Alice Guy-Blache (1873-1968) was a French film pioneer and was also the first woman to direct movies. Alice worked for the Gaumont Film Company and from 1896 to 1906 was Gaumont’s Head of Production.
Some sources say she was the only woman in the world directing movies during that period.
Among her films:
THE FAIRY OF THE CABBAGES (1896) – A light-hearted short that ran less than 2 minutes, this movie depicted a costumed woman as the title fairy. The premise was the old folk notion that children were found under cabbages in a cabbage patch. It was a lesser-known variation of the stork tale. The short was remade in 1900 and 1902.
PIERRETTE’S ESCAPADES (1900) – A woman changes from a pink dress to a green dancing outfit. She proceeds to dance alone and soon finds the stock clown character Pierrot dancing with her. The clown tries kissing her but is rebuffed. Next, the stock character Harlequin dances with her, impresses her and the two share a kiss as the 2-minute production comes to a close. Some frames were hand-tinted.
ESMERALDA (1905) – The oldest known movie version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Alice had been shepherding Gaumont’s movies away from mere visual spectacle and on to narrative filmmaking.
This 10-minute production is, like so many silent films, lost to us. Denise Becker starred as the title character and Henry Vorins played Quasimodo. Continue reading
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