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James Williamson

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Filmmaker

The Resume

    (November 8, 1855-August 18, 1933)
    Born in Pathhead, Scotland
    Silent film producer/writer/director
    Film credits include ‘The Clown Barber,’ ‘Attack on a China Mission,’ ‘The Big Swallow,’ ‘Fire! (1901)’ ‘Stop Thief!’ ‘The Little Match Seller,’ ‘An Interesting Story,’ ‘Our New Errand Boy,’ ‘Flying the Foam and Some Fancy Diving,’ and ‘100-Pound Reward’
    Namesake for the Williamson Kinematographic Company (creator of the photo-finish camera)

Why he might be annoying:

    One of his films gave the world the very first documented example of the ‘lens in the mouth’ effect (and its inversion).
    He had little issue with nepotism in his works.
    On the cusp of the First World War, he returned to production with a newsreel service — which shut down just after the outbreak.
    If not for his association with a stage hypnotist and psychic – who just happened to develop the Kinemacolor film process – he might have been just another forgotten chemist.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Starting out as an apprentice to a chemist, he would eventually establish his own pharmacy.
    Despite his nepotism, he was just as willing to be in front of the camera himself.
    Having produced and directed all of them, he was the writer of 20 of his 28 selected works.
    Remember those intertitles often associated with silent films? He invented the device that made it possible (1908).
    He also patented a projector capable of inserting slide titles into their films (think a contemporary PowerPoint presentation).

Credit: Cool It All Right?


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying