Selig Polyscope Company
Encyclopedia
The Selig Polyscope Company was an American
motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig
in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing Southern California
's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district
of Los Angeles
. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom Mix
, Harold Lloyd
, Colleen Moore
, and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The business gradually became a struggling zoo
attraction in East Los Angeles
, having ended film production in 1918.
Selig had worked as a magician
and minstrel show
operator on the west coast of California
. In Chicago, Illinois he attempted to enter the film business using his own photograph
ic equipment, free from patent
restrictions imposed through companies controlled by Thomas Edison
. In 1896, with help from Union Metal Works and Andrew Schustek, he shot his first film, Tramp and the Dog. He went on to successfully produce local actualities, slapstick
comedies, early travelogue
s and industrial film
s (a major client was Armour and Company
). In 1908 Selig Polyscope was involved in the production of The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
, a touring "multimedia" attempt to bring L. Frank Baum
's Oz books
to a wider public (which played to full houses but was nonetheless a financial disaster for Baum). By 1909 Selig had studios making short features in Chicago and the Edendale district of Los Angeles, California
. The company also distributed stock film footage and titles from other studios. That year, Roscoe Arbuckle's first movie was a Selig comedy
short. The company's early existence was fraught with legal turmoil over disputes with lawyers representing Thomas Edison
's interests. In 1909 Selig and several other studio heads settled with Edison by creating an alliance with the inventor. Effectively a cartel
, Motion Picture Patents Company
dominated the industry for a few years until the Supreme Court
(in 1913 and 1915) ruled the firm was an illegal monopoly
. In 1910 Selig Polyscope produced a wholly new filmed version of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
. The company produced the first commercial two-reel film, Damon and Pythias
, successfully distributed its pictures in Great Britain
and maintained an office in London
for several years before World War I
. Although Selig Polyscope produced a wide variety of moving pictures, the company was most widely known for its wild animal shorts, historical subjects and early western
s.
in 1909 with director Francis Boggs
, who began the facility in a rented bungalow
and quickly expanded, designing the studio's front entrance after Mission San Gabriel. An early production there was The Count of Monte Cristo
. Edendale soon became Selig Polyscope's headquarters, but in 1911 Boggs was murdered by a Japanese
gardener who also wounded Selig. The company produced hundreds of short features at Edendale, including many early westerns featuring Tom Mix
(which were also shot at Las Vegas, New Mexico
). Selig Polyscope made dozens of highly successful short movies involving wild animals in exotic settings, including a popular re-creation of an Africa
n safari
hunt by Teddy Roosevelt. In 1914 Selig tried to make "talking pictures" with Scottish actor Harry Lauder
.
, Selig produced The Adventures of Kathlyn
, introducing a dramatic serial
plot device which came to be known as the cliffhanger
. Each chapter's story was simultaneously published in the newspaper. A combination of wild animals, clever dramatic action and Kathlyn Williams
' screen presence resulted in significant success. The Tribune’s circulation reportedly increased by 10% and both a dance and cocktail were named after Williams, whose likeness was reportedly sold on over 50,000 postcard
s.
By 1913 Selig had gathered a large collection of animals for his films and spent substantial funds acquiring and developing 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) of land in Lincoln Heights
northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where he opened a large public zoo
. In 1917 Selig sold the Edendale facility to producer William Fox
and moved his movie studio to the zoo in east Los Angeles. Meanwhile World War I
cut severely into the substantial revenues Selig Polyscope had been garnering in Europe and the company shunned profitable movie industry trends, which had shifted towards drama
tic (and more costly) full length feature film
s. Selig Polyscope became insolvent and ceased operations in 1918. Mix signed with Fox back at Edendale and went on to even greater success as a matinée cowboy
star
. Movie studios rented animals and staged many shoots at the Selig zoo (sometimes later claiming they had been filmed in Africa). The First Tarzan
movie
(1918) was filmed there. In 1920 Louis B. Mayer
rented his first studio space for Mayer Pictures at the site. Selig planned to develop it into a major tourist attraction, amusement park
and popular resort
named Selig Zoo Park with a ferris wheel
, carousels, mechanical rides, an enormous swimming pool with a sandy beach and a wave making machine, hotel, theatre, cinema, restaurants and thousands of daily visitors (more than 30 years before Disneyland). Only a single carousel was built. Selig Polyscope's extensive collection of props and furnishings were auctioned off at the zoo in 1923.
