1. Overview
Donald William Crisp, born George William Crisp (1882-1974), was an influential English film actor, producer, director, and screenwriter whose career spanned from the nascent silent film era into the 1960s. He is celebrated for his prolific acting career, which included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942 for his performance in How Green Was My Valley. Beyond his on-screen contributions, Crisp played a significant, albeit less visible, role in the economic landscape of early Hollywood as an adviser to the Bank of America, a major financier of the film industry. His life and career reflect the evolving social and economic dynamics of cinema, from its theatrical roots to its establishment as a global industry.
2. Early Life and Background
Donald Crisp's early life was marked by humble beginnings in London, though he later fabricated a more romanticized, Scottish origin story that persisted for decades.
2.1. Birth and Childhood
Donald Crisp was born George William Crisp on July 27, 1882, at 3 Clay Hall Road in Bow, London, England. He was the youngest of ten children, with four boys and six girls, born to Elizabeth (née Christy) and James Crisp, a laborer. He received his education locally and, by 1901, was living with his parents and working as a driver of a horse-drawn vehicle.
2.2. Education and Disputed Claims
Decades after his death, many of Crisp's claims about his early life were proven false. He frequently asserted that he was born in 1880 in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, and even maintained a Scottish accent throughout his career in Hollywood to support this fabrication. Despite having no actual connections to Scotland, a plaque commemorating him was unveiled in Aberfeldy in 1996 by Scottish comedian Jimmy Logan, based on Crisp's false claims.
Crisp also made various other unsupported assertions about his family and education. He claimed on different occasions that his father was a cattle farmer, a country doctor, or even a royal physician to King Edward VII. Furthermore, he stated that he was educated at prestigious institutions such as Eton and Oxford. He also falsely claimed to have served as a trooper in the 10th Hussars during the Second Boer War. These fabrications highlight Crisp's tendency to embellish his background, perhaps to enhance his persona in the burgeoning film industry.
3. Early Career
Crisp's initial foray into the entertainment industry began in theatre and opera before he transitioned into the burgeoning world of filmmaking, where he quickly made his mark.
3.1. Theatre and Entry into Hollywood
In July 1906, while traveling to the United States aboard the SS Carmania, Donald Crisp's singing talent was noticed during a ship's concert by opera impresario John C. Fisher. Fisher immediately offered him a position with his company. Crisp spent his first year in New York City performing at the Grand Opera and the subsequent year working as a stage director. It was during a tour with Fisher's company across the United States and Cuba that Crisp developed a keen interest in the theatre.
By 1910, Crisp, who had adopted the name Donald (retaining George as a middle name), was working as a stage manager for the renowned entertainer, composer, playwright, and director George M. Cohan. During this period, he met and befriended film director D.W. Griffith. When Griffith decided to seek opportunities in Hollywood in 1912, Crisp accompanied him, marking his entry into the film industry.
3.2. Early Film Work
From 1908 to 1930, in addition to his extensive directing work, Crisp appeared in nearly 100 silent films. While many of these roles were bit or small parts, he had several notable early appearances. One significant role was his casting by D.W. Griffith as General Ulysses S. Grant in Griffith's landmark 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. Another prominent role was in Griffith's 1919 film Broken Blossoms, where he portrayed "Battling Burrows," the brutal and abusive father of the film's heroine, Lucy Burrows, played by Lillian Gish. Crisp's first credited directorial effort, Little Country Mouse, was made in 1914, demonstrating his early dual career path in the industry.
4. Directing Career
Donald Crisp's career as a film director was substantial, though it eventually gave way to his acting pursuits. He learned extensively from his mentor, D.W. Griffith, an early master of film storytelling who pioneered techniques such as cross cutting in editing. This experience ignited Crisp's own passion for directing.
His first directing credit was for the film Little Country Mouse, released in 1914. During this era, it was common for directors and actors to work on a dozen or more films in a single year. Over the next fifteen years, Crisp directed approximately 70 films. Among his most notable directorial works are The Navigator (1924), which he co-directed with Buster Keaton, and Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), starring Douglas Fairbanks.
Crisp eventually decided to cease directing and return to acting full-time. He later explained that directing had become extremely burdensome due to frequent demands from studio chiefs to employ their relatives in his films, a practice he found wearisome. His final directorial effort was the 1930 film The Runaway Bride.
5. Military Service
Donald Crisp's life included periods of military service alongside his burgeoning film career. During the First World War (1914-1918), he returned to the United Kingdom and served in British army intelligence. After becoming an American citizen in 1930, he continued his military involvement. During the Second World War (1939-1945), Crisp served in the United States Army Reserve, where he attained the rank of colonel.
