Harry E. Aitken (1877August 1, 1956) was a

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

Life

He was born on 4 October 1877. He grew up on a family farm near

Goerke's Corners, Wisconsin Goerke's Corners (also spelled Goerkes Corner, Goerkes Corners or Goerke's Corner) is a former unincorporated community in the Town of Brookfield, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is now the location of a major highway intersection ...

. The brothers operated

Keystone Studios Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charle ...

and eventually Harry became a partner in the

Mutual Film Company Mutual Film Company is an American film production company based in Hollywood, California. The company was initially founded by financer Gary Levinsohn in 1989 as Classico Entertainment, before combining with The Mark Gordon Company in 1995 to f ...

. Along with his brother Roy Aitken (1882–1978), he helped pioneer the production and distribution of movies during the early

silent film 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, when ...

era in the United States. In 1906 they founded the Western Film Exchange with

John R. Freuler John Rudolph Freuler (November 17, 18721958) was an American businessman in the film industry who owned theaters, film exchanges, and film studios. He signed Charlie Chaplin to a lucrative contract at Mutual Film. Later in his career he owned Mon ...

. They moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1908 and in 1912 founded the Mutual distribution company. Within three years they were distributing movies to 45 towns and cities. Aitken worked with D. W. Griffith and

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

. He was involved with the Majestic and Reliance studios. With D. W. Griffith he co-founded Epoch Producing Company under the umbrella of which

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 ...

was produced. The profits from that film were used to set up the

Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

in 1915, which was on a triangular plot in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

. This produced the infamous

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 ...

but failed soon after due to over ambition and was sold to Goldwyn. He returned to in home town of

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

around 1918 and died there on 1 August 1956 and is buried there in Prairie Home Cemetery.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson The

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

has a collection of his papers.

Film productions

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * ''Home Sweet Home'' (1926 film), a silent film drama * ''Home, Swe ...

(1914) as writer *

The Surgeon's Experiment ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(short, 1914) *

The Life of General Villa ''The Life of General Villa'' (1914) is a silent biographical action–drama film starring Pancho Villa as himself, shot on location during a civil war. The film incorporated both staged scenes and authentic live footage from real battles d ...

(1914) *

The Electric Alarm ''The Electric Alarm'' is a 1915 American short drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring A. E. Freeman and Charles Gorman. Cast * A. E. Freeman as Ryley * Charles Gorman as Dick Ray * Lucy Payton Lucy Payton (12 October 1877 in Kans ...

(1915) *

(1916)

Portrayal

Aitken is portrayed by

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...

in the 2003 HBO TV movie ''

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself ''And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself'' is a 2003 American made-for-television western film for HBO in partnership with City Entertainment and starring Antonio Banderas as Pancho Villa, directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Larry Gelbart and pr ...

''.

Life

Film productions

Portrayal

References

Further reading