Frank E. Woods

Writing

Frank E. Woods

Born — Died

1860-01-01 — 1939-05-01

Place of birth

Linesville, Pennsylvania, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

40 titles

Frank E. Woods (1860 – May 1, 1939) was an American screenwriter of the silent era. He wrote for 90 films between 1908 till 1925. He first became a writer with the Biograph Company. Woods was also a pioneering film reviewer. As a writer, his contributions to film criticism are discussed in the 2009 documentary, For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. Woods worked for the Kinemacolor Company of America, directing at their Hollywood studios and writing the script for the unreleased The Clansman (1911). He was also known for his screenplay collaborations with D. W. Griffith, including the co-scripting of The Birth of a Nation. He later publicly expressed regret for his inv…

Known for

The Birth of a Nation poster
5.9

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

The Birth of a Nation

1915

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages poster
7.1

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916

The Billionaire poster
NR

An eccentric American billionaire travels to Paris and Monte Carlo, where his lavish spending and impulsive adventures draw him into a series of comic misunderstandings, duels, and romantic entanglements.

The Billionaire

1914

The Mountaineer's Honor poster
4.7

A mountain girl is seduced by a traveler from the valley. Her brother tracks the seducer down and kills him. In retaliation, the sheriff captures the brother and prepares to lynch him. Mother intervenes and, to save her son the disgrace of hanging, shoots him.

The Mountaineer's Honor

1909

The Redman's View poster
5.2

An Indian village is forced to leave its land by white settlers, and must make a long and weary journey to find a new home. The settlers make one young Indian woman stay behind. This woman is thus separated from her sweetheart, whose elderly father needs his help on the journey ahead

The Redman's View

1909

No artwork available
NR

Harry loved Betty, and vice versa, but Harry was very shy. No matter how he tried, he never could muster up sufficient courage to propose, despite the fact that Betty always endeavored to help him out. An idea! He writes his proposal, and invents a sentimental code of signals. The letter reads: "If you will accept me, wear red roses; if you are in doubt, the pink. If you do not love me and reject me, wear the white."

White Roses

1910

Behind the camera

The Birth of a Nation poster
5.9

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

The Birth of a Nation

1915

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages poster
7.1

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916

The Billionaire poster
NR

An eccentric American billionaire travels to Paris and Monte Carlo, where his lavish spending and impulsive adventures draw him into a series of comic misunderstandings, duels, and romantic entanglements.

The Billionaire

1914

The Mountaineer's Honor poster
4.7

A mountain girl is seduced by a traveler from the valley. Her brother tracks the seducer down and kills him. In retaliation, the sheriff captures the brother and prepares to lynch him. Mother intervenes and, to save her son the disgrace of hanging, shoots him.

The Mountaineer's Honor

1909

The Redman's View poster
5.2

An Indian village is forced to leave its land by white settlers, and must make a long and weary journey to find a new home. The settlers make one young Indian woman stay behind. This woman is thus separated from her sweetheart, whose elderly father needs his help on the journey ahead

The Redman's View

1909

No artwork available
NR

Harry loved Betty, and vice versa, but Harry was very shy. No matter how he tried, he never could muster up sufficient courage to propose, despite the fact that Betty always endeavored to help him out. An idea! He writes his proposal, and invents a sentimental code of signals. The letter reads: "If you will accept me, wear red roses; if you are in doubt, the pink. If you do not love me and reject me, wear the white."

White Roses

1910

A Corner in Wheat poster
6.2

On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.

A Corner in Wheat

1909

Beauty and the Bad Man poster
7.0

Cassie, an orphan who sings angelically in a small-town church, marries the organist, L. I. B. Bell, when he promises to obtain singing lessons for her. They go to San Francisco, where Cassie leaves Bell within the hour when she discovers his low nature. Answering an advertisement in the paper, Cassie gets a job singing in a mining town dance-hall. There she charms everyone with her voice, including Madoc Bill, who, having just won a large sum of money at faro, writes her a check for $10,000 and sends her abroad to study voice. Cassie soon becomes a successful diva, singing in the Grand Opera at Moscow, while Madoc Bill serves 4 years in jail for murder.

Beauty and the Bad Man

1925

The Life of General Villa poster
NR

Silent biographical action–drama film starring Pancho Villa as himself. The movie incorporates both staged scenes and authentic live footage from real battles during the Mexican Revolution.

The Life of General Villa

1914

Richard the Lion-Hearted poster
NR

Wallace Beery repeats his role of King Richard, a role he played so sucessfully in Robin Hood the previous year.

