One century ago this week, the July 31, 1926 edition of “Exhibitors Herald” carried the following announcement: The decision of German director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (known professionally as F.W. Murnau, never mind the unfortunate typo in the article above) to leave Germany to work in Hollywood had been eagerly anticipated for some time. More than…
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The Cinema Century – April 24, 1926
One century ago this week, the April 24, 1926 edition of “Moving Picture World” announced a forthcoming production featuring Buster Keaton: Keaton was now affiliated with United Artists as a result of Joseph Schenck’s merger with United Artists, as reported in the November 15, 1924 edition of “Exhibitors Herald”: Keaton had been with Schenck since…
The Cinema Century – January 23, 1926
One century ago this week, the January 23, 1926 edition of “Motion Picture News” reported that Max Fleischer had assumed the role of president of Red Seal Pictures Corporation: Fleischer’s move into this new role was, in effect, an attempted rescue action undertaken in hopes of propping up a failing enterprise. An inventive and pioneering…
The Cinema Century – May 2, 1925
One century ago this week, the May 2, 1925 edition of “Moving Picture World” carried an announcement that Warner Brothers would be acquiring all the assets of the Vitagraph Company: By this point in the industry’s development, mergers and acquisitions were by no means uncommon, but this one was especially noteworthy. Vitagraph was not an…
The Cinema Century – February 27, 1925
One century ago this week, the February 27, 1925 edition of “The Film Daily” carried the following item on its front page: The question mark in the headline was a prudent hedge, because in point of fact Swanson had made no such deal. She had just gotten married to a titled (but penniless) Frenchman, the…
The Cinema Century – September 20, 1924
One century ago this week, the September 20, 1924 edition of “Exhibitors Trade Review” announced an ambitious plan on the part of Warner Brothers to buy into the exhibition end of the business in a big way. This was a business move that, just a few years earlier, would have seemed distinctly odd. After all,…
The Cinema Century – July 12, 1924
One century ago this week, this notice appeared in the July 12, 1924 edition of “Exhibitors Herald”: This was a startling announcement. By way of comparison, imagine the reaction if Martin Scorsese had decided to give up filmmaking after releasing RAGING BULL. Rex Ingram was one of the most revered and successful directors the Hollywood…
The Cinema Century – June 7, 1924
One century ago this week, the following announcement appeared in the June 7, 1924 edition of “Exhibitors Herald”: Subsequently, the following two-page ad was run in a number of industry trade papers: The Motion Picture Directors Association was not a new organization; it had been established back in 1915. Its inauguration had barely made a…
The Cinema Century — March 22, 1924
One century ago this week, the March 22, 1924 edition of “Motion Picture News” reported on theatrical bookings of novelty releases in 3-D. The Plastigrams process, developed by Jacob Leventhal and Frederick Ives, was not the first photographic 3-D process by any means, nor was it the first 3-D moving image process. The production and…
The Cinema Century – January 27, 1924
One century ago this week, the January 27, 1924 edition of “The Film Daily” carried this hopeful headline: The article below the headline seeks to make the case that the fear that the “radio craze” will diminish movie theater ticket sales is unfounded. The following day’s edition contained still another article citing evidence that competition…
