About Phillips Smalley
Lived 1875 – 1939 (aged 63). Phillips Smalley was an American film director, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.
Wendell Phillips Smalley (August 7, 1865 – May 2, 1939 ) was an American silent film director and actor.
Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the grandson of Wendell Phillips; he was the son of George Washburn Smalley, a war correspondent, and his wife Phoebe Garnaut, adopted by Phillips. He enrolled at Balliol College, Oxford in 1886.
Smalley began his career in vaudeville and acted in more than 200 film
between 1910 and his death in 1939. He began directing in 1911 and made more than 300 films by 1921.
Smalley was married to actress, writer, director, and producer Lois Weber from April 29, 1904, to 1922. They met in 1904 when Weber was acting in a theater where Smalley was stage manager. In 1908 Smalley and Weber began working for the U.S. division of Gaumont Film Company, where Smalley was an actor, and later a director. He is sometimes listed as a co-director with Lois Weber, and the extent of his contribution to her work is unresolved.
After their divorce in 1922, he married Phyllis Lorraine Ephlin, and they remained together until his death.
Selected filmography
Leaves in the Storm (1912) The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913) Will Power (1913) Suspense (1913) The Merchant of Venice (1914) Jewel (1915) Where Are My Children? (1916) The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) The Double Standard (1917) For Husbands Only (1918) Forbidden (1919) When a Girl Loves (1919) Too Wise Wives (1921) Trimmed in Scarlet (1923) Cameo Kirby (1923) Flaming Youth (1923) The Self-Made Wife (1923) Temptation (1923) Single Wives (1924) Daughters of Today (1924) The Fate of a Flirt (1925) Charley's Aunt (1925) Stella Maris (1925) Wandering Footsteps (1925) Wasted Lives (1925) Soul Mates (1925) Queen o'Diamonds (1926) The Taxi Mystery (1926) The Midnight Sun (1926) The Broken Gate (1927) Sensation Seekers (1927) The Irresistible Lover (1927) Stage Kisses (1927) Man Crazy (1927) The Dice Woman (1928) Sinners in Love (1928) Romance of the Underworld (1928) Honeymoon Flats (1928) High Voltage (1929) The Racketeer (1929) The Aviator (1929) The Midnight Special (1930) High Stakes (1931) The Lawless Woman (1931) New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford (1931) Escapade (1932) The Face on the Barroom Floor (1932) Cocktail Hour (1933) Secret Sinners (1933) The Quitter (1934) It's in the Air (1935) A Day at the Races (1937) Second Honeymoon (1937) Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937) The Lady Objects (1938)
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Phillips Smalley's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Phillips Smalley's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Phillips Smalley?
American actor and film director (1875–1939)
When was Phillips Smalley born?
Phillips Smalley was born on 7 August 1875 in Brooklyn.
When did Phillips Smalley die?
Phillips Smalley died on 2 May 1939 in Hollywood.
What was Phillips Smalley's occupation?
Phillips Smalley was a film director, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.
What nationality was Phillips Smalley?
Phillips Smalley was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Phillips Smalley. https://biography.guide/phillips-smalley/
MLA: "Phillips Smalley." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/phillips-smalley/.
Chicago: "Phillips Smalley." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/phillips-smalley/.
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