Richard the Lion-Hearted

1923

1776, or The Hessian Renegades poster
5.2

During the American Revolution, a young soldier carrying a crucial message to General Washington is spotted and pursued by a group of enemy soldiers. He takes refuge with a civilian family, but is soon detected. The family and their neighbors must then make plans to see that the important message gets through after all.

1776, or The Hessian Renegades

1909

Muggsy's First Sweetheart poster
5.0

A scrappy lad from the skids attempts to court a well-to-do maiden. During his visits to her family estate, he upsets the Uplift committee that's weaseled their way into the home.

Muggsy's First Sweetheart

1910

Strongheart poster
5.0

STRONGHEART (1914) is a Native American Indian drama. Based on a famous play of the time, the film features an all-star cast. Originally five reels, the film was reissued at three reels in 1916.

Strongheart

1914

The Bad Boy poster
NR

Small town youth Jimmie Bates is a well-intentioned, but troubled youth. Jimmie is a rowdy boy who is always getting into trouble and playing pranks on his friends and neighbors. Although deeply in love with young Mary, he eventually spurns Mary's affection for the more outgoing and worldly young Ruth.

The Bad Boy

1917

The Necklace poster
4.0

Mrs. Kendrick borrows a jeweled necklace from a friend for an important social event. The necklace is stolen, and Mr. Kendrick goes into debt to replace it. The thief discovers it's costume jewelry, but the Kendricks never learns the truth; Husband and wife struggle for years to pay off the huge debt.

The Necklace

1909

The Violin Maker of Cremona poster
4.6

A contest is being held in Cremona for the best violin, with Giannina's hand in marriage as the prize. Filippo is secretly in love with her, but is also ashamed of being a cripple, so he switches his superior violin with that of another apprentice, Sandro, whom Giannina loves.

The Violin Maker of Cremona

1909

The Cricket on the Hearth poster
3.7

After three years at sea, Edward returns home to find his sweetheart forced into an engagement with a much older man.

The Cricket on the Hearth

1909

No artwork available
0.5

During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, Catholic worship is forbidden on pain of death. Three soldiers are arrested as Catholics and condemned to die. Cromwell decides to spare two of them and to determine which should die by chance. The guards bring the first child they meet. Whichever soldier she gives the 'death disc' to shall die. Cromwell is charmed by the girl and gives her his signet ring. By chance the child is the daughter of one of the soldiers and gives the death disc to her father, because she thinks it's pretty. The child is returned home to her mother, who learns of her husband's pending execution and of the power of the ring. She rushes to the place of execution and saves her husband by producing the ring.

The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period

1909

Judith of Bethulia poster
6.1

In the 7th-century B.C., the Assyrians storm the walls of the Jewish city of Bethulia, leaving its people frightened and ready to hand their homes over to the invaders. As the Assyrians close in, the citizens are cut off from the outside world, and they began to starve. Seeing her people's desperation, Jewish widow Judith poses as a harem worker, winning her entry into the Assyrian camp, where she plans to kill their general, Holofernes.

Judith of Bethulia

1914

A Change of Heart poster
NR

Howard Norris, a wealthy young man from the city makes the acquaintance of a lovely young daughter of a farmer. By promising marriage, he entices her into accompanying him to the city. There is a fake wedding. She inadvertently learns the truth and in great anguish sets out for her home. The rich young man is holding a drinking party when his mother stops in and advises him to give up drinking and become an upstanding young man. He takes her advice, realizes the error of his ways, and begins searching for the girl he wronged.

A Change of Heart

1909

Home Folks poster
NR

A stern father rules his family by what he thinks to be the Bible's precepts, but it is simply the influence of his own narrow mind. Hence when his boy suggests going to a barn dance, he flies into a rage and commands that the boy remain at home. The boy, however, becomes rebellious and goes, and for this act of disobedience the father drives him from the house and forces the rest of the family to swear never to mention his name again. It's soon revealed that father does have a soft spot and misses the boy. Mary's not-so-bright suitor, the local smith, asks for her hand. When her brother does return to the old home to reconcile, Mary's partner believes her to be unfaithful.

Home Folks

1912

Her First Biscuits poster
3.0

A new bride has made a batch of biscuits. Her husband pretends to like them, so she delivers the rest to his office. But one bite of these biscuits makes you violently ill, and soon all his visitors (he runs a theatrical booking agency), plus the workmen at home, are ill; when she shows up at the office, they all go after her.

Her First Biscuits

1909

The Usurer poster
5.0

A wealthy, callous moneylender finds a terrifying way to learn about money's limitations.

