Editing Selig Polyscope Company

{{short description|American motion picture company}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Selig Polyscope Company
| logo             = File:Selig-Polyscope logos or photos in 1910s film industry trade magazines 04.jpg
| caption          = 
| type             = 
| foundation       = 1896
| defunct          = 1918
| founders         = 
| location_city    = [[Chicago]]<br/>[[Los Angeles]]
| location_country = United States
| key_people       = 
| industry         = Entertainment
| products         = [[Film|Motion pictures]]
| owner            = [[William Selig]]
}}
The '''Selig Polyscope Company''' was an American [[motion picture]] company that was founded in 1896 by [[William Selig]] in [[Chicago]], Illinois.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/243627886/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 Editorial Association in the Limelight: Newspapermen of Sioux Falls Feature Film Taken at Famous Selig Works, Chicago]." Sioux Falls, South Dakota: ''The Daily Argus-Leader'', August 17, 1912, p. 6 (subscription required).</ref> The company produced hundreds of early, widely distributed commercial moving pictures, including the first films starring [[Tom Mix]], [[Harold Lloyd]], [[Colleen Moore]], and [[Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]]. Selig Polyscope also established [[Southern California]]'s first permanent movie studio, in the historic [[Edendale, Los Angeles, California|Edendale district]] of Los Angeles.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/42317736/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 Frontier Sports Full of Thrills Clever Exhibitions by Horsemen in Varied Feats Keep Crowd of Five Thousand Excited]" and "Prescott a Fine Place for Film Making." Prescott, Arizona: ''Weekly Journal-Miner'', July 9, 1913, p. 2 (subscription required).</ref>

Ending film production in 1918, the business, which had become known for its film production animals, became an animal and prop supplier to other studios and a [[zoo]] and amusement park attraction in [[East Los Angeles (region)|East Los Angeles]].  The amusement park and zoo went into decline during the [[Great Depression]] in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lincolnheightsla.com/selig/|title=Lincolnheightsla.com|website=lincolnheightsla.com|access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref>

In 1947, William Selig and several other early movie producers and directors shared a special [[Academy Honorary Award]] to acknowledge their role in building the film industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 20th Academy Awards Memorable Moments |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948/memorable-moments |website=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=August 4, 2021 |language=en |date=August 27, 2014}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Fairylogue-Color-Process-Still.jpg|thumb|Surviving hand-tinted still from ''The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays'' (1908), based on L. Frank Baum's Oz books]]
[[File:General view of Selig Polyscope Company, studio and backlot, 1911.jpeg|thumb|Selig studio facilities and extensive backlot in Chicago, 1911]]

William Selig initially worked as a [[Vaudeville]] [[Magic (illusion)|magician]] in the [[Midwest]] and then a [[minstrel show]] operator on the west coast in [[California]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Robert Murray |title=Shooting Cowboys and Indians: Silent Western Films, American Culture, and the Birth of Hollywood by Andrew Brodie Smith (review) |journal=Western American Literature |date=2005 |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=465–466|doi=10.1353/wal.2005.0061 |s2cid=165425332 }}</ref> Returning to Chicago, [[Chicago]], he entered the film business using his own photographic equipment, free from the [[patent]] restrictions that were imposed through companies controlled by [[Thomas Edison]]. In 1896, with help from Union Metal Works and Andrew Schustek, he shot his first film, ''[[The Tramp and the Dog]]''.

He then went on to successfully produce local actualities, [[slapstick]] comedies, early [[travelogue (films)|travelogue]]s and [[sponsored film|industrial film]]s (a major client was [[Armour and Company]]). In 1908, Selig Polyscope was involved in the production of ''[[The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays]]'', a touring "multimedia" attempt to bring [[L. Frank Baum]]'s [[The Oz books|Oz books]] to a wider public (which played to full houses but was nonetheless a financial disaster for Baum).

By 1909, Selig had studios making short features in Chicago and the [[Edendale, Los Angeles|Edendale district of Los Angeles]]. The company also distributed stock film footage and titles from other studios. That year, [[Roscoe Arbuckle]]'s first movie was a Selig comedy short.

