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{{short description|Early American film company, a predecessor to Universal Pictures}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Champion Film Company
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}}
 
The '''Champion Film Company''' was an independent production company founded in 1909 by Mark M. Dintenfass.<ref>{{Cite webnews|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/11/25/105822883.html|title=MARK M. DINTENFASS, FILM PIONEER, DIES; Once Had Studio at Ftt. Leeu Ran for Governor of New Jersey as Single-Taxer.|websitework=timesmachine.nytimes.comThe New York Times }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://trailersfromhell.com/the-champion-a-story-of-americas-first-film-town/|title=The Champion: A Story of America's First Film Town|date=September 23, 2017|website=Trailers From Hell}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ViR3b72xkK0C&pg=PA10&dq=mark+dintenfass#v=onepage&q=mark+dintenfass&fpg=falsePA10|title=Fort Lee: Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry|date=August 19, 2006|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|via=Google Books|isbn=9780738545011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/the-birth-of-the-universal-studios-tour|title=The Birth of the Universal Studios Tour|first=Jon|last=Grilli|date=December 4, 2018|website=KCET}}</ref> The studio was one of the film companies that merged to form [[Universal Pictures]].
 
Champion was the first film production company to establish itself in the area around [[Fort Lee, New Jersey]], when the town was the home of [[America's first motion picture industry]]<ref>Kannapell, Andrea. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/nyregion/getting-big-picture-film-industry-started-here-left-now-it-s-back-state-says.html&pagewanted=all "Getting the Big Picture; The Film Industry Started Here and Left. Now It's Back, and the State Says the Sequel Is Huge."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 4, 1998. Accessed December 7, 2013.</ref><ref>Amith, Dennis. [http://j-entonline.com/blu-ray-dvd-reviews/dvd-reviews-film-tv/before-hollywood-there-was-fort-lee-n-j-early-movie-making-in-new-jersey-a-j-ent-dvd-review/ "Before Hollywood There Was Fort Lee, N.J.: Early Movie Making in New Jersey (a J!-ENT DVD Review)"], J!-ENTonline.com, January 1, 2011. Accessed December 7, 2013. "When Hollywood, California, was mostly orange groves, Fort Lee, New Jersey, was a center of American film production."</ref><ref>Rose, Lisa.[http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/100_years_ago_fort_lee_was_the.html "100 years ago, Fort Lee was the first town to bask in movie magic"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', April 29, 2012. Accessed December 7, 2013. "Back in 1912, when Hollywood had more cattle than cameras, Fort Lee was the center of the cinematic universe. Icons from the silent era like Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore and Lillian Gish crossed the Hudson River via ferry to emote on Fort Lee back lots."</ref>
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[[File:In the Great Big West (1911).jpg|thumb|Movie still from ''In the Great Big West'']]
Dintenfass tried avoid the investigators of [[Thomas Alva Edison]], always looking for the "pirates" who escaped the rigid conditions posed by the [[Motion Picture Patents Company]] (MPPC), the monopoly of the sector that it imposed, between the other, to use only the technical material (film cameras, film, etc.) that was to be provided exclusively by the trust.<ref>{{Cite webbook|url=https://books.google.nlcom/books?id=gvEmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=Mark+M.+Dintenfass&source=bl&ots=XQFhM8COYQ&sig=ACfU3U1ThKDJZaT5c7lSWnKZAaj6l2TtHw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj6kO3Kr4rlAhUOKlAKHcpGBesQ6AEwEXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Mark+M.+Dintenfass&fpg=falsePA77|title=Fort Lee: The Film Town (1904-2004)|first=Richard|last=Koszarski|date=March 2, 2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780861969425|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fortleefilm.org/studios.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405152556/http://www.fortleefilm.org/studios.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 5, 2011|title=Fort Lee Film Commission &#124; Fort Lee, NJ|date=April 5, 2011|website=web.archive.org}}</ref> To circumvent the MPPC, the independents - including Dintenfass - distributed their films through the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company of [[Carl Laemmle]].
 
