Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest movie studios in the world today, got its embryonic beginnings when Adolph Zukor, who immigrated from Austria-Hungary in the late 1800's, became involved with motion picture houses in 1903. A cousin asked the fairly wealthy furrier to invest in a vaudeville/movie theater he wanted to buy. Zukor eventually grew his cousin's business and sold his successful theater chain to Loews several years later. With profits in his pocket, he had an intuitive feeling through observations that movie audiences wanted to see big-name stage stars in longer films than the short 15-minute movies nickelodeons were offering.
In May 1912, Zukor and two very rich New York City theater owners formed the Famous Players Film Company. They eyed a movie in current production in France starring the stage legend Sarah Bernhardt. The French Studio making the film, "Queen Elizabeth," was about to declare bankruptcy and stop production when Zukor stepped in and funded the rest of the movie.
Zukor's company premiered the 53-minute film on July 12, 1912, in New York City. Audiences were enthralled with the long movie, reassuring Zukor's opinion people could sit through an hour-length film. He subsequently released "Queen Elizabeth" in several cities to packed theaters, whose audiences paid primarily to see the stage great Bernhardt on the big screen. The wealthy Zukor, under the Famous Players Film Company, then focused on big stage stars to produce feature films.
Today's audiences who view even a couple of minutes of "Queen Elizabeth" will wonder what all the hoopla was all about. In the midst of the young American directors coming up with new camera angles and creative plots, this French movie is a throwback to the films a few years before that contains a static camera basically recording a play--without sound. But "Queen Elizabeth," in the tradition of French d'Art, kicked off a tradition of high-brow feature films which changed the movie industry.
In May 1912, Zukor and two very rich New York City theater owners formed the Famous Players Film Company. They eyed a movie in current production in France starring the stage legend Sarah Bernhardt. The French Studio making the film, "Queen Elizabeth," was about to declare bankruptcy and stop production when Zukor stepped in and funded the rest of the movie.
Zukor's company premiered the 53-minute film on July 12, 1912, in New York City. Audiences were enthralled with the long movie, reassuring Zukor's opinion people could sit through an hour-length film. He subsequently released "Queen Elizabeth" in several cities to packed theaters, whose audiences paid primarily to see the stage great Bernhardt on the big screen. The wealthy Zukor, under the Famous Players Film Company, then focused on big stage stars to produce feature films.
Today's audiences who view even a couple of minutes of "Queen Elizabeth" will wonder what all the hoopla was all about. In the midst of the young American directors coming up with new camera angles and creative plots, this French movie is a throwback to the films a few years before that contains a static camera basically recording a play--without sound. But "Queen Elizabeth," in the tradition of French d'Art, kicked off a tradition of high-brow feature films which changed the movie industry.