Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "William Selig" in English language version.
He claimed to have made the first narrative film shot in Los Angeles, 1908 's The Count of Monte Cristo, and he established what may have been the first permanent studio in the Los Angeles area in 1909. He had other claims to fame as well: His studio was credited with being the first U.S. company to shoot a two-reel film, Damon and Pythias (1908), and the first true serial, The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913-1914). Western star Tom Mix got his start with Selig. Selig shut down his Selig Polyscope Company in 1918 but continued to produce motion pictures into the 1930s. The final pictures credited to Selig were The Drag-Net (1936) and Convicts at Large (1938).
Later he was rescued from near-bankruptcy by the Armour Company, which wanted his help in combating bad publicity from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). Selig turned to Westerns partly because of Harry H. Buckwalter, a photographer and pitchman for Colorado tourism who had a keen eye for what is now called product placement and brought to Western films authenticity of background, if not of plot.
Selig was one of the most successful, and colorful, motion-picture pioneers of the 1890s and early 1900s. A native Chicagoan and traveling magician, Selig conferred the title "Colonel" upon himself while touring the minstrel show circuit. It was while in Dallas that Selig first saw Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope, and he soon became obsessed with motion pictures and with finding his own way to create and exhibit them. Selig returned to Chicago, where he created, in collaboration with machinist Andrew Schustek, his own camera and projector based on the design of the Cinematographe. Selig named his camera the "Selig Standard Camera" and his projector the "Selig Polyscope."
Selig Polyscope upgraded the production values of its films by taking full advantage of its new studio facilities in Chicago and making historical epics with impressively designed costumes and sets. One of the most ambitious Selig productions after opening the new Chicago studio was an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, the first picture to effectively illustrate the superiority of southern California's exterior locations; it was, essentially, the "big bang" of Hollywood filmmaking. The Count of Monte Cristo was directed by Francis Boggs, with Thomas Persons as cinematographer. In Chicago, Colonel William Selig launched a massive publicity campaign in an attempt to make motion pictures a more acceptable form of entertainment for people other than just the working class. The year 1914 was good for Selig as a film producer; Selig Polyscope's western studio was thriving at this time as well.
Later he was rescued from near-bankruptcy by the Armour Company, which wanted his help in combating bad publicity from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). Selig turned to Westerns partly because of Harry H. Buckwalter, a photographer and pitchman for Colorado tourism who had a keen eye for what is now called product placement and brought to Western films authenticity of background, if not of plot.
Western films have often been tributes to place and setting, with the magnificent backdrops mirroring the wildness of the narratives. As the splendid outdoor scenery of Westerns could not be found on a studio back lot or on a Hollywood sound stage, the movies have been filmed in the wide open spaces of the American West and beyond. This book chronicles the history of filming Westerns on location, from shooting on the East Coast in the early 1900s; through the use of locations in Utah, Arizona, and California in the 1940s and 1950s; and filming Westerns in Mexico, Spain, and other parts of the world in the 1960s. Also studied is the relationship between the filming location timeline and the evolving motion picture industry of the twentieth century, and how these factors shaped audience perceptions of the "Real West."
the silent movie The Crisis. This was the first feature-length film to be shot in Mississippi, a Civil War epic that was released in 1916......The future studio executive got his start in the entertainment industry as a magician in 1894, billing himself as "Selig, Conjurer." From this humble beginning he expanded and developed his act into a minstrel show attraction, and picked up the rank of "Colonel." Selig saw his first movie in 1895, on a Kinetoscope, which had been invented by Thomas Edison.
A completely revised and rewritten new edition of the pioneering film book first published in 1970, Early American Cinema, New and Revised Edition provides a concise history of the American motion picture industry before 1920, documenting the work of the early production companies, releasing organizations, filmmakers, and performers, and will serve both as a textbook and a reference source. Chapters cover pre-cinema, the Motion Picture Patents Company, independent filmmaking, the birth of the feature film, Thomas H. Ince, D.W. Griffith, sound and music, the star system, the role of women, new technologies, genres, and the language, business, and art of the film.
Later he was rescued from near-bankruptcy by the Armour Company, which wanted his help in combating bad publicity from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). Selig turned to Westerns partly because of Harry H. Buckwalter, a photographer and pitchman for Colorado tourism who had a keen eye for what is now called product placement and brought to Western films authenticity of background, if not of plot.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)In 1909, Selig opened a permanent studio in Edendale, at 1800 Glendale Boulevard; the site, still a comparatively isolated area with a backdrop of mountains, quiet residential streets and bodies of water, all within striking distance of a bustling downtown, proved to be ideal. Others would follow Selig's lead in dramatic fashion: Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company arrived in town and set up shop a block away (at 1712 Glendale Boulevard) followed by cowboy star Tom Mix's "Mixville" at the corner of Glendale and Silver Lake Boulevards.
Selig was one of the most successful, and colorful, motion-picture pioneers of the 1890s and early 1900s. A native Chicagoan and traveling magician, Selig conferred the title "Colonel" upon himself while touring the minstrel show circuit. It was while in Dallas that Selig first saw Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope, and he soon became obsessed with motion pictures and with finding his own way to create and exhibit them. Selig returned to Chicago, where he created, in collaboration with machinist Andrew Schustek, his own camera and projector based on the design of the Cinematographe. Selig named his camera the "Selig Standard Camera" and his projector the "Selig Polyscope."
Selig Polyscope upgraded the production values of its films by taking full advantage of its new studio facilities in Chicago and making historical epics with impressively designed costumes and sets. One of the most ambitious Selig productions after opening the new Chicago studio was an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, the first picture to effectively illustrate the superiority of southern California's exterior locations; it was, essentially, the "big bang" of Hollywood filmmaking. The Count of Monte Cristo was directed by Francis Boggs, with Thomas Persons as cinematographer. In Chicago, Colonel William Selig launched a massive publicity campaign in an attempt to make motion pictures a more acceptable form of entertainment for people other than just the working class. The year 1914 was good for Selig as a film producer; Selig Polyscope's western studio was thriving at this time as well.
Focusing on such early important production companies as Selig Polyscope, New York Motion Picture, and Essanay, Smith revises current thinking about the birth of Hollywood and the establishment of Los Angeles as the nexus of filmmaking in the United States. Smith also reveals the role silent westerns played in the creation of the white male screen hero that dominated American popular culture in the twentieth century.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Later he was rescued from near-bankruptcy by the Armour Company, which wanted his help in combating bad publicity from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). Selig turned to Westerns partly because of Harry H. Buckwalter, a photographer and pitchman for Colorado tourism who had a keen eye for what is now called product placement and brought to Western films authenticity of background, if not of plot.