Reliance Film Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production |
| Founded | 1910 in Coney Island, New York City, United States |
| Founder | Adam Kessel Jr., Charles O. Baumann |
| Defunct | 1915 |
| Fate | Ownership transferred to Harry Aitken in 1911; ceased operations in 1915 |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York City , United States |
Key people | Adam Kessel Jr., Charles O. Baumann, Harry Aitken, J. V. Ritchey, J. C. Graham |
| Products | Silent films |
Reliance Film Company operated as an early American film production enterprise from 1910 until 1915. It was established in 1910 at Coney Island by entrepreneurs Adam Kessel Jr. and Charles O. Baumann. In 1911, ownership transferred when Harry Aitken purchased the company from Baumann. The studio was also recognized under the name Reliance Motion Picture Company.
History
Founded as a branch of the New York Motion Picture Company, Reliance Film Company was created by Kessel Jr. and Baumann in Brooklyn, New York City. Alongside Reliance, they were responsible for launching the Bison Film Company on the West Coast.
By 1911, Baumann stepped away from active management to concentrate on Bison Film Company, with leadership responsibilities subsequently taken over by J. V. Ritchey and J. C. Graham. Between 1910 and 1912, notable filmmakers and actors such as Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber collaborated with Reliance.
The studio utilized the former Sanford White studio spaces in Manhattan and maintained a 10,000 square foot production site at Coney Island. Additionally, Reliance published a weekly trade journal titled The Film. In 1914, actor Max Davidson featured prominently as 'Izzy' in a series of short films produced by Reliance.
Filmography
- A Brass Button (1911)
- Her Son (1911)
- Jealousy (1912)
- Votes for Women (film) (1912), created in collaboration with the National American Woman Suffrage Association
- The Rose Bush of Memories (1914)
- The Huron Converts (1915), featuring Joseph Henabery
- Man (1913 film), directed by Oscar Apfel, starring James Ashley and Gertrude Robinson
- Before the White Man Came
- At Cripple Creek
- The Victoria Cross (1912 film) (also known as The Charge of the Light Brigade), directed by Hal Reid
- Duty and the Man (1913)
- A Man's Duty
- The Secret Service Man
- Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight (1912)
- His Mother's Son (1913)
- Kaintuck (1912)
- Virginius (film) (1912), adapted from the play by James Sheridan Knowles
- The Second Mrs. Roebuck (1914)
- The Great Leap; Until Death Do Us Part (1914)
- The Three Brothers (1915 film) (1915)
- Station Content (1915 film) (1915)
- The Craven (1915)
- Runaway June (1915), a serial featuring Norma Phillips
- Sympathy Sal (1915)
- The Outlaw's Revenge (1915)
- Macbeth
- Rosanna's Dream
- Solomon's Son
- When Men Love
- Invasion of the Wilderness
- The Girl Who Waited
- The Reckoning