Charles Urban
Encyclopedia
Charles Urban was an Anglo-American film producer and distributor, and one of the most significant figures in British cinema
before the First World War. He was a pioneer of the documentary
, educational, propaganda
and scientific film, as well as being the producer of the world's first successful motion picture colour system.
in Detroit, Michigan
in 1895. He moved to Britain in 1897, and became managing director of the Warwick Trading Company
, where he specialised in actuality film, including newsfilm of the Anglo-Boer War
. In 1903 he formed his own company, the Charles Urban Trading Company
, moving to London
's Wardour Street
in 1908, the first film business to be located in what became the home of the British film industry.
In 1903, he created a one-minute-long science film named The Cheese Mites
which features cheese mites crawling around on a piece of Stilton
. It was an early science film, possibly the first made for the public, and as such amazed viewers. It also affected the price and sales of cheap microscopes, increasing the sales and causing the producers to include packets of mites as samples.
In 1904, Urban made a 12-minute silent documentary film
called Living London, which was rediscovered at the National Film and Sound Archive
in Australia
in October 2008. The shows Londoners going about their business on a typical day.
Among his other business interests was a French production company in Paris called Éclipse, which Urban founded in 1906, mainly to supply fiction films. His connection with that company lasted until 1909. He also established Kineto Limited in 1907, primarily for the production of scientific and non-fiction films.
In 1906, his associate George Albert Smith
(1864–1959) developed a two-colour (red-green) additive motion picture system, which Urban launched in 1908. From 1909 it was known as Kinemacolor
. This enjoyed great success worldwide until 1914. Urban's most celebrated Kinemacolor film was a two and a half hour epic With Our King and Queen Through India
(1912), also known as The Durbar in Delhi, depicting the December 1911 Delhi Durbar
which celebrated the coronation
of George V
. Kinemacolor expanded its operations to produce fictional feature films such as The World, the Flesh and the Devil
(1914), but the company soon foundered.
, Urban worked for British propaganda outfits, producing the documentary features Britain Prepared and Fight for the Dardanelles
(both 1915) and editing the classic documentary The Battle of the Somme
(1916). He then promoted British war films in America.
s, such as The Four Seasons (1921). He built a large studio at Irvington, New York
, and planned to introduced a new color film system called Kinekrom, based on the earlier Kinemacolor. However, his business interests collapsed in 1924 and he returned to the UK in the late 1920s. He died in Brighton
in 1942 in relative obscurity.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
before the First World War. He was a pioneer of the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, educational, propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and scientific film, as well as being the producer of the world's first successful motion picture colour system.
Career
Urban first entered the film industry in 1895 when he exhibited the KinetoscopeKinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in 1895. He moved to Britain in 1897, and became managing director of the Warwick Trading Company
Warwick Trading Company
The Warwick Trading Company was formed in 1898 out of the British branch of the American firm Maguire and Baucus. It was the leading film producer in Britain at the turn of the century, specialising in actuality, travel and reportage. The managing director was Charles Urban. He left the company in...
, where he specialised in actuality film, including newsfilm of the Anglo-Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. In 1903 he formed his own company, the Charles Urban Trading Company
Charles Urban Trading Company
The Charles Urban Trading Company was formed in 1903 by the Anglo-American film producer Charles Urban. It specialised in travel, educational and scientific film. It made its name with coverage of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 from Joseph Rosenthal and George Rogers...
, moving to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Wardour Street
Wardour Street
Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...
in 1908, the first film business to be located in what became the home of the British film industry.
In 1903, he created a one-minute-long science film named The Cheese Mites
The Cheese Mites
The Cheese Mites is a British short silent documentary film, produced by Charles Urban and directed by F. Martin Duncan,-Plot:A gentleman is put off his lunch by a microscopic view of the cheese mites in his Stilton cheese sandwich....
which features cheese mites crawling around on a piece of Stilton
Stilton (cheese)
Stilton is a type of English cheese, known for its characteristic strong smell and taste. It is produced in two varieties: the well-known blue and the lesser-known white. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of origin by the European Commission, together one of only...
. It was an early science film, possibly the first made for the public, and as such amazed viewers. It also affected the price and sales of cheap microscopes, increasing the sales and causing the producers to include packets of mites as samples.
In 1904, Urban made a 12-minute silent documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
called Living London, which was rediscovered at the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in October 2008. The shows Londoners going about their business on a typical day.
Among his other business interests was a French production company in Paris called Éclipse, which Urban founded in 1906, mainly to supply fiction films. His connection with that company lasted until 1909. He also established Kineto Limited in 1907, primarily for the production of scientific and non-fiction films.
In 1906, his associate George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith (inventor)
George Albert Smith was a stage hypnotist, psychic, magic lantern lecturer, astronomer, inventor, and one of the pioneers of British cinema, who is best known for his controversial work with Edmund Gurney at the Society for Psychical Research, his short-films from 1897-1903 which pioneered film...
(1864–1959) developed a two-colour (red-green) additive motion picture system, which Urban launched in 1908. From 1909 it was known as Kinemacolor
Kinemacolor
Kinemacolor was the first successful color motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson. It was launched by Charles Urban's Urban Trading Co. of...
. This enjoyed great success worldwide until 1914. Urban's most celebrated Kinemacolor film was a two and a half hour epic With Our King and Queen Through India
With Our King and Queen Through India
With Our King and Queen Through India is a British documentary. The film is silent and made in the Kinemacolor additive color process....
(1912), also known as The Durbar in Delhi, depicting the December 1911 Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
which celebrated the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. Kinemacolor expanded its operations to produce fictional feature films such as The World, the Flesh and the Devil
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1914 film)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil was a British silent drama film, and was the world's first dramatic feature film to be photographed in color...
(1914), but the company soon foundered.
World War I
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Urban worked for British propaganda outfits, producing the documentary features Britain Prepared and Fight for the Dardanelles
Fight for the Dardanelles
Fight for the Dardanelles is a British silent documentary film, directed by F. Percy Smith and produced and edited by Charles Urban....
(both 1915) and editing the classic documentary The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme (film)
The Battle of the Somme is a 1916 British documentary and propaganda film. Shot by two official cinematographers, Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell, the film depicts the British Army's preparations for, and the early stages of, the battle of the Somme...
(1916). He then promoted British war films in America.
Later life
In 1921, Urban relocated to America to establish himself as a producer of educational filmEducational film
An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
s, such as The Four Seasons (1921). He built a large studio at Irvington, New York
Irvington, New York
Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is an affluent suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a station stop on the...
, and planned to introduced a new color film system called Kinekrom, based on the earlier Kinemacolor. However, his business interests collapsed in 1924 and he returned to the UK in the late 1920s. He died in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
in 1942 in relative obscurity.