H. E. Aitken (1914) 🇺🇸

Harry Elvin Aitken, President of the Mutual Film Corporation, comes of vigorous English stock. Joseph Aitken, a native of England, came to the United States in 1840. He and his son Elvin were representative men of the Jacksonian epoch, active in the appropriation and development of the uncultivated lands of the West — and H. E. Aitken, next in succession, inherits the same indomitable spirit, applied to the new industrial conditions in America. A successful capitalist in this day of big business operations and militant competition, the story of his victorious career reads like the wars of Napoleon.

He was graduated from Carroll College in 1896, and two years later interested himself in land-selling and colonization in Wisconsin, his native state. His first enterprise of special note was as one of the founders of the Federal Life Insurance Company of Chicago, whose agent he became in Wisconsin. It was in connection with land-selling, in 1906, that he first saw the possibilities of motion pictures as an educator and means of economic expansion.

He succeeded in interesting the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company in a scheme for promoting the sale of lands by introducing into theatres, in which motion pictures were then being shown as a great novelty, slides picturing the vast tracts of unclaimed farm and timber country, and the attractions of Western life. Shortly after — recognizing the tremendous opportunities suggested by this initial experiment — his attention was absorbed by the motion-picture industry.

The first move Mr. Aitken made was to open the Western Film Exchange in Milwaukee, which is still prospering. This was before monopolies in the motion-picture business and the inauguration of trust methods. His exchange bought films outright from the manufacturers and sold them to theatres in the district.

Success was instantaneous. Within two months Mr. Aitken opened the Western Film Exchange in St. Louis and another exchange in Joplin, Mo. The established film centers tried to force him out of business, but he answered by buying out his strongest opponent, the Crawford Film Exchange, and another concern owned by George Kleine. Thus he made himself chief film supply man in his district.

Mr. Aitken had been in the field three years when the General Film Company organized. Realizing that his powerful competitor, advancing upon him out of the East, would reduce all its rivals to mere appendages if not met by an equal opposing force, Mr. Aitken set about forming an offensive and defensive alliance with other exchange men, consolidating his legions to hold the territory as far East as Pittsburg. But the most important of his allies broke faith with him and sold out, at fabulous prices, to the enemy. Aitken was regarded as an insurgent, and the General Film Company cut off his film supply at a time when he had three hundred theatres dependent upon him.

To form a new alliance immediately was the only hope of preservation. Mr. Aitken ventured to combine with the association of independent manufacturers known as the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company. He knew, however, that this connection must needs be but a temporary expedient — for there were persons prominent in the Sales Company who were plainly antagonistic to him and his associates. While compromising briefly with the independents, no time must be lost meanwhile in making his position more secure.

Mr. Aitken reached out to get control of other motion-picture interests. He opened offices in London, New York and Chicago. He put himself in command of the entire field, and generalled every move.

He assisted in the formation of the American Film Manufacturing Company, with offices in Chicago and studios in Los Angeles. He bought control of the Carlton Motion Picture Laboratories, making Reliance pictures. He organized the Majestic Film Manufacturing Company, and opened a large exchange in New York.

This proved to be an extraordinary act of foresight — the Sales Company, becoming palpably unfair to the Aitken interests, which were then in a position to unite in the formation of a large company with several other friendly interests. The Sales Company refused to permit the films of the Majestic Company, controlled by Mr. Aitken, to be sold through its organization, on the same basis as the other brands.

Mr. Aitken retaliated by suing the Sales Company in both the Federal and the New York courts, causing its dissolution. Having won the field, Mr. Aitken organized the Film Supply Company to distribute the entire output of the Éclair, the Gaumont and the Thanhouser companies, and, at the same time, a body of capitalists, under the supervision of Mr. Aitken, purchased the successful Thanhouser Company.

This was the nucleus of the Mutual Film Corporation, which has gathered strength and expanded rapidly with Mr. Aitken at its head. With him are associated some of the most brilliant minds in Wall Street and some of the most progressive bankers and business men of the West.

