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The History of Cinema: 1914

USA: July-December

After raising $40,000, D. W. Griffith begins filming The Clansman. [ADD]

Paramount Pictures is created as a nationwide distribution network operating out of New York in direct competition with established operations such as Mutual and Universal.   The brainchild of W. W. Hodgkinson, its partners include independent filmmakers such as Jesse Lasky, Famous Players, Oliver Morosco, Bosworth and Pallas.   The new organisation’s intention is to replace the current State Rights arrangement.   Through a series of mergers it will eventually come under sole control of Adolph Zukor. [ADD]

D. W. Griffith temporarily suspends shooting of The Clansman after running over budget. [ADD]

Winsor McCay's animated creation Gertie the Dinosaur is released to wide acclaim.   The 10-minute film makes use of 10,000 individual drawings. [ADD]

Pathe America changes its name to Pathe Exchange, to reflect its new status as a production and distribution company.   Founder Charles Pathe travelled from France to reorganize the branch personally after it was put in financial difficulty by the Edison Trust. [ADD]

D. W. Griffith finally brings in The Clansman more than $60,000 over budget at over $100,000.   Although the film was financed by Harry Aitkin’s Mutual Film Corporation, Griffith had to rely on loans from friends to complete filming.   Shooting took a total of nine weeks, requiring around 500 extras, and was often filmed at the scene of the actual battles depicted.   Griffith made use of Matthew Brady’s Civil War photographs for authenticity, and a young Raoul Walsh played the role of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.   The film is due to be premiered on the 8^th February 1915 under its new title of Birth of a Nation. [ADD]

25-year-old Charlie Chaplin leaves Keystone for a new contract with Gilbert M. Anderson and George K. Spoor’s Essanay company following wage disputes with head of Keystone, Mack Sennett.   Chaplin’s starting salary is $1,250 per week plus a $10,000 bonus.   He is also promised complete artistic control of his films. [ADD]

Cartoonist Earl Hurd registers his new animation technique of superimposing figures drawn on ‘cellulos’ onto a static background. [ADD]

Tillie’s Punctured Romance, the world’s first feature-length comedy premieres.   It stars Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Marie Dressler and runs to six reels. [ADD]

– William Fox’s Fox Entertainment begins producing films in a rented studio with two glass-roofed stages at Fort Lee, New Jersey.   The company’s first production, released in 1915, is A Fool There Was, starring Theda "The Vamp" Bara. [ADD]

– Siegmund Lubin suffers a fire at his Lubinville studio. [ADD]

Other Key Films of 1914

The Avenging Conscience (D. W. Griffith) [ADD]

Dough and Dynamite (Charles Chaplin) [ADD]

The Escape (D. W. Griffith) [ADD]

The Girl of the Golden West (Cecil B. DeMille) [ADD]

Home Sweet Home (D. W. Griffith) [ADD]

Hypocrites (Lois Weber) [ADD]

Making a Living (Henry Lehrman) [ADD]

Neptune’s Daughter (Herbert Brenon) [ADD]

The Virginian (Cecil B. DeMille) [ADD]

The Wishing Ring (Maurice Tourneur) [ADD]