Astra Films was a British

film production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

company of the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. It was set up in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

following the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

by the

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

, his younger brother Charles Wilcox and H.W. Thompson, a leading figure in film distribution in the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

.Low p.132-33 After the company's initial success, Wilcox left the firm to set up on his own and rose to become one of the most successful

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

producer-directors in the world. After a merger the company released films under the name Astra-National. While smaller than the leading British studios Ideal Films and

Stoll Pictures Stoll Pictures was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era, founded in April 1918. Background During the early to mid-1920s it was the largest film company in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. Its major dome ...

, it was an important producer of films before the Slump of 1924. As was common during the era, many of the same writers, directors and a stock company of actors worked on various different films for the company. After Herbert Wilcox left the company, the majority of films were directed by

Kenelm Foss Kenelm Foss (13 December 1885 – 28 November 1963) was a British actor, theatre director, author, screenwriter and film director. Early life and education He was born in Croydon, Surrey and studied art at the Wellesley School of Art and in Pa ...

and featured stars such as Mary Odette, Lionelle Howard and Roy Travers.

Selected filmography

* '' The Breed of the Treshams'' (1920) * '' Cherry Ripe'' (1921) * '' The Street of Adventure'' (1921) * '' The Double Event'' (1921) * '' The Wonderful Story'' (1922) * '' Paddy the Next Best Thing'' (1923) * '' Southern Love'' (1924) * '' Decameron Nights'' (1924) * '' The Flag Lieutenant'' (1926)

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''The History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. . British film studios Film production companies of the United Kingdom Film distributors of the United Kingdom {{UK-film-company-stub