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Mascot Pictures
Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other companies to form Republic Pictures. Mascot's serial ''The King of the Kongo'' (1929) was the first serial to include sound, beating Universal Studios by several months. The company's logo featured a roaring tiger resting on top of a model of the planet Earth. Early years Mascot was created by Nat Levine, a former personal secretary to Marcus Loew, in 1927 after the success of his independent serial ''The Silent Flyer'' ( 1926). In the beginning the company operated out of the upstairs offices of a contractor's business on Santa Monica Boulevard. It rented all of its equipment and facilities. In 1929 the studio made serial history with the production of ''The King of the Kongo''. This was the first serial, from any production company ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City and a movie ranch in Encino. It was best known for specializing in Westerns, serials, and B films emphasizing mystery and action. Republic was also notable for developing the careers of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. It was also responsible for the financing and distribution of a few A films directed by John Ford during the 1940s and early 1950s and one Shakespeare film, ''Macbeth'' (1948), directed by Orson Welles. Under Herbert J. Yates, Republic was considered a mini-major film studio. Company history Created in 1935 by Herbert J. Yates, a longtime investor in film (having invested in 20th Century Pictures at its founding in 1933) and owner of the film processing laboratory Consolidated Film Industries, Republic was initial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before sound motion pictures became commercially practical. Reliable synchronization was difficult to achieve with the early sound-on-disc systems, and amplification and recording quality were also inadequate. Innovations in sound-on-film led to the first commercial screening of short motion pictures using the technology, which took place in 1923. The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid-to-late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronized dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were exclusively shorts. The earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects. The first feature film originally presented as a talkie (although it had only limited so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Studio
A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production company. Most firms in the entertainment industry have never owned their own studios, but have rented space from other companies. There are also independently owned studio facilities, who have never produced a motion picture of their own because they are not entertainment companies or motion picture companies; they are companies who sell only studio space. Beginnings In 1893, Thomas Edison built the first movie studio in the United States when he constructed the Black Maria, a tarpaper-covered structure near his laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, and asked circus, vaudeville, and dramatic actors to perform for the camera. He distributed these movies at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax museums, and fairgrounds. The first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. Devastating effects were seen in both rich and poor countries with falling personal income, prices, tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the Biograph Company of New York City, and later opened Keystone Studios in Edendale, California in 1912. Keystone possessed the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator of slapstick routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in the Keystone Cops films. He also produced short features that displayed his Bathing Beauties, many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers. Sennett's work in sound movies was less successful, and he was bankrupted in 1933. In 1938 he was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film comedy. Early life Born Michael Sinnott in Danville, Quebec, he was the son of Irish Catholic John Sinnott and Catherine Foy. His parents married in 187 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1931 In Film
The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1931 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 5: RKO acquires the producing and distribution arm of Pathé for $4.6 million. * June 20: Monogram Pictures releases its first film, ''Ships of Hate''. * July 7: Anti-competitive practices disclosed about certain distributors and producers in Canada. * November 17: E. R. Tinker elected president of Fox Films replacing Harley L. Clarke. * December 14: RKO refinancing plan approved. Best money stars ''Variety'' reported the following as the biggest male stars in the U.S. in alphabetical order although grouped George Arliss and Ronald Colman together as having equal ranking. The following were the biggest women names in the U.S. in alphabetical order but again grouped two actresses together to denote they were ranked the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Phantom Of The West
''The Phantom of the West'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film serial and was the second all-talking serial produced by Mascot Pictures. Tom Tyler stars as Jim Lester, trying to prove that Francisco Cortez (Frank Lanning) is innocent of killing Lester's father years before. The real villain is the mysterious ''Phantom'' and his League of the Lawless. Plot summary Francisco Cortez escapes prison after serving fifteen years for the murder of Jim Lester's father. Hunted by a posse, the escaped convict takes refuge in Jim Lester's house. When Lester discovers him, Cortez proclaims his innocence. He lists the names of seven men, one of which is the real killer, the murderer calling himself "The Phantom". Cast *Tom Tyler as Jim Lester * William Desmond as Martin Blaine *Tom Santschi as Bud Landers *Dorothy Gulliver as Mona Cortez, Francisco Cortez's daughter *Philo McCullough as Royce Macklin *Frank Lanning as Francisco Cortez, escaped convict falsely accused of murdering Jim L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before sound motion pictures became commercially practical. Reliable synchronization was difficult to achieve with the early sound-on-disc systems, and amplification and recording quality were also inadequate. Innovations in sound-on-film led to the first commercial screening of short motion pictures using the technology, which took place in 1923. The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid-to-late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronized dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were exclusively shorts. The earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects. The first feature film originally presented as a talkie (although it had only limited so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1926 In Film
The following is an overview of 1926 in film, including significant events, a list of films released, and notable births and deaths. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1926 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *February – The oldest surviving animated feature film is released in the Weimar Republic, directed by Lotte Reiniger. It is called ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (''Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed''). *August 5 – Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, ''Don Juan''. The Vitaphone system uses multiple rpm gramophone records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back music and sound effects synchronized with film. *August 23 – Rudolph Valentino, whose film ''The Son of the Sheik'' was currently playing, dies at the age of 31 in New York. Riots occur at the funeral parlor as thousands of people try to see his body. *October 7 – Warner Brothers release the second Vitaphone film, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Silent Flyer
''The Silent Flyer'' is a 1926 10-episode (chapter) American adventure film serial directed by William James Craft. The film serial was sold to Universal Pictures for $75,000 with the resulting funds used in the founding of Mascot Pictures.Tuska 1999, pp. 10-11. Plot Scientist Benjamin Darrell (Anders Randolf) has invented a silent aircraft motor of tremendous potential benefit to aeronautical and military concerns. A plot is underway to steal the invention. Lloyd Darrell ( Malcolm McGregor), a secret service agent, disguises himself as Bill Smith and covertly endeavors to prevent the theft. Together with pretty Helen Corliss (Louise Lorraine), and most importantly, Silver Streak, a clever German shepherd, the trio serve to foil any criminals. Chapter titles #The Jaws of Death #Dynamited #Waters of Death #The Treacherous Trail #Plunge of Peril #Flight of Honor #Under Arrest #Flames of Terror #Hurled Through Space #Love and Glory Cast * Malcolm McGregor as Lloyd Darrell, posi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM). Life and career Loew was born in New York City, into a poor Jewish family, who had emigrated to New York City a few years previously from Austria and Germany. He was forced by circumstances to work at a very young age and had little formal education. Nevertheless, beginning with a small investment of money saved from menial jobs, he bought into the penny arcade business. Shortly after, in partnership with Adolph Zukor and others, he founded the successful but short-lived Automatic Vaudeville Company which established a chain of arcades across several cities. After the company dissolved in 1904 Loew converted his share of the business into nickelodeons and over time he turned Loew's Theatres into a leading chain of vaudeville and movie theaters in the United States. By 1905, Marcus Loew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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