The company's early existence was fraught with legal turmoil over disputes with lawyers representing [[Thomas Edison]]'s interests. In 1909, Selig and several other studio heads settled with Edison by creating an alliance with the inventor. Effectively a [[cartel]], [[Motion Picture Patents Company]] dominated the industry for a few years until the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] (in 1913 and 1915) ruled the firm was an illegal [[monopoly]].

In 1910, Selig Polyscope produced a wholly new filmed version of ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''. The company produced the first commercial two-reel film, ''[[Damon and Pythias]]'', successfully distributed its pictures in Great Britain, and maintained an office in London for several years before the outbreak of [[World War I]]. Although Selig Polyscope produced a wide variety of moving pictures, the company was most widely known for its wild animal shorts, historical subjects and early [[Western (genre)|western]]s.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/304647576/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%22%20and%20%22wild%20animals&match=1 Gary Scene of Realism Galore Today]." Munster, Indiana: ''The Times'', June 14, 1910, p. 5 (subscription required).</ref><ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/76686835/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%22%20and%20westerns&match=1 Latest Selig Western]." Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania: ''Mount Carmel Item'', March 10, 1910, p. 4 (subscription required).</ref>

In 1916, Selig Polyscope was hired by the [[Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau|Indiana Historical Commission]] to research, plan and film "the centennial historical picture of Indiana." Estimated to be a seven-reel production that would require the use of seven thousand feet of film, two reels were to be devoted to a prologue that detailed the state's early history, with the remainder of the reels to address the period of 1816 to 1916. Company location scouts reportedly searched for three hundred sites for actors and actresses to "re-enact the [historical] scenes on the identical grounds where they occurred." Gillson Willetts wrote the screenplay.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/140318788/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 Historical Films Approved and Work Has Begun]." Brook, Indiana: ''The Brook Reporter'', March 31, 1916, p. 7 (subscription required).</ref>

===Edendale===
{{further|Edendale, Los Angeles}}
Attracted by Southern California's mild, dry climate, varied geography for location shooting and isolation from Edison's legal representatives on the east coast, Selig set up his studio in [[Edendale, Los Angeles|Edendale]] in 1909 with director [[Francis Boggs]], who began the facility in a rented [[bungalow]] and quickly expanded, designing the studio's front entrance after [[Mission San Gabriel]].<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/956549542/?terms=Selig%20and%20Boggs%20and%20Edendale&match=1 How the Picture Films Are Made]." Red Lodge, Montana: ''The Republican Picket'', December 15, 1910, p. 6 (subscription required).</ref>

[[File: Selig Polyscope Company studio ca. 1910.jpg|thumb|right|Street view of Selig's studio in Edendale, c. 1910]]

Between 1910 and 1913, when it released the film to audiences nationwide, Selig Polyscope filmed ''[[The Coming of Columbus]]''. Described as "the sensation of the moving picture world" and "the most expensive, the most elaborate and most wonderful graphic moving picture film ever made," the three-reel movie portrayed "the vital events in the life and discoveries of [[Christopher Columbus]]" that were "with historic exactness." The film took three years to develop at a cost of more than $50,000.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/404073993/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 Coming of Columbus in Motion Pictures]." Montpelier, Vermont: ''Montpelier Morning Journal'', February 3, 1913, p. 8 (subscription required).</ref>

An early production there was ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]''. Edendale soon became Selig Polyscope's headquarters, but in 1911 Boggs was murdered by a Japanese gardener who also wounded Selig. The company produced hundreds of short features at Edendale, including many early westerns featuring [[Tom Mix]] (which were also shot at [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]).