On April 30, 1912, Laemmle brought together [[Pat Powers (businessman)|Pat Powers]] of [[Powers Motion Picture Company]], Mark Dintenfass of Champion Film Company, William Swanson of [[Rex Motion Picture Company]], David Horsley of [[Nestor Film Company]], and Charles Baumann and Adam Kessel of the [[New York Motion Picture Company]], to merge their companies with [[Independent Moving Pictures]] and create Universal Film Manufacturing Company, with Laemmle assuming the role of president.<ref name="Dick">{{cite book|last=Dick|first= Bernard F.|title=City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures|date=May 1, 1997|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=9780813120164}}</ref> Dintenfass later founded the [[Vim Comedy Company]] (1915)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/rediscovery/default.asp?IDCFile=%2Ffsa%2FDETAILSS.IDC%2CSPECIFIC%3D483262%2CDATABASE%3DSERIES |title=State Archives of Florida Online Catalog, Creator:Bletcher, Billy, 1894-1979, Title, Dates:Billy Bletcher's Vim Southern Studio motion picture photographs, 1915-19171915–1917 |access-date=2011-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726073759/http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/rediscovery/default.asp?IDCFile=%2Ffsa%2FDETAILSS.IDC%2CSPECIFIC%3D483262%2CDATABASE%3DSERIES |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
In its four years of activity, Champion produced more than two hundred films. It specialized initially in westerns and historical reconstructions of military episodes of the [[American Civil War]] and [[American Revolution]]. Later, he{{who?|date=October 2019}} produced numerous drama films, documentaries and some movies related to famous people, such as the aviators [[Blanche Scott]] and [[Robert G. Fowler]]. Among those who appeared in Champion films were [[John G. Adolfi]], [[Irving Cummings]], [[Jeanie Macpherson]].
 
