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Ontario Motion Picture Bureau was formed
The Ontario government was one of the first groups in Canada to begin making films and movies here in Canada. When they began, all of the film s that were made were for educational purposes such as a 1917 film about making wool. -
Mary Pickford as highest paid actress
Mary Pickford's contracts demanded that she was paid $10,000 a week (about $350,000 in today's money). She also earned 50% of all the profits on any movie she was in. She was often called "America's Sweetheart" because she was so well loved in her films, even though she was Canadian, not American! -
Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau created
The Canadian Motion Picture Bureau was created to produce films and documentaries for all of Canada . It would eventually and to teach Canadians about the rest of the country. It would eventually become the National Film Board (NFB) one of the most important filmmakers in the world. -
United Artists film Studio was created
Canadian actress Mary Pickford, along with her husband Douglas Fairbanks, actor Charlie Chaplin, and director D.W. Griffiths joined together to create a film studio owned and run by the actual actors and film makers. This studio was called United Artists This would lead to the making of films such as the first Zorro films in 1920, Three Musketeers (1921) and Robin Hood (1923). -
Ernest Shipman began making Films
Ernest Shipman made films based on Canadian stories. In the 1920s he made several Canadian themed films such as "Back to God's Country" (1919), "Cameron of the Royal Mounted (Police)" (1921), "The Man from Glengarry" (1922 ) and his last film "Blue Water" (1924). Shipman died in 1931. Back in God's Country earned over $1 million. -
Silent Films begin
The Jazz Singer was an American film that was the first one to be released that had sound and talking in it. Before this all films were silent so people had to read what the characters said. The only sound was music played along with the film.