The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short films and twelve feature films.^{[1] [2]} A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ...

A new company with the same name was incorporated in 1991.^[3]

Founding

The company was started by William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, an inventor at Thomas Edison's laboratory who helped pioneer the technology of capturing moving images on film. Dickson left Edison and joined with inventors Herman Casler, Henry Marvin and businessman Elias Koopman to form the American Mutoscope Company in December 1895. The firm manufactured the Mutoscope, and made flip-card movies for it, as a rival to Edison’s Kinetoscope for individual “peep shows”, making the company Edison’s chief competitor in the nickelodeon market. In the summer of 1896 the Biograph projector was released, offering superior image quality to Edison’s Vitascope projector. The company soon became a leader in the film industry, with distribution and production subsidiaries around the world including the British Mutoscope Company. In 1899 it changed its name to the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, and in 1909 to simply the Biograph Company.^[4] William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (August 3, 1860–September 28, 1935) was a Scottish inventor who is credited with the invention of the motion picture camera under the employ of Thomas Edison. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life in the 20th century. ... Herman Casler - American Inventor (1867-1939) was co-founder of the partnership called the KMCD Syndicate, along with W.K-L. Dickson, Elias Koopman, and Harry Marvin, which eventually was incorporated into the American Mutoscope Company in 1895. ... Elias Bernard Koopman American Businessman/Inventor (1860-1929) was one of the founders of the KMCD syndicate which preceeded and became the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. ... Events March 22 - First display of motion pictures by Auguste and Louis Lumière (private screening). ... The Mutoscope an 1899 trade advertisement The Mutoscope was an early form of motion picture device, invented by the American Mutoscope Company aka American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1895. ... Kinetoscope with open door, film loop, and top viewing window open The Kinetoscope was a device that gave the impression of movement by moving an endless loop of film continuously over a light source with a rapid shutter. ...

To avoid violating Edison’s motion picture patents, Biograph cameras from 1895 to fall 1903 used a large-format film measuring 2-23/32 inches (68 mm) wide, with an image area of 2 by 2-1/2 inches, four times that of Edison’s 35 mm format. The camera used friction feed, instead of Edison’s sprocket feed, to guide the film to the aperture. The camera itself punched a sprocket hole on each side of the frame as the film was exposed at 30 frames per second, double Edison’s speed.^{[5] [6]} A patent case victory in March 1902 allowed Biograph and other producers and distributors to use the less expensive 35 mm format without an Edison license.^[7] Biograph offered prints in both formats to exhibitors until 1905, when it discontinued the larger format.^{[8] [9]} Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks - The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ...

Biograph films before 1903 were mostly “actualities”: documentary footage of actual persons, places and events, each film usually less than two minutes long. The occasional narrative film, usually a comedy, was typically shot in one scene, with no editing. Spurred on by competition from Edison and British and European producers, Biograph production from 1903 onward was increasingly dominated by narratives, and as the stories became more complex, the films became longer, with multiple scenes to tell the story, although an individual scene was still usually presented in one shot without editing. Biograph's production of actualities ended by 1908 in favor of the narrative film.

With the increased reliance on narrative films, Biograph moved in 1903 from its rooftop studio on Broadway to a converted brownstone mansion on East 14th Street in Manhattan, its first indoor studio, and the first movie studio in the world to rely exclusively on artificial light. Biograph moved again in 1913, as it entered feature film production, to a new, state-of-the-art studio on 175th Street in the Bronx. See also: 1902 in film 1903 1904 in film years in film film Events The Great Train Robbery, by Edwin S. Porter The Magic Lantern / La Lanterne magicue, produced by Georges Méliès What Happened in the Tunnel Births January 18 - Werner Hinz, actor (d. ... A view of Broadway in 1909 Broadway, as the name implies, is a wide avenue in New York City, and is the oldest north-south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement. ... This article is about the building material and the dwelling. ... // Events The Squaw Man, the first Hollywood feature film, is made. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ...

