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Director
Lois Weber
- Born June 12, 1879 in Allegheny City [now Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, USA
- Died November 13, 1939
Lois Weber (1879 - 1939) was a true American auteur on par with D. W. Griffith. A director, actress, screenwriter, and producer of mostly silent films, she was the first American woman to direct a full-length feature film (1914's The Merchant of Venice), the first American woman director to own her own film studio, and one of the first film directors to experiment with sound. Weber pioneered the split-screen technique in the 1913 short film Suspense, and Hypocrites featured the first non-pornographic full-frontal female nude scene in 1915. Many of her films tackled social issues like abortion, poverty, discrimination, and religion, drawing the attention of censors.
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Only a fraction of her films, estimated to number between 200 and 400, were preserved. In 2022, the American Film Institute announced a new initiative titled "Behind the Veil," after one of Weber's lost films. The initiative "will document 6,000 short films from the silent and early sound eras to uncover the innovative contributions of female and BIPOC storytellers."
Known for
Suspense1913
Hypocrites1915
Where Are My Children?1916
The Blot1921
Tarzan of the Apes1918
Shoes1916
The Dumb Girl of Portici1916
How Men Propose1913
Filmography
- 2016The Women Who Run HollywoodFilmSelf (archive footage)
- 2009Early Directors on DirectingFilmSelf
- 1980HollywoodSeriesSelf (archive footage, uncredited)
- 1934White HeatFilmWriter, Director
- 1927Sensation SeekersFilmDirector, Writer
- 1927The Angel of BroadwayFilmDirector
- 1927Topsy and EvaFilmAdaptation, Screenplay
- 1926The Marriage ClauseFilmDirector, Writer
- 1923A Chapter in Her LifeFilmDirector, Adaptation, Screenplay
- 1921The BlotFilmDirector, Writer, Producer
- 1921Too Wise WivesFilmDirector, Producer, Story, Screenplay
- 1921What Do Men Want?FilmWriter, Director
- 1921What's Worth While?FilmProducer, Director, Writer
- 1920To Please One WomanFilmWriter, Director
- 1919HomeFilmDirector, Writer
- 1919A Midnight RomanceFilmWriter, Director
- 1919Mary ReganFilmDirector, Scenario Writer, Screenplay
- 1919ForbiddenFilmWriter, Director
- 1919When a Girl LovesFilmWriter, Director
- 1918Tarzan of the ApesFilmWriter
- 1918For Husbands OnlyFilmAdaptation, Director, Producer, Screenplay
- 1918The Doctor and the WomanFilmDirector, Writer
- 1918Borrowed ClothesFilmDirector, Writer
- 1917Alone in the WorldFilm
- 1917The Hand That Rocks the CradleFilmMrs. Broome, Director, Writer, Producer
- 1917Even as You and IFilmDirector
- 1917The Mysterious Mrs. MFilmDirector, Writer
- 1917The Price of a Good TimeFilmDirector, Writer, Editor
- 1916Where Are My Children?FilmDirector, Producer, Writer
- 1916ShoesFilmDirector, Producer, Writer
- 1916The Dumb Girl of PorticiFilmProducer, Adaptation, Director
- 1916DiscontentFilmDirector, Writer
- 1916Idle WivesFilmAnne, Director, Writer, Adaptation, Producer
- 1916The Eye of GodFilmRenie, Scenario Writer, Director, Writer
- 1916Hop - The Devil's BrewFilmLydia Jansen, Director, Scenario Writer, Screenplay
- 1916Wanted- A HomeFilmProducer, Story
- 1916Saving the Family NameFilmDirector, Writer
- 1916The People vs. John DoeFilmDirector, Writer, Producer
- 1916The FlirtFilmWriter, Director
- 1916John Needham's DoubleFilmDirector
- 1915HypocritesFilmDirector, Producer, Writer
- 1915Betty in Search of a ThrillFilmDirector
- 1915ScandalFilmDaisy Dean, Director, Writer
- 1915Sunshine MollyFilmSunshine Molly, Director, Writer
- 1915Captain CourtesyFilmDirector
- 1915It's No Laughing MatterFilmWriter, Director
- 1915A Cigarette - That's AllFilmDirector
- 1915JewelFilmWriter
- 1914The Pursuit of HateFilmDiana Grave, Director
- 1914Lost by a HairFilmSummer Girl, Director, Writer
- 1914The Spider and Her WebFilmMadame DuBarr, Director, Scenario Writer
- 1914The Merchant of VeniceFilmPortia, Director, Writer
- 1914False ColorsFilmMrs. Moore, Screenplay, Director
- 1914The Opened ShuttersFilmScenario Writer
- 1913SuspenseFilmThe Wife, Director, Writer
- 1913How Men ProposeFilmThe Maid, Director, Producer
- 1913The RosaryFilmThe Soldier's Sweetheart, Director
- 1913The Picture of Dorian GrayFilmScreenplay
- 1913The Jew's ChristmasFilmLeah - Isaac's Daughter, Director, Writer
- 1912Fine FeathersFilmMira, the Artist's Model, Director
- 1912A Japanese IdyllFilmDirector
- 1912Eyes That See NotFilmThe Millionaire's Wife, Director
- 1912The Troubadour's TriumphFilmDirector, Writer
- 1911The PriceFilmAnn, Director, Writer
- 1911FateFilmFlora Brown, Director
- 1911The TwinsFilmThe Twin Sisters, Writer, Director
- 1911A Heroine of '76FilmThe Tavern Keeper's Daughter, Director
- 1911Sherlock Holmes, Jr.FilmMrs. Brown
- 1911On the BrinkFilmTess, Director, Story
- 1911From Death to LifeFilmAratus' Wife, Director
- 1911Lost IllusionsFilmGrace - The Wife