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. The company immediately joined other studios in the Motion Picture Patents Company that held a monopoly on production and distribution. Frank Marion had been the sales manager at Biograph Studios and Samuel Long was the manager of the Biograph production facility at Hoboken, New Jersey. Needing to raise more capital, the two experienced filmmakers approached Chicago businessman George Kleine to come in as a partner. Kleine, already a successful film distributor, was involved only a short time but it was a profitable investment for him as his partners were soon successful enough to buy out his shares at a considerable premium. A movie studio is a location, room, building, or group of buildings and/or sound stages, offices and storage facilities, which may include a backlot, where movies are made. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... See also: 1906 in film 1907 1908 in film years in film film Events Carl Laemmle of German development of Syncroscope. ... MPPC stands for Motion Picture Patents Company, also known as the Edison Trust, also known as the First Oligopoly. ... 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. ... Image of Hoboken taken by NASA (red line shows where Hoboken is). ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ...

The company began operations from a small office at 131 West Twenty-fourth Street in New York City. The partners were able to lure general manager and director Sidney Olcott away from Biograph who eventually became the Kalem Company's president and was rewarded with one share of its stock. Kalem had no indoor studios, and as such most of its films were shot on location. In February of 1907, the company made its first motion picture titled "The Sleigh Belle." While Kalem immediately scored success after success in their first year, at the once powerful Biograph their rate of production stagnated, hampered by the loss of important personnel. Sidney Olcott (September 20, 1873 - December 16, 1949) was a Canadian producer, director, actor and writer. ...

Alice Joyce, 1915

Under the direction of Sidney Olcott, Kalem made a number of significant films, including the first ever adaptation of Ben Hur and the following year, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 1910 Olcott gave actress Alice Joyce her first acting job in his production of "The Deacon's Daughter." That year, the company shot a film in Ireland, making Kalem the first movie studio ever to travel outside the United States to film on location. As director, Olcott headed the team in Ireland and among those he brought with him were Kalem's leading lady and principal screenwriter, Gene Gauntier, actor Robert Vignola and cameraman, George Hollister. There, they notably filmed The Lad from Old Ireland plus they made a number of film shorts in Blarney Castle, Glengarriff and the Lakes of Killarney. Olcott and Valentine Grant, his future wife, and others from the studio returned to Ireland for most of the summer in each of the next two years. The O'Kalems, as the American entourage were affectionately dubbed, made such Irish films as Rory O'Moore, The Gypsies of Old Ireland, You Remember Ellen, The Colleen Bawn, plus more than a dozen others. Later on, only the outbreak of World War I, prevented Olcott from following through with his plans to build a permanent studio in Beaufort, County Kerry. Alice Joyce Alice Joyce (1 October 1890 - 9 October 1959) was an actress born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States best known for her Hollywood cinema roles in the 1910s and 1920s, perhaps most famously The Green Goddess. Joyce was known as The Madonna of the Screen for her striking... Ben Hur is a 15 minute long 1907 silent film, it was the first film version of Lew Wallaces novel Ben-Hur. ... The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll1and Mr. ... Alice Joyce Alice Joyce (1 October 1890 - 9 October 1959) was an actress born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States best known for her Hollywood cinema roles in the 1910s and 1920s, perhaps most famously The Green Goddess. Joyce was known as The Madonna of the Screen for her striking... Gene Gauntier (May 17, 1885 - December 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter and actress. ... View from the top of the castle of the surrounding grounds Kissing the Blarney Stone See Also Blarney Stone of Eloquence External Links Official Blarney Castle Website Categories: Ireland geography stubs | Europe buildings and structures stubs | Castles in Ireland ... Glengarriff (Gleann Garbh in Irish, meaning Rough glen) is a village of approximately 600 people in the south-west region of County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. ... Lakes of Killarney - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Beaufort is: The name of some places in the United States of America: Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort County, North Carolina Beaufort County, South Carolina The name of a place in Australia: Beaufort, Victoria The name of several communes in France: Beaufort, in the Haute-Garonne département Beaufort... County Kerry (Irish: Ciarraí) is a county in the southwest of Ireland, in the Munster province of the Republic of Ireland, informally referred to as The Kingdom. ...

Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clarke filming on location in Ireland in 1912's "You Remember Ellen"

The Irish films led to Olcott taking a crew to Palestine in 1912 to make the first five-reel film ever. Titled From the Manger To the Cross, it told the life story of Jesus. According to Turner Classic Movies, it is considered the most important silent film to deal with the life of Christ. In 1998 the film was selected for the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress. Gene Gauntier (May 17, 1885 - December 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter and actress. ... ... From the Manger To the Cross is a 1912 film which tells the story of Jesus life. ... // Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianitys central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. ... Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a cable television channel similar to American Movie Classics (AMC) featuring classic movies from the MGM and Warner Brothers libraries. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ...

Kalem was also one of the first studios to regularly film year round by setting up facilities in Florida during the winter. The Florida company consisted of Sidney Olcott, George Hollister, camera man; Allen Farnham, scenic artist; Arthur Clough, property man; Gene Gauntier scenarist and leading actress; Jack J. Clarke, leading male actor; Robert Vignola and Ethel Eastcourt. State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... Gene Gauntier (May 17, 1885 - December 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter and actress. ...

In the fall of 1910, Kalem began organizing other studio locations. Director Kenean Buel was sent to California, taking Alice Joyce as leading woman, along with Jane Wolfe and George Melford. Kalem operated in various Southern California locations until October of 1913 when they took over the Essanay Studios property at 1425 Fleming Street (now, Hoover Street) in east Hollywood. Before long another company was added to the west coast, with Ruth Roland as the lead actress and overseer of "Kalem House" where all the actors lived. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Alice Joyce Alice Joyce (1 October 1890 - 9 October 1959) was an actress born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States best known for her Hollywood cinema roles in the 1910s and 1920s, perhaps most famously The Green Goddess. Joyce was known as The Madonna of the Screen for her striking... George Melford, 1920 George H. Melford (February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and film director. ... 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. ... ...

Helen Holmes in action, 1914

In November of 1914, Kalem released the first of 119 episodes of the The Hazards of Helen serial. An adventure film, Helen Holmes played the lead character "Helen" and did most of her own stunts in the first 26 episodes until she and director J.P. McGowan left to set up their own film production company. The two began a relationship while working on the serial that led to marriage. Director James Davis took over and Elsie McLeod substituted in episodes 27-49 until a permanent "Helen" could be found for the remainder in the form of Helen Gibson. Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... Adventure film is a film genre containing elements of adventure. ...

Allan Dwan joined Kalem for a short time, as did Mary Pickford who also directed films in 1913. Over the years, Kalem contracted various other directors such as actor-turned-director George Melford, James W. Horne, Rube Miller, William Beaudine, Harry F. Millarde, and Robert Ellis. In 1915, the company lost Sidney Olcott who left to work independently for World Film Corporation, Famous Players-Lasky Co., and other studios. Two years later, after having made close to one thousand motion pictures, the Kalem Company was sold to Vitagraph Studios. Allan Dwan (April 3, 1885 – December 21, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter. ... Mary Pickford Mary Pickford (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was a motion picture star and co-founder of United Artists, known as Americas Sweetheart and the girl with the curl. ... George Melford, 1920 George H. Melford (February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and film director. ... Prew (December 14, 1880 - June 29, 1942) was an American Prew. ... William Beaudine (January 15, 1892 - March 18, 1970) was an American film director. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used from 1987 to 1995. ... 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. ...

External link

• Kalem Company filming in Ireland