Stoll Pictures was a British

film production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

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 varia ...

company of the

silent era A silent film is a film without 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, wh ...

, 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 The Ideal Film Company (often known as Ideal Films or simply Ideal) was a British film production and distribution company that operated between 1911 and 1934. History The company, based in Soho, London, was started by the two Jewish brother ...

. Stoll's films were primarily made at its

Cricklewood Studios Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and t ...

, although the smaller

Surbiton Studios Surbiton Studios was a British film studio located in Surbiton, then on the outskirts of London. The studio was one of several that opened during the boom in British production following the First World War. It was opened in and its first film wa ...

were also used during the early years of the company's existence. The company takes its name from its founder Sir

Oswald Stoll Sir Oswald Stoll (né Gray; 20 January 1866 – 9 January 1942) was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pi ...

, better known today as a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

owner. Stoll produced a series of expensive films during the early 1920s such as ''

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...

'' and ''

The Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a parable of Jesus in the Bible. The Prodigal Son or Prodigal Son may also refer to: Film * ''L'Enfant prodigue'' (1907 film) (The Prodigal Son), by Michel Carré, based on his play * , a short silent film by ...

'' - which cost £37,000 (equivalent to £ in ), and 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 A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

such as

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) 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 f ...

and

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

. The company ran its own magazine '' Stoll's Editorial News''.

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 {{UK-film-company-stub

Background

See also

References

Bibliography