REX INGRAM BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Rex Ingram, the Irish director, not African American actor of the same name, was born Reginald Ingram Montgomery Hitchcock on January 15, 1892. The son of the Church of Ireland rector, Ingram and his family relocated to the United States in 1911. He first studied sculpture at the Yale University School of Art, but soon after decided to delve into film. He started out as a set designer and painter. In 1913 Ingram began acting, his debut being in “Beau Brummel” (1913), although his stage name was Rex Hitchcock.  Soon after, he dove into writing. His first effort was “The Family Honor” (1913). One year following, Ingram also added director to his repertoire with “The Symphony of Souls” (1914). Producer was added to the Renaissance man’s list beginning with “The Great Problem” (1915), which he additionally wrote and directed. During his career, he worked under Edison Studios, Fox Film Corporation, Vitagraph Studios, and MGM, mostly turning out supernatural and action flicks. He served as director most often, followed by writer, actor, and then producer.

Furthermore, Ingram was usually unimpressed by American writing, thus he worked with many foreign writers such as Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, with whom he helped launch Rudolph Valentino’s star with his role in their “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (1921). The director’s next huge hit was the epic “Ben-Hur” (1925), in which parts were even filmed on location in Italy. However, the director was not well loved in Hollywood, as he would not succumb to tight budgets and rushed deadlines. Consequently, in 1925 he moved to the French Riviera, forming a quaint studio in Nice. He then filmed a number of pictures on location, as well in places like Spain, North Africa, and Italy for an assortment of production companies. While his products were artistic masterpieces, beautifully crafted and richly toned with a dreamlike quality, they turned out to be commercial failures. Such features as “Mare Nostrum” (1926) and “The Magician” (1926) were visually pleasing, but flopped when it came to plot, as they were disorganized and confusing.

As well, Ingram was not a fan of sound pictures, as he was best at the aesthetics of a piece. His sole talkie was the Moroccan filmed Gaumont British Pictures movie “Baroud” (1932) (also released as “Love in Morocco” in 1933). It, as I’m sure he suspected it would be as he had always strayed from sound, was a complete dud. The director’s fail pushed him to retirement, and he spent his last years in Los Angeles, California as a sculptor and writer of two novels, Mars in the House of Death and The Legion Advances. Ingram passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage on July 21, 1950. Due to his imaginative and artistically skillful motion pictures, he was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.     

Filmography 

1933       Love in Morocco

1932       Baroud 

1929       The Three Passions 

1929       L'évadée  

1927       The Garden of Allah

1926       Camille 

1926       The Magician 

1926       Mare Nostrum  

1926       The Magician

1925       Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

1924       The Arab 

1924       Greed  

1923       Scaramouche 

1923       Where the Pavement Ends

1922       Turn to the Right

1922       Trifling Women 

1922       The Prisoner of Zenda

1921       The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1921       The Conquering Power 

1920       Shore Acres

1920       Hearts Are Trumps

1920       Under Crimson Skies 

1919       The Day She Paid

1918       Humdrum Brown

1918       His Robe of Honor

1917       The Little Terror 

1917       The Flower of Doom 

1917       The Pulse of Life 

1917       The Reward of the Faithless 

1917       Black Orchids 

1916       The Great Problem

1916       The Chalice of Sorrow 

1916       Broken Fetters 

1915       The Galley Slave 

1915       A Woman's Past 

1915       Blindness of Devotion

1915       The Song of Hate

1915       The Wonderful Adventure 

1915       Should a Mother Tell

1915       Snatched from a Burning Death  

1915       The Evil Men Do

1914       The Symphony of Souls 

1914       The Moonshine Maid and the Man 

1914       Goodbye Summer 

1914       His Wedded Wife

1914       Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds 

1914       The Upper Hand 

1914       David Garrick 

1914       The Circus and the Boy 

1914       The Crime of Cain 

1914       Eve's Daughter  

1914       The Southerners 

1914       Her Great Scoop  

1914       The Spirit and the Clay

1914       The Borrowed Finery

1914       The Price of the Necklace 

1914       The Necklace of Rameses 

1914       The Witness to the Will

1913       The Family Honor  

1913       The Artist's Great Madonna

1913       Beau Brummel