==Filmography==
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*''[[Cowboy and the Easterner]]'' (1910)
*''[[His Indian Bride]]'' (1910)
*''[[A Wild Goose Chase (film 1910 film)|A Wild Goose Chase]]'' (1910)
*''[[The White Princess of the Tribe]]'' (1910)
*''[[A Western Girl's Sacrifice (film 1910 film)|A Western Girl's Sacrifice]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Cowboys to the Rescue]]'' (1910)
*''[[How the Tenderfoot Made Good]]'' (1910)
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*''[[Caught by Cowboys]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Ranchman and the Miser]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Way of the West (film 1910 film)|The Way of the West]]'' (1910)
*''[[Let Us Give Thanks]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Indian Land Grab]]'' (1910)<ref name="auto"/>
*''[[Hearts of the West (1910 film)|Hearts of the West]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Sheriff and the Detective]]'' (1910)
*''[[His Mother (1910 film)|His Mother]]'' (1910)
*''[[The Golden Gates]]'' (1910)
*''[[Days of the Early West]]'' (1910)
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*''[[The Pay-Roll]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Bachelor's Old Maid]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Price He Paid (film 1911 film)|The Price He Paid]]'' (1911)
*''[[Men of the West]]'' (1911)
*''[[With Stonewall Jackson]]'' (1911)
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*''[[She Wanted a Man with Brains]]'' (1911)
*''[[Clark's Capture of Kaskaskia]]'' (1911)
*''[[Out of the Dark (film 1911 film)|Out of the Dark]]'', directed by [[Ulysses Davis]] (1911)
*''[[Col. E.D. Baker, 1st California]]'' (1911)
*''[[Making a Man of His Son]]'' (1911)
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*''[[The Cost of Drink]]'' (1911)
*''[[Longstreet at Seven Pines]]'' (1911)
*''[[His Last Crooked Deal (film 1911 film)|His Last Crooked Deal]]'' (1911)
*''[[Molly Pitcher (film 1911 Davis)|Molly Pitcher]]'', rdirecteddirected by [[Ulysses Davis]] (1911)
*''[[For Her Sin]]'' (1911)
*''[[War and the Widow]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Boy Scouts to the Rescue (film 1911 film)|The Boy Scouts to the Rescue]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Fighting Rev. Caldwell]]'', directed by [[Ulysses Davis]] (1911)
*''[[A Cowboy and a Lord]]'' (1911)
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*''[[A Southern Girl's Heroism]]'' (1911)
*''[[A Daring Deed]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Exchange (film 1911 film)|The Exchange]]'' (1911)
*''[[At the Trail's End (film 1911 film)|At the Trail's End]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Perils of a War Messenger]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Dubuque Regatta]]'' (1911)
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*''[[How the Girls Got Even]]'' (1911)
*''[[When North and South Met]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Confessional (film 1911 film)|The Confessional]]'' (1911)
*''[[A Daughter of Dixie (film 1911 film)|A Daughter of Dixie]]'' (1911)<ref name="auto"/>
*''[[How Tony Became a Hero]]'' (1911)
*''[[Grant and Lincoln]]'' (1911)
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*''[[Charley's Buttle]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Red Devils (1911 film)|The Red Devils]]'', directed by [[Sidney Drew]] (1911)
*''[[ShenandoahShenandoa (film 1911 film)|Shenandoah]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Stolen Horse]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Black Horse Troop of Culver]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Cook of the Ranch]]'' (1911)
*''[[Barbara Frietchie (film 1911 film)|Barbara Frietchie]]'' (1911)
*''[[As Things Used to Be]]'' (1911)
*''[[The National Guard Encampment at Fort Riley]]'' (1911)
*''[[What the Indians Did]]'' (1911)
*''[[A Girl and a Spy]]'' (1911)
*''[[Circumstantial Evidence (film 1911 film)|Circumstantial Evidence]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Copperhead (film 1911 film)|The Copperhead]]'', directed by [[Ulysses Davis]] (1911)
*''[[Law or the Lady]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Cowboys' Pies]]'' (1911)
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*''[[The Two Browns]]'' (1911)
*''[[Field Day Sports at Ft. Riley, Kansas]]'' (1911)
*''[[Yankee Doodle (film 1911 film)|Yankee Doodle]]'' (1911)
*''[[Our Navy (film 1911 Champion)|Our Navy]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Indian Fortune Teller]]'' (1911)
*''[[A Traitor on the Staff]]'' (1911)
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*''[[The Coward's Flute]]'', directed byUlysses Davis (1911)
*''[[By Decree of Fate]]'' (1911)
*''[[Bonnie of the Hills (film 1911 film)|Bonnie of the Hills]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Doctor's Close Call]]'' (1911)
*''[[The Blood of the Poor]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
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*''[[An Aviator's Success]]'' (1912)
*''[[Love That Never Fails]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
*''[[Fathers and Sons (film 1912 film)|Fathers and Sons]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Tale of the Snow]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Brute (film 1912 film)|The Brute]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
*''[[Her Brother's Partner]]'' (1912)
*''[[Cardinal Farley's Home Coming]]'' (1912)
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*''[[Robert G. Fowler, Trans-Continental Aviator]]'' (1912)
*''[[Mr. Piddle Rebels]]'' (1912)
*''[[For Her Father's Sake (film 1912 film)|For Her Father's Sake]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
