Polyscope Company News Today

The early days of the movies in Los Angeles inadvertently allowed visitors to experience the largest collection of animals in the western United States. When animals weren't appearing in a movie, they were rented out to other film companies, performed for studio visitors, or in the case of filmmaker William Selig's collection — an opportunity to create one of Los Angeles' first zoos.

LebTown February 18, 2021 4 min read Betty Harte, born Daisy Mae Light in Lebanon, 1882. (Selig Polyscope Company/Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library) The silent film era dominated cinema in the late 19 th century into the early 20 th century, producing well-known films such as “Ben-Hur” (the 1925 adaptation) or the original “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Actors during this era faced the peculiar task of portraying characters without the key element ...