The Mutual extended its operation into Canada, buying control of a large organization there, the Gaumont Company; then it invaded the West. In 1910 — Mr. Aitken having already a footing in London— he established what has become one of the largest film-selling concerns in Europe. With Roy E. Aitken, a younger brother, H. E. Aitken founded the Western Import Company of London, which already has offices in Paris, Vienna and Brussels, as well as in four or five other English cities besides London. The firm is preparing to equip studios also in continental Europe for the production of their own output.

In December, 1913, Mr. Aitken organized the Reliance Motion Picture Company, taking over the Carlton Motion Picture Laboratories in Yonkers and New York, and the Kinemacolor studios in Los Angeles. The Reliance will keep the Mutual supplied with special dramatic productions and big news features.

Mr. Aitken is president of the Majestic Motion Picture Company, and its largest stockholder and controlling factor. He is also prominent in the New York Motion Picture Company, a million-dollar corporation, which is a manufacturing and producing company.

The Mutual Film Corporation controls the distribution of all films produced at the following studios: Thanhouser and Princess at New Rochelle; American of Chicago; Reliance of Yonkers and New York; the New York Motion Picture Company, including the Kay Bee films; Komic and Royal of Yonkers; Keystone of Santa Barbara, and the Majestic, Broncho, Apollo and Domino of Los Angeles.

The Biographer.

—

Harry E. Aitken
President, Mutual Film Corporation

—

“Our Mutual Girl” Greets the Giants

When John J. McGraw, and the members of the White Sox and the Giants baseball teams came down the gangplank from the Lusitania, they were met by Our Mutual Girl. She was introduced to the sturdy manager of the Giants by a “Mutual” friend before the recording lenses of eight cameras, among them those of both the “Mutual Weekly” man, the Reliance studio motion-picture machine and still kodak.

Mr. McGraw wore a broad smile and his wife a broad check suit as they came down the gang-plank. John, who is used to receptions of all kinds by this time, took Our Mutual Girl by the hand, while she toyed with his gold-fringed “welcome home” badge. He was much pleased to see such a pretty maid and didn’t miss the chance to say a few pleasant words in return for all the complimentary things which she hurled at his iron-gray head.

And when John had finished teaching her what he didn’t know about the mazes of the tango he introduced in turn the stars of two hemispheres, Mike Donlin and Jimmie Britt, the pugilist, included. Jimmy, suave scion of an illustrious family, removed his derby, lined with London white silk by the way, and assumed a Battling Nelson crouch for the motion-picture camera men.

Mike Donlin, he of the histrionic talents, strode to the center of the stage — we should say pier — and struck an attitude the while he declamed things which the motion-picture camera could not quite catch. Our Mutual Girl listened patiently and smiled her own winsome smile, while the playful breezes from off the Hudson tossed her golden curls about her pink cheeks.

Mike then stepped aside and brought up, one by one, his fellow players. Used to the clicking of cameras on countless diamonds the ball-players nerved themselves to the more difficult task of saying pleasant personalities and merely nothings about everything in general so that the camera men might have no difficulty in using up fifty feet of film on each of them.

Manager Callahan of the White Sox and Comiskey, the owner of the Chicago organization, also greeted the girl, which fact the cameras of eight motion-picture companies dutifully made note of.

Then along came Larry Doyle, hand in hand with “Home Run” Daly. Hardly had they exchanged a few pleasant words with the girl when the insatiate cameramen shouted for more victims and “Steve” Evans and Jack J. Gleason, he who staged the Jeffries-Johnson fight, were brought up for the slaughter.

The Mutual cameramen also filmed the scenes incident to the homecoming, including the parade of limousines containing the ball-players up Fourteenth Street with the “Giants” and “White Sox” pennants flying.

In fact the only thing that the Mutual men didn’t get was the noise of tooting horns and ratch-rattles and the shouts of the faithful fans who journeyed through the slush and snow to see McGraw shake hands with Our Mutual Girl, who came in for a salvo of applause wen she left the Cunard pier and stepped into her limousine with Jack Noble, the Reliance director.

The wives of the ball-players who accompanied them on the trip around the world seemed to take a fancy to Our Mutual Girl and many admiring comments were made upon her gown and wraps which, it was remarked, were much in advance of anything being shown in the ateliers of Paris modistes.

The reel showing Our Mutual Girl greeting Manager McGraw and the ball-players will be released on March 23rd.

(The Fan)

Collection: Reel Life Magazine, March 1914