Selig Polyscope also made dozens of highly successful short movies involving wild animals in exotic settings, including a popular re-creation of an African [[safari]] hunt by [[Teddy Roosevelt]]. In 1914, Selig made fourteen short experimental "[[talking pictures]]" with Scottish actor [[Harry Lauder]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/indexes/earlySoundFilms.html|title=Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List|website=www.silentera.com|access-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref>

===The "cliffhanger"===
In 1913, through a collaborative partnership with the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', Selig produced ''[[The Adventures of Kathlyn]]'', introducing a dramatic [[Serial (film)|serial]] plot device which came to be known as the [[cliffhanger]].<ref>Lupack, Barbara Tepa. "[http://normanstudios.org/nsdrc/project/a-the-adventures-of-kathlyn/ A...is for The Adventures of Kathlyn]." Jacksonville, Florida: Norman Studios, retrieved online July 3, 2023.</ref> Each chapter's story was simultaneously published in the newspaper. A combination of wild animals, clever dramatic action and [[Kathlyn Williams]]' screen presence resulted in significant success. The ''Tribune''’s circulation reportedly increased by ten percent and a dance and a cocktail were named after Williams, whose likeness was reportedly sold on more than 50,000 [[postcard]]s.

===Hearst-Selig News Pictorial===
Hearst-Selig News Pictorial was established in 1914 by the Selig Polyscope Company and the [[Hearst Corporation]]. Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 104 was released in U.S. theaters by the [[General Film Company]] on December 30, 1915. After this release, the partnership between Hearst and Selig broke up. Selig continued to produce newsreels in collaboration with the [[Chicago Tribune]] while Hearst made use of Vitagraph to produce the [[Hearst-Vitagraph News Pictorial]] series.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 104 (1915) |url=https://www.imdb.com/Name?tt4615978 |website=IMDb |access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/355131061/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 Somewhere]" (advertisement announcing Selig Polyscope's collaboration with ''The Chicago Tribune''). Chicago, Illinois: ''The Chicago Tribune'', December 26, 1915, p. 50 (subscription required).</ref>

===V-L-S-E, Incorporated===
In 1915, Selig entered into an agreement with [[Vitagraph Studios]], [[Lubin Manufacturing Company]], and [[Essanay Studios]] to form a film distribution partnership known as [[Vitagraph Studios#V-L-S-E, Incorporated|V-L-S-E, Incorporated]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyOhBAAAQBAJ&q=V-L-S-E&pg=PA55|title=The Movies in the Age of Innocence, 3d ed.|first=Edward|last=Wagenknecht|date=October 13, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786494620|access-date=September 9, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>

===Selig Zoo===
{{main|Selig Zoo}}
Selig created a zoo in east Los Angeles to serve as a home for the company's performing animals. The Selig Zoo was founded in about 1913 and persisted for several decades under a variety of names.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/634376581/?terms=%22Selig%20Polyscope%20Company%22&match=1 In the Photoplay World]." Fort Worth, Texas: ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', November 7, 1915, p. 33 (subscription required).</ref>

==Legacy==

===Academy library===
In the late 1940s, Selig made a large donation of business records to the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] Library. The William Selig papers, together with the donation, include Selig's correspondence, scripts, scrapbooks, production files and six feet of photographs that include [[film still|production stills]] from over 500 films that are otherwise lost (only about 225 of the over 3,500 films released by Selig between 1896 and 1938 have survived into the present day). This collection still requires further study.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erish |first1=Andrew A. |title=Col. William N. Selig: The Man Who Invented Hollywood |date=2012 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0292728707 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QivgDAAAQBAJ |access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref>

===Lost films===
[[File:Selig-Polyscope 1914 Motography.jpg|thumb|right|1914 Selig-Polyscope trade ad in ''[[Motography]]'']]
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2019}}
The potential of movies as long term sources of revenue was unknown to early movie industry executives. Films were made quickly, sent into distribution channels and mostly forgotten soon after their first runs. Surviving prints were typically stored haphazardly, if at all. [[Nitrate film stock]], in common use until the mid-20th Century, is chemically volatile and many prints were lost in fires or decomposed in storage. Some were recycled for their [[silver]] content or simply thrown away to save space. Out of Selig Polyscope's hundreds of films, only a few copies and scattered photographic elements are known to survive.

