Mary Field

Personal Info

Known For Director

Gender Female

Birthday 1896-01-01

Deathday 1968-12-23 (72 years old)

Place of Birth Wimbledon, London, England, UK

Also Known As Agnes Mary Field, Mrs Gerald Hankin

Mary Field

Biography

British director and screen writer, she is not to be confused with the American actress of the same name. Mary Field is best known for directing short educational and nature films. Field became the series director of Secrets of Nature in 1929. Previously a history teacher, she joined the film industry as an historical consultant in 1925, working for British Instructional Films. Although she had no training in science or filmmaking, Field quickly proved herself to be a first-class film director, developing a unique style that fused education and instruction. Field insisted that nature films were more than just a series of impressive images: they were the result of a painstaking process that involved scriptwriting, editing, filming, cutting and montage and synchronisation, as well as the collaboration of expert consultants. She continued to direct nature films under the new title Secrets of Life from 1934 when her production team, led by H. Bruce Woolfe, moved from British Instructional Films to Gaumont-British instructional. During the Second World War, she put her skills to work in producing public information films for the British government and was later commissioned to produce a series of educational films for the British Council. Field was a pioneer in understanding how children related to the cinema, and spearheaded attempts to adapt films to their taste. Her 1954 Carnegie report, Children and Films: A Study of Boys and Girls in the Cinema, investigated the reactions of children to a series of films by means of infra-red photography. Previous reports into children’s reactions to cinema had been based on questionnaires. Field had been interested in audience’s reactions long before this – as early as the late 1920s, she was adapting many of the Secrets of Nature films based on audience feedback.

Known For

Director

1949
The Rock Pool

as Director

1944
Memories

as Director

1944
Tongues and Tails

as Director

1944
Polly All Alone

as Director

1943
Double Thread

as Director

1942
Once We Were Four

as Director

1942
Overlooked

as Director

1942
1942
Market Town

as Director

1941
Atlantic

as Director

1940
Civilian Front

as Director

1940
London Pigeon

as Director

1940
Wisdom of the Wild

as Director

1940
4 and 20 Fit Girls

as Director

1940
1939
1938
They Made the Land

as Director

1938
The Tough 'un

as Director

1938
Kings in Exile

as Director

1937
1937
1937
Perky Cockney

as Director

1937
1936
Nursery Island

as Director

1936
Ebb-tide

as Director

1936
London Visitors

as Director

1936
Safety First

as Director

1936
Bird Sanctuary

as Director

1936
Lupins

as Director

1936
1935
Looper Catapillars

as Director

1935
Farming in Spring

as Director

1935
Farming in Winter

as Director

1935
Farming in Autumn

as Director

1935
Farming in Summer

as Director

1935
This Was England

as Director

1934
Roots

as Director

1934
The Warblers

as Director

1934
Fruitlands of Kent

as Director

1933
Gathering Moss

as Director

1933
The Changing Year

as Director

1932
Romance in a Pond

as Director

1932
Water Folk

as Director

1932
1931
1931
Magic Myxies

as Director

1931
Friendly Flies

as Director

1931
Strictly Business

as Director

1930
1930
The Aphis

as Director

1930
Peas and Cues

as Director

1930
1930
1929
Deferred Payment

as Director

1929
The Irresponsibles

as Director

1927
Plant Magic

as Director

1925
Paws and Claws

as Director

1923
Winter

as Director

Editor

1936
1936
Lupins

as Editor

1934
Roots

as Editor

1933
1933
Amazing Maize

as Editor

1931
Tell England

as Editor

Producer

1963
Secret Beneath the Sea

as Production Consultant

1962
City Beneath the Sea

as Production Consultant

1961
Pathfinders to Venus

as Production Consultant

1960
Pathfinders in Space

as Production Consultant

1960
Pathfinders to Mars

as Production Consultant

1960
Target Luna

as Production Consultant

Writer

1933
Amazing Maize

as Screenplay

1931
The Mystery of Marriage

as Scenario Writer

1930
Down Under

as Dialogue