His oeuvre consists of over fifty feature films made between 1914 and 1924.[lower-alpha 1] He is perhaps best known for directing twenty-four films starring vamp actress Theda Bara—including Cleopatra, her most famous role—[2] and also the 1921 epic The Queen of Sheba.[3][4] Edwards was born in Montreal and educated at a military academy with the expectation that he would pursue a career as a British Army officer. He decided against a life in the military in favor of a future in theater.[5] At the time, the Canadian theater and film industry was limited primarily to repertory theatre, so Edwards became one of many to emigrate to the United States to work in the field.[6] He had a short career as an actor before becoming a stage director. By 1910, he was working for American motion picture producer William Fox, who sent him to Europe to study film production.[5]