Early History of the Film Industry Great innovation and early revolutionaries

Eadweard Muybridge An English photographer who became famous for his photographs of Yosemite Valley He was acquitted of murder on grounds of justifiable homicide when he killed his wife’s lover Began a study of motion with humans and animals later in his career

Zoopraxiscope Invented by Eadweard Muybridge in 1879 One of the first motion-picture projectors Featured a series of still photographs played in rapid succession Early films were from his studies of motion in animals The Machine The “film”

Thomas Alva Edison Inventor of many things, most famous for the light bulb Worked with motion pictures after work on the light bulb

Kinetoscope Invented by Edison in 1891 Inspired by Muybridge, began work on the project in 1888 Intention was to create a camera which could capture motion Name comes from Greek words meaning “to move” and “to watch” Incorporated the emergence of celluloid film which was coated in an emulsion The production of large quatities of the film by Eastman Company allowed for the development of the Kinetoscope The Machine

D.W. Griffith Pioneer of early film

Born in Kentucky to Jacob Griffith, a former Confederate Army colonel Originally appeared as an actor in an Edison Company film Signed with American Mutoscope & Biography Co., where he would go on to direct 450 short films Produced and directed the first movie ever made in Hollywood (In Old California, 1910)

Birth of a Nation His first full length film released in 1915 Considered as the birth of modern American cinema Earned $300 a week for the film plus 37.5% of the net profits The film looks at the emergence of the Civil War and follows the birth of the Ku Klux Klan NAACP attempted to have the film banned and then censored when banning failed Film inspired African-Americans to create their own films to counter the depiction of them created by the movie

After Birth of a Nation Released film, Intolerance: Love’s Struggle through the Ages (1916) to combat the negativity created by Birth of a Nation Was the king of Hollywood until 1924 First to say the phrase, “Lights! Camera! Action!” in 1910 First to use the techniques of the flashback, iris shot, the mask, soft focus, parallel editing and split screen. Also, invented the use of false eyelashes

Miscellaneous Released his first sound film in 1930, Abraham Lincoln. Griffith ended up being an ardent supporter of the rights of native Americans and detested their treatment by the American government Received first honorary Academy Award from Frank Capra Still viewed as one of the greatest directors of all time

One of the pivotal stars of the silent film Charlie Chaplin One of the pivotal stars of the silent film

Born in 1889 in London, England Was both an actor and a film director Helped form United Artists with D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in 1919 Originally lived in a room with Stan Laurel when they came to America First actor to be nominated for Best Actor for playing two roles in one film First actor to appear on the cover of Time Magazine The last movie he saw, Rocky (1976)

The Little Tramp Became famous for his character, The Little Tramp One of the most recognizable characters of all time, often imitated even today in film Created the “look” from a number of Hollywood luminaries clothes, including “Fatty” Arbuckle’s coat

Chaplin’s Movies Four of his films,  The Gold Rush (1925) at #25, Modern Times (1936) at #33, The Great Dictator (1940) at #37 and City Lights (1931) at #38, are considered amongst the funniest of all times Modern Times is a political look at the abuses of industry on the worker and life during the Great Depression The Great Dictator, a political attack on Hitler in the form of a comedy, was banned in Germany. Created the “look” from a number of Hollywood luminaries clothes, including “Fatty” Arbuckle’s coat

Silent film star who performed into the 1960s Buster Keaton Silent film star who performed into the 1960s

Born Joseph Frank Keaton in 1895 Earned the nickname, Buster, from Harry Houdini after he wasn’t harmed falling down the stairs at age six months He was incorporated into the family act early on and would often be tossed around the stage, giving birth to his career as a comedic actor Produced two of the greatest films of the silent film era, The General (1926) and The Camera Man (1928)

He and Charlie Chaplin had an interesting relationship He and Charlie Chaplin had an interesting relationship. Long considered rivals but always having avoided commenting about each other in the press, Chaplin hired Keaton for a part in Limelight (1952). Keaton, who was flat broke at the time, went into a career decline after having been signed by MGM in 1928, as the studio would not let him improvise in any of his films nor allow him any writing or directorial input, and he was eventually reduced to writing gags - often uncredited - for other comedians' films.

Hollywood’s first leading man Douglas Fairbanks Hollywood’s first leading man

Life and Career Born on May 23, 1883 in Denver, Colorado Raised by his mother, he attended Harvard before a number of jobs that eventually led him to acting He performed almost all of his own stunts throughout his career His portrayal of Zorro was the inspiration for DC Comics’ Batman

Life and Career Married Mary Pickford, a union which made them Hollywood’s first celebrity couple. Their home was known as “Pickfair” Founder of United Artists One of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Mary Pickford And Lillian Gish Early Leading Ladies Mary Pickford And Lillian Gish

Mary Pickford Born Gladys Smith on April 8, 1892 in Toronto, Canada America’s first sweetheart, she appeared in numerous D.W. Griffith films First movie actress to receive a percentage of a film’s earnings She wanted all of her films destroyed after her death because she feared no one would care about them

Lillian Gish Born on October 14, 1893 in Springfield, Ohio Worked with D.W. Griffith early in her career before signing with MGM She was a childhood friend of Mary Pickford Was eventually replaced at MGM by Greta Garbo, who was order to study her acting style Replaced because she was viewed as a “sexless antique” Went on to do radio and theatre

“You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!!” Al Jolson “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!!”

Born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania to a Jewish cantor on May 26, 1886 Was considered the “World’s Greatest Entertainer” for over 40 years Began his career as a singer and vaudevillian entertainer Began a Broadway career in 1912, spending almost 20 years there Failed a screen test to play himself and finished third in an Al Jolson sound-a-like competition Has 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Jazz Singer Starred in the 1927 film, The Jazz Singer, which began the end of the Silent Film Era “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet! Wait a minute, I tell ya! You ain't heard nothin'! You wanna hear "Toot, Toot, Tootsie"? All right, hold on, hold on... ” [First words in the first widely-talking picture] Sam Warner, the Warner Brother who insisted that the line be left in, died on day before the movie was premiered in its entirety. The first film musical

Bibliography IMDb(2013). D.W. Griffith. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000428/bio