*''[[The Merchant Mayor of Indianapolis]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
*''[[A Wife's Discovery]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Robbery at the Railroad Station]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Higher Power (film 1912 film)|A Higher Power]]'' (1912)
*''[[Wrongly Accused (film 1912 Davis)|Wrongly Accused]]'', directed by Ulysses Davis (1912)
*''[[The Manicurist]]'' (1912)
*''[[Blind (film 1912 film)|Blind]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Fatal Glass]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Editor (film 1912 film)|The Editor]]'' (1912)
*''[[For Home and Honor]]'' (1912)
*''[[Ireland and Israel]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Night's Adventure (film 1912 film)|A Night's Adventure]]'' (1912)
*''[[Thou Shalt Not (?)]]'' (1912)
*''[[Kid Canfield (film)|Kid Canfield]]'', directed by [[Ulysses Davis]] (1912)
*''[[The Divorce Cure]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Caricature of a Face]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Blue Mountain Buffaloes]]'' (1912)
*''[[Salvation Sue (film 1912 film)|Salvation Sue]]'' (1912)
*''[[Baby's Adventures]]'' (1912)
*''[[Bermuda (1912 film)|Bermuda]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Gay Deceiver (film 1912 film)|A Gay Deceiver]]'' (1912)
*''[[Brothers (film 1912 film)|Brothers]]'', directed by [[Wallace Reid]] (1912)
*''[[WinonaWinon (film 1912 film)|Winona]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Horse Thieves of Bar X Ranch]]'' (1912)
*''[[An Italian Romance (1912 film)]]'' (1912)
*''[[Realization of a Child's Dream]]'' (1912)
*''[[Lucky Jim (film 1912 film)|Lucky Jim]]'' (1912)
*''[[What Might Have Been (film 1912 film)|What Might Have Been]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Duck Hunt (1912 film)]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Cashier's Ordeal]]'' (1912)
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*''[[The Derelict (1912 film)|The Derelict]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Squaw Man]]'' (1912)
*''[[Camille (film 1912 film)|Camille]]'', directed by [[Jay Hunt (director)|Jay Hunt]] (1912)
*''A Western Child's Heroism'', directed by [[Sidney M. Goldin]] (1912)
*''[[Sisters (film 1912 Championfilm)|Sisters]]'' (1912)
*''[[Pat's Breeches]]'' (1912)
*''[[Little Old New York (film 1912 film)|Little Old New York]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Gypsy Bride (film 1912 film)|The Gypsy Bride]]'', directed by Lawrence B. McGill (1912)
*''[[Foraging on the Enemy]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Call of the West (film 1912 film)|The Call of the West]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Poisoners (1912 film)]]'' (1912)
*''[[What a Woman Will Do (film 1912 film)|What a Woman Will Do]]'' (1912)
*''[[For His Child]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Bum and the Bomb (film 1912 film)|The Bum and the Bomb]]'' (1912)
*''[[Niagara Falls (film 1912 Championfilm)|Niagara Falls]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Foundling (film 1912 Championfilm)|The Foundling]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Maid of the Rocks]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Trysting Tree]]'' (1912)
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*''[[Rose of the Islands]]'' (1912)
*''[[Her Whole Duty]]'' (1912)
*''[[To Err Is Human (film 1912 film)|To Err Is Human]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Girl in the Gingham Gown]]'' (1912)
*''[[Thy Will Be Done (film 1912 film)|Thy Will Be Done]]'' (1912)
*''[[Sue (film 1912 film)|Sue]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Tramp's Strategy]]'' (1912)
*''[[A Protégé of Uncle Sam]]'' (1912)
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*''[[The Gateway to America]]'' (1912)
*''[[Billy Jones of New York]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Honeymooners (film 1912 Championfilm)|The Honeymooners]]'' (1912)
*''[[Right Shall Prevail]]'' (1912)
*''[[The Chaperones (film)]]'' (1912)
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*''[[The City Boarder]]'' (1912)
*''[[Art and Love]]'' (1913)
*''[[Sins of the Father (film 1913 film)|Sins of the Father]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Death Trail]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Marked Card]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Rich Mr. Rockamorgan]]'' (1913)
*''[[A Daughter of Virginia (film 1913)|A Daughter of Virginia]]'' (1913)
*''[[Her Stepmother]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Duke and the Actor]]'' (1913)
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*''[[A Knotty Knot]]'' (1913)
*''[[The Life-Savers of Chicamocomo]]'' (1913)
*''[[Shanghaied (film 1913 film)|Shanghaied]]'' (1913)
*''[[Lena's Flirtation]]'' (1913)
*''[[When Strong Men Meet]]'' (1913)
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*''[[The Shark God (1913 film)|The Shark God]]'', directed by [[John Griffith Wray]] (1913)
*''[[Hawaiian Love]]'' (1913), directed by [[John Griffith Wray]]
*''[[The Leper (film)|The Leper]]'' (1913)
 
==Gallery==
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}
 
 
==External links==
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/search/title|title=IMDb: With Champion Film Company|website=IMDb}}
 
 
[[Category:American companies established in 1909]]
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[[Category:1909 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Fort Lee, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Film studios and soundstages in New Jersey]]
 
{{film-studio-stub}}
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