Selig finally sold the zoo following a flood during the Great Depression
. Some of the animals were donated to Los Angeles County, forming a substantial addition to Griffith Park
Zoo. The property was used as a jalopy
racetrack during the 1940s and early 1950s. In 1955 the site was described as "an inactive amusement park."
Throughout its history, names appearing on the zoo gate included:
The carousel
survived on the site until 1976 when it was destroyed by fire. The former Selig zoo's arched front gate with its lavish animal sculptures was a crumbling landmark in Lincoln Heights for many decades. By 2003 the sculptures were reportedly being restored for installation at the Los Angeles Zoo
and in 2007 tennis courts were on the site.
content or simply thrown away to save space. Out of Selig Polyscope's hundreds of films, only a few copies and scattered photographic elements are known to survive.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig
William Selig
William Nicholas Selig was a pioneer of the American motion picture industry.-Biography:Selig was raised in Chicago. He worked as a vaudeville performer and produced a traveling minstrel show in San Francisco while still in his late teens. One of the actors was Bert Williams, who went on to become...
in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing 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...
's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district
Edendale, Los Angeles, California
Edendale is a historical name for a district in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, in what is known today as Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake....
of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
, Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
, Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
, and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The business gradually became a struggling zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
attraction in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles (region)
East Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles that lies east of Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River and the unincorporated areas of Lincoln Heights, west of the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles and City Terrace, south of Cypress Park, and north of Vernon, California and...
, having ended film production in 1918.
History
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
and minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
operator on the west coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In Chicago, Illinois he attempted to enter the film business using his own photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
ic equipment, free from patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
restrictions imposed through companies controlled by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
. In 1896, with help from Union Metal Works and Andrew Schustek, he shot his first film, Tramp and the Dog. He went on to successfully produce local actualities, slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedies, early travelogue
Travelogue (films)
Travelogue films, a form of virtual tourism or travel documentary, have been providing information and entertainment about distant parts of the world since the late 19th century.-History:...
s and industrial film
Sponsored film
Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time...
s (a major client was Armour and Company
Armour and Company
Armour & Company was an American slaughterhouse and meatpacking company founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1867 by the Armour brothers, led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company was Chicago's most important business and helped make the city and its Union Stock Yards the center of the...
). In 1908 Selig Polyscope was involved in the production of The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...
, a touring "multimedia" attempt to bring L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's Oz books
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
to a wider public (which played to full houses but was nonetheless a financial disaster for Baum). By 1909 Selig had studios making short features in Chicago and the Edendale district of Los Angeles, California
Edendale, Los Angeles, California
Edendale is a historical name for a district in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, in what is known today as Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake....
. The company also distributed stock film footage and titles from other studios. That year, Roscoe Arbuckle's first movie was a Selig comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
short. The company's early existence was fraught with legal turmoil over disputes with lawyers representing Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's interests. In 1909 Selig and several other studio heads settled with Edison by creating an alliance with the inventor. Effectively a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
, 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...
dominated the industry for a few years until the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
(in 1913 and 1915) ruled the firm was an illegal monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. In 1910 Selig Polyscope produced a wholly new filmed version of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by...
. The company produced the first commercial two-reel film, Damon and Pythias
Damon and Pythias
In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
, successfully distributed its pictures in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and maintained an office in 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...
for several years before World War I
World 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...
. Although Selig Polyscope produced a wide variety of moving pictures, the company was most widely known for its wild animal shorts, historical subjects and early western
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...
s.
