F. Percy Smith

F. Percy Smith

A distinguished pioneer of scientific filmmaking, Percy Smith was born in London in 1880. Working as a clerk at the Board of Education, Percy began to photograph the natural world around him, nursing a lifelong fascination with all manner of plant and animal life.  His close-up photograph of a bluebottle's tongue caught the attention of film entrepreneur Charles Urban, who quickly began to exhibit Percy's work in London theatres. After the considerable success of sequences such as The Balancing Bluebottle, where he recorded flies juggling, Percy finally joined Urban as a full-time filmmaker in 1910.  Before the outbreak of the First World War, Percy completed over fifty nature films for the Urban Sciences series including, in 1910, the famous piece,  The Birth of a Flower. An early example of stop-motion photography, the film was hugely popular. Meticulously researching his subjects, Percy devised ingenious ways to film slow-growing plant life - modifying his equipment with gramophone needles, candle wicks and other assorted objects, allowing him to continue filming plant movement even as he slept.  In 1911 his study,  The Strength and Agility of Insects sparked a huge press debate - detailing a range of insects as they lift tiny dumbbells, twirl matchsticks and juggle objects much heavier than themselves he had to dispel rumours of trickery and cruelty by revealing his innovative filming techniques.  Percy went on to serve as a naval photographer during the War and, upon his return, began work for British Instructional Films (BIF). Contributing to the company's widely acclaimed  Secrets of Nature series he worked on numerous films, including An Aquarium in a Wineglass (1926), The Home Wrecker (1929) and Magic Myxies (1931). He continued to work on the project in the 1930s when it became known as Secrets of Life and in 1939 published Secrets of Nature, a review of the filming techniques used throughout the series.  (via wildfilmhistory.org)

  • Title: F. Percy Smith
  • Popularity: 1.543
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1880-01-12
  • Place of Birth: London, England
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Percy Smith
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F. Percy Smith Movies

  • 1910
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    The Acrobatic Fly

    The Acrobatic Fly

    6.1 1910 HD

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  • 1910
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    The Birth of a Flower

    The Birth of a Flower

    6.6 1910 HD

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  • 1909
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    To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly

    To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly

    2 1909 HD

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  • 1911
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    The Strength and Agility of Insects

    The Strength and Agility of Insects

    6 1911 HD

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  • 1927
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    The Plants of the Pantry

    The Plants of the Pantry

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1931
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    The World in a Wine-Glass

    The World in a Wine-Glass

    1 1931 HD

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  • 1931
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    The World in a Wine-Glass

    The World in a Wine-Glass

    1 1931 HD

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  • 1931
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    Magic Myxies

    Magic Myxies

    1 1931 HD

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  • 1908
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    Story of the Silk Moth

    Story of the Silk Moth

    1 1908 HD

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  • 1932
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    Romance in a Pond

    Romance in a Pond

    1 1932 HD

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  • 1933
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    Brewster's Magic

    Brewster's Magic

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1933
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    Brewster's Magic

    Brewster's Magic

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1932
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    Romance in a Pond

    Romance in a Pond

    1 1932 HD

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  • 1926
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    The Battle of the Plants

    The Battle of the Plants

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1927
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    Floral Co-operative Societies

    Floral Co-operative Societies

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1927
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    Floral Co-operative Societies

    Floral Co-operative Societies

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1930
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    Peas and Cues

    Peas and Cues

    6 1930 HD

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  • 1930
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    Peas and Cues

    Peas and Cues

    6 1930 HD

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  • 1929
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    Scarlet Runner & Co

    Scarlet Runner & Co

    1 1929 HD

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  • 1929
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    Scarlet Runner & Co

    Scarlet Runner & Co

    1 1929 HD

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  • 1930
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    The Strangler

    The Strangler

    5 1930 HD

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  • 1933
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    Gathering Moss

    Gathering Moss

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1933
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    Gathering Moss

    Gathering Moss

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1945
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    Fresh As a Daisy

    Fresh As a Daisy

    1 1945 HD

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  • 1925
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    Tale of a Tendril

    Tale of a Tendril

    1 1925 HD

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  • 1938
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    The Tough 'un

    The Tough 'un

    1 1938 HD

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  • 1944
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    Memories

    Memories

    1 1944 HD

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  • 1930
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    The Strangler

    The Strangler

    5 1930 HD

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  • 1933
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    Amazing Maize

    Amazing Maize

    1 1933 HD

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  • 1926
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    The Battle of the Plants

    The Battle of the Plants

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1936
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    He Would a-Wooing Go

    He Would a-Wooing Go

    1 1936 HD

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  • 1909
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    To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly

    To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly

    2 1909 HD

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  • 1913
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    The Wonders of Harmonic Designing

    The Wonders of Harmonic Designing

    1 1913 HD

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  • 1936
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    Lupins

    Lupins

    1 1936 HD

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  • 1925
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    Tale of a Tendril

    Tale of a Tendril

    1 1925 HD

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  • 1932
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    Nature's Double Lifters

    Nature's Double Lifters

    1 1932 HD

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  • 1927
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    The Plants of the Pantry

    The Plants of the Pantry

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1942
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    The Life Cycle of the Newt

    The Life Cycle of the Newt

    1 1942 HD

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  • 1942
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    Overlooked

    Overlooked

    1 1942 HD

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  • 1942
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    Singing While They Work

    Singing While They Work

    1 1942 HD

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  • 1915
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    Fight for the Dardanelles

    Fight for the Dardanelles

    1 1915 HD

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  • 1915
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    Fight for the Dardanelles

    Fight for the Dardanelles

    1 1915 HD

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  • 1915
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    Fight for the Dardanelles

    Fight for the Dardanelles

    1 1915 HD

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  • 1936
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    Safety First

    Safety First

    1 1936 HD

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  • 2016
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    Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith

    Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith

    7.167 2016 HD

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  • 1943
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    The Life History of the Onion

    The Life History of the Onion

    1 1943 HD

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  • 1942
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    The Life Cycle of the Maize

    The Life Cycle of the Maize

    1 1942 HD

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  • 1943
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    The Life Cycle of the Pin Mould

    The Life Cycle of the Pin Mould

    1 1943 HD

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  • 1927
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    Plant Magic

    Plant Magic

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1927
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    The Story of a Glass of Water

    The Story of a Glass of Water

    1 1927 HD

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  • 1926
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    Seed Time

    Seed Time

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1929
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    The Frog

    The Frog

    1 1929 HD

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  • 1926
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    The Phantom

    The Phantom

    1 1926 HD

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  • 1930
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    Down Under

    Down Under

    1 1930 HD

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  • 1911
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    Varieties of Sweet Peas

    Varieties of Sweet Peas

    1 1911 HD

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  • 1925
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    Bertie's Cave

    Bertie's Cave

    1 1925 HD

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  • 1921
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    Nature's Handiwork

    Nature's Handiwork

    1 1921 HD

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  • 1910
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    The Birth of a Flower

    The Birth of a Flower

    6.6 1910 HD

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