The American Film Manufacturing Company, also known as Flying "A" Studios, was founded in Chicago in late 1910. In 1915, the name was changed to the American Film Company.[1] The company was originally financed by four mid-western United States businessmen. Operating between 1910 and 1921, Flying "A" produced over 1,200 films,[2] and "grew from a young aggressive independent, at war with the licensed manufacturers such as Biograph and Edison, to a major force in its own right".[1] Between 1912 and 1917, it was one of the largest motion picture studios in the US.[3] The company's output began with single- and split–reel films that "usually combined a short comedy with a topical subject", and with the rest of the industry later went on to produce films of up to seven reels.[2]
Films edit
| Name | Release date | Director | Writer | Cast | Description | Ref(s)[A] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Break, Break, Break | September 9, 1914 | Harry A. Pollard | Sydney Ayres | Vivian Rich Harry von Meter Jack Richardson B. Reeves Eason William Garwood Louise Lester |
A single-reel period drama distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation (58 prints). Motion Picture World described the film: "A pretty picture telling an idyillic love story; it should go very well; for, though it depends on sentiment rather than on thrilling dramatic suspense, it holds the attention strongly and is filled with the atmosphere of the good, old-time stories and poems. The costumes are of the mid-Victorian period in rural England. Many of its scenes are as charming as good pictures. The acting is also excellent quality. Vivian Rich is the heroine; Harry Von Meter, the hero, and Jack Richardson, the light villain. Much of the action is among the hay fields and then the seashore." | [4][5][6] |
See also edit
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1913
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1915
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1916
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1917
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1918
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1919
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1920
- List of American Film Manufacturing Company films of 1921
Notes edit
- ^ a b "The Company". University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ a b "The Films". University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ Lawton p. 130
- ^ "Break! Break! Break!". Moving Picture World. September 19, 1914.
- ^ "Motion Pictures 1912–1939". Catalog of Copyright Entries. United States Copyright Office. 1951. p. 89.
- ^ "Break! Break! Break!", University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved on September 7, 2009.
References edit
- Lawton, Stephen (1997). Santa Barbara’s Flying A studio. Fithian Press. ISBN 1564742105.