The year 1907 in film involved some significant events. __TOC__

Events

* January 19 – '' Variety'' publishes its first film review. * The

Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to ...

founded in New York City by Frank J. Marion, Samuel Long, and

George Kleine George Kleine (1864June 8, 1931) was an American film producer and cinema pioneer. Biography Klein's father, Charles, was a New York optician who sold optical devices and stereopticons. Klein joined the family firm, moving to Chicago in 1893 w ...

. * May 7 – Seattle film maker William Harbeck sets up a camera at the front of a B.C. Electric streetcar and films the downtown streets of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. Pieces of the film, the earliest surviving footage of the city, have disappeared, only about 7 minutes remain. * May 29 – '' Salaviinanpolttajat'', also known as ''The Moonshiners'', the first fictional film made in Finland, is released. * June 20 – '' L'Enfant prodigue'', the first feature-length motion picture produced in Europe, opens in Paris. * Peerless Film Manufacturing Company was founded in Chicago by George K. Spoor and

Gilbert M. Anderson Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...

. On August 10, the studio name was changed to

Essanay Studios The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, ...

("S and A"). * November 28 - In

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Ce ...

, scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer opens his first

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

(in a few years he had the largest theater chain in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

and in 1917 he founded his own production company, which eventually became part of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

). * December 7 – First ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' film, directed by

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott, September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great direc ...

and produced by the

, released. *

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

, later of Universal, experiments with combining audio from phonographs with film. Laemmle's experiments lead to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

development of "Syncroscope." Syncroscope had several successful demonstrations, but was eventually abandoned.

Films released in 1907

* '' 20,000 Lieues Sous les Mers'' * ''Aunt Eliza Recovers her Pet'' (French) * ''

'', directed by

* ''The Bewildering Cabinet'' (aka ''The Closet''), directed by George Melies * ''The Clock-Maker's Secret'' (French) * '' A Curious Dream'', directed by J. Stuart Blackton * '' The Dancing Pig'' * ''The Doll's Revenge'', directed by Lewin Fitzhamon, starring Gertie Potter and Bertie Potter (British) * ''The Eclipse'', directed by Georges Melies * ''The Enchanted Sedan Chair'', directed by Georges Melies * '' L'Enfant prodigue (The Prodigal Son)'', directed by Michel Carré. First

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

from Europe. * ''The Fatal Hand'', directed by J. H. Martin (British) * ''Faust'' (French) credits unknown * '' First Prize for the Cello'' * ''Flower of Youth'' (French/ Pathe) * ''The Ghost Holiday'', directed by Lewin Fitzhamon, starring Gertie Potter (British) * ''The Ghost Story'', directed by J. Stuart Blackton * ''The Good Glue Stick'', directed by Georges Melies * ''The Golden Beetle'', directed by Segundo de Chomón (French) * ''The Haunted Bedroom'', directed by Walter R. Booth (British) * '' The Haunted Hotel, or The Strange Adventures of a Traveler'', directed by J. Stuart Blackton * ''The Haunted House'' (aka ''La Maison Hantee'') directed by Segundo de Chomon, French * ''A Knight Errant'', directed by J. H. Martin (British) * ''Laughing Gas'', directed by Edwin S. Porter * ''Legend of a Ghost'' (French/ Pathe) * ''Little Red Riding Hood'' (French/ Pathe) * '' The Lion Hunt'' * ''The Madman's Bride'', produced by Cecil M. Hepworth (British) * ''La Marseillaise'', directed by Georges Mendel n early sound film that has the singing of the French National Anthem. May be the longest sound film up to that point in time.* ''Nature Fakirs'', produced by the Kalem Co. * ''Oh That Molar!'', directed by Arthur Cooper (British) * ''The Pearl Fisher'' (Pathe) * ''The Pied Piper'', directed by Percy Stow (British) * ''The Policemen's Little Run'', directed by Ferdinand Zecca (French) * ''The Professor and his Waxworks'' * ''The Race For The Sausage'', directed by Alice Guy (French) * ''The Red Spectre'', directed by Segundo de Chomón and Ferdinand Zecca (French) * ''

Robert Macaire and Bertrand ''Robert Macaire and Bertrand'' (french: Robert Macaire et Bertrand, les rois de cambrioleurs) is a 1906 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès. Plot Some details from the following synopsis are taken from the plot description in Méli� ...

'', directed by Georges Melies * ''The Runaway Horse'', directed by Louis J. Gasnier * '' Salaviinanpolttajat'' * '' El Sartorio'' (disputable, it's a 1920s film) * '' Satan s'amuse'' (''Satan at Play''), directed by Segundo de Chomon (French) * ''

That Fatal Sneeze ''That Fatal Sneeze'' is a 1907 British silent comedy film, directed by Lewin Fitzhamon and starring Thurston Harris and Gertie Potter. Plot An uncle (Thurston Harris) decides to play a practical joke on his nephew ( Gertie Potter) at dinner ...

'', directed by Lewin Fitzhamon, produced by

Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In 1 ...

(British) * ''The Thousand Pound Spook'', directed by Walter R. Booth, produced by Charles Urban (British) * ''

Tunneling the Channel ''Tunneling the English Channel'' (french: Le Tunnel sous la Manche ou le Cauchemar franco-anglais / ''Tunnel under the Channel, or the Franco-English Nightmare'') is a 1907 silent film by pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès. The plot follows King ...

'', directed by Georges Melies * ''Vancouver'', directed by William Harbeck * ''When the Devil Drives'', directed by Walter R. Booth (British) * ''The Witch Kiss'' (French/ Pathe)Kinnard,Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. . Page 23.

Births

Deaths

* August 30 –

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. ...

, stage actor who influenced many later film actors (born 1857)

Debuts

Linda Arvidson Linda Arvidson (born Linda Arvidson Johnson, July 12, 1884 – July 26, 1949; sometimes credited as Linda Griffith) was an American stage and film actress who became one of America's early motion picture stars while working at Biograph Studios in ...

– Mr. Gay and Mrs. (short) *

Robert Harron Robert Emmett Harron (April 12, 1893 – September 5, 1920) was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed fi ...

– Dr. Skinium (short) * William S. Hart – Ben Hur (short) * Florence Turner – How to Cure a Cold (short)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1907 In Film Film by year