There
was nothing of courage in what I did. It was always just a lark for me. ... I
was suckled on amyl acetate and reared on celluloid.
[Penguin Film Review 8, April 1948]
...To me the most
remarkable thing about this union [of talking machines and cinematography] is
the speed and completeness with which it has been accomplished. Until two or
three years ago the high contracting parties were completely aloof from one
another, and although from time to time there were rumours of an engagement, it
was not until quite recently that the mating took place. Moreover, it would seem
that although the marriage appears to have been arranged in America, there is
not the remotest likelihood of a divorce...
[Cecil M. Hepworth - British Cinema Pioneer in
"The talkies", by "John Scotland"]
Cecil Milton Hepworth (1874-1953)
b. 19 March 1874 London 17 Somerset Gardens, Lewisham
d. 9 February 1953 Greenford, Middlesex, England, UK
Filmmaker,
inventor and author Cecil
M. Hepworth was a pioneer of early pre-WWI British cinema. He
survived in the film business longer than any other British pioneer film-maker.
In the course of his career, Hepworth became one of the most respected, if not
the most dynamic, figures in British cinema.
His
father T. C. Hepworth made a living lecturing about magic lanterns, a subject
that fascinated young Cecil who frequently toured along with his father. In 1896
he began touring with his own mixed slide and film show.
Hepworth set up a laboratory in Hurst Grove, Walton on Thames in 1899 and by
1900 he was releasing a hundred films a year. He was primarily a producer more
than an actual film-maker but did on occasion, write, direct, edit, photograph
and star in many films, however many of the films credited to him were in fact
the work of his associated Percy Slow and Lewin Fitzhamon, the latter
co-directed perhaps Hepworth's most celebrated work 'Rescued by Rover' (1905) as
well as other inventive comic films such as 'The Other Side of the Hedge'(1905)
and 'That Fatal Sneeze' (1907).
The
1901 Census shows that his father, Father Thomas Hepworth age 56 son of a
barmaid in Co. Durham was living in Streatham, occupation School Lecturer. Cecil
was 27, and his siblings were Effie, Grace and Olive. From around 1899 to 1925 census records showed
Hepworth lived in Sydney Road, Walton
on Thames. He was reticent about revealing details of his family life. His
autobiography says his wife died in October 1917, but despite him saying this
was his great tragedy, he gives no details (not even her name) - and he went on
to marry again in later life.
We know that he had three children, Barbara, Margaret and Tom, who often
starred in his films in the early days, along with the family dogs, Blair and
Paul.
Cecil
Hepworth was a fascinating man, an innovator, actor, inventor,
director, businessman who inspired loyalty from all who worked with him during the early days of film before WWI, the
Roaring Twenties, Charlie Chaplin and the rise of Hollywood changed the national
identity of England
forever.
The studios started life back in 1899, when Cecil Hepworth leased a house in
Hurst Grove, Walton on Thames, for £36 a year and built a 15ft x 18ft stage.
With his cousin Monty Wicks, (hence the trading name "Hepwix") they
began to make short films of everyday events, starting with Express Trains In A
Railway Cutting, lasting about 45 seconds, which simply showed two trains
passing in a cutting at Byfleet! In 1905 Hepworth added a large glass studio.
Some of his earliest films were of soldiers departing to and returning from
the Boer
War.
By 1900 he was releasing a hundred films a year. He was primarily a producer
more than an actual film-maker but did on occasion, write, direct, edit,
photograph and star in many films, however many of the films credited to him
were in fact the work of his associated Percy Slow and Lewin Fitzhamon, the
latter co-directed perhaps Hepworth's most celebrated work 'Rescued by Rover'
(1905) as well as other inventive comic films such as 'The Other Side of the
Hedge'(1905) and 'That Fatal Sneeze' (1907).
By 1914 and the outbreak of war, Walton had become one of the three major
film studios in Britain. Unlike other studios, production continued at Walton-on Thames through the
First World War, both by making propaganda films and by renting to visiting
companies.
Hepworth was also an inventor who like experimenting with "trick" films.It is
believed that slow-motion photography started here.
His studios made Documentaries, Classics, Melodrama, Horror, Scenic films,
Comedies (notably the "Tilly" series), Heritage films, Location films
in Brighton and Ireland, you name it!
Hepworth was a dedicated film pioneer and the driving force, many believe,
behind the origins of the British Film Industry.
In the early days he made much of the documentary, filming scenes
of British troops departing for and returning from the war, and perhaps one of
the earliest films of the Royal Family.
Hepworth's skill with publicity and his ability to charm his stars to appear
in many of his films made his company the only British Film Company to compete
well with the wealth of foreign imported films.
After
the British industry slumped in around 1910, Hepworth led its resurgence,
introducing the star system to Britain, and directing many full-length features
himself, which, although old-fashioned in style, attracted considerable
prestige.
He returned to directing in 1914 and continued into the 1920's where he began
to fall behind the times in terms of film techniques - it was this that
contributed to his bankruptcy in 1924. He ended his film career directing
trailers and advertisements.
White, Chrissie - rather photogenic!
