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 active 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 ...
. Founded in 1897 by the cinema pioneer
Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film industry and continued making films ...
, it was based at
Walton Studios
Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.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 ...
.
In February 1909 the company took part in the
Paris Film Congress
The Paris Film Congress was a major meeting of European film producers and distributors in the French capital Paris from 2–4 February 1909. It intended to create an association to protect the interests of the participants through the formation ...
, a failed attempt by leading European producers to form an organisation similar to the MPPC cartel recently established in the United States.
Around the time 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 ...
, the company gradually switched from traditional
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s to the
feature films
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film ( motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...
that increasingly dominated the world market. It also developed many early stars of British cinema, including
Alma Taylor
Alma Louise Taylor (3 January 1895 – 23 January 1974) was a British actress.
Life
Taylor was born in London. She made her first screen appearance as a child actor in the 1907 film ''His Daughter's Voice''. She went on to appear in more th ...
,
Stewart Rome
Stewart Rome (born Septimus William Ryott; 30 January 1886 – 26 February 1965) was an English actor who appeared in more than 150 films between 1913 and 1950.
He was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1886 and took the stage name of Stewart Rome ...
,
Violet Hopson
Violet Hopson (16 December 1887 – 21 July 1973) was an actress and producer who achieved fame on the British stage and in British silent films. She was born Elma Kate Victoria Karkeek in Port Augusta, South Australia on 16 December 1887. Viol ...
,
Chrissie White
Chrissie White (23 May 1895 – 18 August 1989) was a British film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 180 films between 1908 and 1933. White married actor and film director Henry Edwards in 1922, and in the 1920s the two ...
, Henry Edwards and Gerald Ames.
The company attempted to expand after the war, as part of a wider boom in the British industry. Many of the company's most popular works were directed by Edwards, who starred in many of them. In 1923 the company went
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...
and Hepworth retired from filmmaking. The studios were sold off and used by other producers.Low p.112
Filmography
Feature films
* ''
David Copperfield
''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
'' (1913)
* ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' (1913)
* ''
The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is the fourth novel by English author Charles Dickens; being one of his two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 t ...
'' (1914)
* ''
The Heart of Midlothian
''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of ''Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series'', and the author was given as "Jedediah Clei ...
'' (1914)
* ''
Justice
In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
Barnaby Rudge
''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by English novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens pub ...
'' (1915)
* ''
Sweet Lavender
''Sweet Lavender'' is a play in three acts by Arthur Wing Pinero, first performed in 1888. The sentimental and gently humorous story concerns the romance of Lavender Rolt and Clement Hale, and the complications impeding the course of true love. ...
'' (1915)
* ''
Annie Laurie
"Annie Laurie" is an old Scottish song based on a poem said to have been written by William Douglas (1672 - c1760 ) of Dumfriesshire, about his romance with Annie Laurie (1682–1764). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Ann ...
The House of Fortescue
''The House of Fortescue'' is a 1916 British silent drama film directed by Frank Wilson and starring Stewart Rome, Violet Hopson and Lionelle Howard.Palmer p.884 An Australian millionaire marries a woman to help save her father's business fro ...
The Grand Babylon Hotel
''The Grand Babylon Hotel'' is a novel by Arnold Bennett, published in January 1902, about the mysterious disappearance of a German prince. It originally appeared as a serial in the ''Golden Penny''. The titular Grand Babylon was modelled on th ...
The American Heiress
''The American Heiress'' is a 1917 British silent crime film directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, Violet Hopson and Stewart Rome.Wintour p.173
Cast
* Alma Taylor as Bessie
* Violet Hopson as Cynthia Hunks
* Stewart Rome a ...
Her Marriage Lines
''Her Marriage Lines'' is a 1917 British silent crime film directed by Frank Wilson and starring Stewart Rome, Chrissie White and Violet Hopson.Palmer p.884
Cast
* Stewart Rome as Godfrey
* Chrissie White as Jean Neville
* Violet Hopson as ...
'' (1917)
* ''
The Man Behind 'The Times'
''The Man Behind 'The Times is a 1917 British silent film, silent crime film directed by Frank Wilson (director), Frank Wilson and starring Stewart Rome, Chrissie White and Lionelle Howard.Palmer p.884
Cast
* Stewart Rome as Aaron Moss
* Chris ...
Nearer My God to Thee
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because ...
