Film Booking Offices Of America
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Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the
silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...
, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-American import-export company. Robertson-Cole began distributing films in the United States that December and opened a
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
production facility in 1920. Late that year, R-C entered into a working relationship with East Coast financier
Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...
. A business reorganization in 1922 led to the company's assumption of the new FBO name. Two years later, the studio contracted with
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
leading man
Fred Thomson Frederick Clifton Thomson (February 26, 1890 – December 25, 1928) was an American silent film cowboy who rivaled Tom Mix in popularity before dying at age 38 of tetanus. Birth and athletic achievement Born in Pasadena, California to Clara ...
, who within a couple years was one of Hollywood's most popular stars. Thomson was just one of several silent screen cowboys with whom FBO became identified. The studio, whose core market was America's small towns, also put out many romantic melodramas, action pictures, and comedic
shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...
.
Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...
and
Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man i ...
were the major stars of its R-C period. Subsequently,
Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...
and
Richard Talmadge Richard Talmadge (born Sylvester Alphonse Metz; 3 December 1892 – 25 January 1981) also known as Sylvester Metzetti, Ricardo Metzetti, or Sylvester Ricardo Metzetti, was a German-born actor, stuntman and film director. Early life Born in ...
were FBO's biggest non-Western stars. From 1925 on, adaptations of the works of
Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservati ...
were consistently among its top box office attractions. In 1926, Kennedy led an investment group that acquired the company; he relocated to California to run it, with considerable success. Exhibitors cited '' The Keeper of the Bees'', based on a Stratton-Porter novel, as the year's most popular film. In August 1928, using
RCA Photophone RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. RCA Photophone was an opt ...
technology, FBO became the second Hollywood studio to release a
feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
-length "
talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
". Two months later, Kennedy and
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
chief
David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career, he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly afte ...
arranged the merger between FBO and the
Keith-Albee-Orpheum The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres. It was formed by the merger of the holdings of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II and Martin Beck's Orpheum Circuit. Hist ...
theater circuit that created
RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
, one of the
major studios Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the ...
of Hollywood's
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
. FBO's assets were folded into the new company, and it was dissolved in early 1929.


Business history


The R-C years

The company that would become FBO began as Robertson-Cole, an importer, exporter, and motion picture distributor with headquarters in London and New York, founded in 1918 by Englishman Harry F. Robertson and American Rufus S. Cole. The company handled American-made trucks, cars, automobile accessories, and
Bell & Howell Bell and Howell LLC is a U.S.-based services organization and former manufacturer of cameras, lenses, and motion picture machinery, founded in 1907 by two projectionists, and originally headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company is now he ...
motion picture equipment; its initial film distribution focus was on the Northern European, South Asian, and Latin American markets. From its U.S. office, R-C Pictures, as it was often branded, started American motion picture distribution late in 1918, purchasing film rights from independent production companies and selling them on to Exhibitors Mutual Distributing, a corporate successor of the
Mutual Film Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures. Founding Mutual's ...
studio. In November, R-C contracted to serve as the sole provider to Exhibitors Mutual, and its first acquisitions were released the following month. For its top-of-the-line "product", it purchased the movies of star actor
Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man i ...
, whose films were produced by his own company,
Haworth Pictures Corporation Haworth Pictures Corporation was a film studio established by Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in March 1918. Haworth Pictures Corporation was Hollywood’s first Asian-owned production company. Filmography * ''His Birthright'' (1918) * '' The Te ...
. Other companies also made films expressly for R-C distribution: B.B. Features, Jesse D. Hampton Productions, National Film Corporation, Winsome Stars. To accompany its features, Robertson-Cole also acquired a wide variety of serials and other
shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...
, from ''Supreme Comedies'' with
Harry Depp Harry Depp (22 February 1883 – 31 March 1957) was an American film actor, silent film pioneer, comedian, agent and real estate investor. He was born 22 February 1883 in St. Louis, Missouri to William Depp and Laura Freund. Between 1916 and 1947 ...
and Teddy Sampson to a biweekly series, ''On the Borderland of Civilization'', filmed by adventurer Martin Johnson. Late in 1919, independent motion picture producer Frank Hall acquired Exhibitors Mutual and integrated it into his new Hallmark Exchanges. In January 1920, Robertson-Cole purchased Hallmark, securing the capacity to directly distribute the films to which it owned rights, including the in-house productions then being planned. In March, the inaugural "convention of the branch managers and field supervisors of the Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation" was announced. The company currently boasted a slate of twenty-five movies in theaters around the country, with its top films co-branded "Superior Pictures". The first R-C feature productions began to appear, including ''The Third Woman'' that same month, directed by
Charles Swickard Charles Swickard (March 21, 1861 – May 12, 1929) was a German-born American film actor, actor and film director of the silent era. He was the brother of the actor Josef Swickard.Katchmer p.366 Selected filmography Director * ''The Beckoning Fl ...
and starring
Carlyle Blackwell Carlyle Blackwell (January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955) was an American silent film actor, director and producer. Early years Blackwell was born in Troy, Pennsylvania. He studied at Cornell University before J. Stewart Blackton discovered him an ...
and
Louise Lovely Louise Lovely (born Nellie Louise Carbasse; 28 February 1895 – 18 March 1980) was an Australian film actress of Swiss-Italian descent. She is credited by film historians for being the first Australian actress to have a successful career i ...
, and '' The Wonder Man'', directed by John G. Adolfi and starring boxer
Georges Carpentier Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and hi ...
, which had a premiere on May 29 and went into general release in July. With its move into production, Robertson-Cole needed its own filmmaking studio: in June, it acquired a lot around fifteen acres (six hectares) in size in Los Angeles's fortuitously named Colegrove district, then adjacent to but soon to be subsumed by
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
. For exterior shoots, the company purchased 460 acres in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, to be known as the "R-C Ranch". In September, contracts were signed for the construction on the Colegrove property of an administration building with a massive neoclassical façade and eight stages, each occupying nearly a third of an acre. The first film to shoot at the facility, while it was still being built, was the independent production '' Kismet'' (1920), directed by
Louis J. Gasnier Louis Joseph Gasnier (September 15, 1875 – February 15, 1963) was a French-American film director, producer, screenwriter and stage actor. A cinema pioneer, Gasnier shepherded the early career of comedian Max Linder, co-directed the enormously ...
. With the West Coast operation up and running, Hayakawa's production company was absorbed into Robertson-Cole. Rufus Cole also entered into a working relationship with
Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...
, father of future U.S. president
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and then a broker at the New York banking firm of Hayden, Stone. In December, after lengthy negotiations, Kennedy set up his own wholly owned company, Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation of New England, to handle the business's films in an area where he had a controlling interest in a regional theater chain (though it was locked out of Massachusetts by the leading exhibitors). In February 1921, the movie heralded as Robertson-Cole's first "official" production came out: '' The Mistress of Shenstone'', directed by Henry King and starring
Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...
, a former headliner with
Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...
and
Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...
. At the same time, the business was $5 million in debt from the L.A. studio purchase and draining money—banks were reluctant to issue lines of credit to any but the biggest film companies, and R-C was forced to pay interest rates as high as 18 percent to so-called bonus sharks to access working capital. The company's primary investor, the Graham's of London firm, turned to Kennedy to find a buyer, giving him a seat on the R-C board, paying him a monthly adviser's fee, and promising a sizable commission. Though he failed to arrange the sale Graham's was looking for (and his own offer to buy 25 percent of the business was turned down), Kennedy would become deeply involved with the studio in the coming years.


