Alfred E. Green

One of the more prolific American directors, 'Alfred E. Green' (qv) entered films in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Co. He became an assistant to director 'Colin Campbell' (qv) and started directing two-reelers, turning to features in 1917. His career lasted into the mid-1950s but his output was mostly routine, though there were some gems among them. A solid, dependable journeyman, not given to flashy directorial touches, he was picked by 'Mary Pickford' (qv) to direct quite a few of her pictures in the 1920s, and he guided 'Wallace Reid' (qv) and 'Colleen Moore' (qv) in several of their bigger hits. He directed 'Bette Davis' (qv) in her Oscar-winning performance in _Dangerous (1935)_ (qv) and was responsible for the commercial and critical success of _The Jolson Story (1946)_ (qv). That film, however, was followed by a string of routine B pictures.Green had suffered for many years from arthritis, which got worse as he got older. In an interview, producer 'Albert Zugsmith' (qv) recalled that during the filming of _Top Banana (1954)_ (qv) Green was so crippled by the disease that he was seldom able to move from the director's chair.He made his last feature in 1954 and spent the remainder of his career directing episodic TV series.::frankfob2@yahoo.com