W. Steve Smith Jr. — Little Close-Ups of the A. S. C. (1922) 🇺🇸

W. Steve Smith Jr., called W. Steve by his friends, is the only one of the noble and numerous family of Smiths to honor the A. S. C. with his membership, but alone though he be, W. Steve nobly upholds the traditions of the family.

It was in October, 1913, that Mr. Smith began to crank a camera professionally, although before that time he had served a year and a half in a laboratory and had learned the use of both a motion and a still camera.

Between 1913 and October 1916 he photographed upwards of seventy-five one, two and three-reel comedies under the old-time directors, R. S. Sturgeon [Rollin S. Sturgeon], Burton King, William Bowman, Bob Thornby [Robert Thornby] and William Wolbert. Don’t these names carry you back to the nickelodeon days, though? With Wolbert he filmed “Money Magic” and “Aladdin from Broadway” and then he hooked up with William Duncan for a long time period, during which he filmed “Dead Shot Baker” and “The Tenderfoot” and five serials — “Vengeance and the Woman,” “The Fight for Millions,” “The Man of Might,” “Smashing Barriers” and one other.

He then signed up with Vitagraph where he still is, his present assignment being with Director Ensminger. At Vitagraph Mr. Smith has photographed among other productions “The Purple Rider,” a serial starring Joe Ryan; “The Black Soviet,” “Breaking Through,” a serial; “Blue Bell,” “A Flower of the North,” direction of David Smith, and the seven reel special feature, “The Son of Wallingford” and under direction of Mr. and Mrs. George Randolph Chester.

Mr. Smith is probably the champion serial photographer of the world, but the total number is not given here because the latest returns are not in, and shooting serials is a strenuous life.

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Collection: American Cinematographer, February 1922

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