American Mutoscope and Biograph Company®

THE BIOGRAPH COMPANY
AMERICAN MUTOSCOPE AND BIOGRAPH CO. is the oldest movie company in America, established in 1895. Biograph has a history and reputation, unparalleled to any other motion picture and entertainment company.
Biograph has an amazing history, being associated with many political legends, such as Presidents William McKinley, and Benjamin Harrison. Abner McKinley, the President's brother, and President Harrison both owned stock in Biograph. Another historic associate was a young journalist who assisted W. K. L. Dickson in his filming of the Boer war for Biograph in 1899. The young journalist was Winston Churchill.
In 1908 marked a turning point in Biograph's history when they contracted a young actor to direct its films, D. W. Griffith. With Griffith..s innovations such as close-ups, crosscutting, moving shots, and the iris shot, Biograph had such an influence on film that its name became synonymous with the medium. Under the direction of D. W. Griffith, Biograph's popularity and box-office receipts skyrocketed, so did aesthetic, with magnificent historical tales, and intimate scenes of heart-wrenching human drama. Biograph became the landmark in American filmmaking, both for its artistic merits and for its breakthrough use of flashbacks, fade-outs, and close-ups. Biograph opened up branch offices in many foreign countries, including England, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Audiences all over the world saw the unique and innovative Biograph movies. Biograph also launched the careers of many famous individuals such as Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, Lionel Barrymore and Lillian Gish, and the first black-American producer/director, vaudevillian Bert Williams.
In 1910, the Biograph company, traveled to Los Angeles. While the purpose of the trip was to shoot the film Ramona in authentic locations, it was also to determine the suitability of the West Coast as a place for a permanent studio. The group set up a small facility at Washington Street and Grand Avenue (Where the Los Angeles Convention Center now stands).Griffith then decided to go a little further north to a small village they had heard about that was friendly, and had beautiful floral scenery, and they did. The place was ..Hollywood... Biograph filmed the first movie ever in Hollywood (In Old California - 1910), a Latino melodrama about the early days of Mexico-owned California. After the east coast film community heard about Hollywood, other film companies began to migrate there. Biograph's little film launched Hollywood as the future movie capital of the world, and began the movie industry in California.
No other film company has the background that the American Mutoscope and Biograph Co., Inc. has had throughout the years. We also pride ourselves by not being a ..branch.. of, or owned by a large corporation, but soley independent. With our history, the name "Biograph" can still be found in almost every encyclopedia and book on the motion picture industry, and on the internet. Biograph prides itself in bringing unique motion pictures to a new, burgeoning generation of audiences interested in fresh, innovative ideas and concepts for films, story ideas, and new entertainment medium concepts. This concept takes root in the classic way to produce great independent films as in the movies of the ..Golden Age... This is where Biograph stands apart from the rest. Biograph does not having to rely on huge conglomerate corporations that dictate the entertainment, rather it..s the concept of quality and artistic achievement. Our main mission is simple, carrying on a hundred year old tradition to make the world a better place through film.
OUR IMDB.com LINKS:
Biograph Company IMDB profile
Thomas R. Bond, II IMDB profile
TWO VP'S OF BIOGRAPH DIED BECAUSE OF INADEQUEATE HEALTH CARE.
ONE WAS MY AUNT - MARYELLEN SENNETT
CAUSE OF DEATH - DEHYDRATION
THE OTHER WAS MY FATHER
TOMMY "BUTCH" BOND ACTOR/PRODUCER
CAUSE OF DEATH - FAULTY DEFIBULATOR, NEGLIGENCE OPERATION
SEE OUR FRIEND MICHAEL MOORE'S MOVIE - "SICKO"