'' (1917)
*''
A Grain of Sand
''A Grain of Sand'' is a British silent film of 1917. A drama, it was written by Victor Montefiore and directed by Frank Wilson. The film was produced by the Hepworth Manufacturing Company.The Hanging Judge'' (1918)
* '' Towards the Light'' (1918)
* '' Boundary House'' (1918)
* ''
His Dearest Possession
''His Dearest Possession'' is a 1919 British drama film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Chrissie White and John MacAndrews. It was based on a story by E. Temple Thurston. The film follows an artist who falls in love with a wom ...
Sheba
Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdoms in pre-Islamic Arabia, South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen (region), Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself f ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Kinsman
''The Kinsman'' is a 1919 British silent comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, James Carew and Chrissie White.Sunken Rocks'' (1919)
* ''
Possession
Possession may refer to:
Law
*Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance
*Drug possession, a crime
*Ownership
*Pe ...
A Temporary Vagabond
''A Temporary Vagabond'' is a 1920 British silent comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Chrissie White and Stephen Ewart.
Cast
* Henry Edwards - Dick Derelict
* Chrissie White - Peggie Hurst
* Stephen Ewart
Stephen E ...
'' (1920)
* ''
Aylwin
Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chile and the first president to be elect ...
Helen of Four Gates
''Helen of Four Gates'' is a 1920 British silent melodrama film directed by cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor (in a dual role as mother and daughter), James Carew, and Gerald Ames.
Production background
The film was adapt ...
'' (1920)
* ''
John Forrest Finds Himself
''John Forrest Finds Himself'' is a 1920 British silent romance film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Chrissie White and Gerald Ames.
Cast
* Henry Edwards - John Forrest
* Chrissie White - Joan Grey
* Gerald Ames - Ezra B ...
The Narrow Valley
''The Narrow Valley'' is a 1921 British silent film, silent drama film directed by Cecil Hepworth. As of August 2010, the film is missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "BFI 75 Most Wanted, 7 ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Dollars in Surrey
''Dollars in Surrey'' is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by George Dewhurst and Anson Dyer and starring Alma Taylor, James Carew and Hugh Clifton.Connelly p.341
Cast
* Alma Taylor
* James Carew
* Hugh Clifton
* Gwynne Herbert ...
Tansy
Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North America, and in ...
Tit for Tat
Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It is an alternation of '' tip for tap'' "blow for blow", first recorded in 1558.
It is also a highly effective strategy in game theory. An agent using this strategy will fi ...
Strangling Threads
''Strangling Threads'' is a 1923 British silent drama film directed by Cecil M. Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, Campbell Gullan and James Carew.Gifford p.55
Plot
A millionaire thinks he kills a blackmailing Mexican wife who dies of shock.
...
Boden's Boy
''Boden's Boy'' is a 1923 British romance film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Chrissie White, and Francis Lister. It was based on a novel by Tom Gallon.
Cast
* Henry Edwards as Enery Boden
* Chrissie White as Barbara Pil ...
'' (1923)
* ''
Lily of the Alley
''Lily of the Alley'' is a 1924 British silent film drama directed by Henry Edwards, who also starred in the film with his wife Chrissie White. ''Lily of the Alley'' was filmed in 1922 and given trade showings in early 1923, but its general r ...
Mist in the Valley
''Mist in the Valley'' is a 1923 British silent crime film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Alma Taylor, G. H. Mulcaster and James Carew. It was based on a novel by Dorin Craig.
Cast
* Alma Taylor - Margaret Yeoland
* G. H. Mulcaste ...
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' (1903)
* ''
Rescued by Rover
''Rescued by Rover'' is a 1905 British short silent drama film, directed by Lewin Fitzhamon, about a dog who leads its master to his kidnapped baby, which was the first to feature the Hepworth's family dog Blair in a starring role; following ...
'' (1905)
* ''
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...
'' (1912)
* ''
The Cloister and the Hearth
''The Cloister and the Hearth'' (1861) is an historical novel by the British author Charles Reade. Set in the 15th century, it relates the travels of a young scribe and illuminator, Gerard Eliassoen, through several European countries. ''The C ...
'' (1913)
* ''
David Garrick
David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...
The Vicar of Wakefield
''The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to Be Written by Himself'' is a 1766 novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18 ...
'' (1913)
* ''
The Chimes
''The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In'', commonly referred to as ''The Chimes'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in 1844, one year after ''A Christmas Carol''. It is the second ...