''The Girl Spy'' films are an American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

series produced by Kalem and shot in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Florida. The films in the series were directed by

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott, September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great direc ...

and all starred American filmmaker and actress

Gene Gauntier Gene Gauntier (born Genevieve Gauntier Liggett, August 26, 1885 – December 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter and actress who was one of the pioneers of the motion picture industry. A writer, director, and actress in films from mid 190 ...

who was also the screenwriter for the series. The films are '' The Girl Spy: An Incident of the Civil War'' (1909); '' The Further Adventures of the Girl Spy'' (1910); '' The Bravest Girl in the South'' (1910); ''

The Love Romance of the Girl Spy ''The Love Romance of the Girl Spy'' is an American silent film produced by Kalem Company and directed by Sidney Olcott. It is a story about the Civil War. Production notes The film was shot in Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on t ...

'' (1910); ''

The Girl Spy Before Vicksburg ''The Girl Spy Before Vicksburg'' is an American silent film produced by Kalem Company and directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier, Robert Vignola and JP McGowan. A copy of this film is held at the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. Cast * Gene ...

'' (1910); and '' To the Aid of Stonewall Jackson: An Exploit of the Girl Spy'' (1911).

Content

In each film, Gauntier plays Nan, a Confederate spy during the Civil War who often

cross-dresses Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

in order to achieve her physically daring missions. Gauntier also reprised the role of Nan in '' The Little Soldier of ’64'' (1911) and ''

A Daughter of the Confederacy ''A Daughter of the Confederacy'' is a 1913 American silent film produced by Gene Gauntier Feature Players and distributed by Warner's Features. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. Cast * ...

'' (1913); the latter was produced by Gauntier's production company, the Gene Gauntier Feature Players. The series was reportedly inspired by real-life spy

Belle Boyd Isabella Maria Boyd (May 9, 1844The date in the Boyd Family Bible is May 4, 1844 (), but Boyd insisted that it was 1844 and that the entry was in error. () See also . Despite Boyd's assertion, many sources give the year of birth as 1844 and the ...

Reception

The series is considered important by contemporary film scholars who argue that Gauntier's "girl spy" character is a precursor to the popular daredevil American

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

queens like

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at the age of six, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serials. Dubbed the "Queen of ...

and

Grace Cunard Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries; April 8, 1893 – January 19, 1967) was an American actress, screenwriter and film director. During the silent era, she starred in over 100 films, wrote or co-wrote at least 44 of those production ...

in the later 1910s and mark the beginning of the stunt-driven American movie serial genre centered around an intrepid young woman. Other historians have emphasized the series' importance as part of a first wave (from 1908-1921) of American films featuring women cross-dressing that were set on the frontier or during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. A copy of ''The Girl Spy: An Incident of the Civil Wa''r is held at Library and Archives Canada; a copy of ''The Further Adventures of the Girl Spy'' is held at both the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the N ...

, and the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

; and a copy of ''The Girl Spy Before Vicksburg'' is held at the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.

References

{{Authority control American silent serial films Films directed by Sidney Olcott Films shot in Jacksonville, Florida