A new identity

In 1922, Robertson-Cole underwent a major reorganization as the company's founders departed. The flagship U.S. distribution business changed its name to Film Booking Offices of America, a banner under which R-C had released more than a dozen independent productions. The West Coast studio operation continued to make films under the Robertson-Cole name for some time, but FBO ultimately became the primary identity of the business for production as well as distribution. Between May 1922 and October 1923, one of the company's new American investors, Pat Powers, was effectively in command. Powers had previously led his own filmmaking company, part of the multiple mergers that created the large
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...
studio in 1912. During his time in charge at FBO, his brand was added to many of its films: "P. A. Powers Presents". Among its outside suppliers of the period were Chester Bennett Productions, Hunt Stromberg Productions, and
Tiffany Productions Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overal ...
. In 1923, the studio launched a series of boxing-themed shorts, ''Fighting Blood'', starring FBO newcomer George O'Hara—it was so popular it was often billed above the accompanying feature. O'Hara would become an FBO mainstay, as would
Alberta Vaughn Alberta Vaughn (June 27, 1904 – April 26, 1992) was an American actress in silent motion pictures and early Western sound films. She appeared in some 130 motion pictures. Early years Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Vaughn was the sister of ac ...
, who specialized in shorts: most of her films were two-reelers, a measure of film length indicating a running time of fifteen to twenty-five minutes. (Many feature films of the era were no more than five reels.) H.C.S. Thomson of Graham's, already chairman of the board, became the business's managing director with the departure of Powers. Before leaving the board in 1924, Kennedy put together a major distribution and production deal between FBO and leading
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
star
Fred Thomson Frederick Clifton Thomson (February 26, 1890 – December 25, 1928) was an American silent film cowboy who rivaled Tom Mix in popularity before dying at age 38 of tetanus. Birth and athletic achievement Born in Pasadena, California to Clara ...
. B. P. Fineman became the studio's production chief that year;
Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...
, his wife, moved over from
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
to become FBO's top dramatic star.Jewell (1982), p. 8. In April 1925, FBO vice-president Joseph I. Schnitzer signed Thomson to a new contract paying him $6,000 a week—roughly $ in dollars. Behind only the enormously popular
Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...
, Thomson was now the second-highest paid of all cowboy actors; his horse, Silver King, beloved by audiences, was covered by a $100,000 insurance policy. The deal also gave Thomson his own dedicated production unit at the studio. In December 1925, the '' Exhibitors Herald'' published its first annual list of the biggest box office films of the preceding year (ending November 15) based on a national survey of theater owners. FBO's top five attractions were led by '' A Girl of the Limberlost'', an adaptation of a novel by bestselling author
Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservati ...
, who had died the previous December; this was followed by ''
Broken Laws ''Broken Laws'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill, remarkable for the appearance of Dorothy Davenport, who is billed as "Mrs. Wallace Reid".
'', an issue-driven melodrama detailing the dire consequences of not spanking naughty children, and three Fred Thomson " oaters": ''
The Bandit's Baby ''The Bandit's Baby'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Fred Thomson and Helen Foster. Plot As described in a film magazine review, forced to hide in the hills with his horse Silver when he was u ...
'', ''
The Wild Bull's Lair ''The Wild Bull's Lair'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent Western film directed by Del Andrews and starring Fred Thomson, Catherine Bennett (actress), Catherine Bennett, and Herbert Prior. Plot As described in a film magazine reviews, Ja ...
'', and ''
Thundering Hoofs ''Thundering Hoofs'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt. It was the first of many films Holt made with Selander.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington ...
''. As a distributor, Film Booking Offices focused on marketing its films to small-town exhibitors and independent theater chains (that is, those not owned by one of the major Hollywood studios). As a production company, it concentrated on low-budget movies, with an emphasis on Westerns, action films, romantic melodramas, and comedy shorts. From its first productions in early 1920 through late 1928, just before it was dissolved in a merger, the company, as either Robertson-Cole Pictures or FBO Pictures, produced more than 400 features. The studio's top-of-the-line movies—"specials", in industry parlance—aimed at major exhibition venues beyond the reach of most FBO films, were sometimes marketed as FBO "Gold Bond" pictures. Between 1924 and 1926, seven of Evelyn Brent's star vehicles as well as two other high-end films were produced under the label of Gothic Pictures or Gothic Productions. With neither the backing of large corporate interests nor the daily money generator of its own theater chain and far from its London owners, the company faced persistent cash-flow difficulties. The significant financial drain of its reliance on short-term, high-interest loans continued.


