Profile of Cecil M. Hepworth on Famous Like Me

Cecil Hepworth (March 19, 1874 – February 9, 1953) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter, he was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s.

Born in Lambeth, South London, his father was a famous magic lantern showman. He became involved in the early stages of British filmmaking, working for both Birt Acres and Charles Urban, and wrote the first British book on the subject in 1897. With his cousin Monty Wicks he set up the production company Hepworth and Co. &mdash later renamed the Hepworth Manufacturing Compnay, then Hepworth Picture Plays. In 1899 they built a small film studio in Walton-on-Thames. The company produced about three films a week, sometimes with Hepworth directing.

Rescued by Rover (1905) was a huge success at the box office, co-directed with Lewin Fitzhamon and starring a collie in the title role. The film is now regarded as an important development in film grammar, with shots being effectively combined to emphasise the action. Hepworth was also one of the first to recognise the potential of film stars, both animal and human, with several recurring characters appearing in his films.

The company continued making popular films into the 1920s, despite Hepworth's now unchanging and increasingly old-fashioned film style. Boosted by the international success of Alf's Button (1919), the company went public to fund a large studio development. He failed to raise the necessary capital and, along with the bob office failure of Comin' Thro' The Rye (1923), the company went into receivership the next year. Tragically, all of Hepworth's original film negatives were melted down by the receiver in order to sell the silver.

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