by Hal Erickson
biography
Frank Hall Crane was primarily a stage actor when he began appearing in films like The Vicar of Wakefield in 1910. Crane's sporadic screenwriting career dates back at least to 1915's The Stolen Voice. His most active years as a director were between 1914 to 1918: during this period, he specialized in smoothing the ruffled feathers of such temperamental ladies as Mary Garden (Thais 1917), Olga Petrovka (Life Mask 1918) and Irene Castle (Vengeance is Mine 1918). His screen activities in the 1920s were less prestigious, though he did serve as a production assistant on the innovative silent melodrama The Bat (1926). Frank Hall Crane returned to acting in minor roles during the 1930s.
