Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a Scottish-American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He was among the founders of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

, and was its president from 1934 to 1935. He is Scotland's first Academy Award winner and is unique in film history, having received three Oscar nominations in 1929 for his work on a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

('' The Divine Lady''), a part-talkie ('' Weary River'') and a full

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

('' Drag''). He won for ''The Divine Lady''. He was nominated and won again in 1933 for his adaptation of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Cavalcade'' and received a further Best Director nomination in 1935 for perhaps his most successful film, ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

''. In 1957, he was awarded the George Eastman Award, given by

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...

for distinguished contribution to the art of film. In 1960, Lloyd received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

for his contributions to the motion pictures industry, at 6667

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...

Early life and career

Lloyd was born in

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

, on the outskirts of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the youngest of seven children. His mother Jane was Scottish and his father Edmund Lloyd was Welsh, a mechanical engineer. The family travelled the country until his father was injured and gave up engineering. They settled in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, London, where the family ran a pub. Lloyd worked in a shoe shop, sang in choral groups and joined a vaudeville group. In 1909 he immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

where he worked on a ranch in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

for a year. He also erected poles and wrote for a telephone company, then joined a travelling show as an actor and singer. The show wound up in Los Angeles in 1913 and Lloyd decided to stay there and act in Hollywood films.

Film director

Paramount

He began directing shorts for Paramount and moved to longer running films: '' The Gentleman from Indiana'' (1915), '' Jane'' (1915), '' The Reform Candidate'' (1916), '' The Tongues of Men'' (1916), '' The Call of the Cumberlands'' (1916), '' Madame la Presidente'' (1916) with

Anna Held Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-born French stage performer of Jewish origin on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law ...

, '' The Code of Marcia Gray'' (1916), '' David Garrick (1916 film)'' (1916), '' The Making of Maddalena'' (1916), '' An International Marriage'' (1916), and '' The Stronger Love'' (1916). '' The Intrigue'' (1916) was produced through Pallas Films and released through Paramount. Lloyd's biographer argued his early films "are not 'masterpieces,' but they are on a par with films from other secondary directors of the period. In other words, they are not comparable to those directed by D.W. Griffith, but are as good as those directed by Allan Dwan."

Fox

Lloyd directed '' Sins of Her Parent'' (1916) at Fox, and '' The World and the Woman'' (1916) with Jeanne Eagles for Tranhouser. Back at Fox he did '' The Kingdom of Love'' (1917), and a series of films starring William Farnum" '' The Price of Silence'' (1917), ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' (1917) from the novel by Charles Dickens, '' American Methods'' (1917), '' When a Man Sees Red'' (1917), ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1917), '' The Heart of a Lion'' (1917), '' True Blue'' (1918), '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1918) from the novel by Zane Grey and its sequel '' The Rainbow Trail'' (1918), '' For Freedom'' (1918), and '' The Man Hunter'' (1919). Without Farnum, Lloyd directed '' The Blindness of Divorce'' (1918).

Goldwyn

At Goldwyn he made '' Pitfalls of a Big City'' (1919),'' The World and Its Woman'' (1919), '' The Loves of Letty'' (1919), '' The Woman in Room 13'' (1920), '' The Silver Horde (1920 film)'' (1920), '' Madame X'' (1920) with Pauline Frederick, '' The Great Lover'' (1920), '' A Tale of Two Worlds'' (1921), '' Roads of Destiny'' (1921) with Frederick, '' A Voice in the Dark'' (1921), '' The Invisible Power'' (1921), '' The Grim Comedian'' (1921), and '' The Man from Lost River'' (1921) plus '' The Sin Flood'' (1922) with Richard Dix.

First National

Lloyd directed some films for First National with

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

: '' The Eternal Flame'' (1921), '' The Voice from the Minaret'' (1922), '' Within the Law'' (1923) and '' Ashes of Vengeance'' (1923). Also for that studio was '' Oliver Twist'' (1922) with Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan, and '' Black Oxen'' (1924). He had his own company at First National, Frank Lloyd Productions. They made '' The Sea Hawk'' (1924), a swashbuckler with Milton Sills, then '' The Silent Watcher'' (1924), '' Her Husband's Secret'' (1925), '' Winds of Chance'' (1925), '' The Splendid Road'' (1926), and '' The Wise Guy'' (1926).

