by
Kristen Hatch
Rose Smith edited a number of D.W. Griffith’s films. According to the Los Angeles Times in 1925, Rose Smith had “been a cutter for D.W. Griffith since her little-girl days,” joining Griffith’s Biograph studio in New York and traveling with him to California (C2). Her husband, James Smith, became Griffith’s cutter at Biograph, and Rose appears to have joined him in the cutting room during the editing of Birth of a Nation (1915). Later sources often mention Jimmie Smith but not his wife Rose.
Still from Intolerance (1916). Rose Smith (e).
Way Down East (1920). Rose Smith (e).
See also: Hettie Grey Baker, Anne Bauchens, Margaret Booth, Winifred Dunn, Katherine Hilliker, Viola Lawrence, Jane Loring, Irene Morra, Blanche Sewell
Bibliography
The bibliography for this essay is included in the “Cutting Women: Margaret Booth and Hollywood’s Pioneering Female Film Editors” overview essay.
Filmography
A. Archival Filmography: Extant Film Titles:
1. Rose Smith as Editor or Co-Editor
The Birth of a Nation. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith and Frank E. Woods, st.: Thomas Dixon, ed.: James Smith, Rose Smith (David W. Griffith Corp./Griffith Feature Films US 1915) cas.: Lillian Gish, Henry Walthall, Mae Marsh, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Bulgarska Nacionalna Filmoteka, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cinemateca Brasileira, Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna, Danske Filminstitut, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Cineteca del Friuli, Deutsches Filminstitut, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Filmoteka Narodowa, George Eastman Museum, Gosfilmofond, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Österreichisches Filmmuseum, Cinemateca Romana, Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinemateca Nacional de Angola, Norwegian Film Institute, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, Filmoteca Española, Deutsches Filminstitut, Svenska Filminstitutet, Harvard Film Archive, Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Cinémathèque Française.
Hearts of the World. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: M. Gaston de Tolignac, ed.: James Smith, Rose Smith (D. W. Griffith/Artcraft Pictures Corp. US 1918) cas: Lillian Gish, Robert Harron. si, b&w. Archive: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cinemateca Brasileira, Cineteca del Friuli, Museum of Modern Aart [USM], BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Cinemateca Romana, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, George Eastman Museum, Harvard Film Archive, Cinémathèque Française, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Lobster Films.
Intolerance. Dir./sc.: D. W. Griffith, ed.: D.W. Griffith, James Smith, Rose Smith (D.W. Griffith, Inc./Wark Producing Corp./ Triangle Film Corp. US 1920) cas: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron. si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Bulgarska Nacionalna Filmoteka, Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Svenska Filminstitutet , National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Cineteca del Friuli, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Filmoteka Narodowa, George Eastman Museum, Gosfilmofond, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Österreichisches Filmmuseum, Cineteca Nazionale, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinemateca Romana, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, Filmoteca Española, Harvard Film Archive, Library and Archives Canada, Danske Filminstitut, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Anthology Film Archives, Lobster Films.
Way Down East. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: Anthony Paul Kelly, ed.: James Smith, Rose Smith (D.W. Griffith, Inc. US 1920) cas.: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cineteca del Friuli, Filmoteka Narodowa, George Eastman Museum, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Gosfilmofond, Cineteca Nazionale, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinemateca Romana, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Danske Filminstitut, Svenska Filminstitutet, Harvard Film Archive, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
Orphans of the Storm. Dir: D.W. Griffith, sc. Marquis de Trolignac, ed.: James Smith, Rose Smith (D.W. Griffith, Inc. US 1921) cas: Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish. si, b&w. Archive: Bulgarska Nacionalna Filmoteka, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Svenska Filminstitutet , Filmoteka Narodowa, Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Gosfilmofond, Cineteca Nazionale, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinemateca Romana, Cinémathèque Québécoise, George Eastman Museum, Academy Film Archive, Filmoteca Española, BFI National Archive, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
America. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: John L. E. Pell, Robert W. Chambers, ed.: Rose Smith, James Smith (D.W. Griffith, Inc. US 1924) cas.: Neil Hamilton, Erville Alderson, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive, Gosfilmofond, Cineteca Nazionale, Cinemateca Romana, Academy Film Archive, Danske Filminstitut, Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Lobster Films.
2. Rose Smith as Continuity
Dream Street. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: Roy Sinclair, cont.: Rose Smith (D.W. Griffith, Inc. US 1921) cas.: Carol Dempster, Ralph Graves, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cineteca del Friuli, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Gosfilmofond, Lobster Films.
Credit Report
While the AFI index does not list editors on the following titles, it does state that modern sources list Rose Smith as editor or coeditor on Intolerance, The Birth of a Nation, and Hearts of the World.
Citation
Hatch, Kristen. "Rose Smith." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-vqh1-0a87>
