Biography
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."
Directed 51
1930s
- 1934
White Heat
Director
1920s
- 1927
The Angel of Broadway
Director
Sensation Seekers
Director
- 1926
The Marriage Clause
Director
- 1923
A Chapter in Her Life
Director
- 1921
What Do Men Want?
Director
Too Wise Wives
Director
What's Worth While?
Director
- 1920
To Please One Woman
Director
1910s
- 1919
Forbidden
Director
Home
Director
Mary Regan
Director
A Midnight Romance
Director
When a Girl Loves
Director
- 1918
Borrowed Clothes
Director
For Husbands Only
Director
The Doctor and the Woman
Director
- 1917
The Price of a Good Time
Director
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Director
Even as You and I
Director
The Mysterious Mrs. M
Director
- 1916
The People vs. John Doe
Director
Idle Wives
Director
Saving the Family Name
Director
The Eye of God
Director
Where Are My Children?
Director
Hop - The Devil's Brew
Director
The Dumb Girl of Portici
Director
Discontent
Director
- 1915
Scandal
Director
Betty in Search of a Thrill
Director
Captain Courtesy
Director
Sunshine Molly
Director
Hypocrites
Director
It's No Laughing Matter
Director
- 1914
Lost by a Hair
Director
The Spider and Her Web
Director
- 1913
The Jew's Christmas
Director
How Men Propose
Director
Suspense
Director
The Rosary
Director
- 1912
The Troubadour's Triumph
Director
Fine Feathers
Director
- 1911
The Price
Director
On the Brink
Director
The Twins
Director
From Death to Life
Director
A Heroine of '76
Director
Wrote 47
1930s
- 1934
White Heat
Writer
1920s
- 1927
Topsy and Eva
Adaptation, Screenplay
Sensation Seekers
Writer
- 1926
The Marriage Clause
Writer
- 1923
A Chapter in Her Life
Adaptation, Screenplay
- 1921
What Do Men Want?
Writer
Too Wise Wives
Story, Screenplay
What's Worth While?
Writer
- 1920
To Please One Woman
Writer
1910s
- 1919
Forbidden
Writer
Home
Writer
Mary Regan
Scenario Writer, Screenplay
A Midnight Romance
Writer
When a Girl Loves
Writer
- 1918
Borrowed Clothes
Writer
For Husbands Only
Adaptation, Screenplay
The Doctor and the Woman
Writer
- 1917
The Price of a Good Time
Writer
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Writer
The Mysterious Mrs. M
Writer
- 1916
The People vs. John Doe
Writer
Wanted- A Home
Story
Idle Wives
Writer, Adaptation
Saving the Family Name
Writer
The Eye of God
Scenario Writer, Writer
Where Are My Children?
Writer
Hop - The Devil's Brew
Scenario Writer, Screenplay
The Dumb Girl of Portici
Adaptation
Discontent
Writer
- 1915
Jewel
Writer
Scandal
Writer
Sunshine Molly
Writer
Hypocrites
Writer
It's No Laughing Matter
Writer
- 1914
The Opened Shutters
Scenario Writer
Lost by a Hair
Writer
The Spider and Her Web
Scenario Writer
- 1913
The Jew's Christmas
Writer
Suspense
Writer
- 1912
The Troubadour's Triumph
Writer
- 1911
The Price
Writer
On the Brink
Story
The Twins
Writer
Acted in 19
1910s
- 1917
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Mrs. Broome
- 1916
Idle Wives
Anne
The Eye of God
Renie
Hop - The Devil's Brew
Lydia Jansen
- 1915
Scandal
Daisy Dean
Sunshine Molly
Sunshine Molly
- 1914
Lost by a Hair
Summer Girl
The Spider and Her Web
Madame DuBarr
- 1913
The Jew's Christmas
Leah - Isaac's Daughter
How Men Propose
The Maid
Suspense
The Wife
The Rosary
The Soldier's Sweetheart
- 1912
Fine Feathers
Mira, the Artist's Model
- 1911
The Price
Ann
On the Brink
Tess
The Twins
The Twin Sisters
From Death to Life
Aratus' Wife
A Heroine of '76
The Tavern Keeper's Daughter
Produced 13
1920s
- 1921
Too Wise Wives
Producer
What's Worth While?
Producer
1910s
- 1918
For Husbands Only
Producer
- 1917
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Producer
- 1916
The People vs. John Doe
Producer
Wanted- A Home
Producer
Idle Wives
Producer
Where Are My Children?
Producer
The Dumb Girl of Portici
Producer
- 1915
Hypocrites
Producer
- 1913
How Men Propose
Producer
Edited 1
1910s
- 1917
The Price of a Good Time
Editor
Appearances3
2000s
- 2009
Early Directors on Directing
Self
1980s
- 1980
Hollywood
Self (archive footage, uncredited) · 1 episode