Kennedy takes command

While still at the Hayden, Stone investment firm, Kennedy had boasted to a colleague, "Look at that bunch of pants pressers in Hollywood making themselves millionaires. I could take the whole business away from them." In 1925, he set out to do so, forming his own group of investors led by wealthy Boston lawyer Guy Currier,
Filene's Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-p ...
department store owner Louis Kirstein, and
Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...
and
Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most ...
owner
Frederick H. Prince Frederick Henry Prince (November 30, 1860 – February 2, 1953) was an American stockbroker, investment banking, investment banker and financier. Early life Prince was born in Winchester, Massachusetts on November 30, 1860, the son of Frede ...
. In August 1925, Kennedy traveled to England with an offer to buy a controlling stake in Film Booking Offices for $1 million. The bid was initially rejected—Graham's had poured $7 million into the company—but in February 1926, FBO's owners decided to take the money. In short order, Kennedy moved his family from Massachusetts to New York City to focus on running his new business. He swiftly addressed the company's perennial cash-flow problems, arranging lines of credit and issuing stock in a business division he established, the Cinema Credit Corporation. By March, he was traveling to Hollywood, where one of his first steps was to cut loose the various independent producers resident at the studio. The president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association, Will Hays, was delighted by the new face on the scene; in his eyes, Kennedy signified both a desirable image for the industry and Wall Street's faith in its prospects. Hays—the movie industry's future censor in chief—heralded Kennedy as "exceedingly American" (historian
Cari Beauchamp Cari Beauchamp (born 1951, Berkeley, California) is an American author, historian, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. She authored the biography ''Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood'', which was subsequent ...
explains the connotation: "not Jewish", in contrast to most of the studio heads), while celebrating Kennedy's "background of lofty and conservative financial connections, an atmosphere of much home and family life and all those fireside virtues of which the public never hears in the current news from Hollywood." Studio chief Fineman departed around the time of Kennedy's purchase to work at the larger
First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...
. The new owner appointed Edwin King to replace him, but took a personal hand in guiding the company creatively as well as financially. His brand, "Joseph P. Kennedy Presents", would proceed to appear on over a hundred films. Kennedy soon brought stability to FBO, making it one of the most reliably profitable outfits in the minor leagues of the Hollywood
studio system A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hol ...
. The focus was on films with Main Street appeal and minimal costs. "We are trying", he declared, "to be the Woolworth and
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
of the motion picture industry rather than the Tiffany." Westerns remained the studio's backbone, along with various action pictures and romantic scenarios; as Kennedy put it, "Melodrama is our meat." Gene Stratton-Porter, then, was the gravy: according to the 1926 ''Exhibitors Herald'' survey, '' The Keeper of the Bees'', for which shooting was completed while the novel was still being serialized in ''
McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...
'', was the number one picture in the entire country that year. The remainder of FBO's top five comprised, once again, three Fred Thomson pictures, along with another Stratton-Porter adaptation. During this period, the average production cost of FBO features was around $50,000, and few were budgeted at anything more than $75,000. By comparison, in 1927–28 the average cost at Fox was $190,000; at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
, $275,000. In a broad economization move, in 1927, FBO ended the long-term contracts with writers that were an industry standard, shifting story assignments to a freelance basis. One major expense Kennedy didn't spare: with the powerful
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
and
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
studios circling Fred Thomson, Kennedy kept him at FBO for $15,000 a week (assigning the contract to a newly created corporation, Fred Thomson Productions, "for tax purposes"). The actor now had the second-highest straight salary in the entire industry, surpassed only by Tom Mix again, whose new arrangement with Fox paid $17,500. Thomson's were among those few FBO films budgeted at or above $75,000, but they could be relied on to gross in the quarter-million-dollar range. And Kennedy found an angle to make himself even more money. Under the new contract, Kennedy struck a deal in early 1927 with Paramount for the major studio to produce and distribute a series of four Thomson "super westerns". Kennedy participated in the films' financing, recouping his stake plus $100,000 in profits each; Paramount covered Thomson's weekly salary; and the actor's production unit stayed on the FBO lot. Given the lag time between production and exhibition, of the four Thomson features that reached theaters in 1927, three were FBO releases. For the twelve-month period ending November 15, 1927, theater owners judged FBO's top three films to all be Gene Stratton-Porter adaptations, with two Thomson oaters following.


Sound enters the picture

The advent of
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 ...
would drastically alter the studio's course: Negotiations that began in late 1927 with the
Radio Corporation of America The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
(RCA) on a deal for sound conversion led to RCA purchasing a major interest in FBO in January 1928. Four months later, as part of a strategy conceived with RCA head
David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career, he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly afte ...
, Kennedy acquired control of
Keith-Albee-Orpheum The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres. It was formed by the merger of the holdings of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II and Martin Beck's Orpheum Circuit. Hist ...
(KAO), a vaudeville exhibition chain owning approximately one hundred theaters across the United States, affiliated with many more, and with two small studios under its control:
Pathé Exchange Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Hollywood's silent era. Known for its groundbreaking newsreel and wide array of shorts, it grew out of the American division of the ...
and
Producers Distributing Corporation Producers Distributing Corporation was a short-lived Hollywood film distribution company, organized in 1924 and dissolved in March 1927. In its brief heyday, film director Cecil B. DeMille was its primary shareholder and major talent. Corporat ...
,
Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
's former boutique outlet. FBO's '' The Perfect Crime'', starring
Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States ...
and
Irene Rich Irene Rich (born Irene Frances Luther; October 13, 1891 – April 22, 1988) was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies, as well as radio. Early life Rich was born in Buffalo, New York. At age 17, she wed Elvo Elc ...
, opened on August 4, 1928, at the Rivoli
movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...
in Manhattan's Theater District. The first film directed by admired cinematographer
Bert Glennon Bert Lawrence Glennon (November 19, 1893 – June 29, 1967) was an American cinematographer and film director. He directed ''Syncopation'' (1929), the first film released by RKO Radio Pictures. Biography Glennon was born in Anaconda, Mont ...
, it was also the first feature-length "
talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
" to appear from a studio other than
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
since the epochal premiere of Warners' ''
The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...
'' ten months before. ''The Perfect Crime'' had been shot silently in anticipation of a silent release. Using the
RCA Photophone RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. RCA Photophone was an opt ...
sound-on-film system, dialogue and "mystery sound effects" were dubbed in afterward. Savaging it as a "jabberwocky of inane incidents", the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' review concluded, "What it is all about can be called only an open question. A guess at the solution, however, would be that FBO had a mystery story, and in an effort to keep up with the times had synchronized it.... The synchronization is faulty in many, many places, and several vocal selections are added in curious out-of-the-way scenes." A trade paper report described the studio's plans to add "synchronized music, sound effects and dialogue" to five other silently shot films. On August 22, Kennedy signed a contract with RCA for live Photophone recording; more importantly, he also tendered the company an option to buy his governing share of FBO. Two months later, RCA had acquired controlling stock interests in both the studio and KAO. On October 23, 1928, RCA announced it was merging Film Booking Offices and Keith-Albee-Orpheum to form the new motion picture business
Radio-Keith-Orpheum RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
(RKO), with Sarnoff as chairman. Kennedy, who retained Pathé, was paid $150,000 for arranging the merger on top of the millions of dollars in profit he made from selling off his stock. Joseph I. Schnitzer, ranking FBO vice-president, was elevated to president of the new company's production arm, replacing Kennedy. William LeBaron, the last FBO production chief, retained his position after the merger, but the new studio, dedicated to full sound production, cut ties with FBO's roster of silent screen performers. In its final year of operation, of FBO's top five box office films according to theater owners, three were again Gene Stratton-Porter adaptations, including ''The Keeper of the Bees'', first released in October 1925 and making its fourth appearance in the annual balloting; the others were the Austrian import ''
Moon of Israel ''The Moon of Israel'' (german: Die Sklavenkönigin, or "The Queen of the Slaves") is a 1924 Austrian epic film. It was directed by Mihaly Kertész (later Michael Curtiz). The script was written by Ladislaus Vajda, based on H. Rider Haggard's ...
'' and '' The Great Mail Robbery''. During the transitional period, the first RKO feature release, ''
Syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...
'' in March 1929, was packaged to exhibitors with two FBO low-budget "
programmers A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
". Movies that Film Booking Offices had either produced or arranged to distribute were released under the FBO banner through the end of the year. The last official FBO production to reach American theaters was ''
Pals of the Prairie ''Pals of the Prairie'' is a 1929 American silent Western film intertwined with the romance of the mayor's daughter Dolores (Joyce) and Franciseo (Renaldo). After Francisco is kidnapped by friends of his romantic rival Pete Sangor (Patton), Re ...
'', directed by
Louis King Louis King (June 28, 1898 – September 7, 1962) was an American actor and film director of westerns and adventure movies in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
and starring
Buzz Barton Buzz Barton (1913–1980) was an American film actor.Munden p.37 He is predominantly known for his roles as a child actor in a number of silent westerns made by the FBO studios during the 1920s. Following the introduction of sound, he mainly pla ...
and Frank Rice, released July 7, 1929.


