Triangle Film Corporation
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![]() Triangle Studios, 1916 | |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Film |
Founded | July 1915 |
Founder | Harry and Roy Aitken |
Defunct | 1922 |
Fate | Absorbed |
Headquarters | 10202 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Adolph Zukor (Producer) Filmmakers: D.W. Griffith Thomas Ince Mack Sennett |
Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922.
History
The studio was founded in July 1915 by Harry and Roy Aitken, two brothers from the Wisconsin farmlands who pioneered the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age. Harry was also D. W. Griffith's partner at Reliance-Majestic Studios; both parted with the Mutual Film Corporation in the wake of The Birth of a Nation's unexpected success that year.[1] Triangle was envisioned as a prestige studio based on the producing abilities of filmmakers D. W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett.[2]
The studio planned to open eight model theaters, but opened only three: the Knickerbocker in New York, the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia and the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago. They opened in 1915 and were all closed as unviable in 1916.[3]
Eventually, the studio suffered from bloat. By 1917, producer Adolph Zukor had taken control of all of the studio's assets.[4] In June 1917, Thomas H. Ince and Mack Sennett left the company and sold their remaining interests.[5] In 1917, Triangle's distribution network of film exchanges were sold off to the W.W. Hodkinson company for $600,000[6] (equivalent to $14,000,000 in 2023). Goldwyn Pictures purchased the Triangle Studios in Culver City in 1918.[7][8][9]
Triangle continued to produce films until 1919, when it ceased operations. Films using the Triangle name were still released to the general public until 1923.[4]
Selected filmography
- The Phantom (1916)
- False to the Finish (1917)
- Haunted by Himself (1917)
- Her Busted Debut (1917)
- Mystic Faces (1918)
- Child of M'sieu (1919)
With the exception of Oh, Mabel Behave (1922), all of Triangle's films were released between 1915 and 1919.[10] Most films were made on the West Coast, but some of Triangle's production took place in Fort Lee, New Jersey.[11]
- 1915
- Jordan Is a Hard Road
- Fickle Fatty's Fall
- A Game Old Knight
- Fatty and the Broadway Stars
- The Winged Idol
- 1916
- Fatty and Mabel Adrift
- Peggy
- He Did and He Didn't
- His Hereafter
- Bright Lights
- Cinders of Love
- Hell's Hinges
- The Flying Torpedo
- Hoodoo Ann
- Mad Maid
- The Raiders
- His Wife's Mistakes
- Bucking Society
- His Bread and Butter
- The Other Man
- The Stepping Stone
- Civilization
- Rough Knight
- A Dash of Courage
- The Primal Lure
- The Bugle Call
- Going Straight
- The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
- The Dividend
- His First False Step
- An Innocent Magdalene
- Flirting with Fate
- Our American Boys in the European War
- Courtin' of Caliope Clew
- The Winning Punch
- Nell Dale's Men Folks
- The French Milliner
- The Patriot
- Intolerance
- The Dawn Maker
- His Last Scent
- The Return of Draw Egan
- Pathways of Life
- His Busted Trust
- The Devil's Double
- A Bachelor's Finish
- The Little School Ma'am
- 1917
- Heart Strategy
- His Deadly Undertaking
- When Hearts Collide
- Done in Oil
- Villa of the Movies
- Dodging His Dream
- Hobbled Hearts
- A Self-Made Hero
- His Rise and Tumble
- Her Candy Kid
- A Finished Product
- Innocent Sinners
- A Berth Scandal
- Her Nature Dance
- Her Finishing Touch
- Her Birthday Knight
- A Dog's Own Tale
- Skirt Strategy
- A Dishonest Burglar
- His Criminal Career
- Happiness
- Her Torpedoed Love
- His One Night Stand
- A Laundry Clean-Up
- The Little Yank
- The Man Who Made Good
- The Camera Cure
- Twin Troubles
- American – That's All
- A Strange Transgressor
- Dad's Downfall
- Her Excellency, the Governor
- The Flame of the Yukon
- His Sudden Rival
- The House of Scandal
- The Mother Instinct
- A Successful Failure
- Sudden Jim
- Borrowed Plumage
- An Even Break
- The Food Gamblers
- Golden Rule Kate
- His Cool Nerve
- Master of His Home
- They're Off
- Wee Lady Betty
- Wooden Shoes
- Grafters
- Her Donkey Love
- The Man Hater
- Ten of Diamonds
- Idolators
- Polly Ann
- All at Sea
- His Baby Doll
- His Unconscious Conscience
- Mountain Dew
- Bond of Fear
- The Devil Dodger
- Flying Colors
- Her Fickle Fortune
- Broadway Arizona
- His Saving Grace
- The Sultan's Wife
- The Tar Heel Warrior
- Ashes of Hope
- A Phantom Husband
- One Shot Ross
- Wild Sumac
- Cassidy
- The Firefly of Tough Luck
- His Busy Day
- The Stainless Barrier
- Fighting Back
- Up or Down?