==Partial filmography==
[[File:Release flier for LOST IN THE ARCTIC, 1911.jpg|thumb|upright|Flier for ''[[Lost in the Arctic]]'', 1911]]
[[File:Release flier for THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER, 1913.jpg|thumb|upright|Flier for ''The Devil and Tom Walker'', 1913]]
[[File:Selig Wamba Child of The Jungle movie poster (1913).jpg|thumb|upright|Poster for ''Wamba Child of The Jungle'', 1913. Exotic animals were a staple of Selig Productions]]
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
*''[[The Tramp and the Dog]]'' (1896)
*''[[Soldiers at Play]]'' (1898)
*''[[Something Good – Negro Kiss]]'' (1898)
*''[[Chicago Police Parade]]'' (1901)
*''[[Dewey Parade]]'' (1901)
*''[[Gans-McGovern Fight]]'' (1901)
*''[[Fun at the Glenwood Springs Pool]]'' (1902)
*''[[A Hot Time on a Bathing Beach]]'' (1903)
*''[[Business Rivalry]]'' (1903)
*''[[Chicago Fire Run]]'' (1903)
*''[[Chicago Firecats on Parade]]'' (1903)
*''[[The Girl in Blue (1903 film)|The Girl in Blue]]'' (1903)
*''[[Trip Around The Union Loop]]'' (1903)
*''[[View of State Street]]'' (1903)
*''[[Tracked by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek]]'' (1904) (survives)
*''[[Humpty Dumptry]]'' (1904)
*''[[The Tramp Dog]]'' (1904)
*''[[The Hold-Up of the Leadville Stage]]'' (1904)
*''[[The Grafter]]'' (1907)
*''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (1908 film)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]'' (1908)
*''[[Damon and Pythias (1908 film)|Damon and Pythias]]'' (1908)
*''[[The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays]]'' (1908)
*''[[Briton and Boer]]'' (1909)
*''[[Hunting Big Game in Africa]]'' (1909)
*''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' (1910) (survives)
*''[[The Sergeant (1910 film)|The Sergeant]]'' (1910) (survives)
*''[[The Way of the Eskimo]]'' (1911)
*''[[Lost in the Arctic]]'' (1911)
*''[[Life on the Border]]'' (1911) (partial section survives)
*''[[The Coming of Columbus]]'' (1911)
*''[[Brotherhood of Man (1912 film)|Brotherhood of Man]]'' (1912)
*''[[Kings of the Forest]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Other Fellow (1912 film)|The Other Fellow]]'' (1912)
*''[[War Time Romance]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Adventures of Kathlyn]]'' (1913)
*''[[Arabia, the Equine Detective]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Devil and Tom Walker]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Sheriff of Yavapai County]]'' (1913)
*''[[Wamba A Child of the Jungle]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Spoilers (1914 film)|The Spoilers]]'' (1914) (survives)
*''[[A Black Sheep]]'' (1915)
*''[[House of a Thousand Candles]]'' (1915)
*''[[The Man from Texas (1915 film)|The Man from Texas]]'' (1915)
*''[[The Crisis (1916 film)|The Crisis]]'' (1916)
*''[[The Garden of Allah (1916 film)|The Garden of Allah]]'' (1916)
*''[[The City of Purple Dreams (1918 film)|The City of Purple Dreams]]'' (1918)
*''[[Little Orphant Annie (1918 film)|Little Orphant Annie]]'' (1918)
{{div col end}}
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==See also==
* [[Universal City Zoo]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.lincolnheightsla.com/selig/ Lincoln Heights page with pictures of recovered statues]
* ''[https://archive.org/details/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]'' (one of Selig Polyscope Company's few surviving films) download at [[Internet Archive]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Entertainment companies established in 1896]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1896]]
[[Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Silent film studios]]
[[Category:Defunct American film studios]]
[[Category:American silent films by studio]]
[[Category:Film studios in Southern California]]
[[Category:Entertainment companies based in California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Film production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Film production companies established in the 1890s]]