Cinematic legacy

A large majority of FBO/Robertson-Cole pictures, produced during the silent era and the transitional period of the conversion to sound cinema, are considered to be
lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
s, with no copies known to exist. Much of FBO's cinematic legacy thus endures only in still images, other publicity materials, and written accounts. All told, just 30 percent of American silent feature films have been preserved (25 percent more or less complete, plus another 5 percent in incomplete versions). The overall survival rate of features produced by R-C/FBO is similar: of 449 movies identified by the
National Film Preservation Board The United States National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) is the board selecting films for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. It was established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988. The National Film Regi ...
as R-C/FBO productions, 125 are known to survive in some form—28 percent, though with only two (0.4 percent) in a legacy studio archive. The losses, moreover, were not equally distributed, and one of FBO's most successful franchises has disappeared entirely: not even a fragmentary print of any of the six Gene Stratton-Porter films put out by the studio has been found. Due to its zeal for cost cutting, FBO was reputed to be especially meticulous in the execution of a practice then common among distributors: rounding up its release prints at the end of a picture's run and melting them down to recover the
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
in the film emulsion. As for FBO's biggest star, among America's biggest at the time, of the twenty films Fred Thomson made for the studio, for years just a single one was known to remain intact in a US archive: ''Thundering Hoofs''. About three reels' worth of the five-reel ''
Galloping Gallagher ''Galloping Gallagher'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Fred Thomson, Hazel Keener, and Frank Hagney. The film was originally five reels A reel is an object around which a length of another ...
'' (1924) were also known to survive. In 1982, film scholar Bruce Firestone wrote that "the disappearance, through loss or destruction, of virtually all of his films asturned Thomson into one of the least-known cowboys in the history of American movies." According to the Library of Congress's American Silent Feature Film Database, to this tiny corpus may now be added complete prints of '' The Dangerous Coward'' (1924) and ''
A Regular Scout ''A Regular Scout'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by David Kirkland and starring Fred Thomson, Olive Hasbrouck, and William Courtright William Courtright (February 10, 1848 – March 6, 1933) was an American film acto ...
'' (1926) at the
George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...
. Seven more Thomson features are held by archives abroad.