6. Acting Career
Following the advent of sound films, Donald Crisp transitioned from directing to dedicate himself entirely to acting after 1930, becoming a highly sought-after character actor.
6.1. Transition to Sound Films and Character Acting
With the rise of "talkies" in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Crisp made a strategic shift in his career, abandoning directing to focus solely on acting. This decision proved successful, as he quickly established himself as a versatile and in-demand character actor. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he appeared in a wide array of roles, sharing the screen with many of the era's biggest stars.
Crisp's versatility allowed him to portray a diverse range of characters, from lovable father figures and charming old codgers to sinister and tormented individuals. This ability to embody both benevolent and dark roles contributed to his widespread appeal.
6.2. Notable Roles and Academy Award Win
Crisp's extensive filmography as an actor includes numerous memorable performances across various genres. He appeared alongside Katharine Hepburn in The Little Minister (1934) and A Woman Rebels (1936), and with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). He also featured with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda in That Certain Woman (1937) and Jezebel (1938). Other significant roles include his work with Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights (1939), Errol Flynn in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Charge of the Light Brigade, and The Sea Hawk (1940), and Gregory Peck in The Valley of Decision (1945).
His performances in classic films such as National Velvet (1944) and Lassie Come Home (1943), where he often played loving father figures, contrasted with his well-received portrayal of Commander Beach, the tormented presumptive grandfather, in Lewis Allen's 1944 film The Uninvited.
Undoubtedly, Crisp's most iconic role was as Gwilym Morgan, the taciturn but loving father in John Ford's 1941 film How Green Was My Valley. This film garnered ten Oscar nominations and won five, including Best Picture. For his powerful performance, Donald Crisp received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942, marking the pinnacle of his acting career.
7. Hollywood Power Broker
Donald Crisp was a highly active and crucial liaison between the burgeoning film industry and external financial interests. His extensive background in business, military service, and entertainment, including his experience as a production and studio executive, uniquely positioned him for this role.
He became an invaluable adviser whose clear-headed, forward-thinking approach proved essential to the Bank of America. For many years, the Bank of America was a primary source of working capital for the film industry, which heavily relied on loans for its operations. Crisp served on the bank's advisory board for several decades, even holding a stint as its chairman. In this influential capacity, he had direct access to the bank's board of directors. Many films financed by the bank during the 1930s and 1940s received their most critical approval from Crisp, underscoring his significant, behind-the-scenes impact on the economic structures of Hollywood.
8. Personal Life
Donald Crisp was married three times throughout his life. His first marriage was in 1912 to actress Helen Pease. Their marriage was brief, as she passed away the following year. In 1917, he married Marie Stark, but their union ended in divorce in 1920. Marie Stark later continued her acting career in silent films under the name Marie Crisp. His third marriage was in 1932 to film screenwriter Jane Murfin. This marriage lasted until their divorce in 1944.
9. Later Years and Legacy
Donald Crisp's later years saw him continue his prolific career, accumulate significant wealth, and eventually retire from acting, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the film industry.
9.1. Continued Work and Retirement
Crisp continued to appear in films throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s. Over more than half a century as an actor, he participated in as many as 400 two-reel and feature-length productions, and possibly even more. The actor John Carradine, who himself had over 500 film credits (though the Internet Movie Database records over 300 for him), once told his son Keith Carradine that only Donald Crisp had appeared in more movies. Crisp's final screen role was as Grandpa Spencer, alongside his former co-stars Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, in the 1963 film Spencer's Mountain. This film, adapted from the novel by Earl Hamner, Jr., later served as the basis for the popular 1970s television series The Waltons.
Crisp was in his eighties when he finally retired from acting. He continued working long after it was financially necessary, simply because he enjoyed it. He was a staunch Republican and actively campaigned for Thomas Dewey in 1944.
9.2. Death and Burial
Donald Crisp passed away in 1974, just a few months shy of his 92nd birthday. His death was attributed to complications arising from a series of strokes. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
9.3. Honors and Recognition
On February 8, 1960, Donald Crisp was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his significant contributions to the motion pictures industry. His star is located at 1628 Vine Street. Beyond this specific recognition, Crisp left behind an extensive list of contributions to the film industry, which he worked to promote for over fifty years, solidifying his legacy as one of the premier character actors and influential figures of his era.
10. Filmography
Donald Crisp's extensive career encompassed both acting and directing, contributing to a vast number of films across various genres and eras of cinema.
