Hettie Gray Baker (July 12, 1880 – November 14, 1957) was an American film editor.

Biography

Born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, the daughter of Josiah Q. Baker and his wife Lizzie A. Chipman, Hettie attended public high school in Hartford before undertaking a special course of study at

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

in Boston. She was employed at the Hartford Public Library during 1900–03, where she began writing movie scenarios during her spare moments. She sold her first story, titled, ''Treasure Trove'', to

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

. for $20 (), and continued to write and sell freelance works for the next six years. In 1903, she became a private secretary for the School for Social Workers in Boston, where she worked until 1907 when she was hired as a librarian for the Hartford Bar Library, a small law library. In 1913, she was employed by

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with ...

's film company as a story editor. Her work included scenario writing and scripting stories for a series of silent films based upon the work of

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

. These included ''

Burning Daylight ''Burning Daylight'' is a novel by Jack London, published in 1910, one of the best-selling books of that year and London's best-selling book in his lifetime. The novel has been adapted for film. Plot The first part of the novel takes place in ...

'' (1914), '' The Valley of the Moon'' (1914), and ''The Chechako'' (1914). In February 1914, she was one of the co-founders of the Photoplay Authors League – a precursor of the

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. A rival organisation, Screen Playwrights, Inc., was established by the AMPP, film studios and producers, but after an appeal to the National ...

– and during the first year of operation was elected vice president and a member of the board of control. In 1916, she went to work for

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

(later renamed Twentieth Century Fox) as a film editor. During her first year, she edited '' A Daughter of the Gods'', Hollywood's first film with a million dollar budget, and, listed as H.G. Baker, may have been the first female editor to be acknowledged in a film's credits. She was the editor for '' Queen of the Sea'' (1918) starring

Annette Kellerman Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1886 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer, usually spelt with a single final n as Annette Kellerman. Kellermann was one of the first wome ...

, and '' The Iron Horse'' (1924), directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

. In total, she was a writer and editor for over 20 films, but was rarely credited. By 1938, Hettie was a movie executive, serving as censor representative for Twentieth Century Fox. Being a cat-lover, later in her life she wrote several books about cats.

Filmography

Bibliography

* ''Canting bookplates'', 1926 * ''Cating bookplates'', 1926 * ''Motion picture bookplates'', 1930 * ''Bookplates of Hettie Gray Baker'', 1947 * ''Your Siamese cat'', 1951 * ''195 cat tales'', 1953

References

External links

* *
Hettie Gray Baker
at Women Film Pioneers Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Hettie Gray 1880 births 1957 deaths American film editors American women film editors Artists from Hartford, Connecticut Women film pioneers Simmons University alumni