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Rupert Julian

Rupert Julian

Director · Died December 27, 1943, aged 64 · Whangaroa, New Zealand

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rupert Julian (25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was the first New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. Born Thomas Percival Hayes in Whangaroa, New Zealand, Son of John Daly Hayes (JNR)and Eliza Harriet Hayes. Rupert Julian performed on stage and in film both in his native country and Australia before emigrating to the United States in 1911, where he started his career as an actor in Universal silent movies. He turned to directing in 1915, often directing his wife Elsie Jane Wilson, but his work was merely routine until he was assigned to complete Merry-Go-Round in 1923 when director Erich von Stroheim was fired from it. In 1924, he directed Lon Chaney in the first cut of The Phantom of the Opera, which was largely revisited at the request of the production. He soon fell into a professional decline after the advent of sound, and after directing The Cat Creeps and Love Comes Along (both in 1930), his career faded. Rupert Julian died in Hollywood, California at the age of 64 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rupert Julian, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 23, 1879
Died
December 27, 1943 (aged 64)
From
Whangaroa, New Zealand
Works as
Director
Titles
3 on MovieCove · 50 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 26% in 30 days

Where can I watch Rupert Julian's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on MGM+ (2).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Rupert Julian's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

50 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Cat Creeps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • Love Comes Along (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)

    Director

  • The Phantom of the Opera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    Director

  • Walking Back (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director · Editor · as Undetermined Appearance

  • The Leopard Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)

    Director

  • The Country Doctor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • The Yankee Clipper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    Director

  • Silence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director

  • Three Faces East (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Director · as The Kaiser

  • Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ(1925)

    as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Hell's Highroad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    Director

  • The Phantom of the Opera(1925)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Love and Glory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    Director

  • Merry-Go-Round(1923)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Girl Who Ran Wild (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    Director · Writer

  • The Honey Bee (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    Director · Scenario Writer

  • The Sleeping Lion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • The Fire Flingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · as Richard Hatton / Richard Olwell

  • Creaking Stairs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director · Story

  • The Millionaire Pirate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    Director

  • Fires of Youth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · Story

  • Midnight Madness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director

  • Hungry Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · as John Silver

  • Hands Down (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · as Tom Flynn

  • The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    Director · as The Kaiser

  • My Little Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Story

  • The Door Between (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Savage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Desire of the Moth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · as John Wesley Pringle

  • The Mysterious Mr. Tiller (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · as Prentice Tiller

  • Mother o' Mine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · Story · as John Standing

  • A Kentucky Cinderella (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · as John Silverwood

  • The Circus of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director

  • The Gift Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Director · as Malec

  • Alone in the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    Actor

  • The Right to Be Happy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Ebenezer Scrooge

  • The Bugler of Algiers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Pierre

  • The Evil Women Do (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Actor

  • Bettina Loved a Soldier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as Jean Reynaud

  • Naked Hearts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · Story · as Cecil

  • The Desperado (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    Director · as The Desperado

  • The Dumb Girl of Portici (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Masaniello

  • Jewel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Mr. Evringham

  • A Cigarette - That's All (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Bara Yami - the Hindoo Yogi

  • Scandal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Robert Gordon

  • The Pretty Sister of Jose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Sebastiano - the Toreador

  • The Lone Star Rush (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    Actor

  • The Pursuit of Hate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Actor

  • The Spider and Her Web (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Actor

  • The Merchant of Venice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Actor

Career shape

Biggest box office

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

$8.9K worldwide

Highest rated

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Midcredits 91st