George Loane Tucker

George Loane Tucker (June 12, 1872^[1] – June 20, 1921) was an American actor, silent film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor.

George Loane Tucker
Tucker in 1920
Born	George S. Loane (1872-06-12)June 12, 1872 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 20, 1921(1921-06-20) (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Occupation(s)	Film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, editor
Years active	1909–1921
Spouse	Elisabeth Risdon ​ (m. 1916)​

Career

Tucker was born George S. Loane in Chicago to George Loane and stage actress Ethel Tucker.^[2][3] After graduating from the University of Chicago, he got a job as a railroad clerk. He was chief clerk for the Maintenance of Way. Tucker was later the youngest man to be promoted to Contracting Freight Agent. After his first wife died while giving birth to the couple's son, Tucker quit his job. On the advice of friends, he began acting in stage productions.^[2]

By the mid-1910s, films were becoming a more popular draw for audiences which led Tucker to film acting and scenario writing. In 1911, he wrote a script for the short drama film Their First Misunderstanding. The film, which starred Mary Pickford, was a surprise hit.^[2]

Over the course of his career, Tucker directed 69 films, 19 of which he also wrote. In 1913 he directed Traffic in Souls, which concerned the topic of white slavery. The film was an enormous hit (it made over a million dollars in profit) and remains an early influential example of realism in early cinema. Traffic in Souls served to establish Tucker as a respected director and writer.^[4] Shortly after the film was released, he moved to England where he was hired as the Director-general for the London Film Company. It was there that Tucker met and married his second wife, British actress Elisabeth Risdon.^[5] While living in England, Tucker directed and produced several films for London Film including The Manxman (1917). An adaptation of the 1894 novel of the same name, it was one of the few British films that was distributed in the United States and would go on to become a financial and critical success.^[6]

In late 1916, Tucker returned to the United States in where he was hired as the Director-general for Goldwyn Pictures.^[5] That year, he wrote and directed The Cinderella Man which became that year's most profitable film.^{[citation needed]} The following year, Tucker wrote and directed another hit, Virtuous Wives, starring Anita Stewart.^[5] In 1919, Tucker wrote, produced and directed what became his most well known and financially successful film, The Miracle Man. The film featured Lon Chaney in a breakout role as a man who pretends to be handicapped. The Miracle Man was a critical and financial success (some critics called it "the greatest picture ever made")^[7] and made the film's stars, Chaney and Thomas Meighan, established stars.^[8] Shortly before his death, Tucker completed direction on the drama Ladies Must Live.^[9] The film was released in October 1921, approximately four months after his death.^[10]

Death

On June 20, 1921, Tucker died after a year long illness at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 49.^[11][12] He was survived by his wife, actress Elisabeth Risdon. Tucker is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.^[13]

Selected filmography

Short subject

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1909	The Awakening of Bess	The Heavy
1911	The Fair Dentist	Dental Patient	Alternative title: Mary's Patients
1911	Their First Misunderstanding	–	Writer, director
1912	Does Your Wife Love You?	George	Credited as George Tucker
1912	The Closed Bible	The Convict's Daughter's Husband	Credited as George Tucker
1913	The Whole Truth	George Truthtell
1913	The Temptation of Jane	Harry Charlton
1914	The Third String	–	Director
1914	The Revenge of Mr. Thomas Atkins	–	Director
1915	His Lordship	–	Director
1915	Her Uncle	–
1916	The Game of Liberty	–	Director Alternative title: Under Suspicion
1917	Homeless	–	Director

Features

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1913	Traffic in Souls	Wireless operator	Writer, director
1915	The Prisoner of Zenda	–	Director
1915	The Sons of Satan	–	Director
1915	The Christian	–	Director
1916	Arsène Lupin	–	Director
1916	The Manxman	–	Director Lost film[14]
1917	The Mother of Dartmoor	–	Director
1917	The Cinderella Man	–	Writer, director
1918	Dodging a Million	–	Writer, director
1918	Joan of Plattsburg	–	Writer, director
1919	The Miracle Man	–	Writer, producer, director
1921	Ladies Must Live	–	Writer, director

References

• Blake, Michael F. (1997). A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures. Vestal Press. ISBN 1-461-73076-7.
• Bodeen, DeWitt (1976). From Hollywood: The Careers of 15 Great American Stars. A. S. Barnes. ISBN 0-498-01346-4.
• Jacobs, Lea (2008). The Decline of Sentiment: American Film in the 1920s. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23701-8.
• McCaffrey, Donald W.; Jacobs, Christopher P. (1999). Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-30345-2.
• Palmer, R. Barton (2011). Palmer, R. Barton; Boyd, David (eds.). Hitchcock at the Source: The Auteur as Adapter. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-438-43750-7.
• Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.
• Thompson, Frank T. (1996). Lost Films: Important Movies that Disappeared. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-806-51604-6.
• Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). Silent Film Necrology (2 ed.). McFarland. ISBN 0-786-41059-0.