(Redirected from
The Solax Company)
Solax Studios was an American motion picture studio founded in 1910 by executives from the Gaumont Film Company of France. Alice Guy-Blaché, her husband Herbert , and a third partner, George A. Magie established The Solax Company. Herbert Blaché managed production for the new company, while Alice Guy-Blaché, in addition to being a mother, was artistic director and the director for many of its films. They built the first studio in Flushing, New York but, as Solax prospered they invested more than $100,000 in a modern production plant in 1912 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, a place that was quickly becoming the film capital of America and home to many major film studios.
This was a time when the American film industry was rapidly changing from little more than a scientific curiosity to an important sector of the economic engine driving the economy. In this environment, Solax studios was conceived as an all-in-one operation with its own film processing laboratory and state of the art stages built under a glass roof. In addition to the administrative offices, the production facilities included dressing rooms, a set fabrication workshop, and a costume design department with sewing room.
In 1912, Solax Studios made a short film titled A Fool And His Money that was directed by Alice Guy-Blaché. It is believed to be the first film ever made with a cast comprising only African-American actors. The film is now at the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American Film Institute. In 1915, the new Metro Pictures , (now MGM), began its business life primarily as a distrubtor of successful Solax films. Several emerging stars appeared in Solax films including John and Ethel Barrymore, Claire Whitney , Olga Petrova, and Billy Quirk .
In between their own productions, the Blaché's leased the studios to other production companies such as Goldwyn Picture Corporation and Selznick Picture Corp . However, Solax and the rest of the East Coast film industry rapidly declined throughout the 1920s as a result of the phenomenal growth of motion picture facilities in Hollywood, California that offered lower costs and a climate that accommodated year-round filming.