Paramount

At Paramount Lloyd made '' The Eagle of the Sea'' (1926), '' Children of Divorce'' (1927), ''

Adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, and love for a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give Homage (arts), homage or worship to someone or something". Ancient Rome In class ...

'' (1928) with Billie Dove, '' The Divine Lady'' (1929) with Corinne Griffith, and '' Dark Streets'' (1929). Lloyd won the Academy Award for Best director for ''The Divine Lady''. There were several films starring Richard Barthemless: '' Weary River'' (1929), '' Drag'' (1929), '' Young Nowheres'' (1930), '' Son of the Gods'' (1930), and '' The Lash'' (1930). He was Oscar nominated for Best Director for ''Drag'' and ''Weary River''. There was also '' The Way of All Men'' (1930), a remake of Lloyds' own ''The Sin Flood'', '' The Right of Way'' (1931), and '' East Lynne'' (1931). For Howard Hughes, Lloyd did '' The Age for Love'' (1931). Back at Fox he made '' A Passport to Hell'' (1932) then '' Cavalcade'' (1933), which won Lloyd the Oscar for Best Director. Lloyd then made what was his favourite film, ''

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

'' (1933), starring Leslie Howard, followed by '' Hoop-La'' (1933) the final film of Clara Bow and '' Servants' Entrance'' (1934) with Janet Gaynor.

''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and later career

Lloyd had a huge hit with ''

'' (1935) at MGM which earned him another Oscar nomination for Best Director. He followed it with '' Under Two Flags'' (1936) at Fox, a French Foreign Legion tale with Ronald Colman.

Paramount

At Paramount Lloyd made more historical films: '' Maid of Salem'' (1937) with Claudette Colbert, ''

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

'' (1937) with Joel McCrea, '' If I Were King'' (1938) with Colman and '' Rulers of the Sea'' (1938) with Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, which was a commercial disappointment.

Universal

Lloyd made '' The Howards of Virginia'' (1940) at Columbia with Cary Grant. At Universal he set up his own company. He directed '' This Woman Is Mine'' (1941), and '' The Lady from Cheyenne'' (1941), and his company produced '' Saboteur'' (1942) from Alfred Hitchcock, '' The Spoilers'' (1942) with John Wayne and Randolph Scott, and ''

Invisible Agent ''Invisible Agent'' is a 1942 American Action film, action and spy film directed by Edwin L. Marin with a screenplay written by Curt Siodmak. The invisible agent is played by Jon Hall (actor), Jon Hall, with Peter Lorre and Sir Cedric Hardwick ...

'' (1942). He was one of several directors on RKO's '' Forever and a Day'' (1943). Lloyd had a big hit with

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

's '' Blood on the Sun'' (1945). He was Oscar nominated for Best Director of a Documentary with ''The Last Bomb '' (1945). Lloyd also served in the air force. He retired from filmmaking in 1946, intending to live on a ranch.

Final films

Lloyd's wife died in 1952 and he came out of retirement to make two films at Republic, '' The Shanghai Story'' (1954) and '' The Last Command'' (1955) a film about Jim Bowie. When he remarried in 1955 he retired again.

Personal life

Frank Lloyd was married to actress Alma Haller from 11 July 1913, until her death on 16 March 1952. By 1955, Lloyd married Virginia Kellogg, and remained married until Lloyd's death on 10 August 1960 at age 74. Lloyd was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Reputation

Frank Lloyd does not have a significant legacy for some reason. A biographer puts this down partly to the dismissal of Lloyd's work by

Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...

(who compared the director with Cecil B. de Mille) and because he was described as a studio director. His style is as much his own. He did not make waves; he did not overly publicize and promote himself as others did in that day and still do today. Lloyd was very well liked and promoted other artists in Hollywood. What Lloyd did do was for the good of the studio – not for his own ego.

