Stoll Pictures was a British
film production
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...
and
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
* Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
*Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
company of the
silent era
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
, founded in April 1918.
Background
During the early to mid-1920s it was the largest film company in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. Its major domestic rival was the
Ideal Film Company. Stoll's films were primarily made at its
Cricklewood Studios, although the smaller
Surbiton Studios
Surbiton Studios were a British film studio located in Surbiton, then on the outskirts of London. The studio was one of several opened during the boom in British production following the First World War. It was opened in and its first film was r ...
were also used during the early years of the company's existence. The company takes its name from its founder Sir
Oswald Stoll, better known today as a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
owner.
Stoll produced a series of expensive films during the early 1920s such as ''
The Four Feathers'' and ''
The Prodigal Son'' at a cost of £37,000 was at the time the most expensive British production ever. The film's original release length of 18,454 feet made it the longest commercially made British film.
[Robertson p.35] The studio was a major victim of the
Slump of 1924 and cut back production, relying on several co-productions with European firms. The company became particularly known for its
film series such as
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, co ...
and
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
. The company ran its own magazine ''
Stoll's Editorial News''.
See also
*
List of Stoll Pictures films
References
Bibliography
* Low, Rachael. ''The History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
* Murphy, Robert. ''The British Cinema Book, Second Edition''. British Film Institute, 2003.
British film studios
Film production companies of the United Kingdom
Film distributors of the United Kingdom
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