British actress Chrissie White was once a popular child star in early silent
films. Born Ada White in London, she got her start in the early 1900s when she
substituted for her sister, Gwen, in a production from Hepworth studios. She was
named "Chrissie" and was one of the first stars in British films. She
frequently staffed shorts directed by Lewin Fitzhamon. In the 1920s, White
married her long-time co-star and frequent director, Henry Edwards. She left the
screen in 1924, but returned briefly in the early '30s to appear in a few sound
films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All
Movie Guide
Taylor,
Alma (1895-1974) - Great Britain's first true screen star, the photogenic
brunette Alma
Taylor gained her greatest popularity playing one of the two sprightly "Tilly
girls" in a series of brilliant comedies produced by Hepworth in 1910-1911,
which can still raise a laugh from an audience even a
century later. The other
Tilly girl was Chrissie White and each in her own way would come to personify
the typical British silent screen heroine: innocuous, well-mannered, and
invariably dressed for comfort. She produced many films during the heyday of the
Hepworth Studios over WW1 including "The
Nature of the Beast". Taylor, who at one point was favorably compared
to America's Mary Pickford, found her career waning after World War I and she
was decidedly long in the tooth when producer/director Cecil M. Hepworth decided
to remake the already then old-fashioned "Comin' Thro the Rye" (1923). Taylor
played her usual heroine, suffering nobly and at great length after losing her
man to another woman. One critic dismissed the film as poor melodrama,
complaining that the starring role was not played by Taylor but by "a field
in which the rye, as far as I remember, failed to function obediently." Due
to a slump in British film production, Taylor disappeared until 1926, when
Hepworth launched a comeback of sorts with "The House of Marney", and
after "Tansy"
(1927) she did a
couple of thrillers in Germany, including a version of "The Hound of the
Baskervilles" (1929). Once the darling of British movie audiences and the wife of
prolific film producer Walter West, Alma Taylor was reduced to minor bit parts
in sound films until her retirement in the late '50s. A remarkable moment at
this time was a supporting role in a film with a rather remarkable casting
including the future James Bond, Errol Flynn and Anna
Neagle - "Lilacs
in the Spring" (1954). She appeared in "Lost" (1955)
which featured just about every British supporting actor of the time, and (uncredited)
in Hitchcock's "The
Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956). Her final screen appearance was in
"Blue Murder at St. Trinian's" (1957). The singer Alma
Cogan was also named after her. Here is another biography of Alma
Taylor.
I'd like to produce a Alma Taylor Filmography - can you help? Contact.
Henry Edwards
- Tall, patrician-featured British stage actor Henry Edwards made his first film in
1914. Under the guidance of producer/director Cecil Hepworth, Edwards became one of
England's most popular leading men. His most frequent leading lady was Chrissie White, whom he married
in 1922. Celebrated as Britain's answer to Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, Edwards and White
co-starred in 22 films, playing everything from aristocrats to the "working
poor" with consummate artistry; unfortunately, only two of their features
survive. During his stay with Hepworth, Edwards was given the opportunity to
direct. Though he continued starring in such well-received films as The Flag Lieutenant (1926), after 1925
Edwards was best known for his directorial efforts; the best of these included
the Boris Karloff melodrama
Juggernaut (1935) and the Sir
Seymour Hicks version of Scrooge (1935). Henry Edwards returned to
acting in 1946, essaying small character roles in films like Green for Danger (1946),
Oliver Twist (1948) and the all-star
The Magic Box (1952). Born:
September 18, 1882 in Weston-Super-Mare. Died: November 2, 1952 in Chobham,
Surrey. ~ Hal
Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hepworth's
studios were prolific, making several hundred films during their
existence, but undoubtedly the saddest thing about this is that most of them are lost
forever.
On 17 June 1924 a receiver was appointed who sold off Hepworth's
company for a fraction of its worth.
According to his autobiography, Hepworth said that his original film stock was
sold so it could be melted down for aircraft dope, but it is perhaps more likely that
his original negatives were melted down to reclaim the silver.
However despite this loss to Britain's early film heritage, even today things turn up occasionally!
Alice
in Wonderland" (now available on a BFI
DVD). Alice in Wonderland, an 800 ft spectacular, was the largest project
they ever attempted and was the longest film of its time. Mabel Clark, a girl
from the cutting room at Hurst Grove, played Alice, and Hepworth's wife was
the White Rabbit. The film was shot in the gardens of Mount Felix in Walton.
Presented the first cinema Royal Command Performance.
His company produced first filmed first hour-long feature-length version
of "Hamlet"
in 1913
Filmed the first
feature-length film made in Britain, "David Copperfield" "In
spite of its faults, the film is undeniably a milestone in translating
Dickens to the screen and demonstrates in scene after scene the pictorial
quality and realism for which Hepworth was renowned." – Michael
Pointer.
His studio was one of the first to use scriptwriters, notably the thriller
writer Edgar Wallace
who in 1928 was the author of every 4th book published in Great Britain. He
wrote the plot of "King Kong"!!!
BOOK Animated photography; the A.B.C. of the cinematograph, a simple and
thorough guide to the projection of living photographs, with notes on the
production of cinematograph negatives. - (1897) rev. (1900) reprinted
PAMPHLET Lumiere and the early days of film-making (1948)
BOOK Autobiography "Came the Dawn"; memories of a film pioneer
(1951)
![[Valid RSS]](../images/random%20images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
The
1901 Census shows that his father, Father Thomas Hepworth age 56 son of a
barmaid in Co. Durham was living in Streatham, occupation School Lecturer. Cecil
was 27, and his siblings were Effie, Grace and Olive. 
The studios started life back in 1899, when Cecil Hepworth leased a house in
Hurst Grove, Walton on Thames, for £36 a year and built a 15ft x 18ft stage.
This site Copyright © Surrey Brass 2001-2008 - Page Last Updated:
18/03/2008 - Comments
to:
