Mutual Film Corporation was an early

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

film conglomerate that produced some of

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 ...

's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by

Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the Silent film, silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an ...

, which evolved into

RKO Pictures 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 ...

Founding

Mutual's predecessor film businesses began with the partnership behind the Western Film Exchange, founded in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

in July 1906. The partnership included

Harry E. Aitken Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

, Roy Aitken, and

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 ...

. In 1910, Freuler also formed a partnership with Chicago film distributor Samuel S. Hutchinson, establishing a production entity known as the

American Film Manufacturing Company The American Film Manufacturing Company, also known as Flying “A” Studios, was an American motion picture production company. In 1915, the formal name was changed to the American Film Company. History The American Film Manufacturing Comp ...

. In early 1912 the Shallenberger brothers (Wilbert E. and William Edgar), Crawford Livingston, and others as investors including

Charles J. Hite Charles Jackson Hite (June 7, 1876 – August 21, 1914) was an American businessman and film producer of the early 20th century, most importantly the president and chief executive officer of the Thanhouser Film Corporation from 1912 to 1914. ...

, the President & CEO of

Thanhouser Film Corporation The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, ...

, joined Freuler and Harry E. Aitken in the formation of Mutual Film. Mutual Film Corporation was formed in 1912 by a group of American businessmen including Harry E. Aitken. A releasing and distribution company, Mutual also had numerous subsidiary production units, including

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 ...

, famed producer of comedies. Mutual is celebrated for signing

in 1916; he produced some of his best comedies while working for the company., although he felt that the company's tight production schedules led to the films becoming increasingly formulaic. As a result of this concern, Chaplin went with

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 ...

to have a contract that allowed him more flexibile production schedules so he could focus on making better films. As 1912 progressed, the company included auxiliary units such as

, the Majestic Studios (which would later become the

Reliance-Majestic Studios Reliance-Majestic Studios was an early American movie studio in Hollywood, California, originally built around 1914 at 4516 Sunset Boulevard. Within a few years, it became the home of D. W. Griffith and Mutual Film Corporation. The studio's na ...

through Harry Aitken's partnership with

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

), and the New York Motion Picture Company. In 1915, the workers of Keystone Studios,

Kay-Bee Studios Kay-Bee Pictures was a film company. Its executives included Thomas Ince. The company's mottos included "Every picture a headliner" and "Kay-Bee stands for Kessel and Baumann and Kessel and Baumann stands for quality", referring to Adam Kessel an ...

(a subsidiary of the

New York Motion Picture Company The New York Motion Picture Company was a film production and distribution company from 1909 until 1914. It changed names to New York Picture Corporation in 1912. It released films through several different brand names, including 101 Bison, Kay- ...

) and Reliance-Majestic Studio left Mutual, along with the Aitken brothers, to form 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 ...

. Now as complete owners of the former Reliance-Majestic Studio, by 1917 the conglomerate operated as the distributor for four subsidiary studios in

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 ...

, three of which were in the

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' ...

area and the other in Santa Barbara. They were Signal Film Corporation, Vogue Films, Inc., Lone Star Film Company and American Film Company. Vogue Films, Inc. operated a studio at Santa Monica Boulevard and Gower street in Los Angeles producing two-reel

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

s exclusively. Among the other subsidiaries of the New York Motion Picture Company were: 101-Bison Company, Broncho Film Company, & Domino Film Company.

Legal cases

In 1915, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled in ''

Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio __NOTOC__ ''Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio'', 236 U.S. 230 (1915), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court ruling by a 9-0 vote that the free speech protection of the Ohio Constitution, which was substantially sim ...

'' that motion pictures were a form of business, not an art form, and therefore not covered by the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

.
Shortly after this decision, cities began to pass ordinances banning the public exhibition of "immoral" films, concerning the major movie studio, studios that state or federal regulations would soon follow. This ruling remained in effect until '' Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson'' in 1952 which declared that film was a legitimate artistic medium with free speech protections.

Productions

In 1916,

became the highest paid entertainer in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual for a salary of $670,000 per year. Mutual built Chaplin his very own studio and allowed him total freedom to make twelve two-reel films during this fruitful twelve-month period. Chaplin subsequently recognised this period of film-making as the most inventive and liberating of his career, although he also had concerns that the films produced were increasingly formulaic during the length of his contract. During 1916 and 1917, the Lone Star Film Company had Charlie Chaplin working at their studio at 1025 Lillian Way, in Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin moved on to found

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 ...

in 1919 with

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1918, Mutual Film Corporation ceased production. Like many other companies established at this time, Mutual was eventually absorbed by larger corporations, in this case

and later

RKO Radio Pictures 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 ...

. With the exception of the Chaplin films, most of the Mutual shorts and feature dramas are

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

to time and decomposition.

Selected filmography

References

Bibliography

*Robert S. Birchard, "Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara" Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2007

External links

Mutual Film Corporation
at the

AFI Catalog of Feature Films The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema in ...

{{Authority control Entertainment companies established in 1912 Mass media companies established in 1912 Mass media companies disestablished in 1918 Silent film studios American silent films by studio Film studios in Southern California Defunct American film studios Companies based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies based in California 1912 establishments in California 1918 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles 1910s in California Articles containing video clips Film production companies of the United States