A major pioneer of the British cinema, Hepworth invented a type of
arc lamp for Robert Paul in 1895, assisted Birt Acres in the following
year and in 1897 wrote the first book on the cinema, Animated Photography.
He began making shorts in the following year, and later established
his own company at Walton-on-Thames, which by the turn of the century
was producing over a hundred short subjects a year. Among them was the
most famous early British film, Rescued
by Rover (1905). After the British industry slumped around 1910
Hepworth led its resurgence, introducing the star system to Britain,
and directing many full-length features himself, which, although old-fashioned
in style, attracted considerable prestige. But he could not escape eventual
bankruptcy, and many of his films were lost after 1923 when his company
was liquidated.
