The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to Vitagraph Studios in 1917.
The Kalem Company was founded by George Kleine, Samuel Long, [1] and Frank J. Marion. The company was named for their initials K, L, and M.
Kalem immediately joined other studios in the Motion Picture Patents Company that held a monopoly on production and distribution. Frank Marion had been the sales manager at Biograph Studios and Samuel Long was the manager of the Biograph production facility at Hoboken, New Jersey. Needing to raise more capital, the two experienced filmmakers approached Chicago businessman George Kleine to come in as a partner. Kleine, already a successful film distributor, was involved only a short time but it was a profitable investment for him as his partners were soon successful enough to buy out his shares at a considerable premium. The company began operations from a small office in a loft building at 131 West 24th Street in New York City. [2] The partners were able to lure general manager and director Sidney Olcott away from Biograph. Olcoltt eventually became the Kalem Company's president and was rewarded with one share of its stock. Kalem had no indoor studios, so most of its films were shot on location. In February 1907, the company made its first motion picture, titled The Sleigh Belle. While Kalem scored successes in their first year, the rate of production at the once-powerful Biograph stagnated, hampered by the loss of important personnel.
Under the direction of Sidney Olcott, Kalem made a number of significant films, including the first adaptation of Ben Hur and the following year, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . In 1910 Olcott gave actress Alice Joyce her first acting job in his production of The Deacon's Daughter.
The one-reel version of Ben Hur – in which Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn was used as the location for the Holy Land – was made without obtaining the rights to the book, the usual procedure in the industry at the time, and Kalem was sued by the estate of the author, Lew Wallace. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Kalem in 1911 in Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros. , they reached a settlement which paid the estate $25,000 – an extremely large amount for the time. [3] The action helped to establish the necessity for film studios to obtain the motion picture rights for the properties they wished to utilize. [4]
In 1910 the company shot a film in Ireland, making Kalem the first movie studio to travel outside the United States to film on location. As director, Olcott headed a small team in Ireland: Kalem's leading lady and principal screenwriter, Gene Gauntier, and cameraman George Hollister. There, they notably filmed A Lad from Old Ireland in Cork area plus a scenic film The Irish Honeymoon shot in Blarney Castle, Glengarriff, Gap of Dunloe, the Lakes of Killarney and Dublin. After the team went to Germany to film The Little Spreewald Maiden, a love story in the Spreewald with Gauntier and Olcott in the lead characters. [5]
Olcott and others from the studio - Alice Hollister, Agnes Mapes, Jack J. Clark, Robert G. Vignola, J.P. McGowan, Arthur Donaldson - returned to Ireland for most of the summer in the next two years. The O'Kalems, as the American entourage were affectionately dubbed, made such Irish films as Rory O'More , The Vagabonds , You Remember Ellen , The Colleen Bawn , one of the first American three-reels (40 minutes). 22 films in total for Kalem. Later on, the outbreak of World War I prevented Olcott, who had resigned from Kalem and shot films for himself, from following through with his plans to build a permanent studio in Beaufort, County Kerry.
Galvanized by the success of Irish films, Frank J. Marion decides on a more ambitious expedition: send a crew to Egypt and Palestine to shoot films, about thirty or so. Company stayed in Luxor, shot melodramas with titles such as An Arabian Tragedy , Captured by Bedouins , Tragedy of the Desert , A Prisoner of the Harem and documentaries the pulsing life on the Nile.
But the great ambition of Kalem's expedition is the shooting of the first five-reel film. Titled From the Manger to the Cross , it told the life story of Jesus. According to Turner Classic Movies, it is considered the most important silent film to deal with the life of Christ. In 1998 the film was selected for the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress.
Kalem was also one of the first studios to regularly film year-round by setting up facilities in Florida during the winter. The Florida company consisted of Sidney Olcott, George Hollister, cameraman; Allen Farnham, scenic artist; Arthur Clough, property man; Gene Gauntier scenarist and leading actress; Jack J. Clark, leading male actor; Robert Vignola, the bad guy; J.P. McGowan, another leading actor; Alice Hollister and Ethel Eastcourt.
In the fall of 1910, Kalem began organizing other studio locations. In November 1910, William Wright, company treasurer, was sent to the West Coast to assess the feasibility of a permanent studio for the making of Western style films. Wright saw the potential and after given the go-ahead from head office he acquired a property in Verdugo Canyon in Glendale and a permanent crew was dispatched from New York City. Headed by director Kenean Buel, his crew consisted of star actress Alice Joyce, George Melford, Jane Wolfe, Frank Lanning, Howard Oswald, Frank Brady, Knute Rahmn, Francelia Billington and Daisy Smith.
