Siegmund
Lubin was a German-Jewish immigrant who came to the United States
in 1876 at the age of 25. He settled in Philadelphia and opened
an optical shop.
It
was his knowledge of lenses that led to an interest in photography
and then to the design and development of his own motion picture
projector. It was this optical shop that soon became the home
of "S. Lubin World's Largest Manufacturer of Life Movies."
The company's logo was a logo representing the Liberty Bell and
accompanied by the slogan, "Clear As a Bell" emphasizing
the quality of its films.
Movie-making
was not Lubin's only enterprise. He also manufactured and sold
a patented projector he called the Cineograph. In 1899 he became
an exhibitor when, in Philadelphia, he constructed what was probably
the first theatre built solely for the exhibition of motion pictures.
Soon, he had over 100 theatres all along the East Coast.
In
1898, Edison filed suit against Lubin for copyright infringement.
As a result, he returned to Germany, but was back in a short time
producing pictures once again. Edison's claims of copyright infringement
led to a 10-year battle that Edison not only waged against Lubin,
but many other film companies, as well.
During
this time, quite a few tactics were used to disrupt filming, and
Edison wasn't beyond sending out thugs to bring a stop to a day's
shooting.
One
of Lubin's favorite tricks to deal with these situations was to
set up a fake film crew. While they were taking the thugs on a
merry chase, the real film company would be in some other location
completing their day's work.
In
1909, Lubin was asked to join Edison in forming the Motion Picture
Patents Company to try to shut out smaller studios. The MPPC was
formed by Edison,
Biograph,
Essanay,
Kalem,
Kleine,
Lubin,
Melies,
Pathe,
Selig
and Vitagraph.
This
formation basically set the standards for movie paper. They also
formed the General Film Company to distribute their films to theaters.
This group would become known as 'the Trust'.
In
1910, Lubin built the most modern, up-to-date studio in the world.
The glassed-in structure boasted editing rooms, laboratories,
machine shops where his cameras and projectors were made and the
largest artificially lit stage in the world with one of the world's
most powerful indoor lighting systems. The studio permitted five
films crews to work at once. Located in Philadelphia and known
as "Lubinville," the studio turned out films that were
known for their production values, technical sophistication and
sharp images.
Two
years later, he purchased a 500 acre estate in Betzwood, near
historic Valley Forge, which was the home of brewer John Betz.
He transformed this estate into a studio and lot that was reknowned
for its scenic beauty. The $2 million dollar complex was outfitted
with state-of-the-art technology that included air-conditioned,
automated labs.
At
the Jacksonville, Fla., studio in 1913, a young bystander named
Oliver Hardy was given his first chance at acting and continued
honing his craft with the Lubin company for the next two years.
Eventually,
Edison decided to form the 'Trust' to fight all the smaller studio
which lasted until the antitrust suit in 1916.
The
dissolution of the Motion Picture Patents Company came about soon
afterward causing Lubin to lose millions of dollars and adversely
affecting his health, too.
The downhill spiral couldn't be stopped, and, on Sept, 1, 1917,
the Lubin Film Company closed its doors forever.
Lubin
was considered the first 'movie mogul'.
Here's
a list of titles that were produced by Lubin. We haven't had time
to put them into the database yet. click
here
