The year 1908 in film involved some significant events.
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.
Julia Arthur was a Canadian-born stage and film actress.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1909 American film directed by Charles Kent and J. Stuart Blackton, and starring Walter Ackerman and Charles Chapman. It was the first film adaptation of the eponymous play by William Shakespeare. The movie was made during summer 1909, but not released until December 25.
Les Misérables is a 1909 American silent historical drama proto-feature film. The proto-feature movie is based on the 1862 French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, and stars Maurice Costello and William V. Ranous. It was directed by J. Stuart Blackton.
Oliver Twist is a 1909 American film and the first film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist. It starred Edith Storey as Oliver Twist, Elita Proctor Otis as Nancy, and William J. Humphrey as Fagin. It was directed by J. Stuart Blackton.
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom is a 1905 American silent film directed by J. Stuart Blackton for Vitagraph Studios. It was the second film based on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, following the 1900 Mutoscope trick film Sherlock Holmes Baffled, and is usually regarded as the first attempt to film a "serious" Holmes adaptation. The scenario was by Theodore Liebler based on elements of Conan Doyle's 1890 novel The Sign of the Four.
Cradle Snatchers is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Howard Hawks. The picture is based on the 1925 Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell stage play of the same name that starred Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver, Raymond Hackett, Gene Raymond and Humphrey Bogart. An incomplete copy, missing part of reel 3 and all of reel 4, exists in the Library of Congress.
The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln is a 1924 American feature film directed by Phil Rosen and written by Frances Marion. By the date of release, the film's title was shortened to Abraham Lincoln, since the previous title was regarded as cumbersome.
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.
The American, a.k.a.The Flag Maker, is a lost 1927 American silent Western film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Bessie Love and Charles Ray. It was based on the short story "The Flag Maker" by Jewel Spencer, and was produced by George K. Spoor through his company Natural Vision Pictures.
The Humpty Dumpty Circus is a lost short stop-motion film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith, the Anglo-American founders of Vitagraph Studios. There are no known surviving copies.
Albert Edward Smith was an English stage magician, film director and producer, and a naturalized American. He founded Vitagraph Studios with his business partner James Stuart Blackton in 1897.
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.
The Common Cause is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film directed and produced by J. Stuart Blackton and distributed by Vitagraph Company of America. It is based on a play, Getting Together, by Ian Hay, J. Hartley Manners, and Percival Knight.
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.
Marian Constance Blackton was an American screenwriter and actress active primarily in the 1920s. She was sometimes credited as Marian Constance.
The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is an American adventure comedy-drama silent short film written, produced and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. The film stars Blackton and Florence Lawrence. It was released on April 25, 1908 by The American Vitagraph Company; a partial print of The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is preserved in the Paper Print Collection. The Airship, or 100 Years Hence advertised that it would be "a forecast of a probable means of air navigation in the coming century."
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.