D.W. Griffith

Director D.W. Griffith joined Biograph in 1908 as a writer and actor, but within months became their principal director, and helped establish many of the conventions of narrative film, including cross-cutting to show events occurring simultaneously in different places, the flashback, the fade-in/fade-out, the interposition of closeups within a scene, and a moderated acting style more suitable for film. Although Griffith did not invent these techniques, he made them a regular part of the film vocabulary. Griffith’s prolific output, often one new film a week, and willingness to experiment in many different genres helped the company become a major commercial success. Many early movie stars were Biograph performers, including Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Robert Harron, Carol Dempster, Alan Hale, Sr., Blanche Sweet, Harry Carey, Mabel Normand, Henry B. Walthall and Dorothy Davenport. Mack Sennett honed his craft as an actor and director of comedies at Biograph. The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In literature and film, a flashback (also called analepsis) takes the narrative back in time from the point the story has reached, to recount events that happened before and give the back-story. ... In stage lighting, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease of the intensity of light projected onto the stage. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Mary Pickford Mary Pickford (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was a Canadian-born motion picture star and co-founder of United Artists, known as Americas Sweetheart, Little Mary and the girl with the golden curls. ... Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, radio and film. ... Lillian Gish Lillian Diana de Guiche (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993), was an Oscar-nominated American actress, better known as Lillian Gish. ... Dorothy Gish photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 Dorothy Gish (March 11, 1898 - June 4, 1968) was an American actress. ... Robert Bobby Harron (April 12, 1893 - September 5, 1920) was a highly successful and publicly popular American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. ... Carol Dempster in a circa 1918-1920 publicity photograph Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 - February 1, 1991) was a notable American film actress of the silent film era. ... Alan Hale Sr. ... Blanche Sweet Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1895 - September 6, 1986) was a silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry. ... Harry Carey (January 16, 1878–September 21, 1947) was an American actor and one of silent films earliest superstars. ... Mabel Normand Mabel Normand (November 10, 1892 - February 23, 1930) was a US film actress, who was a popular comedienne in silent films. ... Henry B. Walthall (March 16, 1878 - June 17, 1936) was an American film actor. ... Dorothy Davenport [1] (March 13, 1895 - October 12, 1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer. ... Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was an innovator of slapstick comedy in film. ...

In January of 1910, D.W. Griffith, and Lee Dougherty with the rest of the Biograph acting company, traveled to Los Angeles. While the purpose of the trip was to shoot the film Ramona in authentic locations, it was also to determine the suitability of the West Coast as a place for a permanent studio. The group set up a small facility at Washington Street and Grand Avenue (where the Los Angeles Convention Center now stands). After this, Griffith and his players decided to go a little further north to a small village they had heard about that was friendly, and had beautiful floral scenery. They decided to travel there, and fell in love with this little place called Hollywood. Biograph then made the first film ever in Hollywood called In Old California, a Latino melodrama about the early days of Mexico-owned California.^[10] Griffith and the Biograph troupe then filmed other short movies at various locations, then travelled back to New York. After the east coast film community heard about Hollywood, other film companies began to migrate there. Biograph’s little film launched Hollywood as the future movie capital of the world. Biograph opened a studio at Pico and Georgia streets in downtown Los Angeles in 1911, and sent a film crew to work there each year until 1916. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in Los Angeles. ... ... In early 1910, director D. W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troop consisting of actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and others. ... ... ...

Griffith left Biograph in October 1913, after finishing Judith of Bethulia, unhappy with their resistance to larger budgets, feature film production, or giving onscreen credit to him and the cast. With him went many of the Biograph actors, his cameraman Billy Bitzer, and his production crew. As a final slight to Griffith, Biograph delayed release of Judith of Bethulia until March 1914, to avoid a profit-sharing arrangement the company had with him.^[11] Judith of Bethulia starred Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall. ... A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... Georg William Billy Bitzer (April 21, 1872–April 29, 1944) was a cinematographer notable for his close association with D. W. Griffith, working with him on some of his most important films and contributing significantly to cinematic innovations attributed to Griffith. ...

