Known For
Acting
Born
Jan 22, 1895
Died
Nov 25, 1957
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Credits
69 titles
Raymond Griffith
Biography
Raymond Griffith was one of the great silent movie comedians. Later in his career, he worked behind the camera as writer and producer. Griffith was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He lost his voice at an early age, causing him to speak for the rest of his life in a hoarse whisper. Griffith claimed that it was the result of his having to scream at the top of his lungs every night in a stage melodrama as a child actor —others have stated that a childhood disease was more likely the cause. Although a few comedy films of his are considered classics, Griffith is almost totally forgotten today. Many of his starring feature films have long since been lost, but probably the best known of his films today is Hands Up! (1926), a Civil War comedy feature directed by Clarence G. Badger, and co-starring Mack Swain, which was entered into the National Film Registry in 2005. Also considered a classic is Badger's Paths to Paradise, a caper film that is in all circulating prints missing its final reel. Like many silent comedians, he had a traditional costume; his was a top hat, white tie and tails, often augmented by a cape and/or walking stick. The coming of sound ended Griffith's acting career, but he did have one memorable role in a motion picture before retiring from the screen, playing a French soldier killed by Lew Ayres in the 1930 Lewis Milestone film All Quiet on the Western Front. He then segued into a writing/producing career at Twentieth Century Fox. Griffith choked to death at the Masquers Club in Los Angeles, California, aged 62, on November 25, 1957.
Known For
Filmography
Day-time Wife
Producer
Drums Along the Mohawk
Associate Producer
Hotel for Women
Producer
Three Blind Mice
Producer
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Associate Producer
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
Producer
Poor Little Rich Girl
Producer
Private Number
Associate Producer
Clive of India
Associate Producer
The Affairs of Cellini
Associate Producer
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Associate Producer
Born to Be Bad
Associate Producer
The House of Rothschild
Co-Producer
Blood Money
Associate Producer
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
Producer
Baby Face
Producer
Gold Diggers of 1933
Associate Producer
Picture Snatcher
Supervising Producer
Ladies They Talk About
Producer
Parachute Jumper
Supervising Producer
Three on a Match
Supervising Producer
Life Begins
Production Supervisor
The Rich Are Always with Us
Supervising Producer
Local Boy Makes Good
Adaptation
Girls About Town
Writer
Expensive Women
Writer
The Beloved Bachelor
Adaptation
Bought!
Writer
God's Gift to Women
Screenplay
All Quiet on the Western Front
Gérard Duval (uncredited)
The Sleeping Porch
Trent's Last Case
Philip Trent
Time to Love
Alfred Sava-Goiu
Wedding Bills
Algernon Schuyler Van Twidder
You'd Be Surprised
Mr. Green
Wet Paint
He
Hands Up!
Jack
He's a Prince!
Prince
Fine Clothes
Oscar
Paths to Paradise
The Dude from Duluth
The Night Club
Robert White
Forty Winks
Lord Chumley
Miss Bluebeard
Bertie Bird
Open All Night
Igor
Lily of the Dust
Karl Dehnecke
Changing Husbands
Bob Hamilton
Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model
Shorty Burchell
The Dawn of a Tomorrow
The Dandy
Poisoned Paradise
Martel
The Yankee Consul
Writer