Headliners and celebrity casting

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man i ...
, the first star of any magnitude associated with the Robertson-Cole brand, made a total of twenty films released by the studio, from ''
A Heart in Pawn ''A Heart in Pawn'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington. Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation produced the film and Worthington played the lead role along with Vola Vale and his wife Tsuru Aoki. Cast *S ...
'' in March 1919 to ''
The Vermilion Pencil ''The Vermilion Pencil'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole. It is based on the eponymous 1908 novel by Homer Lea. The film stars Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in mul ...
'' in March 1922. Hayakawa was regarded as one of the finest screen performers of his time, but as anti-Japanese sentiment grew on the West Coast, R-C terminated its relationship with the
Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
-born actor. Two months after ''The Vermilion Pencil'' opened, he sued the studio for breach of contract.
Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...
, celebrated for her performance in the September 1920
Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...
tear-jerker ''
Madame X ''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908 play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen twelve times over sixty-five ...
'', immediately cashed in with a top-tier contract from Robertson-Cole, for whom she starred in more than half a dozen melodramas, beginning with ''
A Slave of Vanity ''A Slave of Vanity'' is a 1920 American silent drama film starring Pauline Frederick, and directed and written by Henry Otto. The film, which was adapted from Arthur Wing Pinero's 1901 play ''Iris'', was produced and distributed by the Roberts ...
'' just two months later. She was said to have been paid an extravagant $7,000 or $7,500 a week under her R-C deal. Early in her career,
ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...
acted in six R-C releases—'' Better Times'' (1919) gave Pitts her first ever top billing—from the Brentwood Film Corporation, founded by a group of doctors. In the years after the studio's rebranding,
Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...
and
Richard Talmadge Richard Talmadge (born Sylvester Alphonse Metz; 3 December 1892 – 25 January 1981) also known as Sylvester Metzetti, Ricardo Metzetti, or Sylvester Ricardo Metzetti, was a German-born actor, stuntman and film director. Early life Born in ...
were FBO's most prominent non-Western headliners. Brent made a specialty of melodramatic pictures with a crime angle, often billed as "crook melodramas"—in '' Midnight Molly'' (1925), she played an ambitious politician's faithless wife and her look-alike, a high-end cat burglar. Talmadge, a stunt designer and double for major stars including
Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
and
Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film co ...
, took the lead in action pictures for FBO—"stunt dramas" such as ''
Stepping Lively ''Stepping Lively'' is a 1924 American silent action film directed by James W. Horne and starring Richard Talmadge, Mildred Harris and Norval MacGregor.Munden p.765 Plot Cast * Richard Talmadge as Dave Allen * Mildred Harris as Evelyn Pendr ...
'' (1924) and ''
Tearing Through ''Tearing Through'' is a 1925 American silent action film directed by Arthur Rosson and starring Richard Talmadge, Kathryn McGuire, and Herbert Prior Herbert Prior (2 July 1867 – 3 October 1954) was an English silent film actor. He appea ...
'' (1925). He appeared in eighteen FBO releases, more than half of them produced by his own company. Talmadge's last film for the studio was released in June 1926. By August, Brent was on her way to starring roles at Paramount. In October, Talmadge was judged to have been FBO's biggest non-Western draw of the year; in the first annual ''Exhibitors Herald'' theater owners' poll of top box office names, he placed thirtieth out of sixty. Beginning in late 1924, Maurice "Lefty" Flynn starred in over a dozen action-filled "comedy dramas" released by FBO, all produced and directed by
Harry Garson Harry Garson (1882 – September 21, 1938) was an American film director and producer. He directed 29 films between 1920 and 1934, and produced 11 films before that. He was born in Rochester, New York and died in Los Angeles, California. ...
. Signing a new contract in 1925, the former
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
halfback demonstrated his range by playing a "fast riding motorcycle copper" in a May release, a "battling policeman" in September, and Breckenrdige Gamble, a bored millionaire turned international secret agent, in October. Ralph Lewis, a prolific
character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
who had appeared in several D. W. Griffith films, including ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...
'' and ''
Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...
'', was top billed in at least eight FBO releases between 1922 and 1928. George O'Hara headlined multiple features as well as short series.
Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...
and
Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...
were among the other popular FBO players.
Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...
starred in two of the studio's more notable productions, as did Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Pauline Frederick returned in 1926 for the title role in ''
Her Honor, the Governor ''Her Honor, the Governor'' is a 1926 American silent drama film starring Pauline Frederick, directed by Chester Withey and featuring Boris Karloff. Cast * Pauline Frederick as Adele Fenway * Carroll Nye as Bob Fenway * Greta von Rue as Maria ...
''. In FBO's waning months, former
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
star
Olive Borden Olive Mary Borden (July 14, 1906 – October 1, 1947) was an American film and stage actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was nicknamed "the Joy Girl", after playing the lead in the 1927 film of that same title. Borden ...
played the lead in three films.
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
appeared in six FBO pictures between 1925 and 1927; in two of his earliest major roles, he performed opposite Evelyn Brent in the action-oriented ''
Forbidden Cargo Forbidden Cargo may refer to: * Forbidden Cargo (1925 film), ''Forbidden Cargo'' (1925 film), an American film starring Boris Karloff: rum-running from Bahamas to United States * Forbidden Cargo (1954 film), ''Forbidden Cargo'' (1954 film), a Brit ...
'' and ''
Lady Robinhood ''Lady Robinhood'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince, starring Evelyn Brent, and featuring Boris Karloff. Plot As described in a film magazine reviews, in one of the provinces of Spain, cut off by impassab ...
'' (both 1925). In its pre-Kennedy years, the studio did not hesitate to take advantage of scandal sheet–worthy events. After the death of celebrated actor
Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...
, brought on by morphine addiction, his widow,
Dorothy Davenport Fannie Dorothy Davenport (March 13, 1895 – October 12, 1977) was an American actress, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Born into a family of film performers, Davenport had her own independent career before her marriage to the film a ...
, signed on as producer and star of a cinematic examination of the sins of substance abuse: ''
Human Wreckage ''Human Wreckage'' is a 1923 American independent silent drama propaganda film that starred Dorothy Davenport and featured James Kirkwood, Sr., Bessie Love, and Lucille Ricksen. The film was co-produced by Davenport and Thomas H. Ince and dist ...
'', released by FBO in June 1923, five months after Reid's death, in which Davenport (billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid) plays the wife of a noble attorney turned dope fiend. A few months later, the studio featured a celebrity of a very different sort: magician
Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
, directing and starring in his last feature film, ''
Haldane of the Secret Service ''Haldane of the Secret Service'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent adventure film directed by Harry Houdini. The film stars Harry Houdini, Gladys Leslie, William J. Humphrey, Richard Carlyle, Edward Boulden, Jane Jennings, and Charles Fan ...
''. In November 1924, FBO put out Davenport's next "social problem" picture, ''Broken Laws''. Here Davenport (again billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid) plays the overindulgent mother of an unruly boy destined, as a reckless teen, to commit a terrible misdeed. According to a trade journal—perhaps echoing publicity copy—the tale was "a reminder that the foundation of all law and order lies in that greatest of American institutions—the home." When the biggest movie star in the world,
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...
, split from his wife,
Natacha Rambova Natacha Rambova (born Winifred Kimball Shaughnessy; January 19, 1897 – June 5, 1966) was an American film costume designer, set designer, and occasional actress who was active in Hollywood in the 1920s. In her later life, she abandoned design ...
, she was swiftly enlisted by the studio to costar with Clive Brook in the sensitively titled ''When Love Grows Cold'' (1926). Under Kennedy's control, the studio focused on marketing its roster of films as suitable for the "average American" and the entire family: "We can't make pictures and label them 'For Children,' or 'For Women' or 'For Stout People' or 'For Thin Ones.' We must make pictures that have appeal to all." Though Kennedy ended the scandal-sheet specials, FBO still found occasion for celebrity casting: ''One Minute to Play'' (1926), directed by
Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as ''A Night at the Opera (film), A Night at the Opera'', ''A Day at the Races (fi ...
, marked the film debut of football great "Red" Grange. Tennis stars
Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...
and
Mary Browne Mary Kendall Browne (June 3, 1891 – August 19, 1971) was an American professional tennis player and an amateur golfer. She was born in Ventura County, California. Biography According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Ma ...
were signed for a series of "Racquet Girls" pictures that never made it to screen.