Decline

In December 1908, Biograph joined Edison in forming the Motion Picture Patents Company in an attempt to control the industry and shut out smaller producers.^[12] “The Edison Trust” as it was nicknamed, was made up of Edison, Biograph, Essanay Studios, Kalem Company, George Kleine Productions, Lubin Studios, Georges Méliès, Pathé, Selig Studios, and Vitagraph Studios, and dominated distribution through the General Film Company. The Motion Picture Patents Co. and the General Film Co. were found guilty of antitrust violation in October 1915, and dissolved.^[13] MPPC stands for Motion Picture Patents Company, also known as the Edison Trust, also known as the First Oligopoly. ... Essanay Studios was a motion picture company founded in Chicago, Illinois by George K. Spoor and Bronco Billy Anderson under the name Essanay (S and A). It produced silent films with such stars as Ben Turpin, Wallace Beery, Francis X. Bushman, Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin. ... Kalem Studios and Hollywood staff, 1915 The Kalem Company was an American film studio founded in New York City in 1907 by Frank J. Marion, Samuel Long, and George Kleine. ... Lubin Studios, Philadelphia (c. ... Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938), full name Maries-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. ... Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France. ... The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company founded in 1896 in Chicago, Illinois by William Selig. ... American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 and bought by Warner Brothers in 1925. ...

Shielded by the Trust, Biograph had been slow to enter feature film production. Biograph contracted with the theatrical firm of Klaw & Erlanger in 1913 to produce movie versions of the latter’s plays. Their first released feature, Classmates, came out in February 1914, after sixty-nine other American features had been released in 1912-1913.^[14] With the exodus of the studio’s best actors with Griffith, Biograph was unable develop a marketable star system as the independent companies were doing, and after the Trust’s fall, Biograph found itself behind the times. The Biograph Co. released its last new feature-length films in 1915, and its last new short films in 1916.^[15] Biograph spent the remainder of the silent era reissuing its old films, and leasing its Bronx studio to other producers. When the Biograph Company fell on financial hard times, the studio facilites were acquired by one of Biograph Company's creditors, the Empire Trust Company, although Biograph Company continued to manage the studio Herbert Yates acquired the Biograph Company Studios and Film laboratory facilities in 1928. Biograph Studios in the Bronx was made a subsidiary of his Consolidated Film Industries in 1928.^{[16] [17]} The studio and laboratory facilities burned down in 1980.^[18] Klaw & Erlanger was the New York City based theatrical production partnership of entrepreneur A.L. Erlanger and lawyer Marcus Klaw. ... Herbert John Yates (1880-1966) was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. ... The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (also known as the Biograph Company) was founded in 1895 and is the oldest movie production company in the United States. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ... Consolidated Film Industries has been the leading film laboratory in the Los Angeles area for many decades. ...

New company

In 1987 producer Thomas R. Bond II and his father, the late Tommy Bond (1926-2005), who played “Butch” in Our Gang (also known as “The Little Rascals”), revived the company, which was incorporated in California in 1991. Biograph is now an independent film and entertainment company and is located in the historic core section of Downtown Los Angeles.^[19] It has released one production, The Rascals, hosted by Tommy Bond. Thomas R. Bond II (August 12th, 1964 is a American Producer/Director. ... Tommy Bond as Butch during his second Our Gang tenure. ... A poster for the 1931 Our Gang comedy Love Business featuring depictions of (from left to right): Pete the Pup, Jackie Cooper, and Norman Chubby Chaney. ... The Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles as seen from USC, which makes up most of Downtowns skyline. ...

In 2003, Thomas R. Bond II announced that he had acquired title to 1,777 acres on the Moon for use as a filming location, and stated that he planned to start filming there by 2008.^[20] Bulk composition of the moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ...

See also

• Cinema of the United States
• History of cinema
• List of film formats
• List of Hollywood movie studios

The cinema of the United States, although it is sometimes simply referred to as Hollywood does not refer only to the film industry of the United States of America. ... Origins of motion picture arts and sciences Any overview of the history of cinema would be remiss to fail to at least mention a long history of literature, storytelling, narrative drama, art, mythology, puppetry, shadow play, cave paintings and perhaps even dreams. ... This is a list of film formats known to have been developed for shooting or viewing motion pictures since the development of such photographic technology towards the end of the 19th century. ... This is a list of Hollywood movie studios. ...