- Indiscreet Corinne
- The Medicine Man
- A Case at Law
- The Fuel of Life
- For Valour
- The Regenerates
- The Cold Deck
- The Sudden Gentleman
- Fanatics
- The Learnin' of Jim Benton
- The Ship of Doom
- Because of a Woman
- The Maternal Spark
- A Counterfeit Scent
- Until They Get Me
- Framing Framers
- The Gown of Destiny
- 1918
- Without Honor
- Betty Takes a Hand
- His Hidden Shame
- The Man Above the Law
- I Love You
- The Law's Outlaw
- The Argument
- The Flames of Chance
- The Gun Woman
- Her American Husband
- The Hopper
- Limousine Life
- Captain of His Soul
- Real Folks
- From Two to Six
- Keith of the Border
- Little Red Decides
- A Soul in Trust
- Heiress for a Day
- The Shoes That Danced
- The Hard Rock Breed
- The Sea Panther
- Caught with the Goods
- The Answer
- Faith Endurin'
- Innocent's Progress
- Nancy Comes Home
- The Love Brokers
- The Vortex
- The Boss of the Lazy Y
- The Law of the Great Northwest
- Who Killed Walton?
- The Hand at the Window
- Society for Sale
- The Lonely Woman
- Paying His Debt
- An Honest Man
- Mlle. Paulette
- High Stakes
- Her Decision
- Wolves of the Border
- Old Hartwell's Cub
- Who Is to Blame?
- Old Love for New
- The Man Who Woke Up
- The Red-Haired Cupid
- The Last Rebel
- Madame Sphinx
- His Enemy, the Law
- Station Content
- Closin' In
- You Can't Believe Everything
- The Fly God
- The Painted Lily
- Everywoman's Husband
- A Good Loser
- Hell's End
- Marked Cards
- By Proxy
- False Ambition
- Beyond the Shadows
- The Golden Fleece
- Alias Mary Brown
- The Price of Applause
- Cactus Crandall
- Shifting Sands
- The Ghost Flower
- High Tide
- Daughter Angele
- Wild Life
- The Mask
- Untamed
- Mystic Faces
- The Secret Code
- The Atom
- Desert Law
- The Grey Parasol
- Tony America
- The Pretender
- The Reckoning Day
- Deuce Duncan
- Love's Pay Day
- The Silent Rider
- Irish Eyes
- Crown Jewels
- Wife or Country
- 1919
- Restless Souls
- Secret Marriage
- Child of M'sieu
- A Wild Goose Chase
- It's a Bear
- The Little Rowdy
- Toton the Apache
- A Royal Democrat
- A Regular Fellow
- The Follies Girl
- Taxi
- The Water Lily
- The Mayor of Filbert
- The Root of Evil
- Love's Prisoner
- Upside Down
- Prudence on Broadway
- Muggsy
- Little Miss Deputy
- Mistaken Identity
- One Against Many
- Three Black Eyes
References
- ^ Merritt, Greg (2000). Celluloid Mavericks: The History of American Independent Film. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-56025-232-0.
- ^ Slide, Anthony (1994). Early American Cinema (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-8108-2722-0.
- ^ King, Rob (2005). ""Made for the Masses with an Appeal to the Classes": The Triangle Film Corporation and the Failure of Highbrow Film Culture". Cinema Journal. 44 (2 (Winter, 2005)): 3–33. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ a b Taves, Brian (2012). Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer. University Press of Kentucky. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8131-3422-2.
- ^ Kingsley, Grace (June 7, 1917). "Triangle Chiefs Quit; New Griffith Picture Is To Be Made On War Grounds". The Los Angeles Times. p. 3.
- ^ Lombardi p.74
- ^ "Studios and Films". Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
- ^ Fort Lee Film Commission (2006). Fort Lee: Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738545015.
- ^ "Lot History". Sony Picture Museum. Sony Pictures Entertainment. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ Triangle Film Corporation (US) from the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Koszarski, Richard (2004). Fort Lee: The Film Town. Indiana University Press. p. 152. ISBN 0-86196-653-8.
Sources
- Frederic Lombardi. Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. McFarland, 2013.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- (in French) La Triangle (1915–1919) – Cinéma : Archives, research and history at the Cinémathèque française
- (in French) Strategic failure of the Triangle – Marc Vernet (Cinémarchives)