Vita-Film was founded in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

as the successor company to

Wiener Kunstfilm-Industrie Wiener Kunstfilm, in full Wiener Kunstfilm-Industrie (English language, English: "Vienna Art Film Industry"), was the first major Austrian film production company. Founded in 1910 in film, 1910 as the Erste österreichische Kinofilms-Industrie, it ...

by Anton and Luise Kolm. By 1923 Vita-Film had built the Rosenhügel Film Studios in the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

suburbs, which still stand and are still used for film production. On the surrounding site, in 1922, even before the completion of the studios, the film '' Samson und Delila'' was produced, an

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

on the then very popular American model. With extravagant sets and costumes, as generally used by Vita-Film's direct competitor,

Sascha-Film Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period. History The business was established in 1910 by Alexande ...

, the production lasted a considerable time and cost 12 million Austrian crowns. "Samson und Delila" was not however a typical Vita-Film production. Unlike Sascha-Film, which took its lead from American productions, Vita-Film sought international success by following

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

models. In 1923 directors employed on specific projects included Germaine Dulac (''Die sterbende Sonne'', 1923),

Jean Legrand Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

(''Das Haus im Walde'', 1923), Severin Mars (''Horoga'', 1923), M. Liabel (''Die Insel ohne Liebe'', 1923) and Edouard-Emile Violet (''Clown aus Liebe'', 1923). The Belgian director and one of the earliest realists,

Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder (; 21 July 1885 – 24 May 1948) was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930 ...

, filmed '' Das Bildnis'' in 1924 in Rosenhügel and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, based on a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

by the well-known author

Jules Romains Jules Romains (born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule; 26 August 1885 – 14 August 1972) was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play '' Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine'', and a cycle ...

. The film, the last Vita-Film production, was released in 1925. The company went bankrupt in 1924, like many other European film companies at this time, because of the flood of low-priced but technically high-quality productions from the United States. The Rosenhügel studios were taken over in 1933 by

. A Hungarian lawyer, Erno Szucs, was appointed administrator to supervise the winding up of the company.

Productions

(selection) * 1922 - Samson und Delila * 1922 - Eine versunkene Welt * 1923 - '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' (directed by

Max Neufeld Max Neufeld (13 February 1887 – 2 December 1967) was an Austrian film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 70 films between 1919 and 1957. He directed the 1934 film '' The Song of the Sun'', which starred Vittorio De Sica. Select ...

; premiere on 6 April 1923 at the Schwarzenberg Cinema) * 1925 - '' Das Bildnis (L'Image)'' (direction by

; last Vita-Film production at Rosenhügel)

References

Film production companies of Austria Liesing {{film-studio-stub