Keystone Studios

Keystone Studios

Company type	Film studio
Industry	Film production and distribution
Predecessor	New York Motion Picture Company (financial backers)
Founded	July 4, 1912 (1912-07-04) in Edendale, California, United States
Founder	Mack Sennett
Fate	Bankruptcy and closure in 1935
Headquarters	Edendale (now Echo Park), Los Angeles , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Mack Sennett, Adam Kessel, Charles O. Baumann
Products	Silent films, slapstick comedies (e.g. Keystone Cops)
Number of employees	Not specified
Parent	Triangle Film Corporation (from 1915)

Keystone Studios was a pioneering film studio established on July 4, 1912, in Edendale, California—now incorporated into Echo Park—under the name Keystone Pictures Studio. The studio was created by Mack Sennett with financial support from actor-writer Adam Kessel and Charles O Baumann, who owned the New York Motion Picture Company (founded in 1909). Internally referred to as The Keystone Film Company, it produced films primarily around Glendale and Silver Lake, Los Angeles, distributing them through the Mutual Film Corporation between 1912 and 1915. After Sennett pursued an independent path in 1917, Keystone's prominence diminished swiftly.

The term Keystone was inspired by a Pennsylvania Railroad train car observed during the founders’ initial meeting in New York; Pennsylvania is commonly known as the Keystone State.

The original main facility—recognized as the first completely enclosed film stage and studio ever constructed—remains standing at 1712 Glendale Blvd in Echo Park and currently functions as a public storage site.

Production

Under the leadership of Mack Sennett, a Canadian-American actor, director, and producer famously called the 'King of Comedy', the studio gained renown during the silent film era. With backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman of the New York Motion Picture Company, Sennett launched Keystone Studios in Edendale, California (now part of Echo Park) in 1912. The original building—the first fully enclosed soundstage in history—still exists today. Often referred to as Sennett's Fun Factory, Keystone was the origin of iconic slapstick creations such as the Keystone Cops (debuting in 1912) and the Sennett Bathing Beauties (introduced in 1915). Its comedies were distinguished by thrilling automobile chases and pie-throwing sequences, especially within the Keystone Cops series.

Charlie Chaplin began his cinematic journey at Keystone in 1914, rapidly rising to fame as both an actor and director, completing thirty-five films within a single year. Other prominent early performers affiliated with Keystone included Marie Dressler, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Normand, Roscoe Arbuckle, Gloria Swanson, Louise Fazenda, Raymond Griffith, Ford Sterling, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Al St. John, and Chester Conklin.

In 1915, Keystone became an independent production division within the Triangle Film Corporation, alongside filmmakers such as D. W. Griffith and Thomas H. Ince. When Sennett left in 1917 to produce films independently distributed by Paramount, Keystone’s operations began to wane. The studio eventually ceased operations following bankruptcy in 1935.

Legacy

Following Keystone’s closure, much of its lighting and studio apparatus was purchased by Reymond King, who established "Award Cinema Movie Equipment" in Venice, California, in November 1935.

The name "Keystone Studios" was used fictitiously for a studio setting in the 1994 independent film Swimming With Sharks, produced by Cineville.

In 2007, Cineville combined forces with DVD distributor Westlake Entertainment to create a joint venture named Keystone.

The original Keystone Studios lot featured prominently both as a setting and narrative element in the 2011 video game L.A. Noire, released by Rockstar Games.

Further reading

• Lahue, Kalton (1971); Mack Sennett's Keystone: The man, the myth and the comedies; New York: Barnes;
• Neibaur, James L. (2011); Early Charlie Chaplin: The Artist as Apprentice at Keystone Studios; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press;
• Walker, Brent (2009); Mack Sennett's Fun Factory Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co.