Know your history!
The Missing Mogul
Samuel Warner (1887 -1927)
Although anyone who has an interest in film history or modern film entertainment has undoubtedly heard of Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc., and may have heard of president and eldest brother Harry M. Warner, who served as president of company, there would likely not be a Warner Brothers had it not been for Samuel Warner. Born Schmuel “Wonsal” or “Wonskolaser”, in a part of the Russian Empire now part of Poland, he immigrated to America with his mother, Pearl Leah Eichelbaum, and his siblings in October of 1889, joining their father, Benjamin “Wonsal” or “Wonskolaser” who had preceded them, immigrating to Baltimore, Maryland, and adopting the family name of Warner. [1] In Baltimore, Benjamin opened a shoe make and repair shop. His eldest son, Harry M. Warner, had an eye for business and followed in his father’s footsteps, opening a shoe repair shop in Youngstown, Ohio, and later a bicycle shop with his younger brother Albert.
Samuel “Sam” Warner, the third brother, worked different jobs before being hooked by the entertainment industry. His first venture into the entertainment industry, a business partnership with another Youngstown resident, where they took over the city’s old opera house and used it as a venue for photoplays (likely magic lantern shows and early film) and vaudeville. The venture failed after one summer. After that Sam secured a position at a local amusement park. When films were added to the entertainments, Sam became a projectionist and saw the potential of the new medium. It was Sam that persuaded the family of the new medium’s market potential. Sam negotiated a deal with a “down on his luck” projectionist to purchase a Model B Kinetoscope for $1,000. With the projector, a phonograph and a purchased copy of “The Great Train Robbery” Sam and his older brother Albert, showing the film at various fairs and venues. This venture was not very successful, and they were nearly shut down by a blizzard.
Around 1902 Sam and Albert leased a theatre in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, as a more secure venue to show films rather than touring. However, prior to opening they realized that in addition to the $40 a week lease on the property they were expected to put up a $200 good faith deposit. Older brother Harry came through selling his bicycle shop he put up the deposit and entered the movie business. It did not take them long to realize that there was money to be made by renting films and film distribution. Lining up nineteen theatres, they established a film distribution exchange through the west. Their business grew with their entrance into film production and the purchase of theatres in areas where other distributers had monopolies. Warner Brothers Pictures was formed with Harry M. Warner as president, Samuel L. Warner as first vice president, Albert Warner as treasurer of production and Jack Warner (a younger brother) as the production manager of the Hollywood Studios that was later established.
Samuel Warner was responsible for the entrance of the Warners into the film business and was instrumental in the evolution of sound in motion pictures. Sam Warner had business relationships with the Western Electric Companies and Bell Telephone Laboratories. When the Vitaphone, a device which synchronized sound from a recorded disk to action on the screen, Sam Warner tricked his brother Harry into attending a demonstration of the Western Electric sound-on-disc motion picture system at Bell Labs. Although Harry feigned indifference to advancement in front of the executives, he saw the potential in the device to synchronize music and sound effects with films and eliminating the need to allocate precious seating space in theatres to accommodate live orchestras. The elimination of orchestras meant less money going out and the ability to seat a larger audience to bring more money in. Initially the idea of talking pictures was not considered a primary use of the technology. Warner Brothers acquired the technology. After good reviews from audience members paying $10 a piece to the company’s first synchronized sound project, the film Don Juan starring John Barrymore in the title role, which was shown with a collection of short subjects, Warner Brothers Pictures announced that all the films in their catalogue would be released with a Vitaphone synchronized disk for sound pictures.
Samuel Warner took the reins of Vitaphone and produced Al Jolson in the first commercially viable talkie production, The Jazz Singer. Unfortunately, Samuel Warner would not see the meteoric rise of the company following the release of The Jazz Singer; he died of pneumonia after a severe sinus infection, the day before the movie opened. As the president of Warner Brothers Pictures, Harry Warner is often at the forefront of any documents on the formation and operation of Warner Brothers Pictures, but it was really Samuel Warner, who should be credited with establishing the foundations that supported the successful entertainment company that has become.
[1] There appears to be some discrepancy in the original name of Samuel Warner. Although the westernization of names such as Schmuel which became Samuel, there appears to be a question regarding Samuel Warner’s father’s name as to whether it was originally Wonsal or Wonskolaser. One source listed Samuel Warner’s original name as Samuel Eichelbaum, using his mother’s maiden name and claiming he was born in Baltimore shortly after the arrival of his parents in the U.S.. Bobb Edwards, “Samuel Warner.” Find a Grave. Added March 1, 1999. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4639/Samuel-Warner. However, I question the previous source since his mother and siblings arrived on the steamship Hermann from Bremen, Germany, in 1899. “Samuel Warner.” Hollywood Walk of Fame. Presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. https://walkoffame.com/sam-warner/ ; Robert F. Sisk, “Warner Brothers Shone here, Too: Father of Quartet Now Prominent as Movie Producers was A Baltimore Shoemaker and they Served as Bootblacks in His Shop at Start of their Careers.” The Sun (1837-), Feb 06, 1927. 1, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/warner-brothers-shone-here-too/docview/538555224/se-2.
Bibliography:
“$200,000,000 Movie Merger Announced: Warner Brothers get Control of Vitaphone, Stanley and First National, Talking Films Involved.” The Washington Post (1923-1954), Oct 10, 1928. 1, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/200-000-movie-merger-announced/docview/149818197/se-2.
“All-Colour Talkie: Warner Brothers’ “On with the Show’.” The Manchester Guardian (1901-1959), Nov 01, 1929. 12, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/all-colour-talkie/docview/477960946/se-2
Edwards, Bobb. “Samuel Warner.” Find a Grave. Added March 1, 1999. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4639/Samuel-Warner.
Hutchinson, Ron. “The Vitaphone Project. Answering Harry Warner’s Question: ‘Who the Hell Wants to Hear Actors Talk?’.” Film History 14, no. 1 (2002): 40-6, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/vitaphone-project-answering-harry-warners/docview/219789118/se-2.
“Samuel Warner.” Hollywood Walk of Fame. Presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. https://walkoffame.com/sam-warner/.
Sisk, Robert F. “Warner Brothers Shone here, too: Father of Quartet Now Prominent as Movie Producers was A Baltimore Shoemaker and they Served as Bootblacks in His Shop at Start of their Careers.” The Sun (1837-), Feb 06, 1927. 1, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/warner-brothers-shone-here-too/docview/538555224/se-2.
“Sam L. Warner Dies; Was Movie Pioneer: Succumbs to Pneumonia in Los Angles at the age of 40. “New York Times (1923-), Oct 06, 1927. 25, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/sam-l-warner-dies-was-movie-pioneer/docview/103995219/se-2.
“Warners have Bought Vitagraph: This Deal Makes Warner Brothers One of the Biggest Independent Producers and International Distributors.” The Sun (1837-), Apr 26, 1925. 1, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/warners-have-bought-vitagraph/docview/544035338/se-2.
The Desert Muse 