Cecil Hepworth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cecil Hepworth
Born	(1874-03-19)19 March 1874 Lambeth, England
Died	9 February 1953(1953-02-09) (aged 78) Greenford, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Film director, film producer
Years active	1896–1926

Cecil Milton Hepworth (born March 19, 1874 – died February 9, 1953) was a British film director, producer, and writer for movies. He helped start the British movie industry. Hepworth kept making films at his Hepworth Studios until the 1920s. Sadly, his company, Hepworth Picture Plays, closed down in 1923.

One of his most famous movies was Alice in Wonderland (1903). This was the very first movie based on Lewis Carroll's famous children's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Starting the Movie Business

An advertisement from 1913 for Vivaphone

May Clark as Alice (left) and Norman Whitten (right) as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (1903)

Cecil Hepworth was born in Lambeth, which is now part of South London. His father, Thomas Cradock Hepworth, was a well-known magic lantern showman and writer. A magic lantern was an early type of projector.

Cecil Hepworth got involved in making movies very early in Britain. He worked for other pioneers like Birt Acres and Charles Urban. In 1897, he wrote the first British book about making films.

Building a Studio

With his cousin Monty Wicks, Hepworth started a company called Hepworth and Co. They later changed its name a few times. In 1899, they built a small film studio in Walton-on-Thames. This was called Hepworth Studios.

His company was very busy, making about three films every week! Sometimes, Hepworth himself would direct these movies. He also worked with Percy Stow, who was good at making "trick films" with special effects.

A Famous Dog Movie

One of Hepworth's biggest hits was Rescued by Rover (1905). He directed this film with Lewin Fitzhamon. The star of the movie was a collie dog named Rover. This film made a lot of money and was very popular.

Rescued by Rover is important because it showed new ways to tell a story with different camera shots. Hepworth was also one of the first people to see that movie stars, both animals and humans, could become famous. He often used the same characters in different films.

Adding Sound to Movies

By 1910, Hepworth also invented something called Vivaphone. This was an early system to add sound to movies. It used phonograph records to play the sound while the movie was showing. Vivaphone was used in Britain, the United States, and Canada.

The End of Hepworth Studios

Hepworth's company kept making popular films into the 1920s. However, his movie style started to seem old-fashioned. After a movie called Alf's Button (1919) did well around the world, the company tried to get more money to build a bigger studio.

But they couldn't raise enough money. Also, his 1923 film Comin' Thro the Rye did not do well at the box office. Because of these problems, the company closed down the next year.

Sadly, when the company closed, many of Hepworth's original film negatives were melted down. This was done to get the silver from them, which could be sold. Because of this, many of his movies were thought to be lost for a long time. However, in 2008, a copy of his 1920 film Helen of Four Gates was found in a film archive in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Selected Movies by Cecil Hepworth

Images for kids

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  A special plaque in London where Hepworth lived as a child

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  Another view of the plaque at Cantelowes Road