeeling. Includes blessing ceremonies by the Buddhist Lama at Darjeeling and the Chief Lama at Rongbuk. Scenes of all six camps being established and the journey back to Darjeeling, when it became clear summiting would be impossible this time.
Fourth Everest Expedition
1933
NRRecord of the 1936 British Mount Everest Expedition led by Hugh Ruttledge. Although the North Col was reached, a combination of high winds, storms and waist-deep snow made progress above 7,000m difficult and, with the monsoon arriving early, Ruttledge called off the expedition. Members of the expedition were mountaineers Eric Shipton, Frank Smythe, Percy Wyn-Harris, Edwin Kempson, Dr. Charles Warren, Edmund Wigram, Peter Oliver and James Gavin. The party also included Tenzing Norgay. This was a very well-equipped expedition, which included oxygen and radio equipment.
Everest 1936 - Ruttledge
1936
NRRecord of the international expedition to climb Kangchenjunga in 1930. The German-Austrian-British expedition, led by Günter Oskar Dyhrenfurth, had come from the Nepalese side and tried to reach the North Ridge via its NW face after failing in the north face, where the sherpa Chettan was killed in an avalanche. The attempt failed but the team made the first ascents of Rathong (6678m) and Jongsong Peak (7483m), and also climbed the Southwest peak of Nepal Peak.
Excelsior
1931
Film credits
1930s · 4 titles
9.0Following in the footsteps of Captain John Noel and his immensely popular documentaries taken on the Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s ("Climbing Mount Everest"/"The Epic of Everest"), Frank Smythe hoped to help finance his 1931 attempt on Kamet, another Himalayan peak, by bringing back film footage of a successful ascent including summit shots which were at that time the highest ever taken in the world.
Kamet Conquered
1933
NRPercy Wyn-Harris' filmic record of the 1933 expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge. It features comprehensive footage of the 1933 Mount Everest Expedition. Opens on the team’s arrival in India and shows landmarks, then shots of the preparations in Darjeeling. Includes blessing ceremonies by the Buddhist Lama at Darjeeling and the Chief Lama at Rongbuk. Scenes of all six camps being established and the journey back to Darjeeling, when it became clear summiting would be impossible this time.
Fourth Everest Expedition
1933
NRRecord of the 1936 British Mount Everest Expedition led by Hugh Ruttledge. Although the North Col was reached, a combination of high winds, storms and waist-deep snow made progress above 7,000m difficult and, with the monsoon arriving early, Ruttledge called off the expedition. Members of the expedition were mountaineers Eric Shipton, Frank Smythe, Percy Wyn-Harris, Edwin Kempson, Dr. Charles Warren, Edmund Wigram, Peter Oliver and James Gavin. The party also included Tenzing Norgay. This was a very well-equipped expedition, which included oxygen and radio equipment.
Everest 1936 - Ruttledge
1936
NRRecord of the international expedition to climb Kangchenjunga in 1930. The German-Austrian-British expedition, led by Günter Oskar Dyhrenfurth, had come from the Nepalese side and tried to reach the North Ridge via its NW face after failing in the north face, where the sherpa Chettan was killed in an avalanche. The attempt failed but the team made the first ascents of Rathong (6678m) and Jongsong Peak (7483m), and also climbed the Southwest peak of Nepal Peak.
Excelsior
1931
Behind the camera
9.0Following in the footsteps of Captain John Noel and his immensely popular documentaries taken on the Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s ("Climbing Mount Everest"/"The Epic of Everest"), Frank Smythe hoped to help finance his 1931 attempt on Kamet, another Himalayan peak, by bringing back film footage of a successful ascent including summit shots which were at that time the highest ever taken in the world.
Kamet Conquered
1933
9.0Following in the footsteps of Captain John Noel and his immensely popular documentaries taken on the Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s ("Climbing Mount Everest"/"The Epic of Everest"), Frank Smythe hoped to help finance his 1931 attempt on Kamet, another Himalayan peak, by bringing back film footage of a successful ascent including summit shots which were at that time the highest ever taken in the world.
Kamet Conquered
1933