Early Women Filmmakers: The Real Numbers

Through a quantitative analysis of feature film credits during the silent period, the author debunks the claim that half of all American silent films were written by women; the correct figure, he demonstrates, is somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent. Such exaggerated claims are shown to have influenced much of the recent discourse on the role of women in the American film industry during this period. Using the career of Herbert Blache as an example, the author suggests that Herbert's own accomplishments as a filmmaker have been slighted by historians in their focus on the career of his wife, Alice Guy Blache.