Film production company founded 1903 as Hepworth & Co; registered as Hepworth Manufacturing Co with trademark Hepwix in 1904 (or 1908); becoming Hepworth Picture Plays in 1919; established by film director and producer Cecil Milton Hepworth (1874-1953) who had established a film-printing laboratory at Walton-Thames in 1896 (where he first began making films); joined by H V Harvey began producing films; also began distributing films and collaborating with other companies; established subsidiary Hepworth Animated Film Corporation in 1914 to distribute films in United States; renamed Hepworth Picture Plays in 1919; ceased trading in 1924 when company assets sold off.