Abstract

Ethyle Batley (1876–1917) was England's first woman film director. She began acting in films in 1910, and between 1912 and 1916, working with her husband, Ernest Batley, and their daughter, Dorothy, she wrote, produced, directed and/or starred in sixty-four films. Although she initially specialized in children's films, most of which featured her daughter, she eventually worked in a range of genres, including war and sporting subjects. While most of her films were unpretentious program pictures directed at the open market, Batley's importance as a writer, director and studio production head deserves re-examination.

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