User:TruffautStalker/sandbox

Early Life
(Add to the already existing main page information) During the First World War, Shurey worked as as a canteen worker for the French Red Cross. Due to overexertion, Shurey was dismissed from duty and sent home.

Film career
Her wartime experiences instilled in Shurey a fascination of melodramatic and militaristic British experiences, which scholar Bibi Berki stated foreshadowed the majority of her filmography, including films such as Carry On! and The Last Post. Berki further suggests that it was for her films Second to None and Carry On!, which both deal with the military experience within the First World War, that Shurey borrowed warships from the British military.

According to Berki, Shurey's dedication to her filming process was expressed in her interview with Banbury Advertiser in 1927, in which she described the making of Second to None. She was forced, as the producer, to not only lower herself down through a manhole but also her entire crew with their equipment :

"You can imagine our difficulties, getting all our lighting equipment, with yards and yards of cables, down there. The heat of course was unbearable and it was only practical to work for very limited periods."

The Last Post (1929)
For her second venture into directing Shurey co-wrote with Lydia Hayward, who was a consistent collaborator on Shurey's films. The Last Post is often cited by critics as Shurey's most controversial film. According to Bibi Berki, the film describes the story of twin brothers during the First World War who get wrapped up with the Bolshevik General Strike while both pursuing the same woman. Her intention was to produce a film that commented on the British war sentiment during the First World War.

Court Case
However, while Shurey’s films were generally well-received by the public, critics disagreed, gaining the attention of Nerina Shute, a columnist for the Film Weekly. On June 10, 1929 Film Weekly published an article titled “Can Women Direct Films? A Decided Negative From A Woman Who Knows.” The article stated:

"It is pathetically obvious that women can’t produce films. In England only one lady has had the temerity to try. Dinah Shurey (who will go to heaven by reason of her great courage) has created several appalling pictures. Critics have bowed with sad courtesy to the gentle creator of such films as The Last Post. They cannot fail to admire her good intentions, and yet… In America the situation is very nearly as distressing. There are perhaps three women directors in existence, but no one of them has made an outstanding picture. What then is the reason?"

The article raised questions as to whether or not women could successfully create a film that held the same standard as men, arguing that, using Shurey’s filmography, women could not.

Angered by the publication, Shurey suggested she write a piece in the Film Weekly as a direct response to her critics titled, “Women Can Direct Films - From a Woman Who Knows.” Publishers refused to allow her to name Shute directly, resulting in Shurey's decision to take legal action and take her case to the High Court.

In February 1931, Shurey sued Film Weekly for libel, arguing that the article stated that her work was without value, proving that women could not produce a film. Film Weekly disagreed. They argued they were entitled to their opinion, and that their conclusions were proved through the viewing of her films.

The case was put to the jury, who awarded Shurey £500 in damages.