William Nicholas Selig was a vaudeville performer and pioneer of the American motion picture industry. His stage billing as Colonel Selig would be used for the rest of his career, even as he moved into film production.
The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company that was founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom Mix, Harold Lloyd, Colleen Moore, and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Selig Polyscope also established Southern California's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles.
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with tuberculosis, he found success in silent films, establishing himself as a lead actor and pioneering the industry in California. Bosworth started his own production company, Hobart Bosworth Productions, in 1913, focusing on Jack London melodramas. After the company closed, Bosworth continued to act in supporting roles, surviving the transition to sound films. He is known as the "Dean of Hollywood" for his role in shaping the California film industry. In 1960, Bosworth was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.
Quality Street is a 1927 American silent romance film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Marion Davies, Conrad Nagel and Helen Jerome Eddy. Produced by Cosmopolitan Productions for release through MGM, it was based on the 1901 play of the same name by James M. Barrie. Prints of this film are preserved at the Library of Congress and in the Turner Archive.
Hands Up! is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence Badger, co-written by Monte Brice and Lloyd Corrigan, and starring Raymond Griffith, one of the great silent movie comedians. The film features fictional incidents involving actual historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Brigham Young, and Sitting Bull.
Barbara Frietchie is a 1924 American silent war drama film about an old woman who helps out soldiers during the American Civil War. It is based on the play of the same name by Clyde Fitch that had starred Julia Marlowe at the turn of the century which in turn was taken from the real-life story of Barbara Fritchie. There were two silent film versions, a 1915 version and 1924 version. The 1915 version, directed by Herbert Blaché, starred Mary Miles Minter and Anna Q. Nilsson. The 1924 version, directed by Lambert Hillyer, starred Florence Vidor and Edmund Lowe.
The Crisis is an historical novel published in 1901 by the American novelist Winston Churchill. It was the best-selling book in the United States in 1901. The novel is set in the years leading up to the first battles of the American Civil War, mostly in the divided state of Missouri. It follows the fortunes of young Stephen Brice, a man with Union and abolitionist sympathies, and his involvement with a Southern family.
Court Martial is a 1928 American silent film war drama film directed by George B. Seitz, starring Jack Holt, Betty Compson as Belle Starr, and Frank Austin as Abraham Lincoln, and released by Columbia Pictures.
The Heart of Maryland (1927) is a silent film costume Vitaphone drama produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film stars Dolores Costello as the title character, and features Jason Robards, Sr. It is based on David Belasco's 1895 play The Heart of Maryland performed on Broadway. The film is the last silent version of the oft-filmed Victorian story, other versions having been produced in 1915 and 1921.
The Copperhead is a 1920 American silent historical drama film based on a novel by Frederick Landis and a 1918 play by Augustus Thomas. The star of this film is Lionel Barrymore who won acclaim in the play version on Broadway, and who appeared in the play and this film with his first wife Doris Rankin. A print of this film has been screened in recent years.
The Tongues of Men is a 1916 silent film drama produced by the Oliver Morosco Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Frank Lloyd directed and English stage actress Constance Collier stars in her debut film. The story is based on a 1913 Broadway play, The Tongues of Men, by Edward Childs Carpenter and starring Henrietta Crosman.
Diplomacy is a 1916 silent film drama produced by the Famous Players Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1878 stage play Diplomacy, adapted from the French play Dora (1877) by Victorien Sardou, which had enjoyed revivals and road shows for decades. This film stars Doro reprising her 1914 Broadway revival role. The film is now lost with just a fragment, 1 reel, remaining at the Library of Congress.
Matt B. Snyder was an American stage and silent screen actor and a Civil War veteran.
Outcast is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. It was directed by William A. Seiter and stars Corinne Griffith, often considered one of the most beautiful women in film. This story had been filmed in 1917 as The World and the Woman with Jeanne Eagels. In 1922 a Paramount film of the same name with Elsie Ferguson reprising her stage role was released. Both films were based on a 1914 play, Outcast, by Hubert Henry Davies which starred Ferguson. The Seiter/Griffith film was an all silent with Vitaphone music and sound effects. In the sound era the story was filmed once again as The Girl from 10th Avenue starring Bette Davis. According to the Library of Congress database shows a print surviving complete at Cineteca Italiana in Milan.
The Awakening of Helena Richie is a surviving 1916 silent film produced by B. A. Rolfe and distributed by Metro Pictures. It is based on the 1906 novel, The Awakening of Helena Richie, by Margaret Deland and the 1909 Broadway play based on the novel starring Margaret Anglin and then child actor Raymond Hackett.
Luck in Pawn is a 1919 American silent romance film starring Marguerite Clark and directed by Walter Edwards. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film is based on a play by Marvin Taylor, Luck in Pawn, and ran briefly on Broadway in 1919.
Tom Mix (1880–1940) was an American motion picture actor, director, and writer whose career spanned from 1910 to 1935. During this time he appeared in 270 films and established himself as the screen's most popular cowboy star. Mix's flair for showmanship set the standard for later cowboy heroes such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. His horse Tony also became a celebrity who received his own fan mail.
The Heart of Maryland is a lost 1915 silent film drama directed by Herbert Brenon based on David Belasco's play The Heart of Maryland. Mrs. Leslie Carter, who starred in the original play on Broadway in 1895, appeared in the film as the title character.
The Commuters is an extant 1915 silent film comedy directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Irene Fenwick in film debut. It is based on a 1910 Broadway play, The Commuters, by James Forbes.
Madam Who? is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Bessie Barriscale. It was produced by Paralta Plays and distributed through W. W. Hodkinson Corporation and the General Film Company.
