Norman Hughes Chaplen Whitten (20 October 18813 March 1969) was an English

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 ...

producer, director and actor and the first actor to play the

Mad Hatter The Hatter (called Hatta in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is often referred to as The Mad Hatter ...

in film, which he did in the 1903 film ''Alice in Wonderland'', the first film adaptation of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's 1865 children's book ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''.Filmography of Norman Whitten
–

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Database In 1907 he married

May Clark May Clark (1 June 1885 – 17 March 1971) was an English silent film actress turned cinematographer. She played Alice in the 1903 film ''Alice in Wonderland'', the first film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's book ''Alice's Advent ...

, who had played

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. A pioneer of early film in Ireland, Whitten made newsreels, light comedies and dramas and Ireland's first animated film.

Early life

Whitten was born in Brompton in London in 1881, one of six children of Sarah Ann ''née'' Chaplen (1849–1906) and Dr. William John Whitten (1846–1891), a medical practitioner and surgeon.

Hepworth Company

In 1902, Norman Whitten and his brother Claude became actors for

Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film industry and continued making films ...

at the Hepworth Film Studios in Walton-on-Thames in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, with the brothers soon also taking other roles behind the scenes including becoming camera operators and learning film processing. Here Whitten met his first wife, the young actress

(1885–1971) – the first actress to play

in film, appearing in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1903). On 14 March 1907, the two married at St Mary's church in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part ...

, with their marriage certificate showing the professions of both Clark and Whitten as Cinematographers and living in Walton at that time.Surrey, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1937 for Mabel Louise Clark: Walton on Thames, St Mary, 1884 Jan-1912 Jun – Ancestry.com
/ref> They had two sons: Vernon Norman William Whitten (1908–1982),May Clark- Women Film Pioneers – Columbia University Libraries
/ref> a director, film cameraman and photographer, and Kenneth Whitten (1918-2016). After their marriage Whitten and Clark left Hepworth Film Studios to set up their own Stamford Hill Film Cleaning Company which used the experience they had gained at the Hepworth Studio to repair perforations and tears and clean films. Later with Clark's brother Reggie Clark they formed the County Film Company.

Irish film pioneer

In about 1913, Whitten and Clark moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

where he set up his own film-making facilities in offices at 17 Great Brunswick Street. Here in 1914 he set up his General Film Supply company (GFS) of which he was the managing director, cameraman, director, editor, film developer and processor. Whitten had been making films for a decade and had a wide network of film production and distribution. GFS made newsreels, advertising and

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

s, films about pilgrimages and Ireland's first animated film – all designed to be shown before the main feature. When on 18 June 1917 he filmed the release of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

prisoners convicted for their part in the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

and in July 1917 the Sinn Féin convention he had his films in local cinemas the same evening, whereas other companies had to send their film to London to be processed.Ruth Barton
''Irish National Cinema''
Routledge (2004) – Google Books p. 15 His film ''Sinn Féin Review'' (1919) was seized by police during a showing and banned by the authorities as propaganda, whereas Whitten believed he had merely been filming a newsworthy event. His 1920 début feature film ''Aimsir Padraig'' (''In the Days of St Patrick'') starring Ira Allen and featuring his son Vernon Whitten as a young Patrick showed the life of Ireland's patron from birth through slavery and then returning to Ireland as a Christian missionary and enjoyed international success. Whitten acted as an agent for several British cinematographic equipment manufacturers and distributed films in Ireland for other film companies. In July 1917, he set up ''Irish Events'', Ireland's first regular newsreel service."'Irish Events': An Enterprise that Merits the Support of Every Exhibitor in this Country: News Films from the Four Provinces." ''Irish Limelight'' 1:8 (Aug. 1917): 18–19 Easy to produce, they became a regular feature of Irish cinema showings and by the end of the year he had made 24 editions. Throughout his time in Dublin Whitten was supported by his wife May Clark who ran the business for seven months while he was in the United States. In 1922 Whitten produced a series of light comedies: ''Casey's Millions'', ''Cruiskeen Lawn'' and ''Wicklow Gold'' starring the Irish comedian and variety artiste

Jimmy O'Dea James Augustine O'Dea (26 April 1899 – 7 January 1965) was an Irish actor and comedian. Life Jimmy O'Dea was born at 11 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, to James O'Dea, an ironmonger, and Martha O'Gorman, who kept a small toy shop. He was one of ...

. Now lost, these were made for and were popular with local audiences. When the business failed it was sold and Whitten and his family returned to England, where he set up Vanity Fair Pictures with Reggie Clark, who was then calling himself Reggie Strange and who had a film printing business as a sideline. May Clark ran the business side of both ventures. At around this time Whitten and Clark's marriage ended.

Later life

Whitten's marriage to May Clark was dissolved before 1929 as in that year he married Hilda Pleasance (1904–1962) in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. In 1939 he and his second wife were living at 54 Girton Road in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

in London where Whitten was a Patent Medicine Advertising Manager and was also an ARP Warden. Norman Whitten died aged 88 in 1969 in

in Greater London. He left an estate valued at £2,318.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Norman Hughes Chapler Whitten: 1969 – Ancestry.com
/ref>

Filmography

* ''Casey's Millions'' (1922) – Producer * '' Cruiskeen Lawn'' (1922) – Producer * ''Wicklow Gold'' (1922) – Producer * ''Aimsir Padraig'' (''In the Days of Saint Patrick'') (1920) – Director/Producer * ''Sinn Féin Review'' 1&2 (1919) – Director * ''The Honeymoon: First, Second and Third Class'' (1904) – husband * ''The Neglected Lover and The Stile'' (1903) – boy * ''The Joke that Failed'' (1903) – student * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1903) – Fish/Mad Hatter * ''Peace with Honour'' (1902) – Boer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Norman 1881 births 1969 deaths People from London Male actors from London English film directors English film producers English male silent film actors 20th-century English male actors British cinema pioneers 20th-century English businesspeople