June Mathis: The Rise and Fall of a Silent Film Visionary

Along with thousands of other girls who hoped to escape tedious employment and domesticity, June Mathis (1887–1927) started acting as a young teen. After more than a decade of stepping onto stages across the US, she moved into the burgeoning film business and behind the camera to begin a prolific career as a screenwriter and producer for profound movies like The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) and Blood and Sand (1922). With her expert use of melodrama and masterful technique, Mathis...