Metro Pictures

Last updated

Metro Pictures Corporation
Industry Film studio
Predecessor Solax Studios
FoundedJune 23, 1915;108 years ago (1915-06-23)
Founder Richard A. Rowland
George Grombacker
Louis B. Mayer
DefunctApril 17, 1924;99 years ago (1924-04-17)
FateMerged with Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
SuccessorsStudio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Library:
Warner Bros.
(through Turner Entertainment Co.)
Public domain
HeadquartersHeidelberg Building,
New York City, New York
,
United States
Key people
 Richard A. Rowland (President)
Louis B. Mayer (secretary)

Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. [1] It was purchased in 1919.

Contents

History

Advertisement for The Right of Way (1915) with William Faversham William Faversham in The Right of Way.jpg
Advertisement for The Right of Way (1915) with William Faversham
Eye for eye - lobbycard 1918.jpg
Lobby card for Eye for Eye (1918)
Keaton Convict 13 1920.jpg
Poster for Convict 13 (1920)
Alias Jimmy Valentine poster 1920.jpg
Poster for Alias Jimmy Valentine (1920)
Off Shore Pirate 1921.jpg
Poster for The Off-Shore Pirate (1921)
Peacock Alley poster.jpg
Poster for Peacock Alley (1922)

Metro Pictures was founded as a film distribution company in February 1915 by a number of "exchange men"[ clarification needed ] with Richard A. Rowland as president, George Grombacher as vice-president and Louis B. Mayer as secretary. [2] Grombacher owned exchanges in Portland and Seattle. Rowland and Metro's 2nd vice president James B. Clark were from the Roland & Clark company based in Pittsburgh. Metro was capitalized with $300,000 in cash and founded for the purpose of controlling movie productions for the exchanges. [3] Rowland had been an investor in Alco Films which was a distribution company for a coalition of production companies. Mayer convinced Rowland to set up Metro to replace Alco to avoid being picked up by Paramount, Mutual Film, or Universal. Metro had Rolfe Photoplays, Inc. and Popular Plays and Players moving over from Alco to Metro. Additional production companies working with Metro were Columbia (1915–1917 [not the current Columbia], subsequently CBC Sales until 1918), Quality Picture Corporation, and Dyreda. [4] Mayer left to form his own production unit in 1918. [5]

In 1919, Metro established its Hollywood studio at Lillian Way and Eleanor St. while building its huge studio covering 4 city blocks at Romaine St. and Cahuenga Blvd, which opened in 1920. Its back lot was established in 1920 in Hollywood on N. Cahuenga Boulevard between Willoughby Avenue and Waring Avenue bound by Lillian Way on the east (today home to Red Studios Hollywood). [6]

Metro's first release on March 29, 1915 was Satan Sanderson, a film produced by Rolfe Photoplays which was originally to be distributed by Alco Film Company. [7] Sealed Valley was Metro's first production released on August 2, 1915. [8] William Frederick Jury distributed Metro's films in Britain.

In 1920, the company was purchased by Marcus Loew as a supplier of product for his theater chain. However, Loew was not satisfied with the amount or quality of Metro's output. A few years later in 1924, Loew merged it with the struggling Goldwyn Pictures and shortly Louis B. Mayer Productions then renamed the new entity Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that year with Mayer in charge (who was never an owner, and was only ever an employee). [9]

Stars

Metro's biggest stars during the World War I period were the romantic teams of Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne and Harold Lockwood and May Allison. Also in top echelons of importance were actresses Mae Murray and Viola Dana and from the stage Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, Emmy Wehlen and Emily Stevens. Before merging into MGM in 1924, Metro's star roster had expanded to include Lillian Gish, Buster Keaton, Jackie Coogan, Marion Davies, Ramon Novarro, Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone.

Motion Picture Studios

Although the Metro film library and stars were merged into MGM in 1924, a portion of Rowland's Los Angeles film studio continued with a life of its own. Originally spanning four city blocks, one block continued as a studio known simply as Motion Picture Studios through the 1940s, and as General Service Studios and Desilu Studios through the 1950s and 1960s. It became Ren-Mar Studios in 1974. In January 2010, Ren-Mar Studios was bought by Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. The complex was renamed "Red Studios Hollywood". It is located on Cahuenga Blvd. north of Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, directly behind the Musicians AFM Local 47 on Vine Street.

David E. Kelley filmed several of his TV series there, including Picket Fences , Ally McBeal , and The Practice .

Filmography

A 1965 fire in an MGM Archive #7 storage facility destroyed original negatives and prints, including the best-quality copies of every Metro picture and Louis B. Mayer Picture produced prior to 1924; over half of MGM's feature films from before 1930 are completely lost. On March 25, 1986, Ted Turner and his Turner Broadcasting System purchased the pre-May 1986 MGM films (including Metro Pictures films) from Kirk Kerkorian for $600 million.

Filmed in Fort Lee, NJ

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References

  1. 1 2 "Studios and Films". Fort Lee Films.org. Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Eyman, S. (2008). Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. Simon & Schuster. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-4391-0791-1 . Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Metro Corporation", Motography, XIII (8): 278, February 20, 1915, retrieved December 5, 2013
  4. ↑ McMahan, Alison (August 22, 2014). Alice Guy Blaché: Lost Visionary of the Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 179. ISBN   9781501302695 . Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Louis B. Mayer". The Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ Monush, Barry; Sheridan, James (June 1, 2011). Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead. Applause Theatre & Cinema. ISBN   9781557839336 . Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Satan Sanderson". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Sealed Valley". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 25. St. James Press. 1999. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
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