Lois Weber

Person

Lois Weber

Directing June 12, 1879

Allegheny City [now Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, USA

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…

IMDb

Known for

Popular titles

Suspense

Suspense

7.0 1913 Movie
Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan of the Apes

5.3 1918 Movie
Hypocrites

Hypocrites

5.6 1915 Movie
Where Are My Children?

Where Are My Children?

5.9 1916 Movie
Shoes

Shoes

6.0 1916 Movie
The Blot

The Blot

6.3 1921 Movie
The Women Who Run Hollywood

The Women Who Run Hollywood

7.1 2016 Movie
The Dumb Girl of Portici

The Dumb Girl of Portici

7.0 1916 Movie
Home

Home

7.4 1919 Movie
Too Wise Wives

Too Wise Wives

5.4 1921 Movie
Sensation Seekers

Sensation Seekers

6.7 1927 Movie
Discontent

Discontent

5.4 1916 Movie

Photos

More stills of Lois Weber

Biography

A closer look

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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."

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 2016
    The Women Who Run Hollywood

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  2. 2009
    Early Directors on Directing

    Movie Self

  3. 1934
    White Heat

    Movie Writer

  4. 1927
    The Angel of Broadway

    Movie Director

  5. 1927
    Topsy and Eva

    Movie Adaptation

  6. 1927
    Sensation Seekers

    Movie Director

  7. 1926
    The Marriage Clause

    Movie Director

  8. 1923
    A Chapter in Her Life

    Movie Director

  9. 1921
    What Do Men Want?

    Movie Writer

  10. 1921
    The Blot

    Movie Director

  11. 1921
    Too Wise Wives

    Movie Director

  12. 1921
    What's Worth While?

    Movie Producer

  13. 1920
    To Please One Woman

    Movie Writer

  14. 1919
    Forbidden

    Movie Writer

  15. 1919
    Home

    Movie Director

  16. 1919
    Mary Regan

    Movie Director

More credits
  1. 1919
    A Midnight Romance

    Movie Writer

  2. 1919
    When a Girl Loves

    Movie Writer

  3. 1918
    Borrowed Clothes

    Movie Director

  4. 1918
    For Husbands Only

    Movie Adaptation

  5. 1918
    The Doctor and the Woman

    Movie Director

  6. 1918
    Tarzan of the Apes

    Movie Writer

  7. 1917
    The Price of a Good Time

    Movie Director

  8. 1917
    The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

    Movie Mrs. Broome

  9. 1917
    Even as You and I

    Movie Director

  10. 1917
    The Mysterious Mrs. M

    Movie Director

  11. 1917
    Alone in the World

    Movie

  12. 1916
    The People vs. John Doe

    Movie Director

  13. 1916
    Wanted- A Home

    Movie Producer

  14. 1916
    Idle Wives

    Movie Anne

  15. 1916
    Saving the Family Name

    Movie Director

  16. 1916
    Shoes

    Movie Director

  17. 1916
    The Eye of God

    Movie Renie

  18. 1916
    Where Are My Children?

    Movie Director

  19. 1916
    John Needham's Double

    Movie Director

  20. 1916
    The Flirt

    Movie Writer

  21. 1916
    Hop - The Devil's Brew

    Movie Lydia Jansen

  22. 1916
    The Dumb Girl of Portici

    Movie Producer

  23. 1916
    Discontent

    Movie Director

  24. 1915
    Jewel

    Movie Writer