A Silent Siren Song

A Silent Siren Song traces the journey of Harry (1877-1956) and Roy (1882-1972) Aitken, two brothers from the Wisconsin farmlands who pioneered the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age. Combining production, distribution, and theater operations under their Triangle Film Corporation, the young upstarts created the most dynamic studio in Hollywood. They attracted the greatest directors and stars of the day—including D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Douglas Faribanks, Sr.—and produced some of the most enduring films of the sildent era, from the Keystone Cops to the defining cinematic epic Birth of a Nation. The authors provide an in-depth look at the ambition, money, and ego that fueled the highly competitive early movie industry, where the Aitken brothers and rivals Goldwyn, Mayer, Fox, Warner, and Zukor battled it out for box-office supremacy.