Selected filmography

*'' Damon and Pythias'' (1914) (actor) * '' The Test'' (1914) (actor) (short) * '' The Spy'' (1914) (actor) * '' The Opened Shutters'' (1914) (actor) *'' The Black Box'' (1915) (actor) *'' The Gentleman from Indiana'' (1915) *'' Jane'' (1915) *'' The Reform Candidate'' (1915) * '' Sins of Her Parent'' (1916) *'' The Tongues of Men'' (1916) *'' The Code of Marcia Gray'' (1916) *'' The Intrigue'' (1916) *'' David Garrick'' (1916) *'' The Call of the Cumberlands'' (1916) *'' Madame la Presidente'' (1916) *'' The Making of Maddalena'' (1916) *'' An International Marriage'' (1916) *'' The Stronger Love'' (1916) *'' Sins of Her Parent'' (1916) *'' The World and the Woman'' (1916) *''

'' (1917) *'' The Kingdom of Love'' (1917) *'' The Heart of a Lion'' (1917) *'' Les Miserables'' (1917) *'' When a Man Sees Red'' (1917) *'' American Methods'' (1917) *'' The Price of Silence'' (1917) *'' The Rainbow Trail'' (1918) *'' For Freedom'' (1918) *'' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1918) *'' The Blindness of Divorce'' (1918) *'' The Loves of Letty'' (1919) *'' The World and Its Woman'' (1919) *'' Pitfalls of a Big City'' (1919) *'' The Man Hunter'' (1919) *'' Madame X'' (1920) *'' The Silver Horde'' (1920) *'' The Woman in Room 13'' (1920) * '' The Great Lover'' (1920) *'' The Invisible Power'' (1921) * '' The Grim Comedian'' (1921) *'' The Man from Lost River'' (1921) *'' Roads of Destiny'' (1921) *'' Oliver Twist'' (1922) *'' The Eternal Flame'' (1922) *'' The Sin Flood'' (1922) *'' Black Oxen'' (1923) *'' The Voice from the Minaret'' (1923) *'' Within the Law'' (1923) *'' Ashes of Vengeance'' (1923) *'' The Sea Hawk'' (1924) *'' The Silent Watcher'' (1924) *'' Her Husband's Secret'' (1925) *'' The Splendid Road'' (1925) *'' Winds of Chance'' (1925) *'' The Wise Guy'' (1926) *'' The Eagle of the Sea'' (1926) *'' Children of Divorce'' (1927) *''

'' (1928) *'' The Divine Lady'' (1929) * '' Young Nowheres'' (1929) *'' Weary River'' (1929) *'' Drag'' (1929) *'' Dark Streets'' (1929) *'' The Lash'' (1930) *'' The Way of All Men'' (1930) *'' The Age for Love'' (1931) *'' East Lynne'' (1931) *'' A Passport to Hell'' (1932) *'' Cavalcade'' (1933) *''

'' (1933) *'' Hoop-La'' (1933) *'' Servants' Entrance'' (1934) *''

'' (1935) *'' Under Two Flags'' (1936) *''

'' (1937) *'' Maid of Salem'' (1937) *'' If I Were King'' (1938) *'' Rulers of the Sea'' (1939) *'' The Howards of Virginia'' (1940) *'' This Woman is Mine'' (1941) *'' The Lady from Cheyenne'' (1941) *'' The Spoilers'' (1942) (producer) *'' Forever and a Day'' (1943) *'' Blood on the Sun'' (1945) *'' The Shanghai Story'' (1954) *'' The Last Command'' (1955)

References

External links

*
Frank Lloyd Films website
includes additional biographical information {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Frank 1886 births 1960 deaths Film people from Glasgow Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders Presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Directing Academy Award winners Scottish film directors Scottish film producers Scottish male film actors Scottish male silent film actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Scottish emigrants to the United States 20th-century Scottish screenwriters 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Directors of Best Picture Academy Award winners Film directors from California American film producers American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American businesspeople People from Shepherd's Bush

Early life and career

Film director

Paramount

Fox

Goldwyn

First National

Paramount

''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and later career

Paramount

Universal

Final films

Personal life

Reputation

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links