Essanay Studios

The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an American film production and film distribution company that is primarily known for the Broncho Billy westerns and a series of films Charles Chaplin.

History

Essanay in 1907 in Chicago by film pioneer George K. Spoor ( he turned his first news film history) and founded the producing since 1904 for the film companies Selig and Vitagraph Western Gilbert M. Anderson. The name was formed from the first letters of the name Spoor and Anderson: S and A. The first production of the new company was the comedy An Awful Skate, or The Hobo on Rollers with Ben Turpin.

The best-known films of the Essanay were the Broncho Billy westerns from 1910 Anderson produced with himself in the lead role. The first film in this series was Broncho Billy 's Redemption. Because the weather in Chicago was unpredictable and Western quickly became popular, Anderson turned in Colorado and founded the Essanay - West Center in Niles, California. The logo of the company was an Indian head with war springs.

1909 joined Essanay in at the request of Thomas Alva Edison's studio Association Motion Picture Patents Company, which was smaller studios out of the market. The Company also founded the distribution company General Film Company. As the Supreme Court in 1917 the trust of movie studios for unlawfully declared, broke into the episode together also Essanay and was dissolved.

1916 Gilbert M. Anderson sold his share of Essanay and stepped back from the actors to produce plays in New York. Since the success failed to materialize, he was soon working again as a producer. 1948 and 1957 respectively were Spoor and Anderson for their contributions to the development of the film industry ever an honorary Oscar.

Movies

1542 films of the Essanay are still known today.

Western

The Gilbert M. Anderson more than 300 produced by him, staged and usually also written Western with himself in the lead roles ( from 1910 almost 150 times as Broncho Billy ) make the major portion of all Essanay films from. Anderson staged next to many episodes of the Western comedy series alkali Ike and Slippery Slim with Augustus Carney and Victor Potel in the lead roles. Historically important film is Anderson's first Western for Essanay, The James Boys in Missouri, the first processing of the Jesse James story for the screen. Another historically important Western the Essanay presents itself playing William F. Cody (though directed by Theodore Wharton ).

In addition to the serious Broncho Billy Western Essanay was quickly known by the two Western comedy series Alkali Ike and Slippery Slim. The two main characters of the series were Augustus Carney and Victor Potel, who had previously played the characters Hank and Lank for Essanay in a series of comedies, side by side. Carneys character Alkali Ike was named after a historically authentic prospectors. As Carney turned to high salary demands, he was released and Charles Chaplin hired as a replacement.

Slapstick and comedy

In addition, most Western Essanay films were comedies slapstick movies (some of them directed by Hal Roach ), Western comedies, romantic comedies. The comedy stars of the company were Ben Turpin, Augustus Carney, Victor Potel, Wallace Beery and Charles Chaplin.

Ben Turpin played since the founding of the Essanay to 1909 for the company, but remained relatively unknown until he returned and the Sidekick played at the Wallace Beerys page in the Sweedie movies Bloggie. He met Charles Chaplin met, who introduced him to Mack Sennett. Turpin left Essanay, where he was only to the great slapstick star, as he is known to this day. The later became known as a character actor Wallace Beery become began as a comedian at Essanay. In the Sweedie movies he played in women's clothes a Swedish maid.

Movie historical significance was the year 1914. Mack Sennett Charles Chaplin left Keystone company and signed with Essanay, where the distinguished actor and director total artistic control over his films were given. His films were still produced in Chicago. His first film for the new company His New Job ( 1915) was advertised with a spectacular promotion and a great success. The two years of very successful collaboration ended in 1916 in litigation: Chaplin was changed to Mutual and Essanay brought Chaplin Carmen Parody Burlesque on Carmen in a version out, which contained new scenes with Ben Turpin. Chaplin saw his copyright violated and called to the courts. The matter went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against Chaplin. The studio hired Max Linder as a substitute for Chaplin, but whose films did not have a resounding success.

Melodramas and film adaptations

Relatively early began Essanay dramas, thrillers and especially melodramas to produce. The greatest male stars of these films were Francis X. Bushman (more than 100 rolls ) and Henry B. Walthall, the ( The Birth of a Nation) played his biggest role under David Wark Griffith in The Birth of a Nation. The film- the most historically important dramas directors were Harry Beaumont and WS Van Dyke. Equally important are a series of literary adaptations of the Essanay, including 1908, the first film version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a film adaptation of Goethe's Faust with Bushman as Mephisto, an Edgar Allan Poe biography with Walthall in the title role and one of the first Sherlock Holmes adaptations in film history. The adaptations of comic Fables in Modern Slang by George Ade was one of the most successful film series of the company.

Documentaries and animated films

Essanay produced mainly in recent years documentaries, the American, but also European Natural sights and cities presented to the audience. The studio was a pioneer in the field of animation. Wallace A. Carlson ( creator of the comic figures Joe Boko and Dreamy Dud ) and Vernon Howe Bailey ( creator of culturally and historically significant Sketchbooks certain cities) were the animated stars of the studio.