Allan Dwan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Allan Dwan
Dwan in 1920
Born	Joseph Aloysius Dwan (1885-04-03)April 3, 1885 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 28, 1981(1981-12-28) (aged 96) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Film director Film producer Screenwriter
Years active	1911–1961; 1980
Spouse(s)	Pauline Bush (1915–1919) Marie Shelton (1927–1949)

Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a very important Canadian-American film director, producer, and writer. He was a pioneer in the early days of movies.

Early Life of Allan Dwan

Allan Dwan was born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Canada, on April 3, 1885. When he was seven years old, his family moved to the United States. This happened on December 4, 1892, when they took a ferry from Windsor to Detroit.

Allan Dwan studied engineering at the University of Notre Dame. After college, he worked for a lighting company in Chicago. He became very interested in the new movie industry. When Essanay Studios offered him a job writing movie scripts, he took it.

Around this time, some movie makers from the East Coast started spending winters in California. The warm weather there allowed them to keep making movies all year. In 1911, Dwan began working part-time in Hollywood. In 1917, he helped start the East Coast branch of the Motion Picture Directors Association.

Allan Dwan's Film Career

Allan Dwan started directing movies by accident in 1911. His employers sent him to California to find a film company that had disappeared. Dwan found the company, but they were waiting for their director to come back. Dwan told his employers in Chicago about the problem. He suggested they close the company. Instead, they told Dwan to direct the film himself!

Dwan then ran Flying A Studios in La Mesa, California, from August 1911 to July 1912. Flying A was one of the first movie studios in California's history. On August 12, 2011, a special plaque was put up in La Mesa. It honors Dwan and the start of Flying A Studios there.

After making many westerns and comedies, Dwan directed famous actors. He worked with Canadian-American Mary Pickford in several successful movies. He also directed her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, in the well-known 1922 film Robin Hood. Dwan also directed Gloria Swanson in eight feature films. He even made a short sound film with her in 1925.

When "talkies" (movies with sound) became popular, Dwan directed child star Shirley Temple. He directed her in Heidi (1937) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).

Dwan also helped other directors start their careers. These included Victor Fleming, who later directed The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. He also helped Marshall Neilan, who became an actor, director, and writer.

Over his long career, which lasted almost 50 years, Dwan directed 125 movies. Some of his films were very popular, like the 1949 hit Sands of Iwo Jima. He directed his last movie in 1961.

In 1980, Dwan was one of the last living pioneers of cinema. He was interviewed for a documentary series called Hollywood.

Allan Dwan passed away in Los Angeles at age 96. He is buried in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard.

Film expert Daniel Eagan said that Dwan was one of the first important people in movies. He noted that Dwan's directing style was simple but that he showed his characters with great understanding.

Partial Filmography as Director

See Also

In Spanish: Allan Dwan para niños

• Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood