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Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Born in Cleveland, Ohio where he secured his first professional engagement in 1900. He spent eleven years on the stage on Broadway then joined the Edison Company. Apfel first directed for the Edison Company (Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) in 1911-12, where he made the innovative short film The Passer-By (1912). In 1913, he became one of two main directors for the Jesse L. Lasky... MORE

Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Born in Cleveland, Ohio where he secured his first professional engagement in 1900. He spent eleven years on the stage on Broadway then joined the Edison Company. Apfel first directed for the Edison Company (Thomas A. Edison, Inc.) in 1911-12, where he made the innovative short film The Passer-By (1912). In 1913, he became one of two main directors for the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, the other being Cecil B. DeMille. Apfel's directorial collaboration with DeMille was a crucial element in the development of DeMille's filmmaking technique. Apfel is often creditied as being one of the first men (along with DeMille) to bring Hollywood, then known as Hollywoodland, to the world stage. Legend has it that the two filmmakers were scouting for a location to shoot The Squaw Man (1914) in Flagstaff, Arizona. However, the conspicuously snow-capped mountains contradicted the picture's sweltering western setting. So they climbed aboard a train and headed west. Eventually they LESS