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-Bee 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 a ...

, Broncho, Domino, Reliance, and

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 ...

. Keystone would later be a part of Triangle Pictures, which would merge with Feature Play and become

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...

."Movies: The Business, The Studios, The Stars." ''American Decades''. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 2: 1910-1919. Detroit: Gale, 2001. ''Gale Virtual Reference Library''. Web. 21 October 2014.

History

The New York Motion Picture Company was founded in 1909 by Adam Kessel, Jr. (fr) (1866–1946),

Charles Baumann Charles O. Baumann (January 20, 1874 – July 18, 1931) was an American film producer, film studio executive, and pioneer in the motion picture industry. Biography Career He was a partner in the Crescent Film Company formed in 1908 and in ...

, and camera operator Frank Balshofer.Joyce, Simon and Jennifer Putzi
"Adam Kessel."
In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 4, edited by Jeffrey Fear. German Historical Institute. Last modified May 25, 2016. Originally interested purely in film distribution, the company's refusal to work with Thomas Edison's

Motion Picture Patents Company The Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC, also known as the Edison Trust), founded in December 1908 and terminated seven years later in 1915 after conflicts within the industry, was a trust of all the major US film companies and local foreign-bran ...

(MPPC) created difficulties in securing films."Corporate Organization." ''An Evening's Entertainment'': ''The Age of the Silent Feature Picture, 1915-1928''. Richard Koszarski. Ed. Charles Harpole. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1990. 394. History of the American Cinema 3. ''Gale Virtual Reference Library''. Web. 22 October 2014. Kessel was quoted as saying, "We would have to go out of business unless we made some films ourselves." Their first film, ''Disinherited Son's Loyalty, ''was made in May 1909. It cost around $200 to make, and earned $2,000. From that point on, NYMPC would produce about half the films it played. The company would later merge with the

Universal Film Manufacturing Company Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, only to later pull out of the merger in favor of their rival, the Mutual Film Corp., when Universal attempted to remove Baumann as company president. Due to the complicated legal situation, Universal continued to release films under the 101 Bison brand name at the same time as Mutual, which prompted NYMPC to release flyers urging viewers to make sure they were viewing a "genuine Bison." It was during their time with Mutual that Kessel and Baumann formed the

brand with director and actor Mack Sennett.Riblet, Douglas Blair. "The Keystone Film Company, 1912 to 1915." Order No. 9829123 The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1998. Ann Arbor: ''ProQuest. ''Web. 21 October 2014. At this point, the company had changed location from the North East to California, being one of the first to do so. It was during a one-year apprenticeship at Keystone that

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 ...

made some of his earliest films.Miffin, Jeffrey. "Early Charlie Chaplin: The Artist As Apprentice At Keystone Studios." Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television 33.1 (2013): 157-159. Film & Television Literature Index. Web. 22 October 2014. It was during Chaplin's time at Keystone that he created the '

Little Tramp : ''See The Tramp for the character played by Charlie Chaplin''. ''Little Tramp'' is a musical with a book by David Pomeranz and Steven David Horwich and music and lyrics by David Pomeranz. Based on the life of comedian Charles Chaplin and named ...

' character he became known for. In 1915, Keystone Studios became an integral part 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 ...

, after the decision was made to end the merger with Mutual Film Corp. Triangle Film sought to combine the talents of producers

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 ...

Thomas 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 mot ...

and

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 ...

. Essentially, it was a combining of assets between Kessel, Baumann, and former Mutual Film Corp. president

Harry Aitken Harry E. Aitken (1877August 1, 1956) was a film studio Executive producer, executive. Life He was born on 4 October 1877. He grew up on a family farm near Goerke's Corners, Wisconsin. The brothers operated Keystone Studios and eventually Harry ...

as well as

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...

's Feature Play company.King, R. "Made for the masses with an appeal to the classes": The triangle film corporation and the failure of highbrow film culture.'' Cinema Journal, 44''(2), 3-33. Web. 22 October 2014. Their mission statement was to make multi-reel films, à la ''

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 ...

'', that would appeal to higher class audiences while also gaining popularity among the general population. Triangle Film was largely considered a failure, however, Feature Play would go on to merge with

Famous Players Famous Players Limited Partnership, DBA Famous Players, is a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous m ...

and become

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, a company that was far more successful in achieving the kind of vertical integration Triangle sought in its business model.

Filmography

1910s

References

Entertainment companies established in 1909 Mass media companies established in 1909 Mass media companies disestablished in 1914 Silent film studios Defunct American film studios Entertainment companies based in New York City Entertainment companies based in California Film studios in Southern California Defunct organizations based in Hollywood, Los Angeles 1909 establishments in New York City 1915 disestablishments in California {{US-film-company-stub