Edendale
Attracted by Southern California's mild, dry climate, varied geography for location shooting and isolation from Edison's legal representatives on the east coast, Selig set up his studio in EdendaleEdendale, Los Angeles, California
Edendale is a historical name for a district in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, in what is known today as Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silver Lake....
in 1909 with director Francis Boggs
Francis Boggs
Francis W. Boggs was a stage actor and pioneer silent film director. He was one of the first to direct a film in Hollywood.-Biography:...
, who began the facility in a rented bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
and quickly expanded, designing the studio's front entrance after Mission San Gabriel. An early production there was The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
. Edendale soon became Selig Polyscope's headquarters, but in 1911 Boggs was murdered by a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
gardener who also wounded Selig. The company produced hundreds of short features at Edendale, including many early westerns featuring Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
(which were also shot at Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
). Selig Polyscope made dozens of highly successful short movies involving wild animals in exotic settings, including a popular re-creation of an Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
hunt by Teddy Roosevelt. In 1914 Selig tried to make "talking pictures" with Scottish actor Harry Lauder
Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder , known professionally as Harry Lauder, was an international Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador!"-Early life:...
.
The cliffhanger
In 1913, through a collaborative partnership with the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Selig produced The Adventures of Kathlyn
The Adventures of Kathlyn
The Adventures of Kathlyn is an American motion picture serial released on December 29, 1913 by the Selig Polyscope Company. An adventure serial filmed in Chicago, Illinois, its thirteen episodes were directed by Francis J. Grandon from a story by Harold MacGrath and Gilson Willets and starred...
, introducing a dramatic serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
plot device which came to be known as the cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
. Each chapter's story was simultaneously published in the newspaper. A combination of wild animals, clever dramatic action and Kathlyn Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Kathlyn Williams was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film.-Early life and career:...
' screen presence resulted in significant success. The Tribune’s circulation reportedly increased by 10% and both a dance and cocktail were named after Williams, whose likeness was reportedly sold on over 50,000 postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s.
Selig zoo
Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California
-Geography and transportation:Lincoln Heights is bounded by the Los Angeles River on the west, the San Bernardino Freeway on the south, and Indiana Street on the east; the district's Eastern border is unclear due to the area's uneven terrain...
northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where he opened a large public zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
. In 1917 Selig sold the Edendale facility to producer 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...
and moved his movie studio to the zoo in east Los Angeles. Meanwhile World War I
World 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...
cut severely into the substantial revenues Selig Polyscope had been garnering in Europe and the company shunned profitable movie industry trends, which had shifted towards drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic (and more costly) full length feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s. Selig Polyscope became insolvent and ceased operations in 1918. Mix signed with Fox back at Edendale and went on to even greater success as a matinée cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
. Movie studios rented animals and staged many shoots at the Selig zoo (sometimes later claiming they had been filmed in Africa). The First Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
(1918) was filmed there. In 1920 Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
rented his first studio space for Mayer Pictures at the site. Selig planned to develop it into a major tourist attraction, amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
and popular resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
named Selig Zoo Park with a ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
, carousels, mechanical rides, an enormous swimming pool with a sandy beach and a wave making machine, hotel, theatre, cinema, restaurants and thousands of daily visitors (more than 30 years before Disneyland). Only a single carousel was built. Selig Polyscope's extensive collection of props and furnishings were auctioned off at the zoo in 1923.
Selig finally sold the zoo following a flood during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Some of the animals were donated to Los Angeles County, forming a substantial addition to Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
Zoo. The property was used as a jalopy
Rat rod
A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same...
racetrack during the 1940s and early 1950s. In 1955 the site was described as "an inactive amusement park."
Throughout its history, names appearing on the zoo gate included:
- Selig Zoo and Studio
- Selig Zoo
- Selig Jungle Zoo
- Luna Park Zoo
- California Zoological Gardens
- Zoopark
- Lincoln Amusement Park
The carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
survived on the site until 1976 when it was destroyed by fire. The former Selig zoo's arched front gate with its lavish animal sculptures was a crumbling landmark in Lincoln Heights for many decades. By 2003 the sculptures were reportedly being restored for installation at the Los Angeles Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
and in 2007 tennis courts were on the site.
