By Kayla DeKraker
Did you know one of the earliest production houses was a Christian company? Author Andy Erish unveiled the truth about America’s first motion picture studio, Vitagraph, in a recent Movieguide® interview.
“So why did you decide to start tackling the 1890s and 1900s and the, you know, era that nobody pays attention to?” Movieguide®’s founder Dr. Baehr asked.
“That’s exactly why I did decide to tackle that,” Erish responded, “because it was uncharted.”
As Erish studied film history, the reoccurring mention of a film studio he hadn’t heard of before caught his attention.
“Vitagraph keeps showing up as the leading studio not only in America but in the world,” he said of his research. “There was a slim volume on Vitagraph, and it just piqued my interest, and I thought, ‘I need to do more research on this company’ and ended up discovering all kinds of things.”
Erish explained that other companies took credit for all the amazing work Vitagraph accomplished. “Those kind of unsung pioneers and heroes of cinema got the credit stolen from them,” he explained.
Dr. Baehr said of Erish’s book, Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio, “Every chapter gets you intrigued with what’s happening to these people.”
Erish was stunned to learn that Vitagraph was a Christian company.
“Vitagraph, along with a couple of the other original film companies, were Christian companies,” he shared.
He added, “The Christian content of those films is staggering. It’s beautiful if you’re a Christian and you bemoan the lack of Christian content in popular American movies. It was there at the beginning.”
The motion company became so successful that, at one point, Vitagraph’s movies were the first many people ever watched.
“Literally around the world the first movies so many people were seeing were Vitagraph movies,” Erish said.
Dr. Baehr added, “I love what you do. I admire you tremendously. I urge everybody who’s watching to buy a copy of your Vitagraph book…You got to learn from the past to make better movies in the future.”
A synopsis of Erish’s book reads, “In Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio, Andrew A. Erish provides a comprehensive examination and reassessment of the company most responsible for defining and popularizing the American movie.”
IMDB compiled a short list of some films Vitagraph created, including the 1909 film THE LIFE OF MOSES, which tells the biblical story of Moses.
Although there is much corruption in Hollywood today, not all hope is lost, and the entertainment industry can return to its roots. Christian content is on the rise — just look at the recent success of projects like THE CHOSEN, HOUSE OF DAVID and THE KING OF KINGS.
“I think Hollywood is taking notice because, at the end of the day, they see, OK, well, if there is revenue to be made through this type of entertainment, they might then now put more resources behind it,” said director David Helling. “And because of that, we will start to see more and more of this content come out for a season.”
Vitagraph’s untold legacy reminds us of where Hollywood got started and can encourage the industry to bring Christianity back to the movies.
Read Next: 5 Hollywood Actors You May Not Know Are Christians!
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