Essanay Studios and Chicago's Film Revolution
Film is often associated with the west and Hollywood in particular for finding its start as a medium. However, in the early 1900s many stars made films and got their start at Essanay Studios based in Chicago. Essanay Studios had a hand in starting the film revolution by establishing many trends that are still in the industry today. Some of these trends include having an acute awareness of how the audience is reacting to the film, particularly by identifying demographic differences, giving birth to some of the first celebrity personalities in the industry, and emphasizing the escapism aspect that films offered to their audiences. During wartime, escapism was big business.
Essanay studios was founded in 1907 by George K. Spoor and G.M. Anderson and propelled celebrity culture around the burgeoning film industry.[1] G. M. Anderson also represented one of the studios most influential characters in that of Broncho Billy and this character propelled Anderson into the spotlight of fan adoration. This was largely due to Essanay being one of the first studios to actively publicize their stars in order to attract fan attention for their movies. [2]
The war itself had a huge impact on the birth of celebrity culture. Historian William E. Leuchtenberg states in his monograph, The Perils of Prosperity, “The faces of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd were known in every corner of the globe.”[3] This relationship between fans and stars was new to the period and the medium.The studio was among the first to emphasize the friendly reception of fans through visits with the stars and tours of the studio.[4] This close relationship soon developed into some of the less friendly trends in the industry, namely that of obsessive idol worship by certain fans, particularly in men.
The close relationship between fans and stars fostered by Essanay created the space for extreme fans and imitation of the dangerous acts portrayed in the film. One such instance involved “Broncho Billy” Miller who murdered a constable in an attempt to flee to the West and become more like his idol from the movies.[5] This case garnered mass media attention and, along with other cases of male fan extremism, drove Essanay to adapt their marketing strategy towards women. This market shift introduced the idea of marketing movies differently to men and women, a trend which is still prevalent today.[6] Essanay executed this change by shifting the focus of their campaigns toward female sponsored magazines and other female-targeted forms of media. These shifts eventually lead to a transformation in the themes of the movies as well, Broncho Billy began to be shown as a law-abiding hero as opposed to a rough and tumble outlaw.[7] This shows an early method of classifying demographics being pioneered by Essanay. Courtney Andree in her essay titled, “Broncho Billy and the Problem of the Male Movie Fan,” states, “it does not seem surprising that Essanay would wish to court women audiences from 1914 on—an audience that is unable to perfectly identify with the screen hero and his acts of violence, an audience with increasing purchasing power.”[8] This exemplifies Essanay’s awareness of the societal views of men and women and showed that they capitalized on them; this is an undesirable trend that is still very much in use today. While the demographic based marketing strategy was innovative and a bit problematic, Essanay did allow many actors to explore their artistic integrity, as was the case with Charlie Chaplin.
Film History, Fall2014, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p57-83, 27p, 1 Color Photograph, 3 Black and White Photographs Color Photograph; found on p62
Charlie Chaplin and Amy Leslie.
DN-0009911, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum
Chaplin is largely known for the work he did at Keystone and the development of his “Tramp” character. However, it was at Essanay that he was given the artistic liberty to experiment with the role and stretch his acting muscles. James L. Neibaur in his article, “Chaplin at Essanay,” states, “The first few Essanays were moderately refined re-workings of ideas Chaplin had done at Keystone.”[9] Essanay allowed Charlie to explore different aspects of his work and push the boundaries of the type of character that he became famous for. This is clear when Neibaur states, “Chaplin wanted "Charlie" to be less of an aggressive knockabout clown and more of a substantial screen character prone to amusing situations.”[10] Essanay gave their stares creative room to explore characters and they did it at a fair price for the time as well. Neibaur elaborates, “Chaplin's salary went from the $150 per week he made at Keystone to $1,250 per week and a $10,000 bonus for signing with the company.”[11] While the money was groundbreaking, Chaplin was more pleased with the greater room to explore his artistic freedom than the cash.[12]
Essanay launched a revolution in the film industry all while dealing with the effects of the war. It helped audiences forget the troubles going on in the world and allowed them to be captured by the stories created by stars such as Chaplin and Anderson. Essanay helped to develop the film industry into what it is today.
Created by James Mann
END NOTES
[1] Andree, Courtney. "Broncho Billy and the Problem of the Male Movie Fan." Film History 26, no. 3 (Fall2014 2014): 59. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 20, 2018).
[2] Ibid. 59.
[3] Leuchtenburg, William E. The Perils of Prosperity: 1914-1932. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. p. 195
[4] Ibid. 60.
[5] Ibid. 73.
[6] Ibid. 61.
[7] Ibid. 64.
[8] Ibid. 79.
[9] Neibaur, James L. 2000. "Chaplin at Essanay." Film Quarterly 54, no. 1: 23. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 21, 2018)
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.