The First Female Film Director: Alice Guy-Blache

In honor of Women's History Month, I decided to tell the story of an unknown figure in history. That figure is Alice Guy-Blache, the first female film director. The French darling became a pioneer in the film industry. And yet, she's not one of the first names that come to mind when we think of famous directors. More people need to know about Alice so her accomplishments can be remembered.

Early Life

Alice was born on July 1, 1873, to Emile Guy and Marie Aubert. She lived for a few years in Chile before her parents sent her to a convent in Switzerland for her education. After her father died, Emile sought training as a typist and stenographer to support her mother, who couldn't keep a job. That led to a secretary job at a still-photography owned by Leon Gaumont.

The Start of Her Career

Leon and Alice observed the Lumiere brothers demonstrate their 35mm motion picture camera. The Lumieres brothers were one of the leading inventors of moving pictures, but Alice was not impressed. She was bored by the idea of "demonstration films" being used to promote camera sales. So, she set out to make narrative stories, making her the first director to do so.

(Alice Guy-Blache's first film 'The Cabbage Fairy, the quality of the upload is not that great, but this film was made in 1896)

In 1896, Alice directs her first motion picture, The Cabbage Fairy. The following year, Gaumont appoints her as head of film production in his company. She'll continue to hold that position until 1907. During that time, Alice directs several films including, The Life of Christ and Esmeralda (based on the character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame). She experimented with new cinematic techniques such as running the film backward and double exposures. Alice also uses Gaumont's chronophone, a synchronized sound system.

Breaking Barriers

The plucky pioneer did have her fair share of challenges. Films produced by the Gaumont company were licensed to be distributed by the Edison company. Unfortunately, Edison created his kinetophone, which was similar to the chronophone and had no plans to Gaumont films with his invention. That didn't stop Alice from making films, though. This setback only propelled the start of her own production company, Solax. A site in Flushing, New York gave her the space she needed.

Alice was surely ahead of her time. Her work consists of action films with female leads, cross-dressing comedies, and gender-switching roles. She not only directed over 300 films, but she also wrote and produced a majority of them. Some surviving films include A Child's Sacrifice, In The Year 200, and The Great Adventure. For a while, she was the only female director in the business.

Personal Life

Amidst the groundbreaking success came a family. On March 6, 1907, Alice marries cameraman, Herbert Blache. Together they had two children, Simone and Reginald. Alice and Herbert met working together on one of her films, Mireille. Herbert starts his company Blache Features. His work crossed over to Solax productions leading many to believe his films were made by Alice. Of course, the couple did collaborate on many projects together. Sadly, Alice and Herbert divorced in 1922, but they remained on good terms.

End of an Era

When the silent film era ended, Alice had trouble getting work. She moved back to France for employment, but her opportunities seemed to be dried up. To make things even worse, copies of Alice's films in America have gone missing. Today, very little of her work has been recovered. Alice retired from directing and passed away on March 24, 1968, in a New Jersey nursing home. She was ninety-four years old.

Alice Guy-Blache should have become an important figure in cinematic history. Yet, not that many people remember or know her. If more of us told her story, the milestones she achieved will be recognized. She could inspire more women to not only be film directors/producers/screenwriters but to take control of their destiny.

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Sources: Britannica, Women Films Pioneers Project, aliceguyblache.com