With films from the Western genre much in demand, in 1911, a second California studio was opened in Santa Monica with actors Ruth Roland, Marin Sais, Ed Coxen, and Marshall Neilan taken under contract. The Santa Monica facility eventually would be used to make comedies.
In December 1912, after successful "air tests", Kalem sent a troupe of players and a crew headed by McGowan to Birmingham, Alabama where the Lubin Manufacturing Company had briefly begun producing films. They took over lodgings and an outdoor stage at the Bluff Park Hotel on Shades Mountain south of the city. [6]
Kalem operated in Glendale and Santa Monica until October 1913 when they took over the Essanay Studios property at 1425 Fleming Street (now, Hoover Street) in the east Hollywood.
In November 1914, Kalem released the first of 119 episodes of the serial The Hazards of Helen , releasing a new segment every Saturday until February 1917. Each segment had a self-contained story, so it was more of a film series than a serial. Helen Holmes played the lead character "Helen" and did most of her own stunts in the first 26 episodes until she and director J. P. McGowan left to set up their own film production company. The two began a relationship while working on the serial that led to marriage. Director J. Gunnis Davis (billed as James Davis) took over and Elsie McLeod substituted in episodes 27–49 until a permanent "Helen" could be found for the remainder in the form of Helen Gibson.
On the heels of the immediate success of The Hazards of Helen, Kalem Studios simultaneously produced another 16-episode action/adventure series they released in October 1915 called The Ventures of Marguerite starring Marguerite Courtot.
In the fall of 1912, Sidney Olcott resigned to work for independent companies. Allan Dwan joined Kalem for a short time, as did Mary Pickford, who also directed films in 1913. Over the years, Kalem contracted various other directors such as actor-turned-directors Robert Vignola and J. P. McGowan, George Melford, as well as James W. Horne, Rube Miller, William Beaudine, Harry F. Millarde, and Robert Ellis. In 1917, after having made close to 1500 motion pictures, the Kalem Company was sold to Vitagraph Studios.
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.
Gene Gauntier was an American screenwriter and actress who was one of the pioneers of the motion picture industry. A writer, director, and actress in films from mid 1906 to 1920, she wrote screenplays for 42 films. She performed in 87 films and is credited as the director of The Grandmother (1909).
George K. Hollister was an American pioneer cinematographer.
Frank Joseph Marion was an American motion picture pioneer.
The Lad from Old Ireland, also called A Lad from Old Ireland, is a one-reel 1910 American motion picture directed by and starring Sidney Olcott and written by and co-starring Gene Gauntier. It was the first film appearance of prolific actor/director J.P. McGowan.
Beaufort is a small village that lies on the banks of the River Laune in County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. It consists of a post office, three public houses, one supermarket, parish hall, guest houses and thirty private houses. As of the 2016 census, the population was 251. Beaufort sits at the foot of Ireland's highest mountain Carrantuohill.
The Colleen Bawn is a silent 1911 American romantic drama film based on the 1860 play of the same name. A secret marriage leads to murder. It and the play are based on the actual 1819 murder of 15-year-old Ellen Scanlan.
Rory O'More is a 1911 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott and Robert G. Vignola, with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It is based on the novel and play by Samuel Lover. While the historical Rory O'More took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the film places the story in the context of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
The Fishermaid of Ballydavid is a 1911 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with himself and Gene Gauntier in the leading roles.
His Mother is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ireland for American audiences.
Far from Erin's Isle is a 1912 American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ireland for American audiences. The film tells the story of a young girl who leaves Ireland for New York, but after losing two jobs and becoming sick, returns home where she is welcomed by her family and her sweetheart.
You Remember Ellen is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Films. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ireland for American audiences.
The Kerry Gow is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Alice Hollister and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles.
Ireland, the Oppressed is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with himself, Jack J. Clark and Alice Hollister.
The Shaughraun is a 1912 American silent film produced by the Kalem Company and distributed by the General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with himself, Gene Gauntier, Alice Hollister and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles.
Lady Peggy's Escape is a 1913 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with himself, Gene Gauntier, Helen Lindroth and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles.
The Wives of Jamestown is a 1913 American silent film produced by the Kalem Company and distributed by the General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier, Helen Lindroth and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles.
Tragedy of the Desert is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles.
The Ancient Port of Jaffa is a 1912 American silent documentary produced by Kalem Company and distributed by General Film Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott.
The Further Adventures of the Girl Spy is a 1910 American silent film produced by Kalem Company and directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier in the leading role. A story of the Civil War.
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