Keystone Studios was an early

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 ...

founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charles O. Baumann (1874–1931), owners of the New York Motion Picture Company (founded 1909). The company, referred to at its office as The Keystone Film Company, filmed in and around Glendale and

Silver Lake, Los Angeles Silver Lake is a residential and commercial Neighbourhood, neighborhood in the east-Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Originally home to a small community called Ivanhoe in honor of Walter Scott, Sir Walter Scott. In ...

for several years, and its films were distributed by the

Mutual Film Corporation 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 ...

between 1912 and 1915. The Keystone film brand declined rapidly after Sennett went independent in 1917. The name ''Keystone'' was taken from the side of one of the cars of a passing

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

train (Keystone State being the nickname of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

) during the initial meeting of Sennett, Kessel and Baumann in New York. The original main building, the first totally enclosed film stage and studio in history, is still standing. It is located at 1712 Glendale Blvd in

Echo Park, Los Angeles Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known ...

and is now being used as a storage facility.

Production

The studio is especially remembered for its

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 under

, the Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, who became known as the 'King of Comedy'. With financial backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman of the New York Motion Picture Company, Sennett founded Keystone Studios in Edendale, California – now a part of

– in 1912. The original main building which was the first totally enclosed film stage and studio ever constructed, is still there today. Known as Sennett's ''Fun Factory'', it was here that he created the

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 ...

antics of the

Keystone Cops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History The idea for th ...

(from 1912) and the

Sennett Bathing Beauties Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett during the silent film era. Description The Sennett Bathing Beauties appeared in Mack Sennett comedy short subjects, in promotion ...

(beginning in 1915). Keystone comedies were noted for their hair-raising car chases and

custard pie A custard pie is any type of uncooked custard mixture added to an uncooked or partially cooked crust and baked together. In North America, custard pie commonly refers to a plain mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and sometim ...

warfare, especially in the ''Keystone Cops'' series.

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 ...

got his start in films at Keystone when Sennett hired him in 1914, fresh from his

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

career, to make

s, in which he rapidly became a star performer and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, participating in thirty-five films within the single year he worked there. Other actors who worked at Keystone toward the beginning of their film careers include

Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...

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 ...

, Mabel Normand,

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise broke ...

Raymond Griffith Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

Ford Sterling Ford Sterling (born George Ford Stich Jr.; November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops. Biography ...

Ben Turpin Bernard "Ben" Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) was an American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films. His trademarks were his cross-eyed appearance and adeptness at vigorous physical comedy. Turpin wo ...

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

Al St. John Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...

and

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...

. In 1915, Keystone Studios became an autonomous production unit of 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 ...

with D. W. Griffith and Thomas Ince. Sennett left in 1917 to produce his own independent films (eventually distributed through

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 ...

), after which Keystone's business declined. Keystone Studios eventually closed after bankruptcy in 1935. Mabel's Dramatic Career 1913

Legacy

Much of the lighting and studio equipment from Keystone was bought by Reymond King, who started the "Award Cinema Movie Equipment" company in

Venice, CA Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city unti ...

in November, 1935. "Keystone Studios" is the fictional studio in the

Cineville Cineville is an American production and international distribution company founded in 1990 by Carl Colpaert and Christoph Henkel. Cineville has produced over 55 feature films which have participated in many major film festivals. Gas Food Lodgi ...

film ''

Swimming With Sharks ''Swimming with Sharks'' (also known as ''The Boss'' and ''Buddy Factor'') is a 1994 American black comedy / thriller drama film written and directed by George Huang and starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes. Plot Buddy Acker ...

'' (1994). In 2007, when the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

studio

merged with the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

distributor Westlake Entertainment, the companies named their joint enterprise Keystone.Robertson, Willa (2007-07-18)
"Cineville, Westlake create Keystone"

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), ...

. Retrieved 2018-08-15. The original Keystone Studios lot was an explorable location, as well as a major plot element, in the 2011 video game ''

L.A. Noire ''L.A. Noire'' is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. Set in 1947 Los Angeles, the game follows detective Cole Phelps's rise among the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department as he so ...

'', published by

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

Gallery

File:The Fatal Mallet.jpg, Mabel Normand,

and

Charles 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 ...

in '' The Fatal Mallet'' (1914) File:Charles O Baumann 001.jpg, Charles Baumann File:Adam Kessel 001.jpg, Adam Kessel File:Keystone Studios Building, Echo Park 2015.jpg, Keystone Studios building, Echo Park - Present Day

References

External links

{{Authority control Entertainment companies established in 1912 Mass media companies established in 1912 Mass media companies disestablished in 1935 Silent film studios Defunct American film studios Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Film studios in Southern California Echo Park, Los Angeles Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Entertainment companies based in California Silver Lake, Los Angeles 1912 establishments in California 1935 disestablishments in California Articles containing video clips

Production

Legacy

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links