Arthur Ripley(1897-1961)
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Arthur Ripley started his movie career as an apprentice at Kalem
Pictures and then worked for several studios, including Vitagraph and
Metro. By early 1920s he had become a gag writer for
Mack Sennett. In 1923 Sennett signed
vaudeville comic Harry Langdon and
gave his writers the job of developing something for Langdon's
character. Ripley and fellow Sennett gagman
Frank Capra created the perfect story lines
for the pantomime of Langdon and soon his two-reel comedies were hugely
popular. For the next few years Sennett cranked out film after film
with Langdon, written by Ripley and Capra and directed by
Harry Edwards. The last film on
the Sennett lot was
Saturday Afternoon (1926),
which was released as a three-reeler.
In 1926 Langdon left Sennett to form his own company, the Harry Langdon Corporation, and took Edwards, Capra and Ripley with him. The first picture they made together was Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926), which became a big hit. After one film Edwards left and Capra became director, although still writing with Ripley. Capra directed the next two films, The Strong Man (1926) and Long Pants (1927), and then he also departed, leaving Ripley as head writer and Langdon not only starring but taking over as director. Without Capra, however, the next three films flopped and Ripley was soon looking for another job. During the 1930s he would work as gag writer in a number of shorts, not unlike the job he held a decade before. He would also occasionally direct and in the 1940s he would add producer to his credits.
In 1926 Langdon left Sennett to form his own company, the Harry Langdon Corporation, and took Edwards, Capra and Ripley with him. The first picture they made together was Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926), which became a big hit. After one film Edwards left and Capra became director, although still writing with Ripley. Capra directed the next two films, The Strong Man (1926) and Long Pants (1927), and then he also departed, leaving Ripley as head writer and Langdon not only starring but taking over as director. Without Capra, however, the next three films flopped and Ripley was soon looking for another job. During the 1930s he would work as gag writer in a number of shorts, not unlike the job he held a decade before. He would also occasionally direct and in the 1940s he would add producer to his credits.
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