Ludwig Blattner was a brilliant technician
and had purchased a magnetic sound recorder that was invented by Dr. Kurt
Stiles in Germany. He renamed it the Blattnerphone and formed the Ludwig
Blattner Film Corp.
He purchased the Neptune Studios in 1928,
with the intent of creating sound on films. However there were a lot more
problems than he anticipated and pressure was on in the film industry because
sould equipment was rapidly being installed in studios.
Numerous films were made at the Neptune
Studios. In fact, Herbert
Wilcox, whose Imperial Studios was located just down the road in 'Elstree
Studios' shot Wolves with Dorothy Gish at the Neptune Studio while his sound
equipment was being installed and added the sound AFTER the film was shot.
In addition to all the confusion, in 1931, Blattner released
his 'Book Reader' which was an ingenious device to help blind people with
books.
As brilliant as Blattner was, he wasn't a good businessman
and unfortunately the banks repossed the studio in 1932. Blattner couldn't
take the failure and committed suicide at his country club by hanging himself
in the closet.
Back to British Studios
