"High Flyer" Movie Finance and The Silver Screen: The Rise and Fall of the National Film Corporation of America

'HIGH FLYER" MOVIE FINANCE AND THE SILVER SCREEN: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NATIONAL FILM CORPORATION OF AMERICA by Richard Alan Nelson An important, but largely neglected, phenomenon of the early motion picture industry involves the transition from small amusement novelty into a truly major business enterprise. The motion picture is a byproduct of the rapid industrialization and tremendous upsurge in scientific advancement which characterized the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but political and economic factors helped to critically determine the direction of the industry. The rise of finance capitalism during this period and concentration of wealth into great industrial corporations, trusts, and cartels eventually proved a model for the film entrepreneurs who transformed the motion picture from its earlier chemical, mechanical, and electrical origins into a potent national cultural force. Since film was the first theatrical entertainment to evolve into a mass medium, however, the lack of established precedent meant that moviemakers were creating not only a new art form but a new economic market force as well. Despite attempts to use patents as a monopoly barrier, the lure of riches and success temporarily ensured a libertarian field wide open to abuse and failure. By the early teen years, thousands of hopeful film production companies had been incorporated in America and more followed in what has been described as a "cinematic goldrush." As early as 1915, an estimated half billion dollars was invested in the industry, with both business magazines and established Wall Street brokerage houses beginning to take a new look at the burgeoning film marketplace. ' With this unpredictable growth came speculators, promoters, and outright frauds using flamboyant advertising to sell and swindle their way ZLcha/td Alan Nelson Xa cu>6¿atant pia^eAio-i o{¡ Communication* at The. UniveAAXty o{¡ Houòton. He. Ia aulhon. oi the. Me.ae.nt volume. ??????a and the. Motion Piatale. InauAtxy, 1898-1 980 [Gahland, 19S3) . 73 across the nation. Although the technology of motion pictures was novel, the boosterism and salesmanship techniques used to popularize the industry were typical of other investment promotions of the period. Colorful terms were applied to these companies and the people behind them: "Blue Sky Fakes," "Skyrocket Financiers," "Picture Pikers," "Wildcat Schemers," "Quick Buck Artists," and "Movie Fly-by-Nighters" being just some of the epithets. 2 While "Hollywood" is today synonymous with the motion picture industry , during the silent period film production was more decentralized than commonly realized. Civic leaders in many lesser cities were entranced by beguiling dreams of dazzling personal and municipal greatness which would follow from successfully associating their home town with the glamorous movie business. Chambers of commerce and other financial interests began considering the public relations possibilities that a thriving local film industry would bring, unwittingly creating opportunities for silver-tongued "ballyhoo" salesmen adept at flattering the vanity of mayors and their entourage. This article takes a look at one such venture, The National Film Corporation of America, which is more significant than most of the studio promotions in that the firm not only made the first Tarzan photoplays but also lasted longer than a number of competitors. Its history, however , is an instructive case study of a rather shady side of the industry which unfortunately proved more the rule than the exception in terms of early motion picture business practices. In Tampa, a thriving port community in south-central Florida, local hopes of becoming a "movie mecca" seemingly assumed the mantle of prophecy with the January 1916 announcement that the National Film Corporation of America had selected the city as its headquarters for a new modern studio. National was formed in California the previous year, occupying the old Oz film studio at Gower Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Promoting the producing firm were its president, heavyset comedian William "Smiling Bill" Parsons (the self-proclaimed "successor to John Bunny"), and popular romantic stage and screen star Paul Gilmore. To Tampans, Gilmore was the better known of the two film executives and his prestige was important to the selling of the local studio venture. 4 Gilmore joined with Parsons to merge some of their financial interests , taking advantage of rather lenient state incorporation laws...