Mary Field
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.
Fotos
Filme (110)
Father of the Family
1951 · Director
The Rock Pool
1949 · Director
Ebb-tide
1948 · Director
Development of the Rabbit
1944 · Director
Kew and Me
1944 · Director
Memories
1944 · Director
Polly All Alone
1944 · Director
Tongues and Tails
1944 · Director
The Life History of the Onion
1943 · Director
History of the English Language
1943 · Director
The Life Cycle of the Pin Mould
1943 · Director
Development of the English Town
1943 · Director
Double Thread
1943 · Director
The Life Cycle of the Newt
1942 · Editor, Director
U-Boat in the Pond
1942 · Director
On The Heath
1942 · Director
On The Moor
1942 · Director
Over The Downs
1942 · Director
Climbers
1942 · Director
Down Somerset Way
1942 · Director
Once We Were Four
1942 · Director
Overlooked
1942 · Director
Singing While They Work
1942 · Director
Market Town
1942 · Director
The Life Cycle of the Maize
1942 · Director
Atlantic
1941 · Director
Mrs. T. and Her Cabbage Patch
1941 · Director
Wisdom of the Wild
1940 · Director
Civilian Front
1940 · Director
4 and 20 Fit Girls
1940 · Director
48, Paddington Street
1940 · Director
Why A Sponge
1940 · Director
Ducks and Drakes
1939 · Director
Two Little Orphans
1939 · Director
Old Blue
1939 · Director
Water Baby
1939 · Director
Shadow in the Stream
1939 · Director
The Tough 'un
1938 · Director
Living in London
1938 · Director
Over and Under
1938 · Director
Three Wicked Sisters
1938 · Director
Home in the Heather
1938 · Director
Perky Cockney
1938 · Director
They Made the Land
1938 · Director
The Catch of the Season
1938 · Director
Far and Wide
1938 · Director
Queering The Pitch
1938 · Director
Kings in Exile
1938 · Director
See How They Run
1938 · Director
Swan Song
1938 · Director
Hereford Pedigree Cattle
1937 · Director
Somersetshire Dairy-Farming
1937 · Director
Devon Dairy Farming
1937 · Director
Tawny Owl
1936 · Director
Fish Face
1936 · Director
Safety First
1936 · Director
Home in the Valley
1936 · Director
Community Life
1936 · Director
New Generation
1936 · Director
Life in the Balance
1936 · Director
He Would a-Wooing Go
1936 · Director, Editor
Lupins
1936 · Editor, Director
Nursery Island
1936 · Director
London Visitors
1936 · Director
Bird Sanctuary
1936 · Director
Sawfly
1936 · Director
This Was England
1935 · Director
Cabbage
1935 · Director
Home from the South
1935 · Director
Living Lies
1935 · Director
A Queer Diet
1935 · Editor, Director
Hedgerows
1935 · Editor, Director
White Flies and Tomatoes
1935 · Director
Mixed Bathing
1935 · Director
Thistledown
1935 · Director, Editor
Baby on the Rocks
1935 · Director
We Are Seven
1935 · Director, Editor
Butterflies and Nettles
1935 · Editor
Farming in Winter
1935 · Director
Farming in Spring
1935 · Director
Farming in Summer
1935 · Director
Farming in Autumn
1935 · Director
Ravenous Roger
1935 · Director
Roots
1934 · Director, Editor
Fruitlands of Kent
1934 · Director
The Changing Year
1933 · Director
Gathering Moss
1933 · Director
Brewster's Magic
1933 · Editor
Amazing Maize
1933 · Editor, Screenplay
Romance in a Pond
1932 · Director
Nature's Double Lifters
1932 · Director, Editor
Water Folk
1932 · Director
Strictly Business
1931 · Director
The Mystery of Marriage
1931 · Director, Scenario Writer
The World in a Wine-Glass
1931 · Director
Tell England
1931 · Editor
Magic Myxies
1931 · Director
Friendly Flies
1931 · Director
Any Evening After Work
1930 · Director
The Aphis
1930 · Director
Peas and Cues
1930 · Director
Plants of the Underworld
1930 · Director
Playtime at The Zoo
1930 · Director
Down Under
1930 · Dialogue
Deferred Payment
1929 · Director
The Irresponsibles
1929 · Director
Plant Magic
1927 · Director
The Story of a Glass of Water
1927 · Director
Paws and Claws
1925 · Director
Winter
1923 · Director
