Frederick Alan Crosland (August 10, 1894 – July 16, 1936) was an American director, best known for making Don Juan (1926), the first feature with synchronized soundtrack, and The Jazz Singer (1927), the first feature with spoken dialogue.
Born in New York City, New York to a well-to-do family, Crosland attended Dartmouth College.
After graduation, he took a job as writer for the New York Globe magazine.
He then began acting on stage, appearing in several productions with the Shakespearian actress Annie Russell.
Crosland strated his screen career in 1912 at the Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York, where he worked at various jobs before directing short films.
In 1920, he directed Olive Thomas in The Flapper, one of her final films before her death (in September of that year).
In 1925, Crosland was working for the production company Famous Players–Lasky (later Paramount Pictures) when he was hired by Warner Bros.
He directed several silent films for Warner, including Don Juan, starring John Barrymore, in 1926. It was the first feature with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it had no spoken dialogue.
He is best known for The Jazz Singer (1927), the first of the new talkies that changed the course of film history.
Crosland died in 1936, at the age of 41, as a result of car accident on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Sound Films
The Jazz Singer (1927)
Glorious Betsy (1928)
The Scarlet Lady (1928)
On with the Show (1929)
General Crack (1929)
The Furies (1930)
Song of the Flame (1930)
Big Boy (1930)
Viennese Nights (1930)
Captain Thunder (1930)
Children of Dreams (1931)
The Silver Lining (1932)
Week Ends Only (1932)
Massacre (1934)
The Personality Kid (1934)
Midnight Alibi (1934)
The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
The White Cockatoo (1935)
It Happened in New York (1935)
Mister Dynamite (1935)
Lady Tubbs (1935)
King Solomon of Broadway (1935)
The Great Impersonation (1935)
The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
