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British filmmaker George Pearson was a driving force in the development of British cinema during its early years. Educated at Oxford, Pearson was a schoolmaster before joining the film industry in 1912 as a director of educational films; the following year, he began making more entertaining features. In time, Pearson distinguished himself as one of Britain's premiere directors of silent films. He later founded his own production company where, in addition to directing, he produced and wrote his own films. Pearson was known for his technical innovations and for his intense stories; it was he who was responsible for making British films popular in the U.S. While Pearson was a key figure during the silent era, his influence and the quality of his work declined sharply after the advent of sound, when he began making numerous "quota quickies." In 1957, Pearson published his autobiography, Flashback (1957).