Hettie Gray Baker (July 12, 1880 – November 14, 1957) was an American film editor.
Biography Born in Hartford, Connecticut, 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 in Boston. She was employed at the Hartford Public Library during 1900–03, where she began writing movie scenarios during her spare moments. She sold her first story, titled, Treasure Trove, to Vitagraph Studios. 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'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. These included Burning Daylight (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 (later renamed Twentieth Century Fox) as a film editor. During her first year, she edited A Daughter of the Gods, 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, and The Iron Horse (1924), directed by John Ford. 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.
Filmography Year Films Credit Notes 1911 Treasure Trove Scenario Extant at Library of CongressShort film 1912 The Irony of Fate Scenario Extant at Library of CongressShort film 1912 Old Songs and Memories Scenario Lost filmShort film 1912 The Spanish Cavalier Scenario Lost filmShort film 1912 Sue Simpkins’s Ambition Scenario Lost filmShort film 1912 The Way of a Man With a Maid Scenario Lost filmShort film 1912 Where Love Is, There God Is Also Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 Around the Battle Tree Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 The Poet and the Soldier Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 Sally in Our Alley Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 Songs of Truce Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 Their Stepmother Scenario Lost filmShort film 1913 The Wordless Message Scenario Extant at BFIShort film 1914 The Chechako Story Lost film 1914 John Barleycorn Story Lost film 1914 The Real Thing in Cowboys Scenario Lost filmShort film 1914 The Story of the Willow Pattern Scenario Lost filmShort film 1914 The Valley of the Moon Scenario Lost film 1914 Burning Daylight Story Lost film 1914 Martin Eden Scenario Partially extant at Library of Congress 1914 An Odyssey of the North Story Lost film uncredited 1915 Buckshot John Scenario Extant at Library of Congress 1916 A Daughter of the Gods Editor Lost film 1916 Converging Paths Scenario Lost film Short film 1916 The Man He Might Have Been Scenario Lost film Short film 1917 The Right Hand Path Scenario Lost film 1917 The Honor System Titles Lost film 1917 The Legend of the Willow Plate Scenario Extant at Library of CongressShort film 1918 The Strange Woman Titles Lost film 1922 Nero Editor Lost film 1922 The Town That Forgot God Editor Lost film 1922 Tom Mix in Arabia ScenarioEditor Lost film 1926 3 Bad Men Editor Extantuncredited
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