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Hollywood Vitagraph Years
What is a Vitagraph was a motion picture company founded by J. Stuart Blackron and Albert E. Smith in 1896 in Brooklyn, New York as the American Vitagraph Company. It was the most successful US film company in the early years of the film industry
It was eventually acquired by Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc, and was subsequently folded into Warner Brothers. Its stars included Rudolph Valentino and Norma Talmadge. Vitagraph moved to Hollywood in 1911 and was bought by Warner Brothers in 1925.
The Vitagraph was the first modern film company, US history and shooting their first film on May 16, 1897, which was a 60 second short titled a Burglar on the Roof. What they created was the art of film.
The American Vitagraph Company made many contributions to the history of movie-making. In 1903 the director Joseph Delmont started his career by producing westerns; he later became famous by using “wild carnivores” in his movies — a sensation for that time.
In 1909 it was one of the original ten production companies included in Edison’s attempt to corner movie-making in America, the Motion Picture Patents Company. Due to its extensive European distribution interests, Vitagraph also participated in the Paris Film Congress in February 1909. This was a failed attempt by European producers to form a cartel similar to the MPPC.