Biograph Company

Biograph Company, one of the major American motion-picture studios in the early days of filmmaking, founded as the American Mutoscope Company in 1895. It was known for many of its early production efforts, including filming U.S. presidential candidate William McKinley on the campaign trail in 1896, Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican in 1899, and U.S. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt at the White House in the early 20th century. The company’s most significant contribution to cinema came from the work of D.W. Griffith, the first great director, who developed the art of cinema during his five years at the studio.

The company, which was located in New York City, released its first film, Empire State Express, in 1896. It quickly became a major producer of short pictures. About this time it changed its name to American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, and by 1909 the studio had shortened its name to Biograph Company.

From 1908 to 1914 a great many of the Biograph films were directed by Griffith and executed by the cameraman G.W. (Billy) Bitzer. Griffith refined the use of the close-up, experimented with camera angles and film editing, and trained a group of actors that included Blanche Sweet and Mary Pickford, two of the most popular film actresses of their time; Florence Lawrence, the first actual movie star; Mack Sennett, who later achieved fame as the director of the Keystone comedies; and the well-known leading men Lionel Barrymore and Owen Moore. Griffith directed Sweet in Judith of Bethulia, the last film he made for Biograph. Filmed in 1913 and released in 1914, it was one of the first full-length feature films. Within several years of its release, the company stopped making movies. After a period of decline, Biograph ceased operations in 1928. Its film laboratory and studio facilities were sold and became part of Consolidated Film Industries.

Biograph was revived as a small independent studio in the 1980s. In 1991 it relocated to California, later establishing its headquarters in Sherman Oaks.