Hettie Gray Baker (July 12, 1880 – November 14, 1957) was an American film editor.

Biography

Born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, the daughter of Josiah Q. Baker and his wife Lizzie A. Chipman, Hettie attended public high school in Hartford before undertaking a special course of study at

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Ha ...

in Boston. She was employed at the

Hartford Public Library The Hartford Public Library serves the city of Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The library's main branch is located at 500 Main Street in downtown Hartford. The nine branch locations are named Albany, Barbour, Blue Hills, Camp Field, Dw ...

during 1900–03, where she began writing movie scenarios during her spare moments. She sold her first story, titled, ''Treasure Trove'', to

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

. for $20 (), and continued to write and sell freelance works for the next six years. In 1903, she became a private secretary for the School for Social Workers in Boston, where she worked until 1907 when she was hired as a librarian for the Hartford Bar Library, a small law library. In 1913, she was employed by

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...

's film company as a story editor. Her work included scenario writing and scripting stories for a series of silent films based upon the work of

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

. These included ''

Burning Daylight ''Burning Daylight'' is a novel by Jack London, published in 1910, one of the best-selling books of that year and London's best-selling book in his lifetime. The novel has been adapted for film. Plot The first part of the novel takes place in ...

'' (1914), '' The Valley of the Moon'' (1914), and ''The Chechako'' (1914). In February 1914, she was one of the co-founders of the Photoplay Authors League – a precursor of the Screen Writers Guild – and during the first year of operation was elected vice president and a member of the board of control. In 1916, she went to work for

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

(later renamed Twentieth Century Fox) as a film editor. During her first year, she edited ''

A Daughter of the Gods ''A Daughter of the Gods'' was a 1916 American silent fantasy drama film written and directed by Herbert Brenon. The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the character Anitia, played by A ...

'', Hollywood's first film with a million dollar budget, and, listed as H.G. Baker, may have been the first female editor to be acknowledged in a film's credits. She was the editor for '' Queen of the Sea'' (1918) starring

Annette Kellerman Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1887 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress, and writer. Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then ...

, and '' The Iron Horse'' (1924), directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

. In total, she was a writer and editor for over 20 films, but was rarely credited. By 1938, Hettie was a movie executive, serving as censor representative for Twentieth Century Fox. Being a cat-lover, later in her life she wrote several books about cats.

Bibliography

* ''Canting bookplates'', 1926 * ''Cating bookplates'', 1926 * ''Motion picture bookplates'', 1930 * ''Bookplates of Hettie Gray Baker'', 1947 * ''Your Siamese cat'', 1951 * ''195 cat tales'', 1953

References

External links

* *
Hettie Gray Baker
at Women Film Pioneers Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Hettie Gray 1880 births 1957 deaths American film editors American women film editors Artists from Hartford, Connecticut Women film pioneers Simmons University alumni