Western and canine stars

Central to the FBO identity were Westerns and the studio's major cowboy star,
Fred Thomson Frederick Clifton Thomson (February 26, 1890 – December 25, 1928) was an American silent film cowboy who rivaled Tom Mix in popularity before dying at age 38 of tetanus. Birth and athletic achievement Born in Pasadena, California to Clara ...
. In both 1926 and 1927, he ranked number two among male performers in the ''Exhibitors Herald'' poll, right behind
Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...
. When one of Thomson's "oaters", ''
The Two-Gun Man ''The Two-Gun Man'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by David Kirkland and starring Fred Thomson, Spottiswoode Aitken and Olive Hasbrouck. Plot A returning World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), ofte ...
'' (1926), made it to New York's Warners' Theatre, the growing studio's
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
showcase, it demonstrated that a Western, even one without Mix, could draw audiences to a first-run house in the most cosmopolitan of markets. Along with trusty Silver King, Thomson brought in millions to FBO, and Kennedy personally made almost half a million dollars from the "super western" loanout to Paramount. But when Kennedy learned early in 1928 that Mix, whose decade-old Fox contract was expiring, might become available, he used his control of Fred Thomson Productions, the supposed
tax shelter Tax shelters are any method of reducing taxable income resulting in a reduction of the payments to tax collecting entities, including state and federal governments. The methodology can vary depending on local and international tax laws. Types of ...
, to freeze Thomson out of motion pictures entirely. That December, Thomson died—the immediate cause of death was
tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...
; his widow, screenwriter
Frances Marion Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...
, said that he had lost his will to live. Among Western stars under long-term contract, FBO's next most important—though by a distance—was
Tom Tyler Tom Tyler (born Vincent Markowski; August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 ...
, who finished twenty-third among men in the 1927 exhibitors' poll. According to a hyperbolic June 1927 report in ''
Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...
'': "With Tom Tyler rapidly taking the place recently vacated by Fred Thomson
or the Paramount sojourn from which he would never return Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Miss ...
F.B.O.'s program of western pictures is taking a place second to none in the industry. Tyler has made rapid strides during his two years with F.B.O. and with his horse 'Flash' and dog, 'Beans,' has become one of the leading favorites on the screen." Tyler's appeal was also enhanced by his human costars—
Frankie Darro Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles ...
(tied for fifty-fourth in the poll) as his young sidekick on over two dozen occasions and starlets such as
Doris Hill Doris Hill (March 21, 1905 – March 3, 1976), born Roberta M. Hill, was an American film actress of the 1920s and 1930s. Early years Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, Hill was the daughter of rancher William A. Hill. She was educated ...
,
Nora Lane Nora Lane (September 12, 1905 – October 16, 1948) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1927 and 1944. She committed suicide in 1948, one month after her husband died from a heart attack. She was 43. Sel ...
,
Sharon Lynn Sharon Lynn (born D'Auvergne Sharon Lindsay, April 9, 1901 – May 26, 1963) was an American actress and singer. She began playing in silent films but enjoyed her biggest success in the early sound years of motion pictures before fading away i ...
, and in '' Born to Battle'' (1926), a twenty-five-year-old
Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
. As 1928 began, Tyler was the most popular actor actually working at FBO, but Kennedy wanted the big gun. He bided his time as Tom Mix toured the Orpheum vaudeville theaters with a live show—boosting Kennedy's new exhibition interests—and legal machinations ensured Thomson's exile. Finally, Mix was signed to a six-film deal and began shooting in July. He ultimately made five pictures for the studio (two released after it had ceased to exist), and stayed near the top of the exhibitors' poll, his 112 votes good enough for second among the men, if well behind the 171 of
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
's
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
(no other FBO regular made it into double digits). But the spread of the talkies was swiftly making the silent sagebrush superstar less of a sure thing. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' derided Mix's last FBO film, '' The Big Diamond Robbery'', released in May 1929, as "cowboy burlesque". His brief tenure at the studio was marked by salary grievances—he was now making only $10,000 a week—and dismay at FBO's inferior production values, from its worndown sets to the cut-rate film stock it used. Subsequently asked about his experience working with Kennedy, Mix described him as a "tight-assed, money-crazy son-of-a-bitch." In addition to these major draws, there was also
Harry Carey Harry Carey may refer to: *Harry Carey (actor) (1878–1947), American actor * Harry Carey Jr. (1921–2012), American actor * Harry Carey (footballer) (1916–1991), Australian rules footballer See also * Henry Carey (disambiguation) * Harry Car ...
; a top star for Universal in the second half of the 1910s, he was still a bankable name when he made several FBO Westerns in 1922–23. The other cowboy stars of FBO included
Bob Custer Bob Custer (born Raymond Anthony Glenn, October 18, 1898 – December 27, 1974) was an American film actor who appeared in over 50 films, mostly Westerns, between 1924 and 1937, including ''The Fighting Hombre'', '' Arizona Days'', '' The La ...
(tied for thirty-seventh in the 1927 poll), Bob Steele (tied for sixty-sixth with, among others, Silver King), and teenager
Buzz Barton Buzz Barton (1913–1980) was an American film actor.Munden p.37 He is predominantly known for his roles as a child actor in a number of silent westerns made by the FBO studios during the 1920s. Following the introduction of sound, he mainly pla ...
. One of the studio's most reliable Western headliners was a dog: Ranger (all alone at sixty-fifth among male performers). Beans had featured roles in a number of Tom Tyler/Frankie Darro Westerns. The fabled
Strongheart Etzel von Oeringen (October 1, 1917 – June 24, 1929), better known as Strongheart, was a male German Shepherd who was one of the early canine stars of feature films. Biography Born October 1, 1917, Etzel von Oeringen was a male German Shepherd ...
starred in FBO's
Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
adaptation ''
White Fang ''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in Oct ...
'' (1925). For a small role in the melodrama ''My Dad'' (1922), a three-year-old Alsatian who would become one of the greatest canine stars of all time was singled out by the New York ''Daily News'': "
Rin-Tin-Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American sol ...
...runs off with most of the histrionic honors. The dog stages one of the most realistic and blood curdling fights we have seen recently."


