We often see history writing out women. This is especially true in the history of the arts and design. One such woman who does not get her due diligence is Lois Weber-one of the most successful screenwriters and directors in early Hollywood.
Lois Weber, later Lois Smalley, lived from 1879-1939, dying at the age of 60. In that time, she excelled in the world of film. She began her time in the field with her husband Phillips Smalley whom she met in the theater. While she was originally a Church Army worker, she later turned to acting, directing, and writing. She could do it all. She and her husband began their life in the film industry sometime near 1907 or 1908. She and Phillips made their motion pictures under the collective of “The Smalleys”. They would often act together under their co-direction to the writing of Weber. Even though she entered the profession as an actress, she quickly rose to the positions of screenwriter and editor. She ended up writing, directing, and acting in hundreds of films.
People saw the Smalley’s as a reliable source of entertainment. In 1912 Universal placed them in charge of the Rex Brand at Universal and produced 1 to 2 one-reel films every week. They turned the brand into one of the most sophisticated ones on the market in a short period. They later moved on to other production companies to gain more freedom and make feature-length films. During this time, they completed a four-reel production called The Merchant of Venice. This is listed as the first American feature directed by a woman.
In her time of feature-length films, Weber became somewhat notorious with the release of her film Hypocrites in 1915. The movie evoked a lot of controversy over the use of nudity. Despite the debate on the quality of the film, it ultimately gained her international recognition. In 1916 her film Where Are My Children? Was a hit at the box office and released globally. Because of these and many other successes, she began to stand out in the world of film. While she and her husband were still known as a dynamic duo, she had begun to make a name for herself. She also used her platform to speak out on social issues and directed many films relating to sensitive topics at the time.
How did Hollywood react to a woman gaining this much accolade? In the 1930s, Weber was slowly exiled from the world she loved. The institutionalized sexism within Hollywood saw her as a threat. To ensure the success of her removal from Hollywood, she was blotted out of much of film history. Through her continued appearance on old film posters as both an actress and director, we can start to see the impact she truly had on the film industry.
Often known as “the director who lost her way in history”, Lois Webber was truly one of the greatest filmmakers of early Hollywood. She earned her spot in history and had it unjustly stolen from her. You can see the impact she had just from the descriptions of her in these posters. Despite her lack of current renown, she was often listed in her heyday beside the likes of D.W. Griffith and many other notable filmmakers of the time.
Without Louis Weber’s impact on the world of cinema, we would be deprived of many wonderful works of design.
