|
(16 April 1888, St. Louis, Missouri -
15 October 1950, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
 William
Christy Cabanne graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at
Annapolis,and spent several years in the Navy, leaving the service
in 1908. He decided on a career in the theater, and became a
director as well as an actor. Although acting was his main
profession, when he finally broke into the film industry it was
chiefly as a director after appearing in over 40 short films between
1911 and 1914. He signed on with the Fine Arts Co., then was
employed as an assistant to D.W. Griffith.
Being a published author, he found himself hired by Metro Pictures
to write a serial. After that he formed his own production company,
but was shut down only a few years later. He then became a director
for hire, mainly of low- to medium-budget films for such studios as
FBO, Associated Exhibitors, Tiffany and Pathe, although he worked at
MGM on a few occasions in the mid to late 1920s on films such as The
Midshipman (1925).
In the 1930s his career picked up a bit and he made many films with
Universal but by the late 1930s he had once again returned to very
low budget film making, out of the spotlight, including low rate
westerns, jungle and horror films for the likes of Monogram, PRC and
Screen Guild. |
