Lois Weber, a former street-corner evangelist who entered the world of motion pictures in 1905, made history as the first American woman movie director of note and a major one at that. Herbert Blaché, the husband of Frenchwoman Alice Guy, the first woman to direct a motion picture, cast her in the lead of "Hypocrites" (1908). Weber's first directorial effort was the silent film "A Heroine of '76" (1911),which she co-directed with pioneering American director Edwin S. Porter and actor Phillips Smalley, who played George Washington. She also starred in the picture.
In 1914, a remarkable year in which she helmed 27 movies, Weber co-directed William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (1914) with Smalley, who also played Shylock, making her the first woman to direct a feature-length film in the US. Jeanie Macpherson, who would go on to play a major role in cinema as Cecil B. DeMille's favorite screenwriter, also acted in the film.
Inspired by her evangelism, Weber began directing, writing, and producing films of social importance, tackling themes such as abortion, alcoholism, birth control, drug addiction, and prostitution. By 1916, she had established herself as the top director at Universal Film Manufacturing (now Universal Studios),the top studio in America at the time, making her the highest-paid director in the world. The following year, she formed Lois Weber Productions.
Throughout her career, Weber directed over 100 films, but her production company went bankrupt in the 1920s as her career faltered. Despite this, she did make one talkie, "White Heat" (1934),in 1934, although she did not transition to sound films.
