Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.
James Stuart Blackton was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation, is considered a father of American animation, and was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. Blackton was also the commodore of the Motorboat Club of America and the Atlantic Yacht Club.
Madge Evans was an American stage and film actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.
Laurence Norwood Trimble was an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to have a leading role in motion pictures. He made his acting debut in the 1910 silent Saved by the Flag, directed scores of films for Vitagraph and other studios, and became head of production for Florence Turner's independent film company in England (1913–1916). Trimble was most widely known for his four films starring Strongheart, a German Shepherd dog he discovered and trained that became the first major canine film star. After he left filmmaking he trained animals exclusively, particularly guide dogs for the blind.
Mary Carr, was an American film actress and was married to the actor William Carr. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1915 to 1956. She was given some of filmdoms plum mother roles in silent pictures, especially Fox's 1920 Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, which was a great success. She was interred in Calvary Cemetery. Carr bore a strong resemblance to Lucy Beaumont, another famous character actress of the time who specialized in mother roles. As older actresses such as Mary Maurice and Anna Townsend passed on, Carr, still in her forties, seem to inherit all the matriarchal roles in silent films.
James W. Morrison was an American actor and author. He appeared in 187 films between 1911 and 1927.
Zaza was a 1915 American silent romantic drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company in association with the Charles Frohman Company, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford and stars Pauline Frederick in the title role. The film is based on the 1899 French stage play of the same name that starred Mrs. Leslie Carter, and the American adaptation by David Belasco.
The Battle Cry of Peace is a 1915 American silent war film directed by Wilfrid North and J. Stuart Blackton, one of the founders of Vitagraph Company of America who also wrote the scenario. The film is based on the book Defenseless America, by Hudson Maxim, and was distributed by V-L-S-E, Incorporated. The film stars Charles Richman, L. Rogers Lytton, and James W. Morrison.
Poppy is a 1936 comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Rochelle Hudson. The film was based on a 1923 stage revue of the same name starring Fields and Madge Kennedy. This was the second film version of the revue featuring Fields, following Sally of the Sawdust in 1925 with Carol Dempster in the title role.
The Nth Commandment is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Colleen Moore. It is based on a story, The Nth Commandment, by Fannie Hurst, a well-known novelist of the day.
The World for Sale is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Conway Tearle, Ann Little, W.W. Bitner, Norbert Wicki, Crazy Thunder, and E.L. Fernandez. It is based on the 1916 novel The World For Sale by Gilbert Parker. The film was released on January 21, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
Big Brother is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Rex Beach and Paul Sloane. The film stars Tom Moore, Edith Roberts, Raymond Hatton, Joe King, Mickey Bennett, Charles Henderson, and Paul Panzer. The film was released on December 23, 1923, by Paramount Pictures.
Between Friends is a 1924 American silent melodrama film based on the eponymous 1914 novel by Robert W. Chambers. The film was directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Albert E. Smith. It stars Lou Tellegen, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Norman Kerry. The feature was distributed by Vitagraph Studios, which was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. The film is lost.
Ankles Preferred is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and written by James Shelley Hamilton. The film stars Madge Bellamy, Lawrence Gray, Barry Norton, Allan Forrest, Marjorie Beebe and Joyce Compton. The film was released on February 27, 1927, by Fox Film Corporation.
Stop Thief! is a lost 1915 silent film comedy drama directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Mary Ryan. It was produced by George Kleine and released through Kleine and Edison.
William Pitt Striker Earle was an American director of the silent film era. He attended Columbia University and worked for a time as a photographer before breaking into the movie business by sneaking onto the lot of Vitagraph Company of America to observe how directors worked. After a few days of this, Earle approached the studio president and was given his first movie to direct, For the Honor of the Crew, a short about a crew race at Columbia University. He subsequently directed a number of features and shorts for Vitagraph. Later he worked with producer David O. Selznick. Earle founded his own, short-lived production company called Amex Production Corporation with J. S. Joffe, and shot the final two films of his career in Mexico.
Hell-Bent for Heaven is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and written by Marian Constance Blackton. It is based on the 1924 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Hell-Bent Fer Heaven by Hatcher Hughes. The film stars Patsy Ruth Miller, John Harron, Gayne Whitman, Gardner James, Wilfrid North, and Evelyn Selbie. The film was released by Warner Bros. on May 1, 1926.
Stop Thief! is an extant 1920 silent comedy drama film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Tom Moore and Irene Rich. It was produced and distributed by the Goldwyn Pictures company.
The Hidden Scar is a 1916 silent film directed by Barry O'Neil and starring Ethel Clayton and Holbrook Blinn. It was distributed by the World Film Company.
Womanhood, the Glory of the Nation is a 1917 American lost silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and William P. S. Earle, and written by Blackton, Helmer W. Bergman, and Cyrus Townsend Brady. It is a sequel to the 1915 movie The Battle Cry of Peace. The film stars Alice Joyce and Harry T. Morey. It is a lost film.
