1862-????
Meyrick Milton, a relatively unknown silent film director, was born on this day in the Streatham area of London, England. He is known to have directed at least eight films (three of which he had a hand in writing) and directly producing one late silent film in 1928. His first known direction comes on the 1917 picture that his own production company bank rolled: The Profligate--a film that he adapted from the writing of Arthur Pinero. The fact that he was working through his own production company at this point, and given his age, it is reasonable to assume that he was involved with the British film industry before 1917. It is also quite possible that his directing skills were first learned in the theater. The films that are currently listed that he directed, span the years 1917 through 1925, with Die heiratsfähige Puppe being the last. That film was made for the German speaking market in Austria and similarly featured a cast that was mostly Austrian, but was again made for Milton Films (it was also another one of his own adaptations, sourced from a Maurice Ordonneau play). His production credit dates from 1928 and was made through British Gaumont. His House in Order was directed by Randle Ayrton and starred Tallulah Bankhead (it was a remake of a 1920 film by the same name directed by Hugh Ford, and both were based on another Pinero play). Milton has no other credits after 1928. Additionally there is no information as to what became of him, no death records can even be discovered in the few British documents that I've had the chance to look at. It also appears that none of his films have survived either.
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