Lois Weber

Directing·Jun 12, 1879·Allegheny City [now Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, USA

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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. 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."

Film	Credit
The Women Who Run Hollywood2016 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
Early Directors on Directing2009 · Self	Self
White Heat1934 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
The Angel of Broadway1927 · Director	Director
Topsy and Eva1927 · Screenplay	Screenplay
Sensation Seekers1927 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
The Marriage Clause1926 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
A Chapter in Her Life1923 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
What Do Men Want?1921 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
The Blot1921 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
Too Wise Wives1921 · Director, Producer, Screenplay	Director, Producer, Screenplay
What's Worth While?1921 · Writer, Director, Producer	Writer, Director, Producer
To Please One Woman1920 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Forbidden1919 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Home1919 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Mary Regan1919 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
A Midnight Romance1919 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
When a Girl Loves1919 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Borrowed Clothes1918 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
For Husbands Only1918 · Director, Producer, Screenplay	Director, Producer, Screenplay
The Doctor and the Woman1918 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Tarzan of the Apes1918 · Writer	Writer
The Price of a Good Time1917 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle1917 · Mrs. Broome, Director, Writer, Producer	Mrs. Broome, Director, Writer, Producer
Even as You and I1917 · Director	Director
The Mysterious Mrs. M1917 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
AAlone in the World1917 · Actor	Actor
The People vs. John Doe1916 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
Wanted- A Home1916 · Producer	Producer
Idle Wives1916 · Anne, Director, Writer, Producer	Anne, Director, Writer, Producer
Saving the Family Name1916 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Shoes1916 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
The Eye of God1916 · Renie, Director, Writer	Renie, Director, Writer
Where Are My Children?1916 · Director, Producer, Writer	Director, Producer, Writer
JJohn Needham's Double1916 · Director	Director
TThe Flirt1916 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
Hop - The Devil's Brew1916 · Lydia Jansen, Director, Screenplay	Lydia Jansen, Director, Screenplay
The Dumb Girl of Portici1916 · Producer, Director	Producer, Director
Discontent1916 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Jewel1915 · Writer	Writer
AA Cigarette - That's All1915 · Director	Director
Scandal1915 · Daisy Dean, Director, Writer	Daisy Dean, Director, Writer
Betty in Search of a Thrill1915 · Director	Director
Captain Courtesy1915 · Director	Director
Sunshine Molly1915 · Sunshine Molly, Director, Writer	Sunshine Molly, Director, Writer
Hypocrites1915 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
It's No Laughing Matter1915 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
FFalse Colors1914 · Mrs. Moore, Director, Screenplay	Mrs. Moore, Director, Screenplay