10.1. Actor
- The French Maid (1908, Short)
- Through the Breakers (1909, Short) as At the Club
- Sunshine Sue (1910, Short) as Head of Sweatshop
- A Plain Song (1910, Short) as at station
- A Child's Stratagem (1910, Short) as policeman
- The Golden Supper (1910, Short) as courtier (uncredited)
- Winning Back His Love (1910, Short) as at stage door
- The Two Paths (1911, Short) as footman
- Heart Beats of Long Ago (1911, Short) as courtier
- What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911, Short) as bailiff
- The Lily of the Tenements (1911, Short)
- A Decree of Destiny (1911, Short) as at the club / at the wedding
- The White Rose of the Wilds (1911, Short)
- Her Awakening (1911, Short) as accident witness
- The Primal Call (1911, Short)
- Out from the Shadow (1911, Short) at a dance
- The Making of a Man (1911, Short) as actor / backstage
- The Long Road (1911, Short) as a servant / the landlord
- The Battle (1911, Short) as a Union soldier
- The Miser's Heart (1911, Short) as a policeman
- The Italian Barber (1911, Short) as at ball
- Help Wanted (1911, Short) as in corridor
- Fate's Turning (1911, Short) as a valet
- The Poor Sick Men (1911, Short) as policeman
- A Wreath of Orange Blossoms (1911, Short) as servant
- Conscience (1911, Short) as policeman
- In the Days of '49 (1911, Short)
- The Diving Girl (1911, Short) as a bather
- Swords and Hearts (1911, Short) as bushwacker
- The Squaw's Love (1911, Short) as Indian
- The Adventures of Billy (1911, Short) as first tramp
- The Failure (1911, Short) as employer
- The Eternal Mother (1912, Short) as in-field
- The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912, Short) as rival gang member
- The Inner Circle (1912, Short)
- Pirate Gold (1913, Short)
- Near to Earth (1913, Short)
- The Sheriff's Baby (1913, Short)
- Olaf-An Atom (1913, Short) as the beggar
- The Mothering Heart (1913, Short) (unconfirmed)
- Two Men of the Desert (1913, Short)
- Black and White (1913, Short)
- The Battle of the Sexes (1914) as Frank Andrews
- The Great Leap; Until Death Do Us Part (1914)
- Home, Sweet Home (1914) as the mother's son
- The Escape (1914) as "Bull" McGee
- The Folly of Anne (1914, Short)
- The Sisters (1914, Short)
- The Mysterious Shot (1914, Short) as Buck
- The Stiletto (1914, Short) as Angelino
- The Mountain Rat (1914, Short) as Steve
- Ashes of the Past (1914, Short)
- The Different Man (1914, Short) as ranch farmer
- The Miniature Portrait (1914, Short)
- The Soul of Honor (1914, Short)
- The Newer Woman (1914, Short)
- Their First Acquaintance (1914, Short)
- The Birthday Present (1914, Short) as the burglar
- The Weaker Strain (1914, Short)
- The Avenging Conscience (1914) as Minor Role (uncredited)
- The Idiot (1914, Short)
- The Tavern of Tragedy (1914, Short) as spy, Bob Jameson
- Her Mother's Necklace (1914, Short) as the burglar
- A Lesson in Mechanics (1914, Short)
- Down the Hill to Creditville (1914, Short)
- The Great God Fear (1914, Short) as Dick Stull
- His Mother's Trust (1914, Short) as Dr. Keene
- The Warning (1914, Short) as Mr. Edwards
- Another Chance (1914, Short) as The Tramp
- A Question of Courage (1914, Short)
- Over the Ledge (1914, Short)
- An Old Fashioned Girl (1915, Short)
- The Birth of a Nation (1915) as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
- The Love Route (1915) as Harry Marshall
- The Commanding Officer (1915) as Col. Archer
- May Blossom (1915) as Steve Harland
- The Foundling (1915) (scenes cut)
- A Girl of Yesterday (1915) as A. H. Monroe
- Ramona (1916) as Jim Farrar
- Intolerance (1916) as Extra (uncredited)
- Joan the Woman (1916)
- Broken Blossoms (1919) as Battling Burrows
- The Bonnie Brier Bush (1921; also directed) as Lachlan Campbell
- Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) as Don Sebastian
- The Black Pirate (1926) as MacTavish
- Stand and Deliver (1928) as London Club Member (uncredited)
- The River Pirate (1928) as Caxton
- The Viking (1928) as Leif Ericsson
- Trent's Last Case (1929) as Sigsbee Manderson
- The Pagan (1929) as Mr. Roger Slater
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1929) as Colonel Moran
- Scotland Yard (1930) as Charles Fox
- Svengali (1931) as The Laird
- Kick In (1931) as Police Commissioner Harvey
- A Passport to Hell (1932) as Sgt. Snyder
- Red Dust (1932) as Guidon, overseer
- Broadway Bad (1933) as Darrall
- The Crime Doctor (1934) as D.A. Mr. Anthony
- The Key (1934) as Peadar Conlan
- The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) as Mike Davey
- British Agent (1934) as Marshall O'Reilly (scenes cut)
- What Every Woman Knows (1934) as David Wylie
- The Little Minister (1934) as Doctor McQueen
- Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935) as George, the Inn Keeper
- Laddie (1935) as Mr. Pryor
- Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) as J.T. McCarter
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) as Burkitt
- The White Angel (1936) as Doctor Hunt
- Mary of Scotland (1936) as Huntly
- The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) as Col. Campbell
- A Woman Rebels (1936) as Judge Byron Thisthlewaite
- Beloved Enemy (1936) as Liam Burke
- The Great O'Malley (1937) as Captain Cromwell
- Parnell (1937) as Davitt
- The Life of Emile Zola (1937) as Maitre Labori
- Confession (1937) as Presiding Judge
- That Certain Woman (1937) as Jack Merrick, Sr.
