Crystal Film Company

Crystal Film Company was an American motion-picture production and film-processing company whose studio and laboratory were in the Bronx, New York. Organized in the autumn of 1911 by Ludwig Erb, with Erb as president and filmmaker Joseph A. Golden as director,[1] it made short comedies and dramas, including a large series starring Pearl White.[2] Crystal also performed commercial developing and printing work and rented its studio to independent producers.[3][4] The company underwent a brief receivership in 1919 but continued operating after Golden and Amiel Alperstein acquired a majority interest.[5][6] Crystal filed notice of its dissolution in August 1920; a newly formed company, Claremont Film Laboratories, subsequently managed its laboratory.[7][8]

History

Formation and film production

Before forming Crystal, Erb briefly held a half interest in David Horsley's film business and was subsequently associated with P. A. Powers. Robert Grau's 1914 history states that Erb organized Crystal after those two associations ended.[9] Crystal was organized in the autumn of 1911, with Erb as president and Golden as director.[1] It joined the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company. Crystal later supplied short comedies to the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, frequently issuing two subjects together on a single reel. Pearl White appeared in a large series of its films before becoming known for her work in motion-picture serials.[2]

Crystal's studio stood at the corner of Park and Wendover avenues in the Bronx.[9][10] After Wendover Avenue became known as Claremont Parkway, the company listed its address as 430 Claremont Parkway. In 1912, Golden was identified as working with Erb at Crystal.[11] Crystal subsequently supplied comedies to United Film Service after leaving Universal.[2]

In June 1914, Erb sold his interest in Crystal to Golden. Contemporary reporting said that the company's commercial developing and printing work had grown to the point that it could not accept all the business offered to it. Ben Goetz remained its general manager.[3]

Superba and United Film Service

In 1914 Crystal joined several independent producers in United Motion Picture Producers, Inc., an organization headed by Erb that supplied short films to Warner's United Film Service. Crystal was named as one of the affiliated producers. The same organization included Superba, a comedy trademark whose initial one-reel films were made at the Crystal studio and starred Charles De Forrest, previously a leading performer in Crystal's Universal releases.[12][13]

Contemporary release schedules identify Prince Charlie, A Taste of High Life, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Camille as She Never Was among the first Superba films released in November 1914.[14] Superba was not consistently tied to the Bronx facility: by April 1915 an eleven-member Superba company headed by actress Edith Thornton and directed by Charles Hutchinson was making outdoor comedies in Savannah, Georgia, for United Film Service.[15] Contemporary sources describe Superba and Crystal separately and do not establish that Superba was a subsidiary or legally owned brand of Crystal.

Studio and laboratory

By 1916, Golden was listed as Crystal's president and the company gave its address as 430 Claremont Parkway.[16] The studio was also offered for rent to outside producers. A 1917 directory described a 75-by-55-foot (23 by 17 m) enclosed studio, dressing and directors' rooms, a carpenter shop, cameras and lighting equipment, darkrooms and on-site developing and printing facilities. The Triumph Film Corporation and Ivan Film Productions were among the companies reported to have used it; A. Alperstein was then general manager.[4]

By July 1919, minority shareholders had obtained the appointment of a receiver, alleging that the company's assets were being dissipated through mismanagement. Crystal appealed, staying the proposed liquidation while it continued in business. Contemporary reporting valued its assets at approximately $100,000 in liquidation and more as a going concern, while describing its debts to creditors as small.[5] The receivership was discontinued later that year. Golden and Alperstein acquired a majority of the stock and announced that the business at 430 Claremont Parkway would continue.[6]

Dissolution

On August 17, 1920, Wid's Daily reported that Crystal had filed notice of its dissolution with the Secretary of State of New York.[7] The same issue reported the formation of Claremont Film Laboratories to manage Crystal's Bronx laboratory. Walter E. Greene became president, while Golden and Alperstein retained interests in the plant.[8]

Personal-injury litigation

Actress and playwright Celie G. Turner, who performed as Celie Ellis,[17] sued Crystal over an injury she sustained in April 1914 while jumping from a tree branch during production. Turner initially received a $4,000 jury verdict. The Appellate Division reversed the judgment and dismissed her complaint, but in 1919 the New York Court of Appeals reversed that decision and ordered a new trial.[18]

Selected filmography

For a more extensive listing, see List of films produced by the Crystal Film Company.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bowser, Eileen (1990). The Transformation of Cinema, 1907–1915. History of the American Cinema. Vol. 2. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-684-18414-2.
  2. 1 2 3 Slide, Anthony (2014). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-92561-1.
  3. 1 2 "Erb Leaves Crystal". The Billboard. July 4, 1914. p. 51.
  4. 1 2 "Many Improvements at Crystal Studio" (PDF). Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual. 1917. pp. 19–20.
  5. 1 2 "Pending Decision, Crystal Films Continue Business". Moving Picture World. July 5, 1919. p. 78.
  6. 1 2 "Crystal Receivership Ends". New York Clipper. November 1919.
  7. 1 2 "Crystal Co. Dissolves". Wid's Daily. August 17, 1920. p. 1.
  8. 1 2 "Greene in Lab. Field". Wid's Daily. August 17, 1920. p. 1.
  9. 1 2 Grau, Robert (1914). The Theatre of Science: A Volume of Progress and Achievement in the Motion Picture Industry. Broadway Publishing Company. p. 38.
  10. ↑ "Oh, Such a Night!". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute.
  11. ↑ "Crystal Film Company". Motion Picture News. September 19, 1912.
  12. ↑ "United Motion Picture Producers". Moving Picture World. December 12, 1914. p. 1386.
  13. ↑ "United Program Companies Have Lively Comedies". Motion Picture News. October 17, 1914. p. 32.
  14. ↑ "Release Dates for Ready Reference". Motion Picture News. December 5, 1914. p. 68.
  15. ↑ "Film Folk Flashes". Motography. Vol. 13, no. 17. April 24, 1915. p. 668.
  16. ↑ "Crystal Film Company". Motion Picture News Studio Directory. October 21, 1916.
  17. ↑ "Celie Ellis". Camera: A Practical Magazine for Photographers. July 1916. p. 123.
  18. ↑ Turner v. Crystal Film Co., 225 N.Y. 268 (New York Court of Appeals 1919).
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Release listings". The Moving Picture World. 1913. p. 206.
  20. ↑ "Lost, Strayed or Stolen". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.