Independent Moving Pictures
Encyclopedia
The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a movie studio
/production company
founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle
, and was located at Eleventh Avenue and 53rd Street New York City
, and in Fort Lee, New Jersey
.
The first movie produced by IMP was Hiawatha (1909
) starring Gladys Hulette
in the title role
, a one-reel drama
short
based on the 1855 poem
The Song of Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
. At a time when leading screen players worked anonymously, IMP performers Florence Lawrence
, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl," and King Baggot
became the first "movie star
s" to be given billing and screen credits
, a marquee
as well as promotion
in advertising
, which contributed to the creation of the star system.
In the early 20th century, the Motion Picture Patents Company
(MPPC), or the Trust, was fought by the unlicensed independent film
s (dubbed "pirates" or "outlaws"), led by Laemmle. Others against the MPPC included Harry E. Aitken (Majestic Films), William Fox
(founder of the Fox Film Corporation), and Adolph Zukor
(Famous Players Film Company
, a precursor to Paramount
). The flexible, stealthy and adventurous independents avoided coercive MPPC restrictions (the requirement to use only Trust film stock and projectors, for example) by using unlicensed equipment, obtaining their own film materials, and making movies on the sly. After the Independents incorporated themselves into the Motion Picture Manufacturing and Sales Company, with Laemmle as their President, the Trust issued an injunction against Laemmle for the camera being used, claiming that it was an infringement on their patents, but eventually lost.
Before long, the Independents began moving to Southern California
, and opened up a West Coast movie-making industry. In 1910, IMP began production in Los Angeles, and had a studio in Hollywood
at Sunset Boulevard
and Gower Street
, which became known as "Gower Gulch
" due to the actors dressed as cowboys and Indians waiting on that corner to be cast in westerns
.
Then the Motion Picture Manufacturing and Sales Company began fighting among themselves, and that was disorganized. On June 8, 1912, IMP and other Independent companies were absorbed into the newly incorporated Universal Film Manufacturing Company
, with Laemmle as President.
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
/production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
, and was located at Eleventh Avenue and 53rd Street New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
.
The first movie produced by IMP was Hiawatha (1909
1909 in film
The year 1909 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Matsunosuke Onoe, who would become the first superstar of Japanese cinema, appears in his first film, Goban Tadanobu.*James Joyce opens the Volta, the first cinema in Dublin....
) starring Gladys Hulette
Gladys Hulette
Gladys Hulette was a silent film actress from Arcade, New York. Her career began in the early years of silent movies and continued until the mid-1930s. She first performed on stage at the age of three and on screen when she was seven years old. Hulette was also a talented artist...
in the title role
Title role
The title role in the performing arts is the performance part that gives the title to the piece, as in Aida, Giselle, Michael Collins or Othello. The actor, singer or dancer who performs that part is also said to have the title role....
, a one-reel drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
based on the 1855 poem
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
The Song of Hiawatha
The Song of Hiawatha
The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem, in trochaic tetrameter, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, featuring an Indian hero and loosely based on legends and ethnography of the Ojibwe and other Native American peoples contained in Algic Researches and additional writings of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft...
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
. At a time when leading screen players worked anonymously, IMP performers Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl," and King Baggot
King Baggot
William King Baggot was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent era...
became the first "movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
s" to be given billing and screen credits
Motion picture credits
-Opening credits:Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture, or video game, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in...
, a marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
as well as promotion
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, which contributed to the creation of the star system.
In the early 20th century, the Motion Picture Patents Company
Motion Picture Patents Company
The Motion Picture Patents Company , founded in December 1908, was a trust of all the major American film companies , the leading film distributor and the biggest supplier of raw film stock, Eastman Kodak...
(MPPC), or the Trust, was fought by the unlicensed independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s (dubbed "pirates" or "outlaws"), led by Laemmle. Others against the MPPC included Harry E. Aitken (Majestic Films), William Fox
William Fox (producer)
William Fox born Fried Vilmos was a pioneering Hungarian American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s...
(founder of the Fox Film Corporation), and Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor , born Adolph Cukor, was a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.-Early life:...
(Famous Players Film Company
Famous Players Film Company
The Famous Players Film Company was founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, the powerful New York City theatre impresarios. The company advertised "Famous Players in Famous Plays" and its first release was the French film Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth starring...
, a precursor to Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
). The flexible, stealthy and adventurous independents avoided coercive MPPC restrictions (the requirement to use only Trust film stock and projectors, for example) by using unlicensed equipment, obtaining their own film materials, and making movies on the sly. After the Independents incorporated themselves into the Motion Picture Manufacturing and Sales Company, with Laemmle as their President, the Trust issued an injunction against Laemmle for the camera being used, claiming that it was an infringement on their patents, but eventually lost.
Before long, the Independents began moving to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, and opened up a West Coast movie-making industry. In 1910, IMP began production in Los Angeles, and had a studio in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
at Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
and Gower Street
Gower Street (Hollywood)
Gower Street is a street in Los Angeles, California that has played an important role in the ongoing evolution of Hollywood, particularly as the home to several prominent Poverty Row studios during the area's Golden Age...
, which became known as "Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the...
" due to the actors dressed as cowboys and Indians waiting on that corner to be cast in westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
.
Then the Motion Picture Manufacturing and Sales Company began fighting among themselves, and that was disorganized. On June 8, 1912, IMP and other Independent companies were absorbed into the newly incorporated Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, with Laemmle as President.
External links
- Fort Lee Film Commission
- Film History Before 1920
- Independent Moving Pictures Company at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...