The Usurer

1910

The Children Pay poster
NR

Two sisters are separated when their parents divorce.

The Children Pay

1916

Fools of Fate poster
4.4

Fanny is the wife of Ben Webster, a trapper, and while he is an affectionate and dutiful husband, she yearns for something which appears better than her lot. She reasons: "Have I not youth and beauty and attainments far above this environment? Why should I be compelled to toil and struggle in this wilderness?"

Fools of Fate

1909

No artwork available
NR

This ill-tempered gentleman accompanies his wife to the seashore, but being so insanely jealous of her makes the stay there rather unpleasant. First of all, he refuses to go bathing in the surf with her, and she, despite his command not to, goes in alone. Towering with rage at his wile's defiance, he gets himself into several embarrassing positions. In fact he makes a fool of himself generally.

Mr. Grouch at the Seashore

1912

Man's Genesis poster
4.6

An old man tells his grandchildren about prehistoric man: Caveman Weakhands is unable to court a woman because of his physical weakness. Humiliated by Bruteforce, he bumps into Lillywhite, who has also been cowering in her cave in mourning. The two new lovers form a connection, but Bruteforce separates the couple and sends Weakhands scrambling. In his cave, Weakhands thinks up the design of a stone club. With this equalizer, he soon vanquishes Bruteforce and wins Lillywhite back again-- An early step in human progress.

Man's Genesis

1912

No artwork available
NR

An old colonel is proud as a peacock: his son leads a group of volunteers in the American Civil War. Untill one day his son returns home as a deserter.

The Honor of His Family

1910

Pippa Passes poster
5.4

Pippa awakes and faces the world outside with a song. Unbeknown to her, the music has a healing effect on all who hear her as she passes by.

Pippa Passes

1909

The Old Homestead poster
8.0

Silent drama film based upon the play of the same name by Denman Thompson.

The Old Homestead

1922

The Song of the Shirt poster
3.6

Adaptation of a poem written by Thomas Hood.

The Song of the Shirt

1908

No artwork available
2.5

A castaway returns home after years lost at sea, to the wife and child he left behind. Has she waited faithfully or has she moved on?

After Many Years

1908

Resurrection poster
4.9

Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, is someone he once seduced and abandoned and that he himself bears responsibility for reducing her to crime. He sets out to redeem her and himself in the process.

Resurrection

1909

No artwork available
1.5

An escaped convict takes refuge in the home of a police officer out on duty. He seizes the officer's daughter and pulls her into a window recess, with a pistol to her head. The officer returns and discovers the convict's hat. He suspect his wife is concealing an affair and she must avoid revealing the convict's presence for the sake of their daughter.

In the Window Recess

1909

The Sealed Room poster
5.1

A king grows suspicious of his favored woman's affection for an Italian troubadour. After confirming their secret romance, he takes a cruel revenge by sealing the lovers inside a secluded tower chamber with no means of escape.

The Sealed Room

1909

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
NR

American horror movie from 1913.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1913

When We Were in Our 'Teens poster
5.0

Diplomacy was not Tom's strong suit. So when May showed to him her latest painting he poured scorn on it. He was anxious to discourage her from painting, knowing full well that she would never become a great artist. Howard, his rival, was more diplomatic. He praised her efforts, and is at once the top-notcher in May's esteem.

When We Were in Our 'Teens

1910

No artwork available
NR

The thief was clever and he forged around the girl's sweetheart a chain of circumstantial evidence that seemingly had no flaw. The girl's faith was great and in unraveling the mystery the detective she engaged used the scientific methods of today, making a brilliant detective story.

The Left-Handed Man

1913

Mr. Jones Has a Card Party poster
3.0

Mr. Jones, since his last escapade, had made strenuous efforts to amend the reputation he had gained in the eyes of the ladies of the Temperance League. But Oh! the ordeal, for such it was, was telling on him, and his pent-up spirits were threatening ebullition, when at last the chance comes. The league arranges to attend a three-days' convention out of town, and when Mrs. Jones departs, Jones sends a note to Smith, telling him to bring the gang, and they would have a "Prayer Meeting," enjoining him not to forget the "fixings." Well, the gang are not long in putting in an appearance, for they feel that every minute's delay is a chunk lost from a golden opportunity for fun.

Mr. Jones Has a Card Party

1909

A Strange Meeting poster
4.3

Mary Rollins is torn between selfish depravity and righteous living. After she's coerced into helping with the burglary of her minister's apartment, she comes face to face with her misdeeds.

A Strange Meeting

1909