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Selig Polyscope Company

From Alfawiki
Selig Polyscope Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryFilm production
Founded1 January 1896; 130 years ago (1896-01-01) in Chicago, Illinois, United States
FounderWilliam Selig
Defunct1918 (1918)
FateCeased film production; transitioned to providing animals and props to studios, operated zoo and amusement park
Headquarters
Chicago; later Edendale, Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Area served
United States; United Kingdom (via London office before WWI)
Key people
William Selig, Francis Boggs (director)
ProductsEarly commercial motion pictures, newsreels, wild animal shorts, historical dramas, western films

The Selig Polyscope Company was an American film enterprise established in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. This firm was responsible for producing numerous early commercial motion pictures and launched the careers of notable actors such as Tom Mix, Harold Lloyd, Colleen Moore, and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It also pioneered Southern California’s first permanent movie studio, located in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles.

After ceasing film production in 1918, the company transitioned to providing animals and props to other studios, while also managing a zoo and amusement park in East Los Angeles (Lincoln Heights). However, the park experienced decline during the economic hardships of the Great Depression throughout the 1930s.

In recognition of their foundational impact on the film industry, William Selig and other early cinema innovators were honored with a special Academy Honorary Award in 1947.

History

Before venturing into filmmaking, William Selig worked as a Vaudeville magician and managed minstrel shows. He began producing films in Chicago in 1896, taking advantage of being outside the reach of patent restrictions enforced by companies allied with Thomas Edison. With technical assistance from Union Metal Works and Andrew Schustek, his inaugural film was The Tramp and the Dog.

Selig Polyscope gained success through a diverse range of productions including local actuality films, slapstick comedies, travelogues, and industrial films for clients such as Armour and Company. In 1908, it co-produced The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, a multimedia adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories that drew large audiences but ultimately did not achieve financial success.

By 1909, the company maintained studios both in Chicago and Edendale, Los Angeles, distributing its own footage as well as titles from other producers. That year marked the screen debut of Roscoe Arbuckle in a Selig comedy short.

The firm became embroiled in patent litigation with Edison’s affiliates but resolved these conflicts in 1909 by joining the Motion Picture Patents Company, an industry trust that held sway until it was declared an illegal monopoly by the Supreme Court in rulings during 1913 and 1915.

In 1910, Selig Polyscope released a new filmed adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It also introduced the first commercial two-reel film titled Damon and Pythias, maintained a London office for British distribution prior to World War I, and earned recognition for producing wild animal shorts, historical dramas, and some of the earliest western films.

In 1916, the Indiana Historical Commission commissioned Selig Polyscope to create a seven-reel centennial historical motion picture chronicling Indiana’s past. Scouts surveyed three hundred locations to ensure authentic reenactments based on a screenplay authored by Gillson Willetts.

Edendale

Drawn by Southern California’s favorable climate, varied landscapes, and distance from Edison's patent enforcement, Selig established his studio in Edendale in 1909 alongside director Francis Boggs. Beginning operations in a rented bungalow, they rapidly expanded facilities, designing the studio entrance inspired by Mission San Gabriel.

From 1910 to 1913, Selig Polyscope produced The Coming of Columbus, a three-reel feature acclaimed as "the most expensive, elaborate, and wonderful graphic moving picture" of its era. This film portrayed Christopher Columbus’s life with historical fidelity and required three years and over $50,000 to complete.

Among early Edendale productions was The Count of Monte Cristo. Edendale served as the company’s main base until 1911 when Boggs was murdered and Selig was injured. Hundreds of shorts were produced there during this period, including pioneering westerns starring Tom Mix, some filmed on location at Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Selig Polyscope also found success with short films showcasing wild animals set in exotic environments, notably recreating an African safari hunt led by former president Teddy Roosevelt. In 1914, the company produced fourteen experimental "talking pictures" featuring Scottish entertainer Harry Lauder.

The "cliffhanger"

In 1913, Selig collaborated with the Chicago Tribune to create The Adventures of Kathlyn, which introduced the innovative serial storytelling technique known as the cliffhanger. Each installment's narrative was published concurrently in the newspaper. Featuring exotic animals, thrilling sequences, and the charm of Kathlyn Williams, the series gained considerable popularity. The Tribune’s readership increased by ten percent, and Williams became the inspiration for a dance, a cocktail, and more than 50,000 postcards bearing her image.

Hearst-Selig News Pictorial

Formed in 1914 through a partnership between the Selig Polyscope Company and the Hearst Corporation, Hearst-Selig News Pictorial No. 104 premiered in American theaters via the General Film Company on December 30, 1915. Shortly after this release, the collaboration between Hearst and Selig dissolved. Selig continued producing newsreels alongside the Chicago Tribune, while Hearst allied with Vitagraph to launch the Hearst-Vitagraph News Pictorial series.

V-L-S-E, Incorporated

In 1915, Selig joined forces with Vitagraph Studios, Lubin Manufacturing Company, and Essanay Studios to establish the film distribution consortium known as V-L-S-E, Incorporated.

Selig Zoo

Around 1913, Selig founded a zoo located in east Los Angeles to accommodate animals used in company productions. This facility operated under multiple names for several decades.

Academy library

During the late 1940s, Selig contributed an extensive archive of business documents to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library. The William Selig collection encompasses letters, scripts, scrapbooks, production records, and approximately six feet of photographic materials containing production stills from over 500 films—most of which are otherwise lost (only around 225 out of more than 3,500 films produced by Selig between 1896 and 1938 still exist). This archive serves as an important tool for ongoing research.

Lost films

Early film industry leaders did not fully recognize the enduring commercial value of movies. Films were rapidly produced and distributed but soon forgotten. Surviving prints were often stored improperly or destroyed because nitrate film stock was highly flammable. Many prints deteriorated, were recycled for their silver content, or discarded entirely. Of the hundreds of films created by Selig Polyscope, only a small number of copies or fragments remain.

Some of these surviving materials are part of the Dawson Film Find, including titles such as Circumstantial Evidence (1912), directed by Otis B. Thayer and starring Marshall Stedman, as well as A New Woman and the Lion (1912), directed by George Hernandez featuring Nick Cooley. Excerpts appear in the documentary Dawson City: Frozen in Time (2016).

Partial filmography

See also

External links

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