The British Actors Film Company was a British

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

company that operated between 1916 and 1923 during the

Silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. It involved a consortium of prominent stage actors that included figures such as A.E. Matthews and

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' and was one ...

. The actors often exchanged their salaries for a share of the profits.Warren p.20 Many of its films were made at

Bushey Studios Bushey Studios was a British film studio located in Melbourne Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire which operated between 1913 and 1985. The studios were built by the film enthusiast Hubert von Herkomer in the grounds of his country house, Lululaund. T ...

to the north of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The company's first films were released from 1916 onwards and it recruited prominent film figures such as the director

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

who had developed a reputation with the rival Hepworth Company. Following the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918, the company had ambitious plans but its reputation was badly dented by a protracted legal case surrounding a 1919 film ''

The Lackey and the Lady ''The Lackey and the Lady'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Leslie Howard, A. E. Matthews and Roy Travers. It was based on a novel by Tom Gallon. The film was the subject of a court case after its d ...

'' which had been rejected by its

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

as being of too poor quality. The company began to struggle, and by 1923 its production side had been swallowed up by the larger Alliance Film Company.

Selected films

* ''

The Real Thing at Last ''The Real Thing at Last'' is a "lost" satirical silent movie based on the play '' Macbeth''. It was written in 1916 by Peter Pan creator and playwright J. M. Barrie as a parody of the American entertainment industry. The film was made by the ...

'' (1916) * ''

The Lifeguardsman ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1916) * '' The Labour Leader'' (1917) * ''

Daddy A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'' (1917) * ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'' (1918) * '' The Divine Gift'' (1918) * ''

'' (1919) * '' The Lady Clare'' (1919) * '' The Face at the Window'' (1920) * ''

The Temptation of Carlton Earle ''The Temptation of Carlton Earle'' is a 1923 British silent crime film directed by Wilfred Noy and starring C. Aubrey Smith, James Lindsay and Gertrude McCoy.Low p.462 Cast * C. Aubrey Smith as Carlton Earle * James Lindsay as Royston ...

'' (1923)

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. * Warren, Patricia. ''British Film Studios: An Illustrated History''. Batsford, 2001. British film studios Film production companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1916 Mass media companies disestablished in 1923 1916 establishments in England 1923 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1923 British companies established in 1916 {{UK-film-company-stub