Most films lost
The potential of movies as long term sources of revenue was unknown to early movie industry executives. Films were made quickly, sent into distribution channels and mostly forgotten soon after their first runs. Surviving prints were wontedly stored haphazardly, if at all. Early film stock was chemically volatile and many prints were lost in fires or decomposed to goo in storage. Some were recycled for their silverSilver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
content or simply thrown away to save space. Out of Selig Polyscope's hundreds of films, only a few copies and scattered photographic elements are known to survive.
Selected filmography
- The Tramp and the Dog 1896
- Soldiers at Play 1898
- Chicago Police Parade 1901
- Dewey Parade 1901
- Gans-McGovern Fight 1901
- A Hot Time on a Bathing Beach 1903
- Business Rivalry 1903
- Chicago Fire Run 1903
- Chicago Firecats on Parade 1903
- The Girl in BlueThe Girl in BlueThe Girl in Blue is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on October 29, 1970 by Barrie & Jenkins, London and in the United States on February 22, 1971 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York....
1903 - Trip Around The Union Loop 1903
- View of State Street 1903
- Humpty Dumptry 1904
- The Tramp Dog 1904
- The Grafter 1907
- The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
1908 - Damon and PythiasDamon and PythiasIn Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
1908 - The Fairylogue and Radio-PlaysThe Fairylogue and Radio-PlaysThe Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...
1908 - Hunting Big Game in Africa 1909
- The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by...
1910 (survives) - Lost in the Arctic 1911
- Life on the Border 1911 (partial section survives; available online at http://abbot.si.edu/naa/dv/arrow_maker_high.mov)
- The Coming of Columbus 1911
- Brotherhood of ManBrotherhood of ManBrotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
1912 - Kings Forest 1912
- War Time Romance 1912
- Adventures of Kathlyn, The 1913
- Arabia, the Equine Detective 1913
- The Sheriff of Yavapai County 1913
- The SpoilersThe Spoilers (1914 film)The Spoilers is a 1914 film directed by Colin Campbell. It is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with William Farnum as Roy Glennister, Kathlyn Williams as Cherry Malotte, and Tom Santschi as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between Glennister and...
1914 (survives) - A Black Sheep 1915
- The CrisisThe CrisisThe Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois , Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.The original title of the journal was...
1915 - House of a Thousand Candles 1915
- The Man from TexasThe Man from TexasThe Man from Texas is a 1915 Western film, directed by and starring Tom Mix.-Cast:* Tom Mix - Texas* Ed Brady - * Goldie Colwell - * Bessie Eyton - Moya Dalton * Hoot Gibson - Deputy...
1915 - The Garden of Allah 1916
- The City of Purple Dreams 1918
- Little Orphant Annie 1918 (not to be confused with the comic strip "Little Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...
".
See also
- Gilbert M. Anderson
- Roscoe Arbuckle
- Francis BoggsFrancis BoggsFrancis W. Boggs was a stage actor and pioneer silent film director. He was one of the first to direct a film in Hollywood.-Biography:...
- Tom MixTom MixThomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
- Kathlyn WilliamsKathlyn WilliamsKathlyn Williams was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film.-Early life and career:...
- Garson StudiosClara Kimball YoungClara Kimball Young was an American film actress, who was highly regarded and publicly popular in the early silent film era.-Early life:...
- Marshall Neilan StudiosMarshall NeilanMarshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
- Louis B. MayerLouis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
- Chicago film industryChicago film industryThe Chicago film industry is a central hub for motion picture production and exhibition that was established before Hollywood became the undisputed capital of film making. In the early 1900s, Chicago boasted the greatest number of production companies and filmmakers. Essanay Studios founded by...
External links
- Pictures of the Selig Zoo
- Lincoln Heights page with pictures of recovered statues
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (one of Selig Polyscope Company's few surviving films) download at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...