Notable films and filmmakers

Kennedy had no illusions about his studio's place in the realm of cinematic art. A journalist once complimented him on FBO's recent output: "You have had some good pictures this year." Kennedy jocularly inquired, "What the hell ''were'' they?" From the pre-Kennedy era, RKO historian Betty Lasky identifies the Dorothy Davenport "problem" picture ''
Broken Laws ''Broken Laws'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill, remarkable for the appearance of Dorothy Davenport, who is billed as "Mrs. Wallace Reid".
'' (1924), directed by
Roy William Neill Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 19 ...
, as a rare "unforgettable picture of the higher caliber" put out by FBO. Reviews at the time called it "absorbing" and "vastly entertaining". Among the studio's action movies, one standout production was a 1927
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
picture. Author
Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...
declared, "If you want to see the personification of Tarzan of the Apes as I visualize him, see the film ''
Tarzan and the Golden Lion ''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'' is an adventure novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a seven part serial in ''Argosy All-Story Week ...
'' with Mr.
James Pierce James Hubert Pierce (August 8, 1900 – December 11, 1983) was an American actor and the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film. He appeared in films from 1924 to 1951. Background Pierce was born in Freedom, Indiana. He was an All-America ...
."Quoted in Fenton (2002), p. 107. The ''
Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...
'' reviewer wrote that the movie "has a rather new order of thrills and atmosphere that might prove distinctly attractive." Two of the studio's most impressive releases were foreign productions. In 1927, FBO picked up for U.S. distribution an acclaimed Austrian biblical spectacular made three years earlier: ''
Die Sklavenkönigin ''The Moon of Israel'' (german: Die Sklavenkönigin, or "The Queen of the Slaves") is a 1924 Austrian epic film. It was directed by Mihaly Kertész (later Michael Curtiz). The script was written by Ladislaus Vajda, based on H. Rider Haggard's 1 ...
'' (''The Slave Queen'', aka ''Moon of Israel'') had already won its director, Michael Kertész, a job with Warner Bros. In Hollywood, he would make such hits as ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...
'' (1938) and ''
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
'' (1942) under the name
Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
. '' Una Nueva y gloriosa nación'' (1928), the most successful film in the history of Argentine silent cinema, was shot in Hollywood and distributed in the United States by FBO as ''The Charge of the Gauchos''. One of its two
cinematographers The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
was
Nicholas Musuraca Nicholas Musuraca, A.S.C. (October 25, 1892 – September 3, 1975) was a motion-picture cinematographer best remembered for his work at RKO Pictures in the 1940s, including many of Val Lewton's series of B-picture horror films. Biography B ...
, who established his career at Film Booking Offices. With RKO, Musuraca would become one of Hollywood's most respected cinematographers. At the age of twenty-five,
King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
insisted on casting then little-known ZaSu Pitts as the lead in ''Better Times''; he directed two more of her R-C/Brentwood films, both starring his wife,
Florence Vidor Florence Vidor (née Cobb, later Arto; July 23, 1895 – November 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress. Early life Vidor was born in Houston on July 23, 1895, to John and Ida Cobb. Her parents had married in Houston on March 3, 1894, bu ...
.
Louis J. Gasnier Louis Joseph Gasnier (September 15, 1875 – February 15, 1963) was a French-American film director, producer, screenwriter and stage actor. A cinema pioneer, Gasnier shepherded the early career of comedian Max Linder, co-directed the enormously ...
, responsible for the blockbuster 1914 serial '' The Perils of Pauline'', directed several films for the company—from ''
Good Women ''Good Women'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Rosemary Theby, Hamilton Revelle and Earl Schenck.Munden p.307 Cast * Rosemary Theby as Katherine Brinkley * Hamilton Revelle as Nicolai Brouevitch * ...
'' (1921) to ''
The Call of Home ''The Call of Home'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Léon Bary, Irene Rich and Ramsey Wallace.Munden p.104 Cast * Léon Bary as Alan Wayne * Irene Rich as Alix Lansing * Ramsey Wallace as Gerry ...
'' (1922)—during its Robertson-Cole days. The best-known director to work regularly under the FBO brand was
Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...
, younger brother of celebrated filmmaker
Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...
. Pulling double duty on occasion, Ralph Ince starred in five of the sixteen films he made for the studio between 1925 and 1928. One production in which he served in both capacities was particularly well received: ''
Chicago After Midnight ''Chicago After Midnight'' is a lost 1928 American silent film directed by and starring Ralph Ince. Cast * Ralph Ince as Jim Boyd * Jola Mendez as Betty Boyd / Mona Gale * Lorraine Rivero as Betty Boyd, as a baby * James "Jim" Mason as ...
'' (1928) was described by the ''New York Times'' as an "unusually well-acted and adroitly directed underworld story". After '' The Mistress of Shenstone'', Henry King directed two more R-C films with Pauline Frederick, also in 1921: '' Salvage'' and ''
The Sting of the Lash ''The Sting of the Lash'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Henry King and starring Pauline Frederick, Clyde Fillmore, and Lawson Butt.''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema'', p. 166 Cast * Pauline Frederick as Dorothy ...
''.
Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
directed two Gothic Pictures specials in 1924 starring Evelyn Brent: ''
The Dangerous Flirt ''The Dangerous Flirt'' (also released as ''A Dangerous Flirtation'') is a 1924 American melodrama directed by Tod Browning and starring Evelyn Brent and Edward Earle. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Sheila Fairfax (Brent), r ...
'' and ''
Silk Stocking Sal ''Silk Stocking Sal'' is a 1924 American drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring Evelyn Brent. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, member of an underworld gang Sal (Brent), while robbing a safe in a house, is surprised by ...
''. In 1921 and 1922 alone,
William Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Sennet ...
directed eight R-C/FBO releases, some produced directly for the studio, others independently; in 1924 he made two additional FBO releases for Palmer Photoplay, both featuring
Madge Bellamy Madge Bellamy (born Margaret Derden Philpott; June 30, 1899 – January 24, 1990) was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Her career declined in the sound era and ended following a rom ...
. Between 1922 and 1926,
Emory Johnson Alfred Emory Johnson (March 16, 1894 – April 18, 1960) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal studio leading ...
produced and directed eight films for FBO. Historian
William K. Everson Keith William Everson (8 April 1929 – 14 April 1996) was an English- American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector, and film historian. He also discovered several lost films. Everson's given first names were Keith William, but he r ...
has pointed to Seiter and Johnson as two of the overlooked directorial talents of the silent era. Author and naturalist
Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservati ...
set up her own production company to film screen adaptations of her work, a perhaps unprecedented venture for a writer. FBO handled four releases from Gene Stratton-Porter Productions—'' A Girl of the Limberlost'' (1924), '' The Keeper of the Bees'' (1925), '' Laddie'' (1926), and ''
The Magic Garden ''The Magic Garden'' is the second album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967 (see 1967 in music). A concept album, it tells the story of a couple's love and the end of their relationship. In more recent discussions of the ...
'' (1927)—and was itself producer of record for ''
The Harvester ''The Harvester'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Homer Croy, Robert Lee Johnson, Elizabeth Meehan and Gertrude Orr. It is based on the 1911 novel ''The Harvester'' by Gene Stratton-Porter, which had prev ...
'' (1927) and ''Freckles'' (1928). All six were directed by Stratton-Porter's son-in-law,
James Leo Meehan James Leo Meehan (1891 – 1943) was an American film director and screenwriter.Munden p. 411 He married the daughter of writer Gene Stratton-Porter, and adapted several of his mother-in-law's novels for the screen. He directed ''Campus Sweethea ...
. All six were hits. All are considered lost. In-house, Frances Marion, who would win two writing
Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
in the 1930s, created the stories for seven of the FBO pictures starring her husband, Fred Thomson—for these brawny cowboy tales, such as '' Ridin' the Wind'' (1925) and '' The Tough Guy'' (1926), she used the pseudonym Frank M. Clifton (the "patronymic" was Thomson's middle name).
Editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...
, son of a major FBO stockholder, cut his first film for the studio at the age of twenty-one; in the 1930s, he would earn renown as an RKO producer and production chief. Famed RKO
costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
Walter Plunkett Walter Plunkett (June 5, 1902 in Oakland, California – March 8, 1982) was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film industry. Born in Oakland, Ca ...
was also an FBO graduate.