References

1. ^ Elias Savada (Editor). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Film Beginnings, 1893–1910 — A Work in Progress: v. A. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810830213.
2. ^ Lauritzen, Einar; Lundquist, Gunnar (1976). American Film-Index 1908–1915: Motion Pictures, July 1908–December 1915, distributed by Akademiebokhandeln, University of Stockholm, Stockholm: Film-Index. ISBN 9174100017.
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ Slide, Anthony (1998). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 081083426X.
5. ^ Billy Bitzer. "The Biograph Camera". The Operating Cameraman (Spring 1995). URL accessed on [[2004-11-30]].
6. ^ Musser, Charles (1994). The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907, 303-313, Berkeley, Cal.: Univesrity of California Press. ISBN 0520085337.
7. ^ Continued Legal Battles. A Guide to Motion Picture Catalogs by American Producers and Distributors. Rutgers University.
8. ^ Gunning, Tom (Dec 12 1993). D.W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film: The Early Years at Biograph. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 025206366X. Accessed via Google Print.
9. ^ Vaidhyanathan, Siva (April 1 2003). Copyrights and copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity, 88, NYU Press. ISBN 0814788076. Accessed via Google Print.
10. ^ Robertson, Patrick (2001). Film Facts, 21, New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0823079430. Although In Old California was the first movie shot specifically in Hollywood, Biograph had already filmed A Daring Hold-Up in Southern California in Los Angeles in 1906. Niver, Kemp R. (1971). Biograph Bulletins, 1896-1908, 262, Los Angeles: Locare Research Group. The Selig Polyscope Company made pictures in the Los Angeles area in 1908 and 1909, and began construction of a movie studio in Edendale, just east of Hollywood, in 1909.
11. ^ Bowser, Eileen (1990). The Transformation of Cinema 1907-1915, 253, Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520085345.
12. ^ [2]
13. ^ [3]
14. ^ Hanson, Patricia King (ed.) (1989). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures: Feature Films, 1911-1920. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520063015.
15. ^ Einar Lauritzen and Gunnar Lundquist, American Film-Index, 1916-1920: Motion Pictures, January 1916-December 1920. Stockholm, Sweden: Film-Index; Huddinge, Sweden: Distributed by Tonnheims, 1984. ISBN 9186568019
16. ^ Tuska, Jon (1999). The Vanishing Legion: A History of Mascot Pictures, 1927-1935, 42, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0786407492. The last trade of Biograph stock was reported by The New York Times on December 27, 1928, p. 39. The last of the Biograph film copyrights expired in 1945, without any of them having been renewed for a second term. Hurst, Walter E. (1992-1994). Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain. Hollywood, Cal.: Hollywood Film Archive.
17. ^ "Screen News Here and in Hollywood", The New York Times, September 27, 1939, p. 29. Empire Trust Company, one of Biograph's creditors, had acquired the Bronx studio, but retained Biograph to manage it. Empire Trust later reassigned management to one of its own subsidiaries, The Actinograph Corp., which held it until 1948.
18. ^ "Bronx Blaze Damages Old Biograph Studios," The New York Times, July 9, 1980, p. B4.
19. ^ [4]
20. ^ [5]

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... Google offers a variety of services and tools besides its basic web search. ... The lake in Echo Park. ...

External links

• BIOGRAPH The oldest movie company in America Production Companies. company website. American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
• American Mutoscope Company at the Internet Movie Database—index of movies produced or distributed by the American Mutoscope Company.
• American Mutoscope & Biograph at the Internet Movie Database—index of movies produced or distributed by American Mutoscope & Biograph (not complete after 1903).
• Biograph Company at the Internet Movie Database—index of movies produced or distributed by the Biograph Company (not complete).
• "Old Downtowner Returns", Los Angeles Downtown News, March 31, 2006.
• Jennifer M. Wood. "Biograph’s Biography". MovieMaker Magazine 10 (Winter 2004).
• Mutoscope and Biograph. MOMI. The Projection Box.
• Biograph company. LearnAboutMoviePosters.