One century ago this week, the January 21, 1922 edition of “Motion Picture News” carried a small news item noting that Marcus Loew had been elected president of Metro Pictures. This was hardly startling news since he already owned a controlling interest in the company. The article reports that this news should “disprove the recent…
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The Cinema Century — September 3, 1921
One century ago this week, the September 3, 1921 edition of “Exhibitors Trade Review” announced that the Universal production of FOOLISH WIVES had cleared an important hurdle: Securing approval from the censors for the picture had by no means been assured, as its director and star, Erich von Stroheim, had delivered a decidedly racy piece…
The Cinema Century — July 15, 1921
One century ago this week, the July 15, 1921 edition of “Variety” carried an announcement of a forthcoming film from Charlie Chaplin: If you thought you were familiar with all of Chaplin’s films, but find that you can’t seem to place POUF POUF, don’t worry. The film was never actually made. The apparently somber undertone…
The Cinema Century – May 28, 1921
One century ago this week, “Moving Picture World” noted in its May 28, 1921 edition the acquisition of a cache of short films by business partners Leon Schlesinger and A.L. Feinman. In reporting the story, the trade paper uncharacteristically got one of the most salient details wrong. The story attributes the films in question to…
The Cinema Century — March 5, 1921
One century ago this week, the March 5, 1921 edition of “Exhibitors Herald” took note of an extraordinary effort to coordinate all facets of the motion picture production industry in a joint effort to head off the threat of movie censorship. The effort was headed by William Desmond Taylor, a prolific and respected Hollywood director…
The Cinema Century — January 15, 1921
One century ago this week, the January 15, 1921 edition of “Motion Picture News” carried a splashy two-page ad announcing a major real estate development in Jacksonville, Florida: This ambitious project represented the culmination of the city’s efforts over the previous several years to mount a serious rivalry with Los Angeles as a production hub…
