Lois Weber was one of the most daring filmmakers of Hollywood’s silent era. A leading director, screenwriter, producer and actor, she helped establish the use of split-screens to show simultaneous action in her 1913 film Suspense, and she experimented with synchronised sound. In an estimated 200 to 400 films, Weber explored social issues such as poverty, capital punishment, drug abuse and abortion. Her controversial film Hypocrites (1915) featured the first full-frontal nude scene.
“She writes her own stories and continuity, selects her cast, directs the pictures, plans to the minutest detail all the scenic effects, and, finally, titles, cuts and assembles the film. Few men have assumed such responsibility.” – Aline Carter, Motion Picture, 1921
Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley's Suspense via YouTube.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
On display until
16 February 2031
ACMI: Gallery 1
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
P180323
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-04. Materiality → MI-04-C01
Object Types
2D Object
Exhibition Prop
Photographic print/Pictorial
Materials
graphic