The British Actors Film Company 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 ...

company that operated between 1916 and 1923 during 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 involved a consortium of prominent stage actors that included figures such as

A.E. Matthews Alfred Edward Matthews (22 November 186925 July 1960), known as A. E. Matthews, was an English actor who played numerous character roles on the stage and in film for eight decades. Already middle-aged when films began production, he enjoyed incr ...

and

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...

. The actors often exchanged their salaries for a share of the profits.Warren p.20 Many of its films were made at

Bushey Studios Bushey Studios was a British film studio located in Melbourne Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire which operated between 1913 and 1985. The studios were built by the film enthusiast Hubert von Herkomer in the grounds of his country house, Lululaund. They ...

to the north of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The company's first films were released from 1916 onwards and it recruited prominent film figures such as the director

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley may refer to: * Thomas Bentley (director) Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sou ...

who had developed a reputation with the rival Hepworth Company. Following the end of 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 ...

in 1918, the company had ambitious plans but its reputation was badly dented by a protracted legal case surrounding a 1919 film '' The Lackey and the Lady'' which had been rejected by its

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

as being of too poor quality. The company began to struggle, and by 1923 its production side had been swallowed up by the larger Alliance Film Company.

Selected films

* ''

The Real Thing at Last ''The Real Thing at Last'' is a "lost" satirical silent movie based on the play ''Macbeth''. It was written in 1916 by Peter Pan creator and playwright J. M. Barrie as a parody of the American entertainment industry. The film was made by the ne ...

'' (1916) * '' The Lifeguardsman'' (1916) * ''

The Labour Leader ''The Labour Leader'' is a 1917 British silent film, silent drama film directed by Thomas Bentley (director), Thomas Bentley and starring Fred Groves (actor), Fred Groves, Fay Compton and Owen Nares. The film was based on an original screenplay b ...

'' (1917) * '' Daddy'' (1917) * ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' (1918) * '' The Divine Gift'' (1918) * '' The Lackey and the Lady'' (1919) * '' The Lady Clare'' (1919) * '' The Face at the Window'' (1920) * ''

The Temptation of Carlton Earle ''The Temptation of Carlton Earle'' is a 1923 British silent film, silent crime film directed by Wilfred Noy and starring C. Aubrey Smith, James Lindsay (actor), James Lindsay and Gertrude McCoy.Low p.462 Cast * C. Aubrey Smith as Carlton Earle ...

'' (1923)

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. * Warren, Patricia. ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History''. Batsford, 2001. British film studios Film production companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1916 Mass media companies disestablished in 1923 1916 establishments in England 1923 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1923 British companies established in 1916 {{UK-film-company-stub