The
Biograph Company, also known as the
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short films and twelve
feature films. During the height of silent film as a medium, Biograph was the America's prominent film studio, and one of the most respected and influential studios worldwide, only rivaled by
Germany's
UFA,
Sweden's
Svensk Filmindustri, and
France's
Pathé. The company was distinguished with pioneering director
D. W. Griffith and such actors as
Mary Pickford,
Lillian Gish, and
Lionel Barrymore.