Short subjects and animation

Both George O'Hara's and
Alberta Vaughn Alberta Vaughn (June 27, 1904 – April 26, 1992) was an American actress in silent motion pictures and early Western sound films. She appeared in some 130 motion pictures. Early years Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Vaughn was the sister of ac ...
's initial short series for FBO—each directed by Malcolm St. Clair—were hits, so in the second half of 1924 the studio made a bid at teaming them in the twelve-part ''The Go-Getters'', spoofing popular films and classic stories with chapters such ''A Kick for Cinderella''. It was so successful that they were reunited the next year for a similar twelve-parter, ''The Pacemakers'', with episodes such as ''Merton of the Goofies'' ('' Merton of the Movies'') and ''Madam Sans Gin'' ('' Madame Sans-Gêne''). Vaughn had solo top billing in the comedic series ''The Adventures of Mazie'' (1925–26) and the baseball-themed serial ''Fighting Hearts'' (1926). In May 1928, with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain under his control, Joseph Kennedy announced a forthcoming slate with not only more than the usual number of (relatively) high-budget films but a "Mammoth Program of Short Features". No less than four different series came from independent producer
Larry Darmour Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator of Larry Darmour Productions from 1927, and a significant figure in Hollywood's Poverty Row. Career Darmour was born in Flushing, Queens. In September 1927 he released t ...
, including the second twelve chapters of '' Mickey McGuire'', starring seven-year-old
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
. Amedee Van Beuren provided
Walter Futter Walter Futter (January 2, 1900 – March 3, 1958) was a film producer and director in the United States. After an initial career cutting and editing films, Futter began writing and producing his own shorts and movies, often using footage he acquir ...
's ''Curiosities'', a '' Ripley's''-inspired "Movie Side Show" of "freaks and queer odds and ends from all corners of the world". Of particular historical interest are two independently produced series of
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
comedies released by the studio: Between 1924 and 1927,
Joe Rock Joe Rock (born Joseph Simberg, December 25, 1893 – December 5, 1984) was an American film producer, director, actor,Obituary ''Variety'', December 12, 1984, page 63. and screenwriter. He produced a series of 12 two reel short subject A short ...
provided FBO with a substantial annual slate of two-reelers (twenty-six per year as of their last contract); twelve of those from 1924–25 starred
Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...
, before his famous partnership with
Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...
. '' West of Hot Dog'' (1924), according to historian Simon Louvish, contains "one of aurels finest gags," involving a level of cinematic technique that bears comparison to
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
's classic ''
Sherlock Jr. ''Sherlock Jr.'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane. In 1991, ''Sherlock J ...
'' In 1926–27, the company released more than a dozen shorts by innovative comedian/animator
Charles Bowers Charles R. Bowers (June 6, 1887 – November 26, 1946) was an American cartoonist and slapstick comedian during the silent film and early "talkie" era. He was forgotten for decades and his name was notably absent from most histories of the Sil ...
, whose work imaginatively mixed live action and three-dimensional model animation. FBO also distributed the output of significant creators of purely animated films. Between 1924 and 1926, FBO released the work of John Randolph Bray's cartoon studio, including the ''
Dinky Doodle Dinky Doodle was a cartoon character created by Walter Lantz for Bray Productions in 1924. Description Dinky was a standard boy character, sporting a flat cap, a striped shirt, and dark shorts. He and his dog Weakheart appeared alongside Lantz h ...
'' series created by
Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz ...
. In 1925–26, the studio put out twenty-six cartoons by animator William Nolan based on
George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...
's now famed ''
Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...
'' newspaper comic strip, licensed by the wife-husband distribution team of
Margaret Winkler Margaret J. Winkler Mintz (April 22, 1895 – June 21, 1990) was a key figure in silent animation history, having a crucial role to play in the histories of Max and Dave Fleischer, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer, and Walt Disney. She was the firs ...
and
Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pictu ...
. While the Winkler–Mintz operation took ''Krazy Kat'' away from FBO the following season for a Paramount contract, they struck a deal with the studio for another series, one that, like Bowers's shorts, involved both animation and a live performer: the ''
Alice Comedies The ''Alice Comedies'' are a series of animated/live-action shorts created by Walt Disney in the 1920s, in which a live action little girl named Alice (originally played by Virginia Davis) and an animated cat named Julius have adventures in an ...
'', of which FBO would release over two dozen, were created by two young animators,
Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious ...
and
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
.Barrier (2008), pp. 51–53; Crafton (1993), p. 285; Langer (1995), p. 259 n. 39;


Notes


Sources

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982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...
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972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...
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External links


The Silent Films of FBO Pictures
comprehensive listing of silent features produced by FBO/Robertson-Cole and released between 1925 and 1929 (showing how many were considered lost as of 2003)

lists FBO sound productions released in 1928 (but does not clearly indicate the several holdover FBO sound productions distributed by RKO in 1929)
Joseph P. Kennedy Personal Papers Biographical/Historical Note
includes a summary of Kennedy's FBO dealings
''The Two-Gun Man'' (1926)—The Surviving Reel
nine-and-a-half minutes' worth of Fred Thomson and Silver King's fifteenth film for FBO {{DEFAULTSORT:Film Booking Offices Of America 1918 establishments in New York (state) 1919 establishments in New York (state) 1929 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1918 American companies established in 1919 Mass media companies established in 1918 Mass media companies established in 1919 Mass media companies disestablished in 1929 1928 mergers and acquisitions Defunct American film studios Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States History of film Companies based in New York City Defunct companies based in New York (state) Defunct mass media companies of the United States