John R. Freuler
John Rudolph Freuler (November 17, 1872 – 1958) was an American businessman in the film industry who owned theaters, film exchanges, and film studios.[1][2][3] He signed Charlie Chaplin to a lucrative contract at Mutual Film. Later in his career he owned Monarch Films studio. The Chicago History Museum has a collection of his papers.[4]
Biography[edit]
Freuler was born in Monroe, Wisconsin and schooled in Milwaukee. His father had emigrated from Switzerland. Freuler studied at Spencerian Business College.[5]
Early in his career he worked in the real estate business. He opened a theater in 1905 and after he sold it, he opened a film exchange.[5][6] In 1910, Freuler formed a partnership with Chicago film distributor Samuel S. Hutchinson, establishing the American Film Manufacturing Company.[7] In 1912 he helped organize the Mutual Film Corporation.[5]
Freuler and Harry Aitken, who worked together on film projects, had both grown up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[8]
He was photographed with Charlie Chaplin and his brother Sydney Chaplin signing the Mutual Film contract. In the 1930s he established Freuler Film Associates, a film production company that produced westerns starring Tom Tyler.[9]
Freuler Associates set up a Monarch Melodramas division to release action films.[10]
Personal life[edit]
He married Augusta J."Jessie" Golz and had two daughters. His brother-in-law, Otto E. Golz (1876-1917), was the Milwaukee, Wisconsin branch manager of Mutual Film. (Motion Picture News Vol 16, page 3652).
Filmography[edit]
- Beyond the Rio Grande (1930), presenter[11]
- Take the Heir (1930)
Freuler Film Associates[edit]
- The Fighting Gentleman (1932)
- The Savage Girl (1932)
- The Forty-Niners (1932)
- The Gambling Sex (1932)
- Deadwood Pass (1933)
- War of the Range (1933)
- Kiss of Araby (1933)
- Marriage on Approval (1933)
- When a Man Rides Alone (1933)
- The Penal Code (1932)
- Easy Millions (1933)
- Secrets of Hollywood (1933)
- Love Past Thirty (1934)
Monarch Film Corporation melodramas[edit]
- The Fighting Gentleman (1932)
- The Gambling Sex (1932)
- The Savage Girl (1932)
- The Forty-Niners (1932 film) (1932)
- The Penal Code (1932)
- Kiss of Araby (1933)
- Deadwood Pass (1933)
- War of the Range (1933)
- Marriage on Approval (1933)
- When a Man Rides Alone (1933)
- Easy Millions (1933)
- Love Past Thirty (1934)
- Twenty Dollars a Week (1935 film) (1935)
References[edit]
- ^ "The Magazine of Business". A. W. Shaw Company Division of the McGraw Hill Publishing Company. May 1, 1918 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Motography". May 1, 1918 – via Google Books.
- ^ "FREULER, John R." www.thanhouser.org.
- ^ "John R. Freuler papers". chsmedia.org.
- ^ a b c Bruce, William George (May 1, 1922). "History of Milwaukee, City and County". S. J. Clarke Publishing Company – via Google Books.
- ^ Ramsaye, Terry (November 12, 2012). A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture. Routledge. ISBN 9781136247378 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". Silentera.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ Widen, Larry; Anderson, Judi (August 24, 2007). Silver Screens: A Pictorial History of Milwaukee's Movie Theaters. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 9780870203688 – via Google Books.
- ^ Pitts, Michael R. (July 25, 2005). Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each. McFarland. ISBN 9780786423194 – via Google Books.
- ^ [1] page 174
- ^ "John R. Freuler". BFI. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021.