- Sergeant Murphy (1938) as Col. Todd Carruthers
- Jezebel (1938) as Dr. Livingstone
- The Beloved Brat (1938) as John Morgan
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) as Police Inspector Lewis Lane
- Valley of the Giants (1938) as Andy Stone
- The Sisters (1938) as Tim Hazelton
- Comet Over Broadway (1938) as Joe Grant
- The Dawn Patrol (1938) as Phipps
- The Oklahoma Kid (1939) as Judge Hardwick
- Wuthering Heights (1939) as Dr. Kenneth
- Juarez (1939) as General Marechal Achille Bazaine
- Sons of Liberty (1939, Short) as Alexander MacDongall
- Daughters Courageous (1939) as Samuel 'Sam' Sloane
- The Old Maid (1939) as Dr. Lanshell
- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Francis Bacon
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) as Minister Althoff
- Brother Orchid (1940) as Brother Superior
- The Sea Hawk (1940) as Sir John Burleson
- City for Conquest (1940) as Scotty MacPherson
- Knute Rockne, All American (1940) as Father John Callahan
- Shining Victory (1941) as Dr. Drewitt
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) as Sir Charles Emery
- How Green Was My Valley (1941) as Gwilym Morgan
- The Gay Sisters (1942) as Ralph Pedloch
- Forever and a Day (1943) as Capt. Martin
- Lassie Come Home (1943) as Sam Carraclouch
- The Uninvited (1944) as Commander Beech
- The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) as J.B. Pond
- National Velvet (1944) as Mr. Herbert Brown
- Son of Lassie (1945) as Sam Carraclouch
- The Valley of Decision (1945) as William Scott
- Ramrod (1947) as Jim Crew
- Hills of Home (1948) as Drumsheugh
- Whispering Smith (1948) as Barney Rebstock
- Challenge to Lassie (1949) as John "Jock" Gray
- Bright Leaf (1950) as Mayor James Singleton
- Home Town Story (1951) as John MacFarland
- Prince Valiant (1954) as King Aguar
- The Long Gray Line (1955) as Old Martin
- The Man from Laramie (1955) as Alec Waggoman
- Drango (1957) as Judge Allen
- Saddle the Wind (1958) as Dennis Deneen
- The Last Hurrah (1958) as Cardinal Martin Burke
- A Dog of Flanders (1959) as Jehan Daas
- Pollyanna (1960) as Mayor Karl Warren
- Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961) as James Brown
- Spencer's Mountain (1963) as Grandpa Zubulon Spencer (final film role)
10.2. Director
- Her Father's Silent Partner (1914, Short)
- Ramona (1916)
- Rimrock Jones (1918)
- Believe Me, Xantippe (1918)
- The Goat (1918)
- Johnny Get Your Gun (1919)
- Love Insurance (1919)
- Why Smith Left Home (1919)
- It Pays to Advertise (1919)
- Too Much Johnson (1919)
- The Six Best Cellars (1920)
- Miss Hobbs (1920)
- Held by the Enemy (1920)
- Appearances (1921)
- The Princess of New York (1921)
- The Bonnie Brier Bush (1921; also acted)
- Tell Your Children (1922)
- The Navigator (1924) (co-directed with Buster Keaton)
- Ponjola (1924) (co-directed with James Young)
- Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925; also acted)
- Young April (1926)
- Dress Parade (1927)
- Nobody's Widow (1927)